Great article covering some impressive engineering feats. It kind of reminds me of the story about when Copernicus released the heliocentric view of the solar system. Part of the issue of getting people to accept it is that his system was not originally more accurate than the geocentric calculations on planetary positions because people had been using the geocentric model for so long they had perfected them. Some of the engineering work happening with combustion engines is incredibly impressive which is great because they aren't going away but I'm excited to know what EV's and charging standards would look like after 20 years of this level of R&D and maturity. Electric motors are simple and have been around for ages but there have still been tons of improvements to them over the last 10 years because the motors before EV's were mostly industrial.

My ancient 1987 Calais quad-four got 34 mpg along with tire smoking acceleration and my friends Escort diesel got 54 mpg back then. Now 30 years later after all of these engineering advancements, we are getting only slightly better fuel economy in small gas engines and worse in small diesels. The only engine that does impress me is my 500+hp newer Corvette does get an honest 28 mpg highway and about 23mpg overall along with a near 200mph top speed and 3.9 sec. 0-60 time. Now that is real engineering progress.

Nothing like beating a dead horse.

To answer the question in the title: Vainly.

Volvo is doing interesting things with the wave piston diesel engines in heavy trucks. I wonder if the concept can translate to other engine types.

@Bob Emissions standards are the enemy of fuel mileage/performance. Your 87 Calais wouldn't come even remotely close to passing any modern emissions test. I am totally amazed at the performance they are getting out of modern engines while still meeting all emissions standards.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask some people who have purchased diesel pickups since they mandated higher emissions standards. The fuel mileage is not nearly as good as it was prior to the revised emissions standards.

Seeing these improvements, however, also reminds us that we are rapidly pushing our internal combustion engine technology to a tipping point. The end is near!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b38ebc1a186a135702db4e343ebfd23b5547c35d55d66d8f0d786f2da7fd4baf.jpg

Of these, the Qamfree is the most impressive, logical progression. Why IC engines still require complex, whirling, expensive, heavy, machined analog cams in this digital age is beyond me. It's as if all watches were still mechanical.

Gasoline and Diesel fuels have similar energy. The reason Diesel engines significantly more efficient because they don't use spark plugs which use lots of energy which comes from the fuel spent. Engines with spark plugs should have been phased out decades ago!

Easily the most well written and interesting automotive technical article I've read in a long time! Great job Scott!