5 Ways Modern Car Engines Differ from Older Car Engines

Compared to other technologies we use every day, it seems like car engines haven't really changed much. The engine in an old Ford Model T has plenty in common with the engine in a 2011 Ford Fusion, but it's doubtful Alexander Graham Bell would know what to do with an iPhone. While communications technology has changed drastically, car engines use the same basic principle: The combustion of air and fuel to create rotational force and move a car.

But while the same basic principles that drove the first car engines are still used today, modern car engines have evolved to meet the power and efficiency needs of today's drivers. Think of older car engines as wolves and modern car engines as dogs. They're share the same heritage and have similar characteristics, but one does just fine in everyday modern situations, while the other just couldn't adapt to living in a city or suburb.

How Self-regenerating Tire Tread Works

In the 2008 movie "Speed Racer," the title character is engaged in a dangerous race across a futuristic desert. A rival driver shreds one of Speed's tires, but he's ready -- he hits a button on his steering wheel and his car, the Mach 5, sprouts a new tire at once.

In real life, we haven't gotten to the point where our cars can instantaneously regenerate tires. But some tire companies have devised ways for the tread to replenish itself after thousands of miles of travel. But how is it possible for the same, worn tire to create new tread?

Most of us don't realize just how important our tires are. Believe it or not, those ugly rubber donuts can make a huge difference in the way your car or truck drives. The right set of tires can even help deliver sports-car handling or superior gas mileage, depending on what you're looking for.

How the Tweel Airless Tire Works

For more than 100 years, vehicles have been rolling along on cushions of air encased in rubber. The pneumatic tirehas served drivers and passengers well on road and off, but a new design by Michelin could change all that - theTweel Airless Tire.

In this article, we'll look at what the Tweel Airless Tire is, why you would use it in place of traditional tires, some of the problems that may occur with a Tweel Airless Tire and where you might see the Tweel Airless Tire in the future.