Europe makes cars more economical

The fuel price explosion resulting from the oil crises of 1973/74 and 1979/80 compelled the automotive industry worldwide to reduce the consumption of its models. Because fuel prices had traditionally been much higher in Europe, the European manufacturers had already gained a technological edge in the 1960s, particularly in the areas of chassis, body construction and power. European cars were compact and much safer to drive, and they consumed less than the American street cruisers. With the development of front-wheel drive and new bodywork concepts, British, French and Italian manufacturers in particular had developed the modern European compact car. At first, VW lagged behind with its Beetle, only to regain the number one rank with the Golf as from 1974.

The Europeans' answer to the oil crisis was the diesel engine. Formerly a fringe model, for a long time offered by Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot only, the diesel became popular in all vehicle segments from 1975 onwards.

There were a large number of other measures that contributed to a marked reduction in fuel consumption: for example a reduction in wind resistance with an aerodynamic body shell design. At the vanguard here was Citroën, followed by Audi. Audi led the way in weight reduction too, using aluminium and composite materials. BOSCH, in cooperation with BMW, was to the fore in the optimisation of the combustion process by means of electronically controlled injection and ignition systems. The introduction of the catalytic converter with its lambda sensor advanced this process too.