Creating an engine capable of traveling a million kilometers without major overhauls is technically not difficult even today, but automakers deliberately refused to produce such engines for four main reasons, writes magazine expert Mikhail Kolodochkin.
Firstly, modern strict environmental standards and requirements for efficiency force designers to sacrifice reliability: a “millionaire” involves the use of a cast iron block, a large displacement and the refusal of direct injection, which contradicts the fight for CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.
Secondly, it is more profitable for manufacturers to produce a product that is clearly designed for the warranty period and nothing more – this is standard practice for the mass market.
Thirdly, a purely technical limitation: modern aluminum blocks with an open cooling jacket inevitably become deformed due to insufficient rigidity, and their cylinders simply cannot withstand a million kilometers.
And fourthly, the key reason is that the consumer himself no longer wants to drive one car all his life: it is more important for today’s buyer to be in trend, to receive new security systems, autopilots, modern lighting and multimedia, than to own an “indestructible” but outdated car.
The expert emphasizes: everyone needs a reliable car, but only a few want to drive it for decades and pass it on to inheritance.
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