How Chasing Average MPG Improvements Brought More Tech To Cars (For Better Or Worse) - Jalopnik

A broader look at fuel-economy progress shows how the push for better average MPG over decades brought more onboard technology into passenger cars. The piece notes that 1970s-era vehicles looked and functioned very differently from today’s average car, with boxy designs fading and sedans/wagons falling from more than 75% of production to about 25%, according to the EPA. Yet average fuel economy estimates have climbed since the 1970s alongside an explosion of electronic features. The article argues the relationship is tied to regulators and the need for finer monitoring and control, enabling systems like start-stop and selective cylinder deactivation, even if early features required less computing than modern ones.