Motorized Wheel Chair Source

Cars of the 40's were designed to run. No thought was given to efficiency or the pollution they were creating.

By the 60's, it was apparent that something needed to be done to improve engine efficiency to reduce the emissions.

I remember driving in the 60's. The air pollution was SO bad, you couldn't see further than a half mile or so on a summer day, and taking a deep breath caused pain in your lungs.

1966 brought pollution control devices called air pumps, which injected shots of oxygen into the exhaust manifold, igniting the unburned gasses passing by.

The federal Gov. stepped in in '75, requiring car makers to reach a "corporate average fuel economy" number and lower emissions, so catalytic converters and high powered electronic ignition became standard on all cars.

These early devices were marginal, but over the years, pollution devices have REALLY improved to the point where today, I have a truck with 120,000 miles on it and the tail pipe is as clean as it was the day I drove it home new.

No more pain in the lungs, and we can actually SEE the mountains in the distance.

Tires, suspension etc changed little in that time period.