You don’t have to drive very far to see how vehicles today differ from the past. Aerodynamic bumpers, sloped windshields, and lighter weight materials have become commonplace-all in the name of fuel economy.

We appreciate these advancements when the time comes to fill the tank, mostly because these improvements have not impacted the mission of our commuter vehicle: to make it to and from our destination.

These designs didn’t happen by chance. From the first Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars enacted in 1975, government regulation and customer needs drove manufacturers to innovate newer and more efficient technologies. Regulatory focus on fuel economy has now shifted toward larger vehicles, which include today’s fire apparatus. Read More.

This article originally appeared in Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, May, 2015.