Once upon a time, picking a cam for a given engine combo was all about compromise: improve top-end power at the expense of low-end torque, run well at wide-open throttle but sacrifice idle stability ...

If you're a car enthusiast, you've probably heard the term "VTEC" before, but you might not know what it means. If you don't, here's an explainer. But the way VTEC goes about switching cam profiles is ...

Valve overlap—that crucial interval when both the intake and exhaust valves are open, expressed in degrees of crankshaft rotation—is typically a fixed parameter and always a compromise. For example, ...

There is so much going on with internal combustion engines (ICEs) these days, it can give you a headache just reading about them. That's why we do the research for you and then cram it into bite-size ...

Somewhere there's a perfect balance between peak horsepower, low-speed response, reduced emissions, and something you can afford. Variable valve timing and lift have done their part in getting us all ...

Engines are complex bits of machinery. At their core level, yes, it's easy to understand what is happening. Air and fuel enter the engine where they are ignited and combustion occurs resulting in ...

Despite current efforts to revisit light-vehicle fuel economy standards enacted during the Obama administration, there have been no changes to the law, and there might not be for years, as the wheels ...

Variable valve timing (VVT) and variable valve lift (VVL) have very similar names, both referring to variable valve performance. Does that mean that they are basically the same thing? The are most ...

The first production car engine with variable valve timing (VVT) came from Alfa Romeo in 1980. It was installed in the fuel-injected Alfa Romeo Spider. Before this, a few experimental systems existed, ...

Brian Cooley is CNET's Editor at large and has been with the brand since 1995. He currently focuses on electrification of vehicles but also follows the big trends in smart home, digital healthcare, 5G ...

Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media ...