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The environmental safety of a car is currently one of the most important indicators of vehicle competitiveness and quality in the consumer market. Currently, assessment of the ecological properties of vehicles is based on various criteria. In the case of combustion-powered cars, most attention is usually paid to the values characterizing their use, and in terms of environmental assessment, pollutant emissions, and operational fuel consumption are key factors. The current article considers the possibility of using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to analyze the ecological properties of a passenger car during its operation. A simplified LCA method for vehicles, which, in strictly defined cases, can be used for the analysis of environmental impact and assessment of the energy analysis related to its operation, is presented. For this purpose, a vehicle life cycle model is developed. Data on the operation of 33 passenger cars from different manufacturers with similar operational characteristics, coming from different production periods, are analyzed in detail. The vehicle use model takes into account the environmental load due to fuel consumption and pollutant emissions from the internal combustion engine, as well as processes related to the maintenance of the car. The obtained results show that, from the point of view of a car’s impact on the environment throughout its life cycle, the phase of its operation plays the most important role. For the annual operation period, the results of the analysis lead to the conclusion that, in the assessment of energy inputs and related emissions throughout the life cycle of a passenger car, the mileage of the car, which is determined by both the periodicity of replacement of elements and materials subject to normal wear and the length of the adopted period, is of key importance. For the tested vehicles, both the energy input resulting from fuel consumption as well as CO2 and SO2 emissions constitute about 94% to 96% of the total input during the annual operation of the vehicle.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate using the LCA methodology the environmental effects of material composition changes on Volkswagen Golf passenger cars over the past 30 years. The simplified LCA model of the engine presented in the work shows the energy consumption and total CO2 emissions based on the mass of materials. It was built to investigate general assumptions about material production and car recycling. The results of the research presented in the paper give an image of the modernity of a passenger car engine on the basis of consumption and the degree of recovery of materials used for its construction.

The aim of the article is to present the environmental effects of changes in material composition in selected internal combustion engines used in passenger cars using LCA analysis. The levels of energy consumption and emissions of pollutants related to material inputs occurring at the stage of engine production have been determined. The simplified LCA model presented in the paper shows the energy consumption and total CO2 and SO2 emissions on the basis of the mass of materials from which the engine is made. The research results presented in the paper give a picture of a modern passenger car engine on the basis of wear and the degree of recovery of materials used for its construction.

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