“…ECENT developments in design and control of vehicular powertrains, combined with ever tightening regulations on exhaust emissions, have prompted a renewed interest in the fuel consumption of internal combustion engines (see, for instance, [9], [17], [20], [21], [24], [26], [29], [32], [33], [39], and [46]). The fuel mass flow per unit engine power in stationary situations strongly depends on the operating point, i.e., on the engine speed and the torque or, alternatively, on and the throttle opening .…”