A brief retrospective of the early years of the history of the automobile is followed by a description of the principles behind the operation, management and control of a gasoline (spark-ignition) engine. Descriptions of the cylinder-charge control, fuel-injection, ignition, and catalytic emission-control systems provide a comprehensive overview of the control mechanisms which are essential to the operation of a modern gasoline engine. The texts dealing with the Motronic engine-management system illustrate how this is put into practice. Particular emphasis is placed here on the diagnostic functions, which, on account of the ever more stringent requirements of emission-control legislations, make up an increasing proportion of the Motronic system.