In article , Tiffani  wrote:
 Jim Weir wrote:
  So why was there 12 volts to begin with?  Because Detroit started making
  cars
  with a much higher compression ratio and to turn the starters over, the old
  6
  volt batteries weren't cutting it.  Bingo.  Two 6 volters in series gives
  12
  volts and that was close enough for Detroit gummint work.
 Actually the auto industry is moving to a 42 volt system in the future to
 handle
 increasing electrical requirements, plus more accessories (e.g. oil pump) may
 be
 electric in the future.  Where can you find more information on this?   Why
 http://www.42volt.org of course.
Just what we need in a car -- an electric oil pump! That would be fine
for pre-oiling, but for regular operation? It degrades reliability by
making the lubrication system dependent on another system.