This article presents a comprehensive, publication-ready synthesis and original theoretical elaboration on the contemporary design, optimization, and future directions of automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures. Building strictly on the provided literature, the paper articulates the motivations driving architectural change, evaluates prevailing approaches — including AUTOSAR, virtualization, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN)/Ethernet integration, zonal and domain-controller topologies, and fault-tolerant hardware strategies — and develops an integrated framework for resilient, secure, and scalable vehicle E/E systems. The work juxtaposes engineering objectives (latency bounds, determinism, resource efficiency) with stakeholder concerns (supply-chain complexity, maintainability, lifecycle cost) and highlights methods for tool-chain engineering, timing analysis, and electromagnetic and signal-injection threat mitigation. Methodology is descriptive and analytic: it synthesizes referenced empirical and conceptual findings, extrapolates design trade-offs, and frames a set of prescriptive guidelines and research hypotheses for future validation. Results are presented as a detailed mapping of architectural patterns to system-level properties, a taxonomy of risks and mitigations, and recommended engineering practices spanning specification, modeling, verification, and runtime adaptation. The discussion interrogates limitations of current approaches, particularly around virtualization overheads, TSN integration complexity, electromagnetic interference, cybersecurity of actuator/communication channels, and the challenges of achieving industry-wide interoperability. The conclusion presents an agenda for applied research, standardization priorities, and industrial adoption strategies to meet the demands of advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving while keeping costs and energy budgets tractable

AUTOSAR, E/E architecture, Time-Sensitive Networking, virtualization, fault tolerance

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