This article explains where engine carbon deposits come from and gives some advice on how to avoid them. The best advice seems to be to change oil at least as often as recommended by the manufacturer, use fully synthetic oil, and also use Top Tier gas. A study by AAA showed that Top Tier gas reduced carbon deposits by 45% to 72% in 5000 miles on engines with carbon deposits. While Top Tier gas doesn’t entirely avoid carbon deposition, it reduces it by up to 19 times compared to other gasoline. Talk about cheap prevention.
I think Jalopnik might be a bit behind with this article. We’ve known about this for more than a decade. Low friction ring packs for higher mpgs allow more blow-by as well as those things mentioned in the article. Most don’t seem to come with catch cans with return systems like my old Saab turbo. Ford sells an aftermarket catch can for my Mustang, but did not install it as standard.
Many manufacturers have embraced dual port and direct injection systems to avoid this problem. I currently have one of each in my driveway… a post injected engine, a direct injected engine and a dual injected engine. I use quality gas and synthetic oils but I still use a chemical clean (BG) the DI engine regularly to avoid issues.
Interesting test data about Top Tier gasoline, though.