Chrysler: The Powertrain Plans
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 5, 2009
One of Chrysler’s major problems in the powertrain department is a mass of V6 engines of varying ages and displacements. The lack of interchangeability between engines contributes to Chrysler’s unprofitability, and the advanced age of some hurts overall fuel efficiency considerably. The debut of a brand-new Pentastar V6, arriving with next year’s Grand Cherokee, will change all that. The 280 hp, 260 lb-ft engine will replace all of Chrysler’s V6s, and handily gives Fiat their only modern V6. Single and twin-turbo versions are being considered. Meanwhile V8s aren’t going away, with 5.7 and 6.4 liter versions planned.
Posted in Diesel | Fuel Economy | News Blog | Technology | 25 comments 
Save Diesel ’till You’re Blue(Motion) In The Face
By Cammy CorriganOctober 29, 2009
Posted in Europe | Fuel Economy | New Cars | News Blog | 19 comments
Former GM Economist: Detroit Ignored Demands For Efficiency
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 27, 2009
Walter McManus, former GM economist and current head of the Automotive Analysis division of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, wants you to know GM’s SUV strategy of ignoring efficiency as a marketing input was his fault. In an interview with Energy and Environment News [via Edmunds Green Car Advisor], McManus explains how surveys in the 1990s showing consumers did care about efficiency were ignored:
The survey would estimate that people would estimate fuel economy fairly highly. Being a good economist, I said, ‘No, they don’t,’ and I changed the results. There was a systematic bias against such results. Our job was not to seek the truth, but to justify decisions that had already been made… It’s my fault they had the wrong vehicles until now
Can you say culture issues? McManus’s explanation for the insular attitude is a familiar refrain, namely that decisions “are being made by upper-middle-class white males, by and large. They don’t understand that the customers are not the same as they are.” Now that gas prices have made efficiency impossible to ignore though, McManus sees change coming.
Posted in Fuel Economy | Marketing | News Blog | 25 comments
Ask The Best And Brightest: Hypermiling A Variable-Displacement V8?
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 21, 2009
Everett writes in:
I know that each motor, transmission, and car combination has optimums areas of performance for mileage. All the Jetta drivers that swear by idling in 5th gear are a testament to that. With some of the newer V-8 motors, however, finding the sweet spot is a little more problematic. Take for example a GMC Yukon XL, paired with a 5.3L V-8. Because GM designed the motor to shut down four cylinders whenever it could to increase fuel economy, the motor does just that when coasting, during braking, and for short stretches where the motor can maintain the desired speed (provided the driver holds a steady pedal). Is it possible that because the motor would produce more horsepower under the V-4 mode at a higher rpm/road speed, that there is a sweet spot of efficiency at a HIGHER than expected speed? Having a power curve for the V-4 mode of the motor would be a good starting point to know if there is a point where the V-4 mode is revved higher and produces enough power to better maintain highway speeds, but saves gas because four cylinders are shut down. Any ideas if that exists for the actively managed motors out there and what speed that would be?
Posted in Ask the Best and Brightest | Fuel Economy | News Blog | 48 comments
Automotive X Prize Narrows The Field
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 20, 2009
But which one is The Future?
Posted in Fuel Economy | Future Vehicles | News Blog | 2 comments
The Evolution Of Internal Combustion: Thermal Energy Management
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 13, 2009
With so much attention focused on next-next-gen, alt-energy auto technology, we enjoy highlighting the incremental changes that are making good old internal combustion engines more efficient. The latest evolution to show up on our radar screen is BMW’s development of a host of measures [via Green Car Congress] which it hopes will someday reduce the inefficiencies of cold starts. Perhaps the easiest way of reducing low-temperature, high-friction starts is to encase the engine to slow down the engine cooling process (as well as insulating components that might otherwise need to be cooled). In fact, BMW has shown that with encapsulation, a 176 degree operating-temperature engine can keep its temperature as high as 104 degrees after 12 hours. But good luck trying to change your oil when your engine is surrounded by thermal materials.
Posted in Fuel Economy | Gizmology | Green | News Blog | 36 comments
Quote Of The Day II: 230 MPG “May Be Overly Optimistic?” Edition
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 30, 2009
Official fuel economy testing for all vehicles is conducted on chassis dynamometers, which are basically treadmills for cars and trucks. One subtlety of chassis dynamometer testing is that vehicle fuel economy measurements using decades-old standard speed profiles may be overly optimistic compared to today’s average on-road fuel use. Official methods exist to adjust the test cycle fuel economy of conventional vehicles to better estimate expected real-world fuel use, but a similar adjustment method has yet to be finalized for PHEVs.
From a National Renewable Energy Lab paper on plug-in hybrid efficiency testing [via Green Car Congress].
Posted in Fuel Economy | Hybrid | News Blog | Quote of the Day | 28 comments
Better Place: Buy Electric, Save Money
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 28, 2009
Project Better Place founder Shai Agassi tells Auto Motor und Sport that his firm’s EV versions of the Renault Fluence will cost €3,000- €5,000 less than the gas-powered Renault versions. The only downside is that you have to live in Israel or Denmark to qualify. Oh yeah, and then there’s the “batteries not included” issue. To actually use the car you need to lease a battery (”The batteries belong to us,” scowls Agassi) which will run you about €250/month for about 1,500 miles (30k km/year). Unlimited mileage costs about €350/month. “Try to make a deal like that with Shell,” dares Agassi. But behind the posturing remains the fact that Better Place’s battery-swap scheme wouldn’t work if the Israeli and Danish governments hadn’t bought in. Agassi admits that his cars would cost more than Renault’s gas-burners if they backing governments didn’t heavily subsidize them. But Agassi figures these incentives will merely bridge the gap to higher volumes. “Electric cars are like other electronic devices: every two or three years the price will go down by half.” Hey, if that’s what it says on the business plan . . . .
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Europe | Fuel Economy | Green | News Blog | 37 comments
New Hyundai Sonata: No V6?
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 28, 2009
Wards Auto World reports that Hyundai won’t be offering a V6 in its much-hyped, next-generation Sonata sedan. A direct-injection version of its Theta four-cylinder is expected to be the only engine option, making Sonata the first DI four-pot midsized sedan on the market. The V6 option will also be yanked from the Tucson cute-ute. Though the Sonata will be one of the few mid-sized sedans on the US market without a V6 option, don’t expect it to be a problem even for ostensibly torque-obsessed Americans. According to Wards, 85 percent of the current generation of Sonatas are built with four cylinder engines. 76 percent of Accords and 90 percent of Camrys on the market are four-bangers as well. With CAFE standards climbing rapidly, the era of the four-cylinder family sedan is clearly upon us.
Posted in Fuel Economy | New Cars | News Blog | 104 comments
Audi Dropping V10s
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 25, 2009
AutoBild reports that Audi will be dropping Lamborghini-sourced V10s from its R8, RS6 and S8 models. AB blames the V10’s weight, thirst and complexity for the move, although one might guess brand strategy played a role in the decision as well. With over twice as many brands as GM, the Volkswagen Group has to work hard at not competing with itself, and keeping V10s in the Lamborghini camp seems like a good place to start. But Audi’s long-soldiering aluminum 4.2 V8, which has seen duty in everything from the R8 to the RS4, has also earned eight-cylinder engines a home in the Audi brand. And since that engine is used by independent supercar manufacturers from Spyker to Gumpert, there’s no shame in giving up a pair of cylinders. Besides, with the new S4 downsized to a supercharged V6, there’s room at the top of the range for an eight-pot. And guess what? There’s a new one in the works. AutoBild says an Audi-only 4.0 V8 is being developed which will make up to 550 hp and 515 lb·ft of twist in its highest state of tune. And even that won’t be the be-all and end-all of Audi performance: an R5 coupe is set to debut towards the end of 2011, powered by a 375 hp 2.5 liter turbo-five that harks back to the Ur-Quattro.
Posted in Fuel Economy | Future Vehicles | News Blog | 27 comments
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