Looking Into The Future, Toyota Spots The Present
November 23rd, 2010 2:47 PM
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When Autoweek asks the R&D boss at an alt-drivetrain leader like Toyota what the future of its powertrain development looks like, one tends to hope for something revelatory in his answer. Instead, we get
In the next five years, the general trend is downsizing of engines and the use of turbochargers. Another development will be direct fuel injection.Gosh, really? So Toyota is going to follow automakers like Fiat and Hyundai (not to mention the entire industry) when it comes to spotting and adopting engine technologies like gas direct injection (GDI) and strategies like downsizing and turbocharging? With a late start on EVs as well as the suite of ICE-improving technologies, Toyota had better hope that hybrid sales stay strong… and that its hydrogen technology is affordable by 2015. Otherwise, there are plenty of other firms ready to lead the industry…
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1. I thought the future of roller coasters was mag-lev? 2. Why has the engine size gone >up
I've own two turbo powered cars (a VW and a Mitsubishi) - both had the low end power (torque) and acceleration of a V6 but got the same mileage as your average 4 banger economy car (30 hwy). So I love turbos and wish more companies offered them. Honda has made some great turbos for their racing program (Indy and F1 years ago) but now their current offering is in a CUV with A on the grill. Still glad Toyota got the memo, or maybe they just found some of their old notes... filed under Supra.
Toyota didn't rush to market with the Prius, like Honda did with the Insight. Instead, it slowly and calmly drilled Honda a new bunghole that hasn't closed yet.
While I Agee turbo engines have their place, I'm not thrilled with the one in my wife's CX-7. It's noisy, rough, and not all that peppy or efficient. In return, we have then "pleasure" of paying for premium fuel and more frequent oil changes. (on a CAR/STATION WAGON that is difficult to perform an oil change, what with the faux bash plates, presumably to protect the front wheel drive components, and all their screws - what a freaking joke - and don't get me started on the filter element - rant off...sort of) I much prefer the 4.0 litre V-6 in my 4Runner. It's smooth, powerful, and a dream to work on (with 10k oil changes). It's pretty efficient to boot.