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Basic design of a two-piston RoundEngine. The external combustion chamber. Canada’s VGT Technologies, the developer of the RoundEngine, has started development of a “plug-in” compressed air hybrid vehicle using the RoundEngine technology. In this application, “plug-in” refers to connecting to an external air compressor to top off the storage tanks. The RoundEngine is a novel variable geometry toroidal (VGT) engine. The gasoline/air hybrid vehicle is similar to a gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle but uses compressed air instead of electricity for an auxiliary drive. In the first phase of development VGT will focus on the air drive using the RoundEngine technology...

[snip]. Well, we do have such a power plant and at the moment it is sitting doing not a lot really, in a Gold Coast workshop at Southport. It is a four-cylinder, 2.4 litre engine which has been independently certified as being the world's most efficient petrol engine. In other words, for a given amount of petrol burned this engine will do more work than any other anywhere in the world. During testing, the engine achieved a repeatable Brake Specific Fuel Consumption figure of 212g/kWh or 38.6 per cent efficiency, best figure achieved being 207g/kWh or 39.5 per cent efficiency....

Johnathan Goodwin can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him? “Check it out. It's actually a jet engine," says Johnathan Goodwin, with a low whistle. "This thing is gonna be even cooler than I thought." We're hunched on the floor of Goodwin's gleaming workshop in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by the shards of a wooden packing crate. Inside the wreckage sits his latest toy--a 1985-issue turbine engine originally designed for the military. It can spin at a blistering 60,000 rpm and...

MUSIC engine on the test bed. Side view of the MUSIC cylinder head MUSIC system schematic Cylinder head design layout and prototype for the four-cylinder engine. Recent testing of a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder implementation of the Merritt Unthrottled Spark Ignition Combustion (MUSIC) engine, initially developed at Coventry University, (earlier post) showed a 19.8% improvement in fuel economy compared to a baseline Ford 2.0L Duratec. MUSIC is an un-throttled, high thermal efficiency, lean-burn, spark ignition system that uses an indirect combustion chamber to produce charge stratification by means of controlled air management. During the compression stroke, the piston forces air to...

The California Air Resources Board has revised a draft regulation that will require retrofits and engine replacements for the estimated privately owned 300,000 diesel trucks and buses on California roadways beginning in 2012. The proposed regulation now calls for truckers to retrofit pre-2007 model year trucks with soot filters and then requires a gradual modernization of trucks beginning in 2012, so that ultimately all trucks are the cleanest, 2010 or newer models. Staff re-worked an earlier version of the draft regulation, presented in January, to eliminate the need for truckers to replace two trucks in a nine-year span, instead relying...

BMW’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel (earlier post) was named Best New Engine of the Year 2008 at the tenth annual International Engine of the Year Awards at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany (6-8 May). The top six contenders in this category included two twin-turbos (one gasoline, one diesel), a V10 with 580bhp, the world’s first diesel boxer engine (from Subaru), and a fresh version of Volkswagen’s TSI. BMW’s 3-liter Twin Turbo gasoline engine was named International Engine of the Year 2008, as it was last year. (Earlier post.) The judges of the awards noted that the back-to-back win also confirms turbocharging...

Researchers in the UK have developed a new kind of engine. It could be called a hybrid, but what it combines is not two power sources but rather two mode of operation: 2-stroke and 4-stroke. The goal is to be able to significantly downsize the engine and get the fuel economy benefits of smaller displacement, but to be able to switch seamlessly to 2-stroke mode when more power is required at high loads and low speeds. The prototype (seen above) is a modified 2.1-liter V6. After tests at the University of Brighton, it has been found to produced performances...

Results of the study indicate that a steam hybrid using exhaust waste heat could reduce fuel consumption by up to 31.7%, depending upon drive cycle and vehicle. A study by researchers at Loughborough University and the University of Sussex, both in the UK, has concluded that using waste heat from light-duty vehicle engines in a steam power cycle could deliver fuel economy advantages of between 6.3% and 31.7%, depending upon drive cycle, and that high efficiencies can be achieved at practical operating pressures. The basic concept of the “steam hybrid” system is that energy is recovered from the exhaust...

HST International and Tjaarda Design have announced a new partnership that they say will "change the face of electric cars." Actually, what's going on here is that the partnership is changing whats under the hood of two iconic vehicles, the Mustang and the Shelby Cobra. As we learned when we spoke with Michael Kadie and Ed Monfort late last year, these conversions aren't going to be cheap, but the Tjaarda EVX Mustang and the HST Shelby Cobra EVX will certainly turn heads. The vehicles will be on display this weekend at the 34th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long...

COLUMBUS, Ind., April 15, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) announced today that it has earned a prestigious 2008 Automotive News PACE Award for innovation demonstrated by the 6.7L [409 CID] turbo diesel engine. The PACE Award ceremony, held on April 14 in Detroit, Mich., honors superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance among automotive suppliers. Cummins has been recognized for the 6.7L Dodge Ram Turbo Diesel engine which debuted in January 2007 and is available in the Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 models. The 6.7L diesel engine is the strongest, cleanest, quietest heavy-duty diesel pickup...

International chemical company Rhodia is launching two sets of materials for the formulation of deNOx catalysts showing high performance and hydrothermal durability for NOx trap technologies. Rhodia presented the emissions control materials, along with new light weight materials for weight reduction, at this week’s SAE 2008 World Congress in Detroit. Both NOx Storage Catalyst (NSC) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technologies have shown limited efficiency at low temperature (<250°C) and poor durability due to the thermal deterioration at temperatures > 750°C with steam. Rhodia’s new materials address these limitations. Materials for NOx Storage Catalyst technologies (NSC). NSC are sensitive to...

The low-cost Indian "peoples car" has finally been shown in public for the first time at the New Delhi Auto Expo. Developed by Tata Motors to a target price of $2,500, the four seater has a 624cc gasoline engine mounted under the rear seat and is called the Nano. There has been a lot concern that meeting the price target would require Tata to skimp on emission controls and safety. The manufacturer claims that the 33hp engine meets current Euro IV emissions standards and is cleaner than most of the scooters running around on Indian streets right now. They...

At last week's dealer show in Las Vegas, a picture of Ford's upcoming 4.4-liter V8 diesel powerplant was leaked to the Internet... ouch. The new powerplant is hardly a secret (we were reporting the first hints of it in June 2006, and the legal issues surrounding the engine in June 2007), but this is the first time the public has seen a photo of the new diesel in its metallic flesh. Designed to offer comparable acceleration to the current 5.4-liter gasoline Triton, the new engine should be rated at about 330 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. Fuel economy...

For decades, the Ford Mustang has been a symbol of affordable performance. While the average GT will still run you less than $30,000, for many that is merely the starting point. Next is the booming Ford Mustang aftermarket business, where you can beef up every square inch of your ponycar. One item not commonly found in a Ford Racing catalog is an Aston Martin Vanquish V12 engine, but after hearing one in the engine bay of a beautiful blue stallion, we think that problem should be corrected. Hit the jump to view video of a very well-modified Mustang that has...

There’s a strange wave phenomenon that’s plagued rocket scientists for years, a lurking threat with the power to destroy an engine at almost any time. For decades, scientists have had a limited understanding of how or why it happens because they could not replicate or investigate the problem under controlled laboratory conditions. Scientists generally believe that these powerful and unstable sound waves, created by energy supplied by the combustion process, were the cause of rocket failures in several U.S. and Russian rockets. Scientists have also observed these mysterious oscillations in other propulsion and power-generating systems such as missiles and gas...

FEV will exhibit a diesel-electric hybrid version of the Mahindra & Mahindra Scorpio SUV at the 2008 SAE World Congress, 14-17 April in Detroit, Michigan. Mahindra developed the diesel hybrid version of the vehicle with support from FEV, a global powertrain and vehicle engineering company. FEV will also show a number of other powertrain developments at the event, including a 2-step variable compression ratio (VCR) mechanism for medium- and heavy-duty engines; a spray-guided turbocharged gasoline engine; a new diesel aftertreatment control system; and a new low-height cylinder head concept. The Scorpio hybrid. FEV contributed to the hybrid powertrain systems development...

The new four-cylinder diesel family offers improved performance, torque, emission properties and fuel economy. Mercedes-Benz has introduced a new generation of four-cylinder diesel engines with improved performance, torque, emission properties and fuel economy. The new engine family will supersede four different powerplants. The new engine will debut in the C-Class this fall, but will eventually be fitted in a number of variants across a wide range of model series, including the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Mercedes-Benz says it also earmarking the engine family for use in hybrid vehicles. In its most powerful variant, the new 2,143 cc four-cylinder unit delivers up...

Nissan Motor Co. plans to break into the U.S. market for light commercial vehicles, and the move means more work for Cummins Inc. The Columbus company will make diesel engines for the three new offerings, Nissan said. Nissan wouldn't discuss specifics, but officials said the vehicles will range from pickup trucks to buses and that they'll hit the market in the first half of 2010, according to the Associated Press. Nissan officials made the announcement at a Monday press conference in Detroit. Nissan will spend $118 million to expand a Canton, Miss., production plant to build the vehicles, and German-based...

The Eliica (or the Electric Lithium-Ion Car) is a battery electric vehicle prototype, or concept car designed by a team at Keio University in Tokyo, led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu. The 5.1 metre (16.7 feet) car runs on a lithium-ion battery and can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (60 mph) in four seconds. In 2004, the Eliica reached a speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) on Italy's Nardo High Speed Track. The team's goal is to exceed 400 km/h (250 mph), breaking the record set by today's street-legal gasoline-powered vehicles. The Eliica weighs in at 2400 kg (5291 lbs) and seats...

Right side of the new V8 shows lack of exhaust manifold. Intake route is straight into the top of the intake cam boxes. General Motors has taken some of the wraps off of its 2010 Duramax diesel V8, revealing clever design features and technologies that clearly push the state-of-the-art in Vee-type compression-ignition engines. Unveiled during a media briefing at its Milford, MI, Proving Grounds, the new 4.5-L powerplant will be one of the most powerful, lowest-emitting, and package-efficient light-duty V8 diesels in the marketplace, company engineers claimed. The new Duramax is scheduled to enter production in late 2009 at...

DEARBORN, Mich. - Soon after Jim Farley became Ford Motor Co.'s marketing chief after a 17-year career at Toyota, he took a spin in a subcompact with Ford's new direct-injection, turbocharged engine. "I couldn't wipe the smile off my face," Farley said. "I've never driven a Toyota like that, ever. The torque, out of that kind of displacement — in this case a 4-cylinder — was shocking." It's a good thing he feels that way, because one of Farley's first and most critical assignments as vice president of global marketing will be to sell Ford's engine — dubbed EcoBoost —...

The Coates Spherical Rotary Valve Engine is the most advanced in the world. A conventional piston engine ignites the fuel and air mixture in the combustion cycle and evacuates the gas by-products in the exhaust cycle. These cycles occur thousands of times per minute per cylinder. Through the rotation of the camshaft, a spring-loaded poppet valve opens to enable the fuel and air mixture to enter the firing chamber during the induction stroke. The camshaft then closes the intake valve during the compression and combustion stroke of the cylinder and opens a second spring-loaded valve to vent the cylinder...

Manufacturer says they were sold for use only in civilian craft. The U.S. State Department is investigating how aircraft engines made near Montreal ended up in attack helicopters in China. The maker, Pratt and Whitney Canada, says it did nothing illegal. It delivered 10 engines to Bejing in 2001 and 2002 on condition they be used only in civilian aircraft. The Liberal government of the day approved the deal, a decision the present Conservative government is supporting. But Washington is not happy. If the engines contain U.S. technology or parts, the company could be hit with big fines for violating...

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it was investigating how engines made by a Canadian subsidiary of United Technologies Corp wound up in prototypes of the Z-10, China's first domestically developed military attack helicopter. State Department spokesman Karl Duckworth said information was being gathered before deciding whether to take any action. "We are reviewing the matter and have no further comments at this time," he said.

REGI US, Inc. and Reg Technologies have completed a prototype, proof-of-concept pump that is suitable for customer demonstrations. The RadMax Rad Max, based on RandCam/RadMax sliding-vane rotary engine technology (earlier post), is a 12-vane device that produces 48 pump actions every revolution. As a pump for water or fuel, the prototype 140-pound RadMax Rad Max has a theoretical displacement of more than 2,000 gpm at 3,600 rpm. The solution is scalable with minimal design changes, and many of the parts are interchangeable between different sized pumps. /The completed pump prototype is 10-inches in diameter and weighs 140 pounds. Maximum...

Depending on drive cycle...... Initial simulation studies of a prototype heavy-duty air-hybrid engine being developed by engineers at Volvo Powertrain, UCLA and Sturman Industries show a 4-18% improvement in fuel economy over a wide range of driving cycles. The amount of improvement depends on the cycle. The addition of a low-temperature EGR circuit could boost that improvement by another three to four percentage points, according to the research team. The goal of the project, co-funded by the DOE, is to develop and demonstrate a heavy duty air-power-assist (APA) engine for a refuse vehicle with a 15% improvement in fuel efficiency...

At the annual Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan, Chrysler’s Executive Vice President - Product Development, Frank Klegon, outlined the company’s powertrain strategy with a focus on improving fuel economy. As background, Klegon said that the company anticipates that diesels will represent up to 15% of new vehicle sales within 10 years. He also said that Chrysler thinks that in the next 5 to 10 years, hybrids will represent up to another 15% of the market, “but may grow even higher due to government regulations and as costs come down.” Diesel Engines. On the diesel front, Chrysler currently offers...

The crystalline structure of boric acid. Boron atoms are shown as blue spheres, oxygen as pink, and hydrogen as brown. Molecular forces that bind the layers in the lattice enable them to slide over one another with very low friction. Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have begun to combine nanoparticles of boric acid—known primarily as a mild antiseptic and eye cleanser—with traditional motor oils in order to improve their lubricity and by doing so increase energy efficiency. In laboratory tests, these new boric acid suspensions have reduced by as much as two-thirds the energy...

The Liquid Piston engine. A) full housing. B) Transparent housing showing principle components. LiquidPiston, developers of a new engine architecture they claim will achieve 50% fuel efficiency (compared to the ~30% of existing engines) and drastically reduce pollutant emissions (earlier post), closed a $1.25 million seed investment round with Adams Capital Management and Northwater Capital. The architecture is based on a “High-Efficiency Hybrid Cycle” (HEHC) thermodynamic cycle, which borrows elements from Otto, Diesel, Atkinson and Rankin cycles. The HEHC cycle can be implemented in a variety of ways; LiquidPiston is developing an implementation that uses a separate rotary compressor, two...

MIT researchers have been developing a spark-ignition (SI) automobile engine that can, under the appropriate driving conditions, move into a spark-free Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) operating mode that is more fuel-efficient than the SI mode. The mode-switching capability could appear in production models within a few years, improving fuel economy by several miles per gallon in millions of new cars each year. Members of the MIT team presented the latest results from the project in two papers at the Japan Society of Automotive Engineers (JSAE)/Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2007 International Fuel and Lubricants Meeting this week. HCCI engines...

A NEVIS module. The NEVIS Engine Company Ltd. has successfully closed its first round of seed funding to help it further test and develop its current two-cylinder prototype engine as well as to develop awareness of the technology. The Italian company has been developing the prototype with €2.5 million (US$3.3 million) in government grant money. The NEVIS (New Exhaust Valve & Intake System) engine embodies a new two-stroke combustion cycle (the “Bortone” cycle after its inventor) and a new design than combines, among other features, annular (i.e., doughnut-shaped) pistons, modular cylinder construction and a sinusoidal camshaft similar to those adopted...

Hydrogen Engine Center, Inc. (HEC) demonstrated its proprietary ammonia/hydrogen-fueled Oxx Power engine (earlier post) just prior to the annual shareholders’ meeting in Algona, Iowa on 30 May. The test engine—one of the company’s 4.9-liter, 6-cylinder units—was designed to use HEC’s proprietary Oxx Boxx engine controller and a dual-fuel injection system. Although the engine is capable of running exclusively on hydrogen, the test was conducted using 95% ammonia and 5% hydrogen used as a combustion catalyst. The increased density of hydrogen associated with the ammonia fuel provides the engine with significantly more power than hydrogen alone. The small amount of hydrogen...

BMW’s 3-liter twin turbo (earlier post) was named International Engine of the Year 2007 at the ninth annual International Engine of the Year Awards at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany. BMW won two other category awards for its 2.5-liter inline six and 5-liter V10, in addition to having the twin turbo named Best New Engine. The 62 automotive journalists from 30 countries who served as judges also named Volkswagen’s 1.4-liter turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit (earlier post) as best in the 1-liter to 1.4-liter class, with its larger sibling, the 2-liter turbo developed by Audi and applied in the Golf...

An earlier rendering of the VCR mechanism. FEV Engine Technology is displaying a developmental gasoline/E85 turbocharged direct injection (GTDI) engine that also features variable compression ratio (VCR) at the 2007 SAE World Congress. The engine is being developed in-house, in tandem with several other DI engine projects that FEV is working on with various automakers, based on earlier work FEV had done with the VCR platform. While offering the potential to generate V-8 power from a V-6 engine, this concept also provides roughly a 20-25% improvement in fuel consumption. The VCR system is based upon the concept of an eccentric...

GM is applying two new 1.7-liter diesel engines in the new edition Opel Astra. Following Opel’s downsizing strategy, the latest generation common-rail turbo-diesel engines are relatively compact, yet with their high power output per liter and power reserves they boast higher fuel economy and low emissions. These bring the total number of diesels available in the bestselling Astra line to six. Coupled with six-speed manual transmissions as standard, the new 1.7-liter CDTI ECOTEC unit with 81 kW/110 hp produces 140g of CO2 per kilometer, and the 92 kW/125 hp version 146 g/km. Fuel consumption is an average 5.2/5.4 liters...

A new engine design could significantly improve fuel efficiency for cars and SUVs, at a fraction of the cost of today's hybrid technology. For Daniel Cohn, a senior research scientist at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, the ­century-­old internal-combustion engine is still a source of inspiration. As he strides past the machinery and test equipment in the MIT Sloan Automotive Laboratory, his usually reserved demeanor drops away. "An engine this size," he says, pointing out an ordinary-looking 2.4-liter midsize gasoline engine, "would be a rocket with our technology." By way of explaining that technology, he shows off a turbocharger...

Thanks to changes in Chrysler's manufacturing plans for European market minivans and the popularity of Jeep diesels, the US market may eventually get diesel minivans. For the past decade, the Euro market vans were assembled at a plant in Austria, but the new van production will be consolidated at Chrysler's St. Louis, MO assembly plant. That means that the VM Motori diesel engines that are offered in European vans will be shipped to the US for installation. The current diesel doesn't meet new emissions standards, but Mercedes is developing a new 2.2L two-stage turbo diesel for 2010. This engine...

Germany’s Automobilewoche reports that with the change in Volkswagen’s top management is coming a change in strategy for hybrids. Martin Winterkorn, who formerly headed the company’s Audi AG unit, became CEO after Bernd Pischetsrieder resigned at the end of 2006. Pischetsrieder had brought in Wolfgang Bernhard from DaimlerChrysler to run the Volkswagen unit. Berhard has now left (as of today), and Winterkorn will personally oversee the VW brand for the time being. Now, rather than target a mild hybrid Jetta for sale into the California market in 2008 as described by Pischetsrieder, Volkswagen will focus first on a full hybrid...

Delphi has introduced a new type of diesel engine oil condition sensor, designed to help increase engine reliability, reduce warranty issues and bring further cost reductions for vehicle operators. The new system is now available for integration with vehicle development programs. Current production technologies measure the viscosity and dialectric constant of the oil, providing data from which an estimation of oil condition can be made. These technologies allow a significant increase in change intervals compared with the older predictive techniques that estimate condition based on the drive cycle. Delphi’s technology takes a further substantial step forward by providing additional data...

The 2.2-liter PSA engine Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and PSA Peugeot Citroën have signed an agreement under which PSA Peugeot Citroën will supply MMC with diesel engines. Under this agreement, PSA Peugeot Citroën will start supplying Mitsubishi Motors with its 2.2-liter common-rail, direct-injection diesel engine from mid-2007. This engine will also be fitted with a PSA Peugeot Citroën patented particulate filter. Mitsubishi Motors is introducing its new Outlander SUV in Europe this month, and towards the end of 2007, will add a new diesel version powered by the PSA diesel. PSA will also apply this same engine in the Peugeot...

A recent MIT analysis shows that the energy balance of corn ethanol is actually so close that several factors can easily change whether ethanol derived from that process ends up a net energy winner or loser. Further analysis shows that making ethanol from cellulosic sources such as switchgrass has far greater potential to reduce fossil energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. A graduate student in MIT’s Department of Engineering, Tiffany A. Groode, performed a life cycle analysis on the production of corn ethanol, as others have done. Groode, however, incorporated the uncertainty associated with the values of many of...

As I suggested in an earlier piece on the alternative fuels and vehicle show held recently this month in Santa Monica, most such vehicles exhibit a singular lack of attitude and panache. Alt fuel connotes austerity, sacrifice, less-is-more. Alt fuel vehicles are earnest and well meaning, but frankly not much fun, and bespeak the latent Puritanism always waiting to resurface in American culture. I would suggest that this is a bit of a problem in marketing terms. Why would I want to buy a hairshirt of a vehicle with cramped dimensions, a stodgy appearance, and sluggish performance? Depending upon my...

John McQueen checks his 275-gallon tank of restaurant grease that is seperating, a process necessary in the production of biodiesel fuel. HAMMONTON — John McQueen still hasn't figured out how to turn worthless metals into gold or grow money on trees. But he can perform one transmutation that might qualify as modern alchemy: Making dirty, used restaurant cooking oil into a cheap petroleum substitute. “We come from the greatest country in the world, and I don't think we should be dependent on foreign, or even domestic, oil producers who are going to charge us so much money to fill up...

Ford has developed an electric-drive crossover concept car in conjunction with Airstream—the Ford Airstream Concept—that is powered by a hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain—the HySeries Drive. The HySeries drive in the AirStream Concept combines a lithium-ion battery pack with a compact fuel cell system as a range extender—the fuel cell’s sole function is to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack as needed. (This series-hybrid electric drive design approach is similar to that taken by GM with its E-Flex family and the Chevrolet Volt. Earlier post.) The new fuel cell, supplied by Ford partner Ballard, operates in a steady state, allowing a...

Leveraging the work it did with its V12 TDI R10 racing car (earlier post), Audi has applied a 6.0-liter, Euro-5 compliant 12-cylinder diesel TDI engine—the first V12 passenger car engine—in a concept version of the Audi Q7. The Audi Q7 V12 TDI study delivers 368 kW (493 hp) and a massive 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft) of torque. The power of the turbocharged V12 TDI takes the SUV from 0 to 100 kph in 5.5 seconds, with fuel consumption of 11.9 liters/100km (20 mpg US). 60tdi3 The Q7 V12 TDI’s cylinders actually sweep a greater volume than the racing engine,...

Sales of hybrids in the US rose 24% in December 2006 compared to the prior year, with 22,625 units sold. That was sufficient to push the total number of hybrids sold in the US in 2006 past the quarter million mark to more than 251,000 units—an increase of 22% compared to 2005. That figure does not include sales of GM’s Saturn VUE Green Line hybrid. Overall, the light duty vehicle market in the US shrank 3.6% in December 2006 from the year before, and declined 2.6% for the year to 16,556,433 units, according to Autodata. Hybrids thus represented 1.58%...

Toyota will introduce its FT-HS hybrid sports car concept at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week. This two-plus-two concept is a front-engine, rear-drive sports car with a projected zero-to-60 acceleration in the four-second range. A powerful V6, 3.5L-engine is coupled with a sports hybrid system with a target power output of approximately 400 hp (298 kW). The FT-HS concept was a joint undertaking of Calty, Toyota’s North American-based, research and design center located in Newport Beach, Calif., and Toyota’s California-based Advanced Product Strategy Group. The design team was assigned the task of creating a...

EPA “YourMPG” Data Reveal Diesel Vehicle Drivers Consistently Achieve Higher MPG Than Figures Displayed On Window Stickers WASHINGTON – Diesel-powered vehicles deliver more real-world miles per gallon than the numbers on new-car window stickers currently indicate, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “YourMPG” database. The findings were detailed in EPA’s “Final Technical Supporting Document” accompanying the agency’s new fuel economy labeling rule released Tuesday. The “YourMPG” data, compiled by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, includes 221 diesel drivers measuring their own fuel economy and providing their real-world MPG to an Internet database. EPA then compared this real-world data with...

Imagine at some point in the future stopping at the pump for a fill up and choosing from alternative fuels as well as the usual suspects. Do you want unleaded, corn, soybean or diesel tree? Diesel tree? Granted, that last choice may lie farther in the future than the others. Currently, little is known about the Brazilian native tree save that it produces a thin maple syrup-like resin called copaifera, an oil commonly found in cosmetics, that can be used as diesel fuel. (Copaifera is a legume loosely related to soybeans, a biofuel source already gaining statewide attention.) University...

A number of recent small announcements could add up to a significant boost for the biodiesel industry in the long term. Just last month, a couple of heavyweights in the global farm equipment market endorsed using biodiesel in their products. Case IH was the latest to announce its support. Every piece of equipment will now leave Case IH factories with a biodiesel blend in the tank, and it has approved the use of B20 (20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent petroleum-based diesel) in all Case IH engines. "One hundred per cent factory fill of a biodiesel blend is...