Engine

  • Infiniti QX50 concept, 2017 Detroit auto show

    Efforts by automakers to increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions have intensified in recent years as emission rules have tightened and the effects of climate change are better analyzed. While electric cars and hybrids will grow in popularity, the internal-combustion engine remains the default way of power—and likely will for years to come. The latest effort to make engines more fuel-efficient will come from Nissan's premium brand, Infiniti, in the form of itsnew variable-compression turbocharged (VC-T) inline-4 engine. DON'T MISS: Infiniti variable-compression engine: more...

  • Mercedes-Benz 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine (OM 654)
    Mercedes Announces Cleaner, More Efficient Diesel Engines

    Diesel may be a dirty word for some but for the major automakers, especially those with a significant presence in fuel-conscious Europe, it commands a lot of importance. One such automaker is Mercedes-Benz, which this week announced it is investing close to $3 billion over the coming years in...

  • Possible fourth-generation Toyota Prius prototype. Video by Vimeo user Savior1974.
    Next Toyota Prius Hybrid: 40-Percent Thermal Efficiency From Engine, Toyota Says

    You may not hear about the thermal efficiency of engines much: It's the ratio of how efficiently they use the energy in the fuel they burn. Conventional gasoline engines have long run about 25 percent, diesels at 30 to 35 percent. But the gasoline engine to be used in the next generation of the...

  • 2016 Chevrolet Volt - first teaser image, Aug 2014
    2016 Chevrolet Volt To Use New 1.5-Liter Four As Range Extender Engine

    Later today, details about the powertrain of the new 2016 Chevrolet Volt will be released when GM CEO Mary Barra speaks to the Detroit Economic Club. But a GM press release this morning announcing further investments in Michigan manufacturing by the company included one nugget: The 2016 Volt will...

  • Achates opposed-piston two-stroke diesel engine, as it would be packaged for truck installation
    Achates Closer To Production Of Radically Efficient Two-Stroke Truck Diesel

    Suppose you could take an old engine concept discarded in the 1970s, add modern fuel metering and injection control hardware and software, and offer a compact powerplant that cuts the fuel consumption of today's diesel truck engines by a third.. That's the promise of Achates Power, which has been...

  • 2015 Ford Fiesta
    Ford EcoBoost High-Efficiency Turbo Engines: Ultimate Guide

    If you've spent any time looking at Fords recently, one word won't have escaped your attention: EcoBoost. EcoBoost is Ford-speak for a downsized, turbocharged gasoline engine that aims to either supplement or replace a larger, naturally-aspirated engine in a given vehicle lineup. The name is pure...

  • 2015 Audi A8 L W12 Exclusive Concept

    There's a reason people like big, multi-cylinder engines and it isn't just about the noise they make or how much power they produce. It's also to do with smoothness. And it's one reason some people are worried about the latest trend for downsized four-cylinder units, as they begin appearing in larger vehicles. If Audi's next generation four-cylinders come to fruition, we may not have to worry. The German firm has patented a four-cylinder engine which promises refinement and smoothness on-par with six and even eight-cylinder engines. According to Autocar (via Motor Authority), the patent...

  • Toyota Central R&D Labs' Free Piston Engine Linear Generator (FPEG)
    Toyota Describes Combustion Engine That Generates Electricity Directly

    Despite the recent advent of usable, talented electric vehicles, combustion engines are likely to persist for quite some time, often as a component in plug-in hybrid and range-extended electric vehicles. The onus then is on refining combustion power to work harmoniously with increasingly...

  • MINI Vision concept car
    Future MINI Models: Engine And Technology Details Released

    Future MINI models will be powered by three- and four-cylinder engines the brand says will combine fuel economy and sportiness.

  • VW logo and sign at opening of Volkswagen engine plant in Silao, Mexico
    New Gas Mileage Rules Will Reshape What Americans Drive: Engines And Transmissions

    Smaller, more efficient engines better matched to more complex transmissions will have some of the biggest effects in making tomorrow's cars more fuel-efficient. The 2025 corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) level of 54.5 mpg translates to about 42 mpg on the EPA window sticker. And while Toyota...

  • 2012 Volvo XC60
    Volvo Downsizes Engines, Continues Drive Towards Greener Cars

    Volvo isn’t the largest automaker in the world -- but it is one of the safest thanks to a long-standing passion about passenger and pedestrian safety dating back to when the company was founed nearly 85 years ago. But recently Volvo has developed a new passion to put alongside its aim to have...

  • 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan
    New Chrysler Engine To Burn Gas And Diesel--At The Same Time

    You probably drive a gasoline car. And surely you've heard of cars with diesel engines. But how about a car with an engine that burns both fuels, at the same time? That's what Chrysler is working on, it turns out, funded in part with research dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy. Author Mike...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5

    Let us run a few engines past you. A warbling flat six. A growling V8. The howl of an inline four changing cam profiles. The smooth buzz of a rotary. How about some names now? Hemi. Vortec. Powerstroke. VTEC. Renesis. Ecoboost. Noticing a pattern? The first list is clearly engine layouts, and the second are trademarked brand names for particular motors. The similarity amongst them all is that you could probably link every single layout and name with a particular car company, or sometimes even with a particular model. Rotaries for example have been synonymous with Mazda for many years now, and...

  • Eaton technologies test day, Marshall, Michigan, Sept 2010
    How Smaller Engines Offer More Power: Superchargers Vs Turbos

    Turbochargers have been with us in volume production only since the Seventies, but superchargers have a long and honorable automotive history. They were used on the Blower Bentleys that won Le Mans 80 years ago, and have appeared ever since on high-performance engines, often larger ones. A boost...

  • fuel injectors, photo by Transonic
    Startup Transonic Injects Supercritical Fuel For 30% MPG Rise

    The principles of the gasoline engine have chugged along for a century now without much change. The last big evolutions were variable valve timing and the switch to fuel injection from carburetors. Now a flurry of innovations to boost fuel efficiency is in the pipeline. One of them comes from a...

  • AVL rotary-engine range extender for electric-drive vehicles, July 2010
    Will EV Range Extenders Give Rise to a Rotary Renaissance?

    Four months from now, the world's first extended-range electric vehicle will start showing up at dealers. The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will introduce car buyers to the idea of a range-extending combustion engine that turns a generator to power the car electrically. But the generator in an E-REV can be...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf prototype
    Covering Electric Cars: Is It Really THAT Hard For the Media?

    If you pay attention to the so-called mainstream media, you could be forgiven for thinking that electric vehicles are alien technology, rather than cars with plugs. Though happy to cover natural disasters; governmental coups, and the latest celebrity gossip, pretty much any reporter seems...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf
    Will Nissan Have a Smaller Electric Car For Sale After the Leaf?

    Rumors are flying that Nissan is preparing a subcompact electric vehicle to compete directly with cars like the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and it may even be made in China. The rumors are unconfirmed: word of mouth from inside a partner company of Nissan. But given the number of pre-launch reservations for...

  • 2011 Nissan Leaf prototype

    Nissan has upped the ante on its bid to become the world's leading electric-car maker, by announcing a third global factory for production of their 2011 Leaf electric car. The small northern U.K. city of Sunderland will become the third site across three continents to be tooled up to build the Leaf, alongside the lithium-ion cells for the battery pack that will power it for roughly 100 miles. And with the announcement, Nissan is certainly singing from the right music to make good the promise by CEO Carl Ghosn that the Japanese automaker would build half a million EVs yearly by 2013. Ghosn has...

  • Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 Concept
    Sanyo To Supply NiMH Batteries to Peugeot

    The Nikkei is reporting that Sanyo Electric Co. has signed an agreement with PSA Peugeot Citroen to supply nickel-metal hydride batteries for diesel-electric hybrids. Peugeot wants to be the first car maker to put diesel-electric powertrains into production vehicles. The French auto company will...

  • Sparky the Voltswagen
    Inhabitat Lists Top 5 Modified Greenmobiles

    Do you ever wish your car came in an electric version? Do you find yourself daydreaming about bio-diesel conversions? If so, the bloggers at Inhabitat have assembled a list of vehicles to inspire you. The so-called "Top 5 Pimped-Out Eco Rides" range from a Hummer H1 stretch-limo to a 1985 Chevy S10...

  • Controlled Power Technologies electric supercharger
    Electric Supercharger Gives Gas Engines Diesel Efficiency

    If you frequent this site, you've read all about electric vehicles and gas-electric hybrids. In those applications, electricity is stored in a battery, which powers an electric motor. That electric motor can either move the vehicle or assist the gas engine in hybrid configurations. One U.K. company...

  • 2010 Hyundai Elantra
    2010 Hyundai Elantra Blue: Higher MPG, Just $25 More

    The 2010 Hyundai Elantra is the latest iteration of a compact car known for frugality and low price. This year, Hyundai has boosted the mileage, raising the standard five-speed manual model to 26 mpg city / 35 mpg highway from last year's 24 mpg city / 33 mpg highway. The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder...

  • Algaeus, a 2008 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid conversion running on biofuel blended from algae
    Want To Go Even Greener? Power Your Prius on...Algae ?!?!?

    There's something about the Toyota Prius that makes people want to modify it. Maybe it's the Hybrid Synergy Drive system, maybe it's the electric running, maybe it's even the car's shape. We're not quite sure. Now, joining the growing parade of Prius plug-in conversions (whether professional or...

News First Drives Electric Cars Hybrids Guides Green Life