CVT
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Most car buyers don't think a lot about transmissions. In the U.S., more than 9 out of 10 of them opt for an automatic, and that's that. But transmission technology turns out to be one of the major ways automakers are boosting gas mileage to meet tougher fuel-economy rules. And it appears GM is about to make a major transition on that front. DON'T MISS: Auto Industry Doing Fine In Meeting Gas-Mileage Goals, It Turns Out (Aug 2014) According to industry trade journal Ward's Auto, General Motors is tooling up to use a new continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) in many of its high-volume car...
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Why CVTs Won, Direct-Shift Gearboxes Lost Fuel-Economy Fight
If you're reading this in North America, the vehicle sitting on your driveway probably has an automatic transmission. So do around 95 percent of other new vehicles on the U.S. market right now, though the Canadian figure is slightly lower. The numbers don't lie: Drivers just aren't buying cars with...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Chevrolet Spark With CVT: Gas Mileage Review
We're fond of the Chevrolet Spark minicar; it's by far the best-executed of the several smaller-than-subcompact cars sold today. But our fondness had been limited to the five-speed manual version; the four-speed automatic offered in 2013 was, in a word, awful. Now we've driven a 2014 Chevrolet...
John Voelcker -
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...
John Voelcker -
2014 Chevrolet Spark To Get CVT, Replacing 4-Speed Automatic
The Chevrolet Spark, the smallest Chevy sold in the U.S., will get some mechanical changes next year, according to Christi Landy, the brand's small-car marketing director. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark, which will go on sale late this year, will offer a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) in place...
John Voelcker -
Next-Gen 2015 Honda Fit Getting More Efficient DI Engine, CVT
If you shop strictly by the EPA numbers today, the 2013 Honda Fit probably won't be among the top subcompacts you cross-shop. The current Fit's federal ratings, of 28 mpg city, 35 highway with the five-speed automatic, or just 27/33 mpg with the five-speed manual, aren't exactly at the top of the...
Bengt Halvorson -
If you've driven a Toyota, Lexus or Honda hybrid, or any recent Nissan automatic, you'll be familiar with continuously-variable transmissions (CVT). You'll be familiar with the smoothness, the quiet running at low speeds, and the way the revs soar when you ask for a bit more power. But with CVT becoming more popular, is public perception of noisy, slow CVT cars slowly changing? For customers used to regular torque-converter automatics with distinct steps in power and torque delivery, CVTs can feel unnatural and even annoying. Planting your foot to the carpet sends the engine revs upwards for...
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Honda Launches Larger CVT In Japan For Better Gas Mileage
At the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda unveiled the Earth Dreams Technology range, a set of new engines, transmissions and hybrid drivetrains which it claimed would help it lead the automotive industry in fuel efficiency for every segment within three years. Now the Japanese automaker has expanded...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Honda Announces ‘Earth Dreams’ Range Of Eco-Friendly Engines, Transmissions
Ask any advertising executive how you make a product sound more environmentally friendly, and they’ll suggest you give it a name that evokes the natural world. Enter Honda, and its Earth Dreams Technology range. Announced today at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda claims the Earth Dreams...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Nissan Boosts Fuel Economy By Redesigning CVT In 2013 Altima
One of the best ways to improve fuel economy is to keep a car's engine operating at its most efficient speed, regardless of how fast the vehicle is traveling. That's the principle behind continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs, which use belts and variable pulleys to match road speed to an...
John Voelcker -
Next Nissan Altima Previewed By New High-Mileage Hybrid-CVT System
Although Nissan has taken its Altima Hybrid off the market for 2012, the model is likely to live on. The latest evidence: Nissan today unveiled in Japan a new generation of its Xtronic continuously-variable transmission (CVT) and a new hybrid system designed for front-wheel drive vehicles. So far...
John Voelcker -
Subaru Motion-V Plan Calls For 30 Percent Gas Mileage Boost By 2015
Subaru has taken heed of customer complaints that its lineup wasn’t as efficient as those of its competitors, making its latest generation 2012 Impreza return an impressive 27/36 mpg city/highway gas mileage. Not only is the car still offered with the extra safety of all-wheel drive as...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The 2011 Mazda2 is already one of the most fun small cars on the market, sharing its platform with Ford's Fiesta. It's pretty economical too, but with Mazda's next generation of gasoline engine, it'll become very efficient indeed. The 1.3-liter Skyactiv-G unit soon to be found in the Mazda2 gets 30 kilometers per liter on Japan's 10-15 mode test cycle. That's just over 70 miles per gallon, with no diesel nor hybrid system in sight. EPA figures are usually 10-20 percent below that of Japanese tests, but even considering that, a worst-case 56 mpg doesn't seem too bad to us. Behind the...
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Hyundai To Offer More CVTs And New Dual Clutch Transmissions In 2011
Hyundai’s vehicle fleet is about to get a whole lot more fuel efficient as there are plans to introduce a new range of advanced dual clutch transmissions and more continuously variable transmissions (CVT) as early as next year. The move is just one part of the Hyundai’s overall goal of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Subaru Unveils More Efficient Four-Cylinder Boxer Engine
Subaru is sticking to its almost trademark horizontally opposed or ‘boxer’ engine for its future lineup of cars, improving on the design, making it more refined and fuel efficient with each generation. The third and latest generation of the engine--the first major redesign in 21...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Nissan To Release New Fuel-Saving Technologies Over Coming Year
Nissan has showed us the future of the automobile with its advanced Leaf all-electric vehicle but that doesn’t mean it’s game over for the internal combustion engine. Gasoline and diesel powered cars can live on, well into the future in fact, thanks to new fuel-saving technologies that Nissan...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran