start-stop system
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Honda says start-stop will make the 2015 fit too slow off the line.
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Nickel-Zinc Replaces 12-Volt Lead-Acid Battery In Peugeot Start-Stop System
Some of the most exciting hybrid technology isn't coming from Japan or the U.S. these days, but France. The PSA group, comprising Peugeot and Citroen, has already attracted plenty of attention for its hybrid-air technology. Now, it's looking for ways of improving the batteries in "micro hybrid"...
Antony Ingram -
How Often Can Stop-Start Systems Restart An Engine? More Than 1 Million Times
Visit any European city, and you'll be struck by an unfamiliar sound: That of engines, previously silent, re-starting on every green light. A large number of cars in Europe now feature stop-start technology as standard, and while EPA mileage figures aren't favorable to its effects, they're starting...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Chevrolet Malibu Gets Start-Stop As Standard, Revised Interior, Updated Styling
Chevrolet has released details of its latest 2014 Malibu, set to go on sale this fall. Among the changes, the biggest news is that all Malibu models will get stop-start technology on the standard model--shutting down the engine when stopped to conserve fuel. Fitted to a new 2.5-liter gasoline...
Antony Ingram -
Jaguar Joins BMW, Other Luxury Makes, In Adding Start-Stop For Fuel Savings (Video)
It's taken a while for carmakers to begin fitting stop/start systems to U.S. vehicles, such systems' benefits not really advertised to consumers in a car's EPA numbers. In the real world though, many manufacturers say the systems can save you significant amounts of fuel--particularly if you...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Kia Forte: Los Angeles Auto Show Live Photos
Today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Kia took the wraps off its new compact car, the 2014 Kia Forte. As our live images from the show floor demonstrate, the 2014 Forte is a sleeker, more aerodynamic four-door sedan than the car it replaces--now much closer in shape to its Hyundai Elantra sibling...
John Voelcker -
Good technology, they say, is technology that improves your life without intruding upon it. If that's the case, then the ability of hybrid cars to shut off their engines at speed to save gas can be judged a success. And it's a technology that could even be seen in regular cars soon, says Wards Auto. German technology supplier Hella is developing a stop-start system for regular gasoline and diesel vehicles which can shut off the engine below 60 mph, if it determines vehicle torque is not needed. Stop-start systems are uncommon in regular vehicles in the U.S. While the systems can work quite...
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Mazda Improves Fuel-Saving Start-Stop System With Capacitors
Mazda has supplemented i-Stop with a capacitor-based regenerative-braking system, called i-ELOOP, that should provide some of the benefits of a mild-hybrid system without added bulk.
Bengt Halvorson -
In 2015, One In Four U.S. Car Engines Will Stop When You Do -- On Purpose
According to a recent study by Pike Research, the fuel-saving technology which will be most prevalent in green cars by 2015 isn’t the current offering of hybrid drivetrains, fully electric cars or even hyper-efficient, four-cylinder engines, but stop-start technology. But will it really catch...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
How Does Your New Car Get Better MPG Than Your Old One?
Almost every day we hear of a shiny new car that gets a certain number of miles to the gallon, a number often greater than its predecessor. It sometimes seems like witchcraft - until significant steps towards high-tech materials are taken, rarely do cars lose weight from one model to the next (with...
Antony Ingram -
Outdated Tests Skew CAFE Gas Mileage Ratings: 48-MPH Freeways?
It's widely accepted in the auto industry that all manufacturers game the test cycles used to establish emissions and gas-mileage ratings. Ask auto engineers about the topic, and they tend to get a faraway look and go silent. But the test cycles established in 1978 and used ever since are far from...
John Voelcker -
Fuel-Saving Mazda i-Stop Stalled In U.S. Because Of EPA Tests
Over several years, Mazda's i-Stop engine start-stop feature has helped owners in other markets to save on their fuel budget—and it's helped commuters in some of the most traffic-clogged areas be a little greener.
Bengt Halvorson -
We've heard this script before. Some agency of the Federal Government proposes a new rule that will affect the design and performance of cars in some way, sometime in the future. Instinctively, reflexively, automatically, viscerally, the industry lashes out. Horror, catastrophe, misery, bankruptcy! It will cost BILLIONS of dollars! Consumers will pay THOUSANDS more per car! Sales will plummet! Jobs will vanish! It will DESTROY the industry !!! It happened with the earliest safety requirements, with every round of emissions and gas-mileage regulations, with new roof-crush standards, and so on...
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2012 Buick Regal With eAssist: 26 MPG City, 37 MPG Highway Expected
The rumors started last week, and they were largely true: Buick plans to offer a model of its Regal compact sports sedan with the eAssist mild-hybrid system. What we didn't have were the projected EPA mileage ratings (based on GM's internal tests). The company expects the 2012 Buick Regal with...
John Voelcker -
Chicago Auto Show Preview: 2012 Buick Regal With eAssist Option
Buick plans to add its eAssist mild-hybrid system to the 2012 Regal sedan as an option, making the Regal its second model to offer the mileage-increasing system. According to trade publication Ward's Auto, Buick will introduce the option at the Chicago Auto Show next week. Last November, General...
John Voelcker -
Ford Will Be First Major Carmaker To Offer Start-Stop In U.S.
Start-stop systems, which shut off car engines when the vehicle comes to a stop, have been offered in Europe for several years. But until now, no automaker other than Porsche has offered them on U.S.-market cars. That's about to change. Ford said yesterday it will offer the systems on some of its...
John Voelcker -
Slow U.S. Adoption of Start-Stop Systems: The Real Reasons
Sometimes even well-informed industry analysts get it wrong. Or miss the forest for the trees. A recent posting by Pike Research, entlted "Europe Leads, U.S. Lags In Start-Stop Hybrids," correctly notes that adoption of start-stop systems is well advanced in Europe, but lags behind in the U.S. But...
John Voelcker -
Ferrari California HELE Adds Stop-Start, Gas-Saving Gizmos
No, it's not pronounced "hell" ... although that word was heard from many Modena fans when news first broke that Ferrari was planning a hybrid-electric drivetrain in some models. The first fruits of Ferrari's wide-ranging quest to improve the fuel efficiency of its models was unveiled at the Paris...
John Voelcker -
Autonomous engine stop-start systems, designed to save fuel by turning off a car’s engine when at a standstill, are increasing in popularity, especially in Europe, where fuel prices are often double what they are here. In many cases, the addition of an engine stop-start system can net fuel savings in the range of 5-10 percent. The limiting factor for their widespread use so far has been that they are mostly available with manual transmissions only (not including hybrid vehicles). This trend is starting to change, however. Early last year, German transmission specialist ZF showed off a new...
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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 -
Preview: Mazda to Show 2011 Mazda5 Minivan at Geneva Motor Show
We've always been fond of the 2010 Mazda Mazda5 small minivan, which gets rave reviews for its sporty character and good roadholding. Because it's smaller than more conventional full-size minivans like the Dodge Caravan, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Sienna, it has always sold in smaller numbers. But...
John Voelcker -
2011 Mazda2 Subcompact To Launch At Los Angeles Auto Show
We previewed the upcoming 2011 Mazda2 subcompact a couple of months ago, but now we have more details, along with photos of its updated styling. The five-door hatchback will be officially unveiled in early December, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2011 Mazda Mazda2 will go on sale in the U.S. and...
John Voelcker