Car Tech

Many people imagine that fuel efficiency stops and starts with engine technology and driving technique, but there's a little more to it than that. Making a fuel-efficient vehicle involves a holistic approach that examines every aspect of a car's design and tries to reduce its impact on fuel...

History makes fools of us all sometimes, none more so than when we dismiss certain ideas out of hand, only for them to come back years later and eat our words. That's why we're always intrigued by companies claiming to reinvent the engine. One of them might well do so, given the right resources...

Volvo doesn't sell any diesel vehicles in the U.S, but if and when it decides to change that it'll certainly have some of the more advanced units on sale. The company's new diesel engine family, launched this fall in Europe, features what Volvo calls 'i-ART' technology to help cut fuel consumption...

Life can be confusing for those motivated into greener cars with the aim of saving money. With all the options available to today's buyers--more efficient gasoline, diesel, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric cars, biofuels and more--it's hard to know what is really best. Throw in the multitude of...

The 2013 Formula One racing season is already underway--and already causing controversy--but from an engineering standpoint much of the focus is already on 2014. That's because from the start of next season, new engine regulations are set to significantly improve the cars' fuel efficiency, and...

Most people give them little thought, but tires are one of the most important components on a car. They are, of course, your only point of contact with the road. So ultimately, tires are responsible for everything from performance, through cornering, to efficiency and noise. Tires of the future...

It's both exciting and frustrating living in the current automotive age. Exciting, because we're truly seeing an eclectic mix of powertrain technologies being developed, the fruits of which we're increasingly able to drive. And frustrating, because there's still no surefire way of knowing what...

As the Geneva Motor Show finally closes its doors to the public, many will go home lusting after the LaFerrari or McLaren's P1 hypercars. For others though, the show's indisputed star was the production Volkswagen XL1--as thoroughly engineered to be economical as the others are to be fast. While VW...

Range-extended electric cars are a great idea, mixing clean electric running for the majority of drivers' commutes, with an extra few hundred miles of gasoline running for those longer trips. As we alluded to last week though, the engine isn't always perfectly optimized for its task, often a...

All that sitting in front of the TV watching bad sitcoms could pay off, if a new electric motor proves successful in field trials. A startup in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a new motor for use in an electric-powered Holden Commodore. There's nothing wildly special about that, but the new...

We often cover the progress of battery technologies here on Green Car Reports, and while always of interest, few new discoveries are really that surprising. The potential of a biomineral found in the teeth of a marine snail isn't one of those unsurprising discoveries. Studies at the University of...

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...

One of the prices we pay for discovering new, daily life-enhancing technologies, is occasionally inventing something that turns out to be less than ideal from an environmental perspective. That was true of air conditioning, the refrigerants contained chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. Often known under...

A turbocharged four-cylinder version of the next generation of the Ford Mustang, due for the 2015 model year, has been widely reported around the web--but it had been assumed it would be for non-U.S. consumption. That has changed. In fact, it appears that the U.S. may very well get the engine, if a...

A popular myth among detractors of hybrid and electric vehicles is that the energy and materials that go into making batteries far outweighs any good they do under ownership. Batteries aren't as damaging as many suspect though, since so many of a battery's components can be recycled. Honda is doing...

New battery technology is five years away, and always will be. Well, that's the impression you might get whenever new technology is announced. Some of it is very, very clever indeed, but much of it is only theoretical, and the rest has rarely been tested on suitably large scales. Silicon...

It isn't just fossil fuels that are a finite resource--rubber is another substance in high demand, and short supply. The latest estimates suggest that global demand for rubber is expected to outstrip supply by 20 percent, by 2020. That will inevitably lead to raised prices--bad news, considering...

The quest toward better gas mileage and incremental gains isn't relegated just to engine and transmission improvements, or to aerodynamics or weight reduction. Even when we're not talking hybrids, the move to smart electric components can bring some significant gains. Beyond electric power...

Traditionally, car windows have been made from laminated glass. It's strong, shatter-resistant, and... err... transparent. Obviously. But it's also rather heavy, and as increasingly weight-conscious car manufacturers are looking for ways to shed weight, glass could now be on the diet list. Its...

Solar power and electric cars go hand-in-hand, and many owners equip their homes with solar panels to ensure the electricity they're charging with is as green as possible. That isn't always the case when charging away from home, but it would be if your local parking spot had a 'V-Tent' system. The...