Car Tech
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Mazda's new rotary engine will not debut as part of an electrified powertrain, the company's R&D chief says.
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2016 Toyota Prius: A Few Details On Engine, Hybrid System Released
While it has unveiled the all-new 2016 Prius hybrid twice--once at a glitzy event in Las Vegas, once at the Frankfurt Motor Show--Toyota has been very stingy with technical information about the powertrain that will let the car earn promised EPA combined ratings of 55 mpg or better. At an event in...
John Voelcker -
European Makers: NOx Limits Must Rise For Real-World Emissions Tests
Carmakers in Europe, Asia, and North America have met exhaust emission limits for decades, as measured by strict standardized vehicle tests on dynamometers, or "rolling roads." With the Volkswagen diesel scandal now entering its third week, U.S. and European regulators plan to test more cars under...
John Voelcker -
Less Energy-Intensive Heating For Electric Cars Demonstrated At Frankfurt Auto Show
Researchers claim a heating system comprised of a thin film applied to interior panels could help improve the efficiency of electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Peugeot Fractal Electric-Car Concept: 3D Printing, Audio Tech Of Future
Peugeot's Frankfurt Motor Show concept highlights audio technology and 3D printing.
Stephen Edelstein -
Cooper Tire: We Will Make Complete Tire From Desert Shrub In 2017
Cooper Tire says it can already make rubber components from a desert shrub called guayule.
Stephen Edelstein -
The BMW M4 GTS will mark the carmaker's first production application of water injection.
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Hyundai, Kia Do It All: Electrics, Hybrids, Prius Fighters, Hydrogen, Even Diesel
When it comes to advanced automotive technology, most global carmakers are placing their bets with care. Toyota is all-in for hydrogen fuel cells, while Nissan is betting on battery-electric vehicles for its future. GM too is on the plug-in side of the ledger, while other makers hang back more...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Releases Video Of Snake-Like Charger Plugging Into Electric Car Automatically
Tesla built a prototype charging station that automatically plugs into an electric car.
Stephen Edelstein -
Car Buyers Unprepared For Coming Wave Of Plug-In Hybrids, Electric Cars
Consumers will need to be better educated regarding the benefits of greener cars, analysts say.
Stephen Edelstein -
2015 Ford F-150 'Air Curtain' Cuts Aerodynamic Drag
The Ford F-150 uses ducting in its wheel wells to deal with aerodynamic drag from spinning wheels.
Stephen Edelstein -
Wheels Combine Carbon, Aluminum For Strength, Lighter Weight
Two German companies plan to market carbon-aluminum hybrid wheels.
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW demonstrates water injection as an efficiency-boosting measure on a 1-Series prototype.
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Is Next Battery Advance Not In Chemistry But Fabrication?
A Boston-area startup claims it can drastically reduce the cost of battery manufacturing.
Stephen Edelstein -
Ford Opens Electrified-Vehicle Patents, Adds 200 Engineers To Work On Hybrids, Electrics
Ford Motor Company announced this morning that it would open its portfolio of patents related to electrified vehicles--meaning both hybrids and electric cars--to competitive automakers. The Dearborn, Michigan, company says its goal is to "accelerate industry-wide research and development of...
John Voelcker -
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...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Website, Twitter Account, Musk Twitter Briefly Hacked
Electric-car maker Tesla sits in the heart of Silicon Valley, a place where software security is--or should be--a constant focus of attention. Still, corporate websites present a juicy and visible target for hackers worldwide. For a brief period Saturday afternoon, hackers appear to have taken over...
John Voelcker -
Hybrid Supercapacitor Gives Energy Density Of Lead-Acid Batteries (Video)
Researchers develop a hybrid supercapacitor that can charge quickly, but has the energy density of conventional batteries.
Stephen Edelstein -
The BMW i3 electric car and i8 plug-in hybrid sport coupe are audacious examples of advanced technology in many ways. Not the least of it are body shells made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) mounted atop an aluminum rolling platform carrying the powertrains and crash structures. BMW has said that in due course, the plug-in cars' advanced technology would migrate into its higher-volume mainstream production models. DON'T MISS: Research Backed By BMW Halfway To Carbon-Fiber Cost 90% Lower (Oct 2014) Now we know what one of those models will be: the next generation of the BMW 7-Series...
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Ford Patent For 11-Speed Automatic: Transmission Wars Escalate
Time was that the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to...
John Voelcker -
Aluminum-Ion Battery Cell Is Durable, Fast-Charging, Bendable: Stanford Inventors (Video)
Researchers at Stanford University demonstrated a new type of aluminum-ion battery cell last week that is flexible enough to be bent without damaging it. The chemistry team claims its design charges faster, and is both safer and more durable, than today's lithium-ion cells. It could recharge a...
John Voelcker -
VW Bus Hybrid That Never Was: The Microbus Prototype Of 1977
A Volkswagen hybrid prototype resurfaces after more than 30 years in obscurity.
Stephen Edelstein -
VW To Decide On QuantumScape Solid-State Battery Technology By Summer
Volkswagen will decide whether to get more involved with battery startup QuantumScape.
Stephen Edelstein -
Dyson Invests In Solid-State Battery Startup Sakti3 To Bring Cells To Market
Advanced battery technology startup Sakti3 has received a further round of investment capital to help bring its solid-state cells to market. A new investor, British vacuum-cleaner maker Dyson, invested a total of $15 million and signed a joint-development deal with the company. Existing funders...
John Voelcker