Comparison, Engine and Fuel Economy

Consumer Reports testing finds many small turbo engines underperforming; fuel economy, acceleration no better than in larger conventional powertrains

Green Car Congress

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

Consumer Reports’ own fuel economy tests of vehicles equipped with small turbocharged engines has found in many cases that the turbocharged cars tested by CR have slower acceleration and no better fuel economy than the models with larger conventional engines, the organization said. Earlier post.).

Consumer Reports testing finds many small turbo engines underperforming; fuel economy, acceleration no better than in larger conventional powertrains

Volkswagen Millerized 1.5 TSI ACT BlueMotion gasoline engine offers diesel-like fuel economy; derivatives may be applied in hybrid systems

NASA Glenn develops automated flywheel pulse-and-glide system; improving fuel economy up to 40-100%

Oak Ridge-GM prototype low-viscosity ionic liquid-additized engine oil delivers 2% fuel economy improvement over 5W-30

Pinnacle Engines introduces new opposed-piston engine with a promise of 30-50% better fuel economy

ORNL researchers quantify the effect of increasing highway speed on fuel economy

CPT, TU Wien study finds 48V mild diesel hybrid cuts engine-out NOx 9%, 4.5% fuel economy improvement

Nissan boosts fuel economy of 2013 Pathfinder SUV by 30%, drops weight by 500 lbs

NREL study finds 2nd-generation diesel hybrid delivery vans show significant gains in fuel economy over conventional vans

GM: new Sierra 5.3L V-8 EcoTec3 highway fuel economy tops Ford EcoBoost V-6

JAC and Ricardo develop production version of HyBoost concept; seeking 30% boost in fuel economy with same performance

Responsible Battery Coalition and U Michigan launch study to compare electric and gas vehicle lifetime costs

Iran-Khodro to improve fuel economy in 2011

Downspeeding and supercharging with transmission optimization can deliver fuel economy improvement over downspeeding and turbocharging

EPA trends report sees record levels of average new vehicle fuel economy and CO2 emissions for MY 2012; role of new gasoline vehicle technologies

Honda introducing 4-cylinder versions of Crosstour crossover; improved fuel economy over V6 models

Argonne study finds BEVs can have lowest scheduled maintenance costs, but highest cost of driving

Transonic Looking at Final Funding Round This Year, Production Deployment of Supercritical Fuel System in 2014; 50-75% Improvement in Engine Fuel Economy

Eaton developing suite of 48V technologies to help commercial vehicle manufacturers meet new global emission regulations

2014 Cascadia Evolution Class 8 rig delivers 10.67 mpg on closed-track demo; 7% better fuel economy than EPA 2010 Cascadia in cross-country tour

Tula presenting diesel Dynamic Skip Fire technology at Future Diesel Powertrain Summit in Shanghai

Porsche delivering double-digit improvements in fuel economy across entire current model series

Ricardo forms company to commercialize cryogenic split-cycle engine: CryoPower

FEV testing finds Transient Plasma ignition system increases fuel efficiency and decreases emissions

GFEI report finds improvements in average new LDV fuel economy lagging pace required to cut 50% fuel use for new cars worldwide by 2030; policy focus should be on emerging markets

Pinnacle Engine pre-production prototype opposed piston engine shows about 27% fuel consumption improvement across different scooter cycles compared to conventional engine

FEV’s two-stage VCR system; 5-7% increase in fuel economy using variable length conrods

EU-funded project develops diesel engine for light helicopters

Former CEO of GM China Group Phil Murtaugh joins Pinnacle Engines board; first engines launch in Asia this year

NREL Study Finds UPS First-Generation Hybrid Vans Deliver Almost 29% Greater Fuel Economy

Achates Power proposes EPA/NHTSA medium- and heavy-duty engine standard require 15% decrease in fuel consumption and emissions

Interim NREL Report on In-Use Azure Balance Gasoline Hybrids in FedEx Fleet Finds Substantially Lower Tailpipe Emissions, Similar Fuel Economy to Diesels

Light duty RCCI can deliver engine-out Tier 2 Bin 5 NOx; potential for 52% gross indicated efficiency

Westport Fuel Systems & AVL conclude high-efficiency H2 powertrain can outperform fuel cells in TCO for heavy-duty applications

New GM/Tula DSF cylinder deactivation technology could boost fuel efficiency in engines by up to 15%

Turbo, air-hybrid Scuderi split cycle engine achieves 64 mpg US in simulations; CO2 emissions of 85 g/km

FCA says Jeep Wrangler environmental impact reduced by 15% compared to predecessor

Co-Optima releases capstone report on first 4 years of work

ICCT working paper highlights benefits of current and emerging light-duty diesel technology; “promising pathway for compliance”

Mercedes brings lean-burn, stratified BlueDirect to CLA-Class for 7% boost in fuel economy; new all-wheel A-Class diesels

455 hp 2014 Corvette Stingray to deliver EPA-estimated 29 mpg highway

1.0L EcoBoost Fiesta receives EPA rating of 45 mpg highway

Mazda introduces facelifted Demio with 1.3L SKYACTIV engine in Japan; hybrid-like fuel consumption at a lower price

ICCT reviews real-world tractor-trailer fuel economy in US, China and Europe

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