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Study Assesses Product Attribute Trade-offs and Technological Progress; Meeting Proposed Obama Fuel Economy Standards Will Require Downsizing and Change in Fleet Mix

Green Car Congress

Based on detailed model-level data for US light-duty vehicles from 1980 to 2006, a recent analysis by a UC Davis researcher found that if weight, horsepower and torque had been held at their 1980 levels, fuel economy for both passenger cars and light trucks could have increased by nearly 50% from 1980 to 2006. Knittel, 2009.

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Team from GM, Ford, FCA reviews how to calculate engine efficiency benefits of high octane fuels

Green Car Congress

A team of engineers from GM Powertrain, Ford and FCA have published a detailed review of how to estimate the engine efficiency benefits of higher octane fuel—e.g., Davis, Asim Iqbal, Ronald A. fuel with higher ethanol content—for part- and full-load operation for different engine types and fuel assumptions. Leone, James E.

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Developing Fords EcoBoost Combustion System

Green Car Congress

Source: Ford. Ford’s turbocharged, gasoline direct injection EcoBoost engines are targeted to play a significant near-term role in Ford’s efforts to reduce fuel consumption by enabling downsizing. Source: Ford. Unfortunately, the Ford engineers noted, the two requirements are generally competing.

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How Carmakers Are Responding to the Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

Ford Escape PHEV-40 around 2012. Several after-market companies have done PHEV conversions of the Ford Escape hybrid and one has done a retrofit of the F-150 pickup -- see Where PHEVs Are and ICE-Conversions.) Mazda Ford Partner was reported to be developing Series PHEV based on Mazda 5 MPV platform. Establishing dealer network.

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