Transonic gets Supercritical with fuel injection, claims 50-75% improvement
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, MPG
Generally speaking, we don’t like the idea of being Supercritical. Being critical is bad enough without super-ing it, right? Apparently, though, being Supercritical with fuel is a good thing, as a company called Transonic is reporting that it has managed to boost the efficiency of an internal combustion engine in its testing by 50 to 75 percent.
Naturally, we take all such amazing-sounding performance claims with an appropriately large grain of salt. According to this article from the Society of Automotive Engineers, though, the technology sounds legit. As much as we’d love to be geniuses that are capable of explaining exactly how Supercritical Fuel Injection works, we’re not. So… here’s what Michael Frick, Vice President for Engineering at Transonic, has to say:
A supercritical fluid is basically a fourth state of matter that’s part way between a gas and liquid… People might remember from chemistry class that there’s a triple point on the [temperature vs. pressure] phase diagram of water, for instance, at which water exists simultaneously as ice, water, and vapor, but few know that there’s another critical point at and around which a fluid will exhibit gas-like and liquid-like properties.
Well now, that helps, right? Well, here’s the important stuff:
Read more…
2010 Geneva: Notes From Neutral Ground
GENEVA – This show is so full of new product and of concepts optimistic of an electric and internal combustion future that you’d never know we’re still scratching our way out of the greatest recession since the Great Depression. Having a lot of good, new product can push demand, at least a bit, so we should be in for better times. On day two, I finally had a chance to see most of the show and get a closer look at the stuff I covered on day one. Some observations:
Buzz of the show: Will Ford Motor Company end negotiations with Geely and hold on to Volvo? The Swedish automaker lost $700 million for Ford in 2008, but lost only $30 million last year, and it’s expected to more or less break even this year. Argument for keeping it? Volvo could be a premium supplement to Ford of Europe, where its most extravagant car is the Mondeo, just like Lincoln supplements North American Ford with higher profit margin cars. Argument against? Mulally is dedicated to his One Ford plan.
Trend of the show, Part I: sporty, fun-to-drive green cars, as exemplified by Porsche’s 918 Spider hybrid concept. The trend began at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Garage door company latest to take advantage of Toyota in tasteless way
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Toyota
Dansk Port Teknik garage door ad – Click above to enlarge
Talk about kicking Toyota when it’s down. We’ve seen automakers like General Motors, Ford and Hyundai offering special incentives aimed at getting Toyota owners out of their cars and into different ones, but this latest bit of marketing from Danish garage door manufacturer Dansk Port Teknik takes things just a bit too far.
We understand that JWT, the agency behind this ad, is looking to get a laugh at Toyota’s expense, but when that joke involves something as serious as a safety recall, it’s not exactly the most appropriate way to earn DPT a few extra bucks. We can’t say for sure what sort of circulation this ad spot is getting in print publications, but regardless, we’re not laughing. Click the lead image to see a high-res shot of this ad.
[Source: Copyranter via The Car Connection]
Garage door company latest to take advantage of Toyota in tasteless way originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Video: Corvette Racing behind-the-scenes trailer
Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Chevrolet, Racing
2010 Corvette C6.R GT2 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Over the course of this coming season, Corvette Racing will be posting a 12-part video series on the Corvette Facebook page that tracks the development of the C6.R and its progress on the track. In the run-up to the first race of the year at Sebring in a couple of weeks, Chevrolet has released a trailer as a bit of an introduction.
2010 will be the first full season of competition for the new second-generation C6.R as the American Le Mans Series moves ahead with a single unified GT class. The biggest change this year is an all-new 5.5-liter V8 based on the production LS7 aluminum block. Check out the trailer after the jump.
Gallery: 2010 ALMS Corvette C6.R
Future Chrysler production plans reportedly leaked
Filed under: Coupe, Minivan/Van, Sedan, SUV, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Hatchback, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep
Chrysler, now led by Sergio Marchionne and the rest of the management crew brought in by Italian automaker Fiat, has big plans in place that will replace just about every single vehicle the American automaker currently offers. Judging from the purported list of new vehicle launches secured by the Mopar fanatics at Allpar, it would seem that new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles will be hitting the market all through 2010 and well into 2011.
Looking over the list of 2010 production start dates, the first date to get excited about (barring the March 29th Viper production launch, of course – we’re talking about for the mainstream market), is May 10th, which is when the thoroughly recreated Jeep Grand Cherokee will begin rolling down the assembly line. In mid-August, the 2011 Wrangler will make its initial appearance, and we’re really hoping for a new powertrain combination for the venerable off-roader.
Towards the end of 2010, we should begin seeing the heavily revised Pentastar minivans along with the new Avenger and Sebring replacements, though the Chrysler midsizer seems likely to get a new moniker to erase memories of the current car. Finally, the three LX-based cars – those being the Challenger, Charger and 300 – will go into production in November, followed closely by the North American 2012 Fiat 500. Keep it together, Chrysler.
[Source: Allpar]
Future Chrysler production plans reportedly leaked originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tata Nano Electric Vehicle launched at Geneva Motor Show
Tata Motors launched the Electic variant of its popular small car at the Geneva Motor Show. The Electric Nano whcih is christened Nano EV is primarily aimed at European Market. The electric motor and battery pack has been neatly incorporated in the car withought affecting is functionality.Along with the Nano EV was none other than the latest entry in the Tata family, The Aria – which is supposed to be the best Tata ever yet. Aria will go on sale in UK in early 2011. Aira has been designed according to the European standards and Tata is expecting to get a 4 star ratings in the EuroNACP
Geneva 2010: IED Tesla EYE Concept
Filed under: Geneva Motor Show, Tesla, Electric
IED Tesla EYE concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
The gaping openings on the front of the EYE design study vehicle from the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) that’s on display at the Geneva Motor Show this week would cause troublesome impacts on airflow if they were on a real electric car, we think. In the fantasyland of the auto show floor, though, they give the concept vehicle a menacing, moose-like nose (wait, does that make sense?). At least we can hope that the 11 transportation design master course students from IED who worked with Tesla Motors’ chief designer Franz von Holzhausen on the project enjoyed the process.
Considering there’s almost no chance we’ll ever see the EYE concept cruising the streets, we’ll just have to enjoy the car for what it is: a good-looking show car with a Tesla badge. Sure, we can imagine putting an electric powertrain in there and showing up at the soccer game in one of these, but for now we’ll just have to click through the gallery below and ask ourselves if the IED students managed to create a new status symbol with the EYE, something they said they were shooting for.
Gallery: Geneva 2010: IED Tesla EYE concept
