Archive for March 4th, 2010

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:

Supercritical fuel injection facilitates short ignition delay and fast combustion, precisely controls the combustion that minimizes crevice burn and partial combustion near the cylinder walls, and prevents droplet diffusion burn.

So, there you have it.

[Source: Society of Automotive Engineers via The Kneeslider]

Transonic gets Supercritical with fuel injection, claims 50-75% improvement originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Via Autoblog Green

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.

Trend of the show, Part II: matte paint finishes, all over the place. I especially like the Bentley Continental Super Sports in matte gray and the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid concept (see Part I) in matte copper.

Best in show, worst of names: Pininfarina’s concept for a new-age Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, wearing the convoluted badge, 2uettottanta. Build it with a retro Duetto Spider badge instead, and we will make sure the Chrysler-Alfa dealerships are filled with American customers.

Nearly best in show: Peugeot SR1 concept has a carbon fiber body made of a “preformed profile” structure derived from sailboat construction. Looks like the offspring of an Aston Martin Vantage convertible and a Honda S2000. Its white paint thins on the hood to subtly show off the carbon fiber. It features Bell + Ross gauges and a folding hardtop. The 1.6-liter gas four makes 218 horsepower and the electric motor in the rear puts out 95 horsepower (both numbers European measurement). The car has all-wheel-drive and Peugeot claims 4.9 liters per 100 kilometers, or 48 mpg, for the new 3008 hybrid the company will build with this powertrain next year. And that mileage doesn’t even account for the high-tech Pug bike on display with the SR1.

A small Chevy too far: Spark. The Korean-built sub-Aveo smells of the interior plastics or adhesives that Hyundai and Kia gave up on years ago. The door-shut quality is poor, and it will have to cost substantially less than the Aveo (which should be about $14,000-$15,000) for any Americans to buy it.

Perhaps Chevy could mitigate the Spark with this interior: the dr CW20 is a tiny station wagon from the Italian company that builds tiny cars out of Chinese Chery knock-down-kits. The CW20, powered by a 1.3- or 1.5-liter horizontally opposed four features a faux alligator interior trim, on the dash, door panels and seat inserts, in blood red. Nice.

Color-drained Cadillacs: General Motors needs to get out of the habit of monochromatic Cadillac displays. All the Caddys on its stand were painted Mercedes silver. Try some colors, Cadillac. Or, what the heck, go for matte finishes.

Maybe this premium hatchback thing will work for us, after all: The Audi A1 looks like another upscale hatch that could sell substantially in the U.S., along with the Mini Cooper and (potentially) the Fiat 500. It’s a distinctive small car with a typically high-quality Audi interior, and reeks of environmental responsibility and respect for crowded cities without giving up the brand’s dynamics. The c-pillar and hatchback lid, viewed from the side, looks a bit like the Fiat 500, but otherwise, it’s way more distinctive than the A3, which has suffered in the U.S. for being priced too closely to the A4 sedan.

You could spend tens of thousands here without buying a car: The various “collections,” from Audi to Mercedes to Bentley to Ferrari to Subaru are irresistible, save for my budget. I could spend new car money on the 1:43 models alone. Great Bentley cufflinks, too.

Better and more appropriate than expected: Despite being the biggest Mini on record, the Countryman is still shorter than the Volkswagen Golf. As the first Mini with roll-down rear windows, it would make a good dog-carrier. The interior is typical BMW quality and Mini high style, though with some sticker creep, no doubt. I suspect this model will easily make the $30,000 to $40,000 range.

Trend of the show, Part III: Tall b-, b/c- and c-segment hatchbacks often parading as sport-utility crossovers. This may be the most perfectly sized new vehicle segment for both the North American and European markets, but some work better than others. The BMW X1 seems a contrivance, with enough room for four passengers — just like the X3 — with very limited cargo space. Nissan’s oddly named Juke tries to pack as much styling into too small a package, resulting in a very busy exterior. We don’t need headlamps and taillamps like that. The Opel Meriva seems the most honest of this configuration. It’s not trying to be a crossover, and it has more flexible seating than a Honda Fit.

Peter Schreyer continues to transform Kia: With its new Sportage, Kia has gone from good-enough design to cutting edge design in one swell foop. The crossover’s rakish c-pillars inject some sport into this sport-utility.

Nice headlamp treatment: Citroen Survolt.

Nice stitching: The leather interior treatment in the new Volvo S60. Especially the stitching for the sumptuously covered steering wheel. It’s a good design with a nicely upgraded interior, but it’s not as revolutionary as the concepts had promised. Just good, solid, modern Swedish design.

Nice paint job: The medium gray metallic Honda CR-Z on display looks better in this color than in red or white. Still, it looks too much like a fat CRX.

Too many clues: Despite what Dieter Zetsche said about Mercedes-Benz’s F800 Style concept Tuesday, I’ve also heard that it previews the next C-Class. That could mean that Mercedes, which is proliferating into new segments at a crazy rate, sees room for a C-based “four-door sport coupe,” one smaller than the CLS. Mercedes still plans a line of smaller-than-C-Class cars, probably most or all of them with front-wheel-drive.

Blade Runner redux?: Honda 3R-C concept. Looks like there would be too little room for the single drivers to use mobile phones on the road. That’s a good thing, by the way.

Behind the curve: The new Nissan Micra, which will go on sale in North America early next year. Unless this modular world car gets much different styling and upgraded materials for the U.S., the Ford Fiesta should eat its lunch. The interior is dark and cheep, not cheerful, and the hood closes like it’s made of soda can tin. Then again, the Micra could force down the average transaction price in the U.S. of the new Fiesta.

Another premium hatchback that might sell to Americans: The Lexus CT200h, quality concerns aside. It looks so much better than its sedan sibling, the HS 250h that this should be a relatively popular model for Prius customers who would rather experience a Lexus dealership.

Ciao, bella: Alfa Romeo’s new Giulietta hatchback. Quality image in the U.S. aside, what’s better than a premium front-drive hatchback done with that peerless Italian flair? With space for two collies in the back and a bike rack on top, and a better name, could be the practical alternative to Pininfarina’s Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta concept.

Via MotorTrend Magazine Blogs

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Toyota

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.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Chevrolet, Racing

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.

[Source: Chevrolet]

Continue reading Video: Corvette Racing behind-the-scenes trailer

Video: Corvette Racing behind-the-scenes trailer originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Via Autoblog

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.

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Via Autoblog