Archive for category Efficient engines

30 MPG 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Has Some Calling “Bulls**t”

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Efficient engines on January 18, 2013

I’ve been reading up on the news, a little, and it seems odd that while some makers garner rave reviews when they release a 47 mpg hybrid, such as the Ford C-Max, other makers get dumped on when they release a 30 mpg SUV, such as the just-revealed 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. 18 days into [...]

Achates Diesel Engine Could be Twice as Efficient

Posted by Benji Jerew in Efficient engines on January 14, 2013

A few months ago, we discussed a radical new engine design from Achates Power in San Diego, CA. Well, the design isn’t radical, but based on a German engine from the 1930s, and with significant design changes, according to CEO Dave Johnson, the new two-stroke diesel should be able to run a vehicle at 100 [...]

AB Engine 44% More Efficient Than Any Other ICE

Posted by Leigh Kim in Efficient engines on January 9, 2013

On November 14, 2012 AB Engine, Inc. was granted a Chinese patent titled “High Efficiency Internal Combustion Engine” which protects and details a method of converting thermal energy of burning fuels in internal combustion engines to mechanical power – leading to the highest efficiency possible. Unlike the somewhat similar Atkinson engine design, the AB Engine’s [...]

Startup Elio Motors to Buy GM Plant for Building 60 mpg Car

Posted by Leigh Kim in Car industry, Efficient engines on January 8, 2013

Elio Motors in Shreveport, Louisiana wants to by a former General Motors plant in order to manufacture and sell their low-cost, high MPH car. One green automaker, Bright Automotive, has already gone under in Shreveport while waiting for Federal funding. Bright Automotive had hoped to build a green, high MPG van, but could not hold [...]

“Most Environmentally Friendly” Car Award Goes to: Mercedes Benz B200 CNG and BlueTec

Posted by Mike Sandru in Efficient engines on January 3, 2013

German car magazine, Auto Test, has named the Mercedes Benz B200 CNG and the ML 250 BlueTec 4Matic as the most environmentally-friendly, giving them the award of “Winners in Green”. The criteria considered for the award include emissions and fuel consumption as well as the manufacturer’s recycling, manufacturing and environmental systems. The annual car ranking [...]

Ultrasound Looks Inside Engines to Improve Efficiency

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Efficient engines on December 11, 2012

We have long been using ultrasound to look deep into the ground for mineral deposits or even archaeological remnants, and even to lake a look inside the human body to see our vital components functioning. University of Sheffield’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rob Dwyer-Joyce, Professor of Lubrication Engineering, is the first to apply ultrasound technology [...]

HydroICE Solar-Powered Engine May Compete with Photovoltaic Panels

Posted by Leigh Kim in Efficient engines, Solar Power on November 24, 2012

Imagine an internal combustion engine that runs on solar-heated oil and water instead of gasoline. Sound crazy? Two Missouri-based inventors Ben Cooper and Matt Bellue have designed a non-traditional combustible engine that could provide clean energy once hooked up to a generator. The inventors have already built a prototype they call HydroICE, short for Hydro [...]

Fiat 500 Proves Efficient Internal Combustion Engine Not Dead

Posted by Benji Jerew in Efficient engines on November 18, 2012

Many manufacturers have been turning to electrification in order to reduce emissions, from the Toyota Prius and Nissan Leaf to high end cars like the BMW i-series and Fisker Karma. Other manufacturers have followed their lead, leading to the introduction of the Ford C-MAX and Chevy Volt, among other hybrid converted models. Fiat, on the [...]

“Transonic” Engine – New Injection System, No Ignition System

Posted by Benji Jerew in Efficient engines on November 9, 2012

Transonic Combustion, a start-up company is developing a more efficient ICE technology that could lead to further increases in efficiency. The gasoline-powered internal combustion engine [ICE] has seen more improvement in the last five years than in the last twenty, Quieter timing chain technology, direct fuel injection, and variable intake and exhaust valve timing, among others, [...]

Rotating Detonation Engines Could Replace Turbines in US Navy

Posted by Benji Jerew in Efficient engines on November 5, 2012

The gas-turbine engine, or jet engine, isn’t only found on jets, but in other applications as well. The US Navy doesn’t only use turbines for their fighter jets, but also as generators on their ships. As the Navy moves to all-electric propulsion, they still need some kind of electrical generator. Turbines are well-suited for development [...]

LiquidPiston’s Prototype Proves ICE Technology Can Save Gas

Posted by Benji Jerew in Efficient engines on October 18, 2012

The typical internal-combustion engine [ICE] is no more than 30% thermodynamically efficient, that is, only about 30% of the energy in the fuel actually does any work propelling the vehicle. The rest is lost to heat and friction, which seems to make ICEs a poor choice when it comes to energy-efficient transportation. Electrified vehicles might [...]

BMW Offers a Three-Cylinder in its Latest Hybrid Active Tourer Concept

Posted by Benji Jerew in Efficient engines, Hybrid vehicles on October 2, 2012

The BMW Active Tourer Concept vehicle is a hybrid vehicle, with a twist. Instead of the hybrid drive-train being mated with an inline four-cylinder engine, it will be mated with an inline three-cylinder turbocharged engine. The new concept “is powered by an electric motor and a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 190 hp. Hybrids [...]

General Motors’ 100 mpg Car – The Platinum Anniversary That Could Have Been

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Efficient engines on October 2, 2012

In 1992, I built my first PC, the same year Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Works hit the market. Bill Clinton became President of the US, and Space Shuttle Endeavour made its successful maiden voyage into space. Ahead of its time, AT&T also released the first video phone, and not many people know this, but General [...]

New Ultra-Efficient Engine Promises 100 MPG

Posted by Benji Jerew in Car industry, Efficient engines on September 28, 2012

Today’s internal combustion engines [ICE] are almost nothing like the engines found in cars of years gone by, with the exception of the basic mechanical aspects. Otherwise, a multitude of new technologies takes the place of mechanical controls and has increased the performance and efficiency of a modern I-4 ICE beyond the capabilities of older [...]

Honda to Revive 40 Year-Old CVCC Engine as a Hybrid Version

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Efficient engines on September 21, 2012

Once the main innovator in the field of motoring, Honda is now hoping to catch up with fuel efficiency measures from all over the world. Takanubo Ito, CEO, now proposes a new (but conceptually old) CVCC engine as their next move. They want it revamped as a hybrid, but want it to work as a [...]