January 22, on the second day of the Washington Auto Show, Green Car Journal will announce the winner of the 2014 Green Car Technology Award, which means that, for a month, we get to pore over the ten nominees.
Innovation and technology are some of the biggest draws at the auto shows, and the Washington Auto Show is no different. Over 700 vehicles from over 40 automakers and technology developers will be on display at the Washington Auto Show. The second Policy Day, January 22, of the show promises to be an exciting one, when the winner of the 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year will be announced. Instead of honoring a vehicle as Green Car of the Year, as with other awards, this year’s auto show in Washington, DC, will give the award to a single technology. After all, what’s a green car without its underlying technology? Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll cover the nominees for the 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year Award, starting with the Acura RLX Sport Hybrid’s SH-AWD Powertrain.
Built to replace the Acura RL, the Acura RLX is bigger, which ought to keep people happy. Bigger typically means less fuel-efficient, but the Acura RLX’s SH-AWD Powertrain actually adds more power without sacrificing fuel economy. The new powertrain design places to 36hp (horsepower) electric motors at the rear wheels, and a third 47hp electric motor inside the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Along with the 310hp V6 internal combustion engine, total system output could be as high as 429hp, which is pretty impressive for a green car. The Acura RLX SH-AWD is rated at 30mpg (miles per gallon), that is, 28mpg in the city and 32mpg on the highway.
Aside from the hybrid system, this particular Green Car Technology of the Year Award nominee also employs regenerative braking and an engine stop-start system. It’s also possible that the Acura RLX SH-AWD will employ cylinder cutoff while cruising to further reduce fuel consumption on the highway.
Image © Automotive Rhythms / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
