There are plenty of cars from around the world that never go on sale here in the U.S. market, one of them is the shapely Euro only Ford Mondeo. While the Mondeo was previously a true world car, being sold around the globe, the full size family car hasn’t been sold in America for almost a decade. Aside from missing out on the attractive styling of the fourth generation Mondeo, we are also missing out on Ford U.K.’s latest economical offer. The Ford Mondeo Titanium ECOnetic is a next generation turbo diesel powered family sedan that offers outstanding fuel mileage at a very affordable price, not to mention a few stylish options.
The ECOnetic part of the Mondeo’s nameplate comes from the car’s 2.0 Liter TDCi power plant that produces a maximum output of 115 HP that with the help of an optimal gear indicator helps the turbo diesel Mondeo to get an estimated average of 54.3 MPG. These numbers alone would be impressive for any vehicle, but when you consider that the new Mondeo ECOnetic is available with a set of stylish lightweight 16 or 17 inch rims, a lowered suspension as well as an optimized aero package complete with air deflectors and a rear spoiler all aimed at reducing fuel mileage robbing parasitic loss from heavy spinning items and aerodynamic drag that acts like a parachute pulling the car back from its intended direction of travel. In addition to all the items that make the ECOnetic Mondeo so great, the price trumps tem all; starting at only £23,295 for the space saving five door model and £24,545 for the estate.
Press release after the jump.
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The Volkswagen Golf is getting a little greener with the recent release of the second generation BlueMotion Rabbit. Although the alternatively fueled car is going on sale in its home market of Germany, we should expect to see the TDI powered 62 MPG Golf stateside sometime in the near future, that is if Americans can shake their distaste for diesels. Aside from the less refined fuel burning power plant Volkswagen’s engineering team has built a few more economical features into the new Golf BlueMotion, starting off with a brake energy regeneration unit. A start/stop function that automatically turns off the engine at idle to save gas when stopped at a traffic light, a gear recommendation unit to keep you on the right cog for optimum efficiency and a set of lightweight aerodynamic wheel wrapped in low rolling resistance tires as well as a slight drop in ride height.
All of those items help the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion to make the most out of what it has under the hood. That would be a 1.6 Liter TDI power plant that delivers a very economical output of 105 HP connected to a very tall five speed gear box that could theoretically lap the Nurburgring’s Nordschleif almost five times on only one gallon of diesel. Although the other gas has caught a bad wrap over the years, modern day diesel fuel is much cleaner than it used to be and the result is nothing like the soot stained chimneys on top of 18 wheelers. Most new diesel automobiles make use of high tech particulate filters and with exhaust treatment systems in order to comply with the current regulation restrictions in Europe. With less moving parts and a whole heck of lot better fuel mileage, the 21,560 Euro Golf BlueMotion is a very practical solution to personal transportation.
Press release after the jump.
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Just yesterday the forward thinking German automaker Audi took us to lunch in order to tell us a little more about the benefits of their new TDI clean diesel technology. Sure diesel powered vehicles benefit from an already impressive range due to the efficiency of a diesel engine, but there were always the negative stigmas associated with the less refined fossil fuel like horrible cold starts, black bumpers and enough clacking to drive any owner insane; instead the four ringed automaker has figured out how to drastically reconfigure the diesel engine to work with ultra low sulfur diesel and make it much more user friendly in hopes that U.S. consumers will catch the alternative fuel bug.
The model that Audi of America brought down to sunny South Florida to show off the next generation of their TDI clean diesel campaign was a 2009 3.0 Liter TDI Q7, although for 2010 the larger Audi SUV will go under the knife and emerge from the operating room with a fresh facelift, we can still see the benefits of a luxury diesel vehicle. Next year’s model will feature a redesigned grill, new headlamps, new taillights (both beaming with little LEDs), as well as a new set of oversized side mirrors and a new array of wheels measuring up to 21 inches in diameter. Inside the sportiest of Q7’s the dash is adorned with decorative wood inlays and countless chrome accents while the obligatory heated and cooled seats remain and there is even a hand stitched Alcantara headliner available. One piece of technology that Audi is quite proud of is the high end computer chip that drives their new 3G navigation system, the piece was lifted from very advanced gaming systems and allows the LCD display to offer the passengers: a true road view complete with every curve of every off ramp, a topographical style map and the most impressive being the 3D landmark based display; so if you are driving down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., the White House will show up on your navigation system.
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The Polo BlueMotion was first unveiled this past March as a concept in Geneva, Volkswagen has plans of bringing the production version of the very efficient alternatively fueled compact city car to the Frankfurt Motor Show with sales slated to begin early in 2010.
The Polo BlueMotion is powered by a newly developed common rail 1.2 Liter TDI engine that produces a maximum output of 75 HP that gets nearly 75 MPG. According to the manufacturer, a person driving a Polo BlueMotion from Berlin to the IAA in Frankfurt, for example, can cover the 545 kilometer route at a cost of only 19 Euros for fuel.
The new 220 pound city car was developed with an entire array of efficiency measures in mind, including an aerodynamic package for the body that is lowered by about half an inch, as well as an aerodynamically optimized underbody. The German team of efficiecy enngineers even equipped the Polo BlueMotion with a set of lightweight 15 inch alloys wrapped in low rolling resistance tires.
Press release after the jump.
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Ford has just revealed earlier today their new 6.7 Liter Power Stroke V8 Turbocharged Diesel Engine that will replace the current heavy duty diesel engine supplied by Navistar. The new engine will make its debut in the next-generation F-Series Super Duty trucks.
The capability and reliability found in the new 6.7 Liter diesel engine starts with the engine block. The new Power Stroke’s block is made from compacted graphite iron (CGI), which is about twice as strong as regular gray cast iron. While this is the first use of a CGI block in North America in this class of vehicle, Ford has successfully used the material in engine blocks in other products around the world.
Perhaps the diesel mills extended range due to its alternatively fueled nature would make it the perfect candidate to power the next Ford SVT Raptor to another strong finish at Baja. However due to the U.S. market’s dislike for the less refined crude product it would be hard to imagine this engine in anything other than a dedicated work truck.
Press release after the jump.
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Mercedes has added two new models to the GLK line-up: the GLK 250 CDI 4MATIC BlueEFFICIENCY and the GLK 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY.
The GLK 250 CDI 4MATIC is powered by a four-cylinder diesel engine that delivers 204 hp and 500 Nm of torque. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in just 7.9 seconds, and can hit a top speed of 132 mph.
The GLK 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY is powered by a four-cylinder diesel engine that delivers 170 hp and 400 NM of torque. It sprints from0 to 60 mph in just 8,5 seconds, while top speed go up to 127 mph.
Press release after the jump.
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Even if Volkswagen’s Scirocco sports hatch won’t be making it to the U.S. anytime soon, there are still a few fuel-efficiency is still a problem for the German automaker. So over the next few years, VW will expand their lineup of eco friendly vehicles to include the new Passat CC, Tiguan and also the Scirocco.
According to a source at the English automotive journal AutoCar, Volkswagen is "looking into" a clean diesel burning Scirocco BlueMotion. It will feature a small displacement diesel engine, possibly the 1.6 Liter TDI from the Golf BlueMotion making 104 HP. The green Scirocco will also benefit from a few efficincy upgrades like aerodynamic tweaks, low resistance tires and different gear ratios.
The latest Bluemotion model from Volkswagen is Touareg BlueMotion. It is powered by a 3.0 Liter TDI V6 common rail diesel engine and develops 220 HP and 405 lb-ft of torque. The Touareg BlueMotion has a fuel economy of 34.0 MPG, up from 30.4 MPG, and CO2 emissions are cut to just 219 g/km, down from 244 g/km. The alternatively fueled Touareg can sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in 8.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 126 MPH.
The Porsche Cayenne is a very successful vehicle for the German sports car builder, and over in Europe the turbo diesel V6 powered version is even more of a hit. So when the aftermarket tuners at MTM decided to further improve their product selection for the Porsche SUV and it only made sense to develop a performance package for the alternatively fueled sports truck.
The upgraded power package for the diesel version of the Porsche Cayenne is based around a reprogrammed Engine Control Unit that optimizes air, fuel and boost to get the most out of the six piston pumper. By nature, diesel powered engines do not crate a lot of horse power, however whatever they lack in work force they make up for in torque. So this newly tuned Cayenne is now capable of producing a maximum output of 300 HP from the 3.0 Liter turbo diesel V6 and peak of 442 lb-ft of torque.
MTM is also offering an F-Cantronic system designed to electronically control the suspension, bringing the body up to 45 mm closer to the 21 inch signature Bimoto wheels.
Press release after the jump.
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It looks like the bad news keep coming for the US market. After announcing that the Alfa Romeo MiTo will no be offered on the US market, here’s another bad news: Mini will also not offer the Cooper D for us. But while for the MiTo the problem was its size, for the Mini the problem is the cost: converting European Diesel engine to US specifications will cost way to much for the car to be profitable.
Even if MINI USA charged 10%-15% more, they’d never make any money and at the end of the day based on our sources. On the other side of the equation, is MINI USA priced the car at 40%-50% more to pay for the re-engineering required, few would buy them at today’s moderately low fuel prices.
The cooper D is powered by a 1.6-litre diesel engine that delivers 108bhp. The car sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 9,9 seconds.
The German automaker BMW has announced plans to use diesel engines in their upcoming factory tuned lineup sports cars. Recently, the English journal AutoCar conducted an interview with Albert Biermann, the man who made the American Le Mans Series M3 GTR race car and headed up development of the award winning X5 SUV. Albert is currently serving as BMW’s M product manager and in the sit down he stated that: "With cars like the X5 and X6 M, the torque characteristics of diesel engines would make them the ideal choice, were it not for their unsporting character. I don’t think there’s a proven business case for big diesel-engined performance cars yet … but if that changes, we’ll be well placed to take advantage."
That is quite a bold statement considering that most M’s are sold right here in the good old U S of A and we haven’t been big fans of the less refined petroleum product. So Mr. Biermann is also tasked with turning America on to diesel fuel. He also announced that models like BMW Z4 M roadster and coupe models will not be replaced at the end of their production cycle: "The new Z4 is a heavy car … so it would be difficult to tune it effectively. Such an M car would also be hard to position [in the marketplace]; using the 4.0-litre V8 would position the car too close to the M3 Convertible, and the 3.2-litre, six-cylinder motor is no longer emissions-compliant."
Regarding a smaller more affordable entry level M based on the 1 Series roadster, the man at M had this to say: “I would love to produce this kind of car. It’s very difficult to make the numbers add up, but I know that I’m not the only person who likes the idea.” So hopefully Albert Biermann will succeed in his quest to turn the world onto diesel powered road going sports cars.
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