Automotive pollution is a serious concern and new emission regulation are tougher each year. In some countries lower emission can mean lower car insurance or the right to use HOV lanes.
We just don’t know what the world is coming to when automakers such as Porsche start making these crazy mediocre plans. Porsche has already planned on offering a hybrid version for every model in their line-up, and now they come out with this nonsense. As a next step on their path towards reducing fuelk consumption and CO2 emissions, the German company is saying they will down size their engines.
In a recent interview, Development Chief Wolfgang Duerheimer said: "If the CO2 guidelines require it, then our engines will become smaller and may have just four cylinders. The important thing is that the performance has to be right. The 911 must always be on the cutting edge."
The good news is that Porsche is trying to think of ways to keep up their performance all while pleasing the greenies out there. One of the ways they will be doing this is by adding turbochargers and direct injection to the smaller engines. And as with every new generation, Porsche also hopes to reduce weight by 10%.
"A constant weight is our minimum requirement in the change to a new generation, even with compliance with all the new safety and comfort requirements. You could hardly achieve much more than that with current technologies" Duerheimer said.
The company is already preparing carbon fiber bodies for road vehicles that will create an additional weight loss of about 50 kilograms. This new technology will be unveiled in the next five years.
We have to admit, we are a bit confused. If you remember, last month we reported that Ford would bring the new generation Focus ST to the Paris Motor Show in September. Now, Autocar reports that Ford will axe the ST version of their newest generation Focus.
And the reason for this decision is quite simple: Europe’s tightening emissions standards. The Focus ST will be the second model, after the Honda Civic Type R, who will have to be axed due to the new emissions standards. The same fate will attack the 3.2 V6 in the Alfa Brera, the Mazda RX-8, and the VW Group’s 5.0 V10 turbodiesel.
So, in this case, the car expected to debut in Paris will drop the usual 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder engine and will get a new 2.0-liter direct-injection turbo engine that will deliver around 250bhp and 350Nm of torque. Derrick Kuzak said the new model will get "an EcoBoost turbocharged engine, be exciting to drive, great to look at and certainly worth waiting for”.
With the quest to increase the capacity of battery powered vehicles, a group of enthusiasts from Australia, Germany, and Switzerland have set off in their battery powered vehicles on what’s being billed as the "longest and greenest" round-the-world drive to promote emissions-free transport and November’s world climate conference.
The UN-supported "Zero Race" has been organized by a Swiss Louis Palmer, who made headlines with his 18-month pioneering world tour in a solar-powered "taxi" two years ago, picking up celebrities on the way.
Palmer said: "With this race we want to show that seven billion people on this planet need renewable energy and clean mobility. Petrol is running out and the climate crisis is coming, and we are all running against time."
A Korean vehicle failed to reach the start line at the United Nations in Geneva in time after it broke down with "a minor battery problem" about 60km up the road, Palmer said, but would join the other three teams later in the day.
The Zero Race team is set to stop off at the World Climate Conference in Cancun, Mexico, after touring through Europe, Russia, China, Canada, and the United States before heading back to Geneva in January 2011.
We know it’s Earth Day and, okay, we are all for the environment, but these guys in Arlington, VA are just plain crazy. Ross and Todd have just started the Car-Free Diet Skeptics Challenge where they will live car-free for 30 days. Whoever succeeds in traveling by foot, bike, or bus for the whole 30 days will receive a year’s worth of transportation for free. We assume that means free gas for a year or paid bus passes, but we’ve heard that one of the contestants has already decided to sell his car without as much as 24 hours of non-car commuting under his belt!
The contest is being run by Car-Free Diet.com. This is a website that encourages drivers to rid themselves of the mechanical, CO2 emitting, four-wheeled transportation devices and start relying on the old-fashioned way of commuting. They state that, “Each time you leave your car at home — choosing instead to ride ART or Metro, bike, walk or telework — you can save money, improve your health and clean our environment”. We cannot argue. This is, in fact, true. We applaud your efforts and the success of your followers, but we are a little too horsepower hungry to jump on this bandwagon.
Yesterday, we talked about Ford’s EcoBoost technology in their Start Concept. Now at the Beijing Auto Show, Ford has announced that they will also include their EcoBoost Technology in Europe’s Ford Mondeo. The Mondeo will receive the 2.0L I4 EcoBoost engine mated with the new Ford Powershift six speed automatic transmission. This single turbocharger with a direct fuel injection delivery system delivers torque comparable to a V6 engine while fuel economy is boosted by 10%.
“Customers have embraced EcoBoost technology because of its ability to deliver power and performance with uncompromised fuel economy,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president for global product development. “We’re committed to bringing this technology to multiple vehicles so that more customers can take advantage of the no-compromise Ford EcoBoost combination of power, performance and fuel economy. Ford EcoBoost works in any gasoline engine, so adding a 4-cylinder engine to complement our V6 line-up was a logical development.”
Along with that announcement, Ford also announced that the 2.0L I4 EcoBoost will be the first EcoBoost engine to go global with the 1.6L and the 4 cylinder following shortly thereafter. They have already revealed the Europen lineup featuring the 2.0L engine: Ford S-Max, Galaxy, and Mondeo will start off the transition. The Ford Edge will receive the engine later this year while Australia’s Ford Falcon will inherit the 4 cylinder engine in 2011.
This announcement comes as no surprise to us. We figured Ford would be running full steam ahead with this technology that cuts CO2 emissions by 15% compared to larger displacement engines with similar power. Cutting CO2 emissions seems to be an important trend and we are sure Ford will be taking advantage of that as any other automaker would.
