First the Korean automaker was assuring to take over your payments in the event that you couldn’t pay your bills until the end of the year. Then they were paying you to buy one of their cars until the end of the year. Well if you are worried about the upcoming summer gas hike, Hyundai has got you covered once again. With a program called gas lock, the automaker is allowing customers to buy in to a program allowing them to purchase gasoline for only $1.49, quite reassuring with prices expected to exceed $3.00 in the near future.
Our question is why are all the incentive programs being offered until the end of the year? It would have been nice if you told us about these things back in January. At least with gas Gas Lock, Hyundai promises you up to a year’s worth of liquid. It looks like the deals will only be getting better as the seasons come and go, heck they will probably be giving away Genesis Coupe’s after Christmas, if so, we’ll be in line.
While $1.49 sounds good, mid-grade and high test will come at a premium, $1.64 and $1.79 respectively. However those prices aren’t bad either, even though the Lambda V6 has been tuned to run just fine on 87 octane.
It is mid-June, the Nurburgring 24 has passed and the endurance race fans from around the world are gathering at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. That is because this Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14 racing greats from around the world are competing in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race twice around the clock includes vehicles from the ALMS as well as the LMS racing series which are made up of two classes of GT, production car based racers, and two classes of prototypes, this year’s race will include 20 of the big boy LMP1 machines all fighting each other as well as lapped traffic for an overall win.
The big battles lately have been between Audi’s and Peugeot’s endurance racing teams at these events. The German automaker is competing in their all new R15 racecar and Peugeot is bringing back their 908, except this time it has Formula 1 derived KERS. Reports from the racetrack say that the Audi camp has gotten a hold of some unfound speed from their previous entrant, the R10. The four ringed automaker has an excellent track record at the epic endurance race, with an Audi engine winning every year since 2000. 2003 was the only year that an Audi R chassis didn’t take home the victory, that year Audi’s factory efforts lent their services to fellow members of the Volkswagen family, creating the Bentley Speed 8. Ever since 2006 Audi’s racing team has been taking advantage of the rules regarding diesel powered race cars, a trend that has caught on with Peugeot.
The future of the baby Benz is looking a little greener, which is because the German automaker will be incorporating their BlueEFFICIENCY power plants into the C-Class’s product range. The Mercedes C will benefit from added power as well as improved efficiency thanks to fuel saving technology like direct injection and modern day turbochargers and an intelligent shifting transmission.
The new diesel powered C220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY will be the most fuel efficient C-Class ever. The turbo diesel 2.1 Liter engine will make 170 HP and be able to go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 8.4 seconds, all while returning an almost Prius-like 49 MPG, and that is without any electric motors to aid with the gas wasting stop and go city driving. Whereas if you are reluctant to go with the alternative fuel here in America, for fear of limited supply, or the outrageous price; then the C250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY is what you are looking for. With its direct injected 1.8 Liter four cylinder engine that produces 204 HP, this saloon will take 7.4 seconds to go from 0 to 60 MPH while getting a CAFÉ friendly 32.6 MPG.
Both of these new efficient offerings from Mercedes Benz are reasonable solutions for helping out the environment while still enjoying the luxury of an upscale sedan. The new BlueEFFICIENCY power plants don’t compromise performance for fuel efficiency, and go to show that you don’t have to drive a hybrid to get 50 MPG, the one thing the little Toyota doesn’t have is 170 HP. Perhaps the combination of diesel fuel and a turbo works just as well as gas and electric.
The lovable little Audi A3 will be receiving a couple of new power plants thanks to the Volkswagen Group. The four ringed automaker has added an alternatively fueled four cylinder engine to the lineup in order to satisfy diesel drivers in Europe as well as increase mileage and reduce emissions. The 1.6 Liter TDI will be offered in two flavors, the first making 90 HP and the second putting down 105 HP, while torque output for the two turbo diesel engines is significantly higher.
In Europe they would say that the 1.6 TDI A3 will consume only 4.1 liters of diesel fuel per 100 kilometers, whereas in the U.S. we would say that it gets 57.37 MPG, all while emitting minimal greenhouse gasses. This excellent ecological performance is made possible by the new vehicle’s start/stop and energy recovery systems. The turbo diesel A3 is no slouch either, the high output version is capable of going from 0 to 60 MPH in 11.4 seconds, not bad considering the vehicle gets about the same gas mileage as a Prius.
You would think that an oil company would be all for gas-guzzlers and oil burners, vehicles that would keep the cash flowing and allow those companies to maximize profits. However there is one member of the crude retailing community that is more focused on getting the most out of every drop, as opposed to selling every last one.
The Hague based operation, Shell Oil, is committed to making the most out of the limited fossil fuel, that is why they have partnered with the Scuderia Ferrari in order to push the boundaries of both performance and efficiency. The pair work together to develop fuels that burn more proficiently on the racetrack and lubricants that allow the rotating parts of the highly sophisticated Formula 1 car to move with less friction and be less of a (parasitic) drag on the machine, allowing it t to be even more fuel efficient.
Shell’s efforts at conservation are not limited to the F1 circuit.
The oil company is also the title sponsor for the Shell Eco-Marathon, a competition whose record holders have achieved the equivalent of over 7800 MPG from their fuel-efficient forward thinking machine. The Shell Eco-Marathon is held in various locations around the globe, and invites students to design, build, and test their unique vehicles, all with the same goal, use the least amount of fuel to travel the farthest distance possible. The student design teams develop vehicles that run on conventional fuels like gasoline, ethanol and diesel, as well as futuristic concepts like solar power, hydrogen and other bio-fuels.
For 2009, General Motors is offering an even more fuel-efficient version of their no frills, Chevrolet Cobalt XFE, this car is a step in the right direction for the American automaker, the 9% improvement in fuel economy is also an answer to the upcoming CAFE regulation put in place by the U.S. Senate. Although it is the base model Cobalt, and we do mean base, lacking power assisted creature comforts like windows and door locks, there isn’t even an automatic transmission option.
However, the checkbook friendly Cobalt does come with a air conditioning, an AM/FM/MP3 stereo and a sporty wing on the trunk. The 2.2 Liter ECOTEC four cylinder is up 7 HP from last year’s model, for a maximum output of 155 HP. The added power is necessary in order to turn the more economical 3.74:1 final drive, the extra gearing means that the XFE can run at a lower RPM, and burn less gas, when cruising on the highway in 5th gear. This is only one of the fuel saving features that make the Chevrolet Cobalt XFE a segment best in the fuel mileage category; better than the Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. The $16,000 entry level Chevrolet model gets an EPA estimated 36 MPG on the highway.
In an attempt to conserve more of the Earth’s natural resources, Volkswagen’s future line-up will include a three-cylinder power plant and an all new hybrid engine. Unfortunately, the planed 55 MPG clean diesel roadster is on hold until the economy picks back up. In an interview with the German magazine, Auto Motor Und Sport, with VW’s head of development, Ulrich Hackenberg had this to say: “The three-cylinder is certainly a great future; we devote ourselves to intensive mechanical, thermodynamic and acoustic development. We will continue the three-cylinder, in any case in the VW Golf to offer."
The hybrid Golf will debut sometime in 2011 and Ulrich thinks that it will be the perfect personal transportation solution for densely populated urban centers, like the growing mega cities found in China and the United States.
If the roadster ever does become a reality, you probably won’t see a Porsche version, but according to Hackenberg, there is a strong possibility that Audi will have a four ringed version as well.
With fuel prices on the rise and the upcoming CAFE requirement imposed by the U.S. government, fuel efficiency has become a very important aspect of automaker’s vehicle lineups. When it was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show, the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox was hailed as the 9th vehicle offered by Chevy to reach an EPA estimated 30 MPG. Just as we like manufacturers that underrate their engines, it is even better when the automakers don’t exaggerate fuel mileage.
The latest tests have revealed that the new Chevrolet Equinox returns an impressive 32 MPG on the highway. This best-in-segment fuel economy results in a range of up to 600 miles for the General Motors CUV. The Equinox’s front-wheel drive power train and direct-injected 2.4 Liter four cylinder engine showed an EPA estimated fuel mileage of 22 MPG in the city and 32 MPG while cruising at highway speeds.
The Equinox’s closest competitors from Japan are nowhere as efficient at speed. The Honda CR-V gets 20/27 MPG and Toyota’s Rav-4 returns an estimated 22/28 MPG (city/highway). American cars are looking better and better every day.
Times are changing and as raw power gives way to economy some people are talking about the extinction of the internal combustion engine, like Nissan/Renault CEO Carlos Goshen. Fortunately for some of us gear heads, Ford’s Executive Vice President Mark Fields has confirmed that consumers will be seeing gas burning, piston pumping engines for at least the next 20 years. Mr. Fields also assured Top Speed that there is still a lot of development and technological advancement to be done, one of the reasons for Ford’s new EcoBoost V6.
The American automaker Lincoln has announced that an EcoBoost engine will power the 2010 MKS. By the year 2013, Lincoln’s parent company Ford plans on using the same fuel-efficient power plant in over 90% of their vehicles. The 3.5 Liter EcoBoost V6 found under the hood of the all-wheel-drive 2010 Lincoln MKS will produce 355 HP and 350 ft-lb of torque, all on regular grade gasoline. The twin turbocharged 6 cylinder provides the output of a V8 while returning a minimum of 17 MPG around town and at least 24 MPG during highway driving.
It is said that 25% of fuel savings depend on the driver’s right foot, but one thing is for certain, when idling at a stop light or sitting in traffic, all cars get zero miles per gallon. That is why the German luxury car builder Mercedes Benz is planning on incorporating the fuel saving start/stop technology in their E200 CGI model by the middle of 2010. The E200 already has an economic four cylinder gas engine, but without wasting gas while standing still, the vehicle’s fuel efficiency is that much greater.
According to Christoph Spengel, head of engine development for Mercedes, the start/stop technology will be standard in every model. In a recent interview with AutoCar Spengel said: "I won’t name a year when we will achieve this goal, but it is a priority for Mercedes. We are pushing hard, and there is the possibility to jump ahead of BMW."
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