A team of students with a volunteer team of parents and community members, at Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind. built a single seat, aluminum framed and carbon fiber skinned car powered by a 50cc engine to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition, where their 849 mpg result garnered first place in the Urban Concept division. As hypermile vehicles go, this … [Read more...]
Auto Exhaust Can Generate Thermoelectric Power
About 40 percent of the energy from gasoline or diesel fuel is wasted as exhaust heat. If you can convert some of that heat to electricity, it can provide electric power for automotive accessories, relieving some of the burden from the engine resulting in better fuel economy. The device that performs this conversion is a thermoelectric generator and GM has been working on … [Read more...]
Low Rolling Resistance Tires Save Gas
Car companies can't make changes fast enough to suit car buyers. When gasoline made its recent price jump to $4 per gallon, consumers immediately began looking for better mileage, no surprise there, but what can car makers do? Low rolling resistance tires are getting a lot more attention because an existing design can have the tires changed and the suspension re-tuned much … [Read more...]
smart USA Launches Cross-Country Road Show
Although the rest of the world has been driving the smart car for years, the US has not been an official market, even though a small number are on the roads here. Starting in 2008, all of that changes as the Mercedes manufactured smart will go on sale in the States and to introduce the car to the public, smart USA is launching a road show, a traveling tour with a trailer truck … [Read more...]
ZF Develops New 8 Speed Automatic Transmission
How many speeds does an automatic transmission need? According to ZF, the answer is 8. Their aim was to minimize fuel consumption while maximizing performance and according to ZF, this new 8 speed delivers a 6 percent fuel saving over their 6 speed and 14 percent over a 5 speed. It requires no more installation space than a 6 speed and the modular design can be adapted for use … [Read more...]