Chrysler is about to make its first foray into hybrid vehicles with the introduction next year of the 2008 Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs. Unlike some hybrid vehicles, however, these will not have a little 4 cylinder engine or even a V6, instead, these will be equipped with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. Overall fuel efficiency is expected to improve by 25 percent while in … [Read more...]
Performance and Economy – High Mileage Horsepower
The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) 2007 World Congress will convene in Detroit this week with a theme of "Engineering for Global Sustainable Mobility -- It's Up to Us." One of their tech sessions is titled "High Performance and Fuel Economy: Can We Have Both?" Increasing fuel economy while maintaining or even increasing performance is something everyone thinks about … [Read more...]
Build Your Own 225 mpg Diesel Plug in Hybrid
If the names Trimuter, Tri-Magnum or Urba Electric ring a bell, you probably read a lot of Mechanix Illustrated or Popular Mechanics back in the sixties and seventies. Robert Q. Riley was a prolific designer of these build it yourself vehicles along with many, many more that were available as plans enabling you to construct your own fiberglass bodied car, trike or even … [Read more...]
Fuel Vapor Technology – 3 Wheels – 180hp – 92mpg
Fuel Vapor Technologies was at the SEMA show in Las Vegas with the Ale, their Honda powered 3 wheeler. It has two tandem seats, a 180 horsepower 1500cc turbocharged Honda engine operating a "fuel vapor" system that allows it to run at an incredibly lean 20:1 air fuel ratio. According to the company, the car's performance puts it in a league of its own with a 12.9 second quarter … [Read more...]
Gas Mileage and Pickup Tailgates
Tailgate up or down? The television show Mythbusters is sometimes interesting, sometimes silly but I caught one yesterday addressing this "what everyone knows" advice. The often repeated premise is that an open pickup truck bed is bad for gas mileage because it catches the air and creates drag, so the easy, zero cost method for increasing mileage by reducing drag is to … [Read more...]