diesel

Barely a week after it was announced that a California man is suing Honda for the worse-than-advertised fuel economy of his Civic Hybrid, an independent study has found that he is not alone in his disillusionment.

Results from this week's J.D. Power and Associates' second annual Alternative Powertrain Study show that the number of customers considering buying a hybrid has declined over the past year, partly due to a realization of the actual mileage that hybrid cars are likely to achieve. Of the 4,000 participants surveyed, 50 percent said they were considering a hybrid compared with 57 … Read more

DaimlerChrysler, looking to meet tighter emission standards, on Tuesday announced a deal with Fiat for diesel engine technology.

The German-American company said the partnership will result in Fiat supplying 80,000 diesel engines per year beginning in 2009 to DaimlerChrysler's truck group, Mitsubishi Fuso. The group includes the Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Fuso trucks brands.

Daimler said that it saw the deal as a way to more easily save money and accommodate future emission standards as they come due.

"Today's and future emission regulations demand a high level of investment and technological specialization. This agreement … Read more

Toyota plans to announce specifics next month regarding collaboration with Isuzu on diesel engines.

Toyota has been in discussions with Isuzu, a company known for its expertise in diesel engine technology, since November, said Tina Ewald, assistant manager for media and investor relations at Toyota Motor North America.

Earlier Friday the Nikkei, Japan's leading business daily, reported that Isuzu has invested in a plant in Hokkaido, Japan for the purpose of supplying Toyota with 200,000 low-emission diesel engines per year. The report said the plant will be operational by 2012.

Toyota would not confirm or deny the report.… Read more

No sooner does Toyota announce it will hybridize its entire car line than Honda pulls the plug on the Accord Hybrid. Only 25,000 have been sold in three years--Toyota sold that many Priuses last month.

Accord buyers tend to be a sober bunch, and the numbers didn't impress them: The Accord Hybrid costs $31,090 and delivers 28/35 mpg. Compare that to a standard 4-cylinder gas-engined Accord for $25,050 that delivers 26/34 mpg.

Which isn't to say that hybrids with dubious fuel economy advantages can't sell--Lexus is happy with the GS, RX, and … Read more

If you only quickly glanced at the Smart Car, you might think it is something that fell off of a ride at the state fair.

In reality, it's the Smart Car, a two-seater mini-car that's already gaining huge momentum in the U.S. The vehicles, which grew out of a joint venture between Mercedes and Swatch, get about 60 miles per gallon and are fairly zippy to drive, I'm told. But more importantly if you live in a city, you can park it almost anywhere. In person, they actually look pretty cool.

Some run on regular gas … Read more

The Europeans can mess around with urea to clean up diesel emissions, but Honda prefers to keep things simple. The company showed off its clean diesel technology at the 2007 Geneva auto show. This technology gives diesel engines the same emission levels as gasoline engines. To get technical for a minute, the system strips oxides from nitrogen oxide emissions with ammonia. The ammonia is generated inside a catalytic converter through a chemical process, then reabsorbed into the system. OK, enough detail. Honda claims the engines will meet federal emissions standards in the U.S., although the company isn't saying … Read more