Crave

Correction at 6:20 a.m. PDT: The fuel efficiency figures were transposed and have been corrected. Also, the outcome of the FTC case has been corrected.

Temple University scientists claim to have found a simple way to reduce fuel consumption in cars and trucks.

CNET News obtained an advanced copy of the report, which will be published in the November 19 issue of the American Chemical Society's Energy and Fuels journal.

"....our fuel injection technology based on the new physics principle that proper application of electrorheology can reduce the viscosity of petroleum fuels. A small device is thus introduced just before the fuel injection for the engine, producing a strong electric field to reduce the fuel viscosity, resulting in much smaller fuel droplets in atomization. Because combustion starts at the droplet surface, smaller droplets lead to cleaner and more efficient combustion," says the report by Ronglia Tai, professor at the Department of Physics at Temple University, and head of the project.

The report goes on to say that Tai's group was able to increase the highway fuel efficiency of a Mercedes-Benz 300D with a diesel engine from 32 mpg to 38 mpg.

The scientists at Temple University are not the first to claim that manipulating a fuel's properties is the key to increasing efficiency.There have been many "fuel-saving" gadgets touting this same principle for years.

However, many people are skeptical about whether this method works.

One company--unrelated to Temple University--was even was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for making "deceptive product claims" related to a magnetic "fuel saver." The two parties eventually reached a settlement.

From responses on our boards and from e-mail feedback, it's clear we have a lot of readers knowledgeable in this area. Do you think electrorheology could have a significant impact on fuel efficiency in cars?

Nissan Motor Company on Monday announced a new system that calculates the most fuel efficient rate of acceleration and pushes the gas pedal back against the driver's lead foot, according to the Associated Press. This new system, dubbed "ECO Pedal," will be available next year and, according to Nissan, can help drivers improve fuel efficiency by 5 to 10 percent, according to AP story.

If you're thinking what we're thinking, that the ECO Pedal has potential to compromise safety in the name of fuel efficiency, you'll be glad to know that Nissan is giving the system an off switch, according to the AP story.

The team from Mater Dei High School poses with its two gas-sipping entries in the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas. The grand prize winner (left) logged 2,843.4 miles per gallon.

(Credit: PRNewsFoto/Shell)

Correction, 2:50 PM PDT: Due to incorrect information provided by the company, this post misstated the name of one of the fuels used in the Eco-marathon. The entry from Schurr High School ran off liquified petroleum gas (LPG).

The team from Mater Dei High School might be only months (or less) removed from driver's ed, but it pulled off a nifty feat of driving over the weekend. One of its entries in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas won the grand prize for motoring to a record 2,843.4 miles per gallon.

Its other entry proved none too shabby as well, logging 2,383.8 mpg for a strong third-place finish. The second-place vehicle (2,752.3 mpg) was from last year's victor, California State Polytechnic.

All three broke last year's record, set by Cal Poly, of 1,902.7 mpg. The grand prize purse is $10,000.

Mater Dei has been entering the Shell-sponsored event, which took place at the California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., for about five years. How did the Evansville, Ind., team come up with its winning airfoil-meets-teardrop design and beat out its largely collegiate competitors? "It comes from trial and error, seeing what works and what doesn't," an unidentified student and team member told a local newscaster Friday.

Those top three vehicles, like most in the competition (25 out of 33 total), used internal combustion engines. The goal for all entrants was to travel as far as possible using as little fuel as possible. Vehicles--sans driver--couldn't weigh more than 160 kilograms (352 pounds), while drivers had to weigh at least 50 kilograms.

The Pulsar vehicle from Purdue University was the top solar finisher; it got credited with a fuel economy rating of 2,861.8 mpg.

(Credit: Courtesy of Purdue University's Eco-marathon team)

The lone diesel entry, from The College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Calif., achieved 304.5 mpg. The one vehicle to use liquified petroleum gas (LPG), from Schurr High School of Montebello, Calif., hit 163.5 mpg.

Of the four vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, the top finisher was Penn State's HFV Team, 1,668.3 mpg. The best of the two solar-powered entries came from Purdue University, whose Pulsar vehicle reached the equivalent of 2,861.8 mpg. (Solar vehicles weren't eligible for the grand prize.)

On the Fontana racetrack, the challenges included winds that gusted up to 50 miles per hour. Even before the race, though, the team from Universite Laval in Quebec faced its own last-minute challenges--it had to wait two days for its vehicle to clear customs, then had to race through the setup and inspection on the last day of competition. Still, the Laval team finished fifth (1,810.8 mpg), behind another Canadian team, the University of British Columbia (1,864.9).

Rounding out the top 10 in the internal combustion field were Cedarville University (1,151.1 and 1,056.3 mpg for its two Supermileage entries), Grand Rapids Technical High School (754.8 mpg), Colorado School of Mines (679.4 mpg), and Lamar University (572.8 mpg).

The new face of Mercedes-Benz

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Mercedes-Benz is apparently planning to use next week's Geneva auto show to unveil two new fuel-efficient versions of the C-Class sedan in the first example of a new line of "eco variants" of its main model lineup. According to Just Auto, Mercedes is planning to roll the strategy out to 20 other models over the course of the next year. BMW is also expected to launch a green concept car at the Geneva show. Both luxury German automakers are likely to be among the hardest hit by new European Commission legislation for stricter emissions and fuel efficiency standards, and consequently have been making efforts to find more efficient versions of their performance-focused lineups. At last year's Frankfurt auto show, Mercedes showed off a number of diesel-electric hybrid concept cars that are scheduled for production in 2010 as well as its Diesotto engine, which uses turbo charging, direct injection, and diesel-like compression to maximize power and fuel economy.

Via Just Auto

Pop quiz: Which automaker just won an international competition for the greenest car? Hint: It's not Toyota, Honda or any U.S. company.

This year's GreenFleet award goes to ... Citroen. "In the last four years, Citroen has sold more well over a million fuel-efficient vehicles in Europe" and "has been committed to using biofuels in its engines since March 1998," according to the judges of the U.K. contest, which was created to promote environmental awareness among transportation companies.

Toyota and Honda, which apparently were runners-up, coincidentally came out on top of a fuel economy survey just released by the U.S. government. Did the France-based Citroen have an edge in the GreenFleet competition because it's a European company? We would never suggest such a thing.

(Photo: Citroen)

If you had $3.65 million to drop on a private jet, would you be concerned about fuel economy? Honda apparently thinks so and stresses its efficiency on this score in the brochures for its new jet aircraft.

"Key specifications and performance figures establish HondaJet as the fastest and most fuel efficient aircraft in its class, while setting a new standard for interior space and comfort," Honda Aircraft says in announcing the plane. The frugal reference does make some sense, given that Honda claims to have produced the first gas-electric hybrid car in the United States.

Of course, the company does go on to tout other features and appointments appropriate for a multimillion-dollar vehicle, such as "a class-topping cruise speed of 420 knots" and "a fully private lavatory." (Would there be any other kind on a small jet?)

Still, reaction among aircraft aficionados is mixed. As one told Crave, "In the aviation world folks are delighted that Honda is doing this but think the price is pretty high." On that we can resoundingly agree.

(Photo: AutoMotoPortal.com)