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A new engine design to compete with all those hybrids.

auto newsYesterday, I talked about a very fuel efficient vehicle that was not a hybrid.  Today its not a car.  It’s an engine; well, an engine design.  The whole process doesn’t sound too complicated, but I’ll let the experts explain it to you.  

Whether or not you wanted the full explanation, it boils down to this;  the new design will produce a smaller more efficient engine through the use of adding ethanol to the gas at certain points (Ethanol Boosting System or EBS).  The smaller engine will also make the car lighter.  

The designers claim that this engine will be able to match today’s hybrid systems and will be cheaper.  Now that’s a word we all love to hear.  However, this technology is still 5 years or so away from mainstream and could face a few hurdles.  For example, the driver would have to keep a smaller separate tank filled with ethanol, however, there are problems that come along with this design:

The challenges EBS is likely to encounter he says, have more to do with logistics — two fuel tanks in a vehicle can be hard to implement, and there’s the challenge of making sure ethanol is available at the corner gas station. Also, the engine will need a system that ensures it isn’t damaged if the driver forgets to fill the ethanol tank.

The new engine should be 30 percent more efficient than conventional engines, based on a computer model the researchers say accurately reproduces the behavior of internal-combustion gasoline engines.

 I’m just glad to see all these new innovations.  I don’t mind diverse answers as long as everyone is working on the problem. 

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Posted on Tuesday, April 25th, 2006 at 8:21 pm In Auto Warranty  


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