In an effort to meet rising demand for its vehicles, Ford will increase production capacity and produce more units this year.
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Volkswagen’s VR6 engine will continue into another generation despite past rumors that suggested otherwise.
Attention history buffs and antique-auto aficionados: get your gristly haunches in gear because a landmark Detroit-area automotive attraction is closing its doors.
General Motors announced today that it will work with French automaker PSA Peugeot-Citroen to develop a new generation of small engines.
The all new 2014 Chevy Corvette is coming in a few short weeks, and today Chevy released the third video in a string of teasers, with this one showing off some interior touches such as the seat stitching.
Advanced diesel engines are one option automakers can turn to for complying with upcoming U.S. fuel-economy standards. German OEMs in particular are the technology’s strongest proponents, but at the opposite end of the Eurasian landmass, Honda is not so bullish.
Speaking at a media event in Detroit today Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed suspicions that there will be more versions of the company’s award-winning Pentastar V6.
The next-generation 2014 Subaru Forester will be more fuel efficient than today’s model according to the company.
There’s a lot going on at Hyundai-Kia these days, especially in powertrain engineering. Never wanting to be behind the competition, the collaborative South Korean automakers have confirmed that they’re developing a new turbocharged V6.
Is it April Fools’ Day or late October? Allegedly the folks at Aston Martin have figured out how to cram a V12 into a Cygnet city car.
General Motors unveiled its latest V-8 engine at a media event this morning. Now in its fifth generation, the company’s venerable “mouse motor” features a raft of advanced technologies, but at its core it’s still a small block.
Honda Accord V6 models from 2003 to 2007 are being recalled to fix a defective power steering hose that can leak fluid and catch on fire.
It turns out that marrying stop motion animation and engine mechanics can yield beautiful results as the video below proves.
Note: After publication this story was revised to accurately reflect the Volt’s drivetrain.
Anyone thinking about switching to a Chevrolet Volt should consider waiting, at least if inside information leaked today about the 2014 model year is true.
This story probably would have made you laugh a few years ago. It would have seemed unthinkable, impossibile even. All the same, BMW is working with Hyundai to produce engines.
Two years ago the first Pentastar V6 engine rolled off the line. The person who made it might not have known, but that engine was the first of what would prove to be one of the best engines in the world.
Today, Chrysler is celebrating their millionth Pentastar V6, a sophisticated and flexible piece of technology that powers most of the company’s lineup. We knew the engine was going to be a big deal back when it was first announced, we just didn’t know it would be this big.
Dont feel bad if you missed the Pentastar’s magnitude, it doesn’t sound sexy, it’s a V6 and thanks to it’s prolific placements it’s probably easy to look past from a consumer perspective. That’s unfortunate, because it’s a remarkable achievement on Chrysler’s part.
It powers small cars like the Dodge Avenger, big cars like the Chrysler 300 or Dodge Charger and even minivans like the Chrysler Town & Country. With a few modifications to stave off water-bogging, it even powers the Jeep Wrangler.
Most impressive, it does all this while making as much as 305 hp and achieving as much as 30 mpg depending on which vehicle you choose. Since it’s release, the Pentastar has been one of Ward’s Automotive Group’s 10 Best Engines too. Of course it isn’t turning out that much power in all applications, but the 3.6-liter V6 has more than proven its mettle in the two years we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know it.
[Source: Detroit News]
Infiniti‘s brawny 5.6 liter V8 proves to not only motivate land yachts but actual maritime yachts as well. Students at the Tennessee Technical Center-Nashville and Nashville State Community College have removed the titanic power plant from a donor Infiniti QX56 to ready it for maritime duty in an iconic 1962 Chris-Craft “Holiday” mahogany speedboat.
The 400-hp engine has been sent to Westbrook, Maine, where the engine bell housing was modified to be compatible with a ZF/Hurth marine transmission. Next, a shop in Alabama puts the Infiniti engine through a program called “marination, ” involving custom water-cooled exhaust manifolds and the adaptation of a closed cooling system. Then, the big V8 will be taken back to the Infiniti engine facility in Decherd, Tennessee so it could get tested on a dynamometer to assure that its performance numbers are still up to factory specifications. Finally, the engine will await for its final installation into the Chris-Craft’s hull.
In the past, Chris-Craft boats adopted engines including a 431-cubic inch Lincoln marine engine and a pair of 440-cubic inch Chrysler Hemi marine V8s. However, George “Dodo” Brockman, owner of Freeport Boat Outlet, and the director of the Infiniti boat project says, “The use of the powerful Infiniti QX56 V8 is fitting with the history of the particular craft. The Infiniti V8 is actually lighter than all of the previous powerplants and won’t require any special bracing or hull modifications to fit into the original engine bay.”
In line with its handcrafted heritage, the 1962 Chris-Craft “Holiday” is currently lying upside down in Freeport Maine ready to undergo a painstaking restoration process involving more than 600 board feet of high grade sustainably harvested mahogany to cover the framework, hull, transom, and deck. 15 coats of special marine varnish will be applied to the craft over a period of a month.
Brockman continued, “Before the future Infiniti lake cruiser can return to the water, we’ve had to tear it down to virtually nothing and start building it back up with fresh wood… Ultimately, it looks like we’ll have to replace nearly 85 percent of the original wood, one piece at a time, due to age and rot.” Brockman adds, “When the 20-foot Chris-Craft Holiday model was introduced in 1962, it was said to be one of the best performing Chris-Craft hulls ever produced. It cornered well, was easy to come on plane and was often used in nationally sanctioned water skiing events for just those reasons. We can’t wait to see how this classic design performs with the new engine.”
When the mahogany speedboat is complete, a custom boat trailer to match a 2012 Infiniti QX56 will also be built.
GALLERY: Infiniti Chris Craft
Little development has been revealed by Lotus since they first announced their line-up revamp at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. However, sources report Lotus has got all hands on deck to make sure its dedicated in-house V-8 will be complete by late-2013.
The engine is designed to serve duty in the mid-engined Esprit as well as the front engine Elite and Etern, we expect the output to produce more than 550 horsepower in the naturally aspirated Esprit form and perhaps even a more extreme version tuned to 620 horsepower in the future.
In terms of the Esprit’s chassis, Lotus claims that the modular chassis will allow engineers to fit front, middle and rear sections as needed without making complex changes so that the platform can accommodate the Elite and Eterne too.
GALLERY: Lotus Esprit
[Source: sensethecar.com]
Reports from sources within Volkswagen has revealed intents to replace its less popular 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine for a new 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder engine.
This smaller turbocharged engine is based on the staple 2.0 liter turbo engine found in the GTI, and are already found in Volkwagen’s European offerings. Producing 158-hp and 185 lb-ft of torque, the new 1.8 is capable of 33-mpg on the highway when placed in a manual VW Jetta.
While the figure falls significantly short of the Chevrolet Cruze Eco’s 42 mpg, Volkswagen can still benefit from the use of the engine as its 2.0 FSI origins can allow the company manufacturing efficiency and allot the assembly of both engines under one facility.
[Source: Car&Driver]
General Motors unveiled their new family of small displacement engines, a group of three and four cylinder engines ranging from 1.0L to 1.5L in displacement. The engines were designed in concert largely with GM’s Chinese subsidiaries.
GM didn’t divulge which vehicles will get the new engines, but did say that North America won’t be an initial market for the three-cylinder engines. GM was also tight-lipped about the specifics of the engines, only stating ”they will feature lightweight design and advanced technologies such as direct injection, turbocharging and alternative fuel compatibility” as well as “…[being] designed to reduce noise, vibration and harshness.”
Recently, California based BMW tuning company, Dinan Cars, revealed a video of its latest engine project. Beginning with the V10 BMW S85 engine found in the E60 BMW M5, which remains one of the most sophisticated power plants engineered to date, Dinan bored and stroked the displacement from 5-liters to 5.8-liters, and then installed performance cams, a dry sump oil system, and finished it off with a racing exhaust. Custom ECU tuning software allowed the engine to run on 98 octane race gas in order to produce a stratospheric 720-hp at 8300 RPM. You read that correctly. That’s 124-hp per liter from a naturally aspirated V10 engine!
Designed to be used in the Riley Technologies 2011 mkXXV track car, check out Dinan’s engine demonstration video after the jump. More than anything, it’s the blazing plum purple glow emitting from the headers that got people talking. Do not touch! Continue Reading…
After decades of borrowing powertrains from Ford, Renault, Toyota and other OEMs, Lotus has revealed some of the first pictures of a working engine, designed and built in-house.
From the photo released on Facebook, the engine appears to be a DOHC V8 with a racy looking intake plenum and airbox setup, similar to an Italian supercar engine. No word on whether individual throttles, direct injection or any sophisticated technologies will be employed.
Expect to see the engine in products like the upcoming flagship Esprit, assuming those vehicles actually make it to market.
[Source: Facebook]
GM has announced the pricing details for the 2012 Cadillac SRX and the crossover will get a new, more powerful engine. Pricing for the 2012 SRX will start at $36,060, including a destination charge of $875 and the model adopts a new 3.6-liter V6 producing 308-hp.
The SRX will be get an improved six-speed automatic transmission which features an ECO mode for maximizing fuel efficiency.
The SRX will also benefit from standard Bluetooth connectivity, an all-ebony interior, an optional heated steering wheel, new xenon Blue Metallic paint and 20-inch rims as an option.
[Source: egm Car Tech]
In the Fiat auto group, typically all the new high performance technology is developed by Ferrari and it eventually moves down the ladder to the other brands. However, if the latest reports from Maranello prove to be true, there might be a change in the direction of flow for technology in the near future.
According to reports, Ferrari is looking to adapt Fiat’s MultiAir technology for its own use. This system uses hydraulic actuators to change the setup of the vavletrain, and this can be done while on the move. So you can tune your engine to be run lean one minute for greater fuel-efficiency, or mean to get the maximum power output.
This system is far more advanced than the usual spring-driven valvetrain found on a normal engine. We might get a clearer idea about Ferrari’s future engine plans at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
[Source: MotorAuthority]