GM Turbocharge
It seems that livestock do not have to spend sleepless nights worrying where their next meal will come from. E-85 seems to be on the skids in terms of becoming a mass produced biofuel. For that matter hydrogen usage would take more than 100 years to have the infrastructure needed to make it a fuel of the masses.
A new fair-haired child is now on the block that will probably vault ahead of fuel cells, plug ins and diesels.
With turbocharging coming to the forefront with Ford's recent introduction of the EccoBoost system, GM is seeing the light with the introduction of their own turbocharged gasoline engine with direct injection.
Next year GM will introduce a turbocharged 1.4-liter gasoline engine for small U.S. cars. The Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Astra are candidates for the engine, which is available without a turbocharger in the European Opel Astra.
GM engineering chief Jim Queen confirmed the company's plans to use the powertrain and said it could be used in mid-sized vehicles, too.
"You're going to see turbocharged four-cylinders in vehicles that no one could have ever imagined that they would be in," he said.
Queen did not indicate where the engines would be made or predict their fuel economy. The 2008 Cobalt with its 2.2-liter engine gets 33 mpg highway and 24 city.
Automakers are finding turbochargers a cost-effective way to improve fuel economy.
Next year Ford EcoBoost will debut on the Lincoln MKS sedan. By 2012, Ford expects to have as many as 500,000 EcoBoost vehicles on the road in North America.
The 1.4-liter turbocharged engine is small by U.S. standards.
With its 1.6-liter powertrain, the Korean-built Chevrolet Aveo currently has the smallest GM engine sold in the United States. The Saturn Astra has a 1.8-liter engine.
Turbochargers could cost GM $200 to $450 per vehicle depending on the system's sophistication.
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