DiesOtto
This is Mercedes-Benz's newest development engine, given its odd name because it uses spark ignition and auto ignition. It runs on gasoline and uses direct injection, turbocharging, variable valve operation, and variable compression that allows the auto ignition much as with a diesel. Having made the diesel as clean as a gas engine with Bluetec, Prof. Dr. Herbert Kohler, whose 15-word title describes essentially the chief of advanced engineering, powertrain, and environment for DaimlerChrysler, says the "next goal will now be to make the gasoline engine as economical as a diesel." The testbed 1.8-liter four-cylinder makes roughly 240 horsepower and nearly 300 pound-feet of torque, with fuel use less than six L/100km--close to 40 mpg. And it does so in a two-ton S-Class sedan that'll run 0-60 a shade above seven seconds. The design is said to produce minimal NOx and CO2 emissions and requires only a three-way catalytic converter for aftertreatment. We've heard that Volkswagen also is working on a "combination" engine, a logical extension of the TwinCharger.
LEGALWATCH
exemptions revoked?
California is still targeting older vehicles, at press time trying to mandate annual smog inspections on vehicles 15 years old back to exempted pre-1976 vehicles. According to SEMA, this ignores the minimal impact vintage cars have on air quality because they constitute a small portion of the overall vehicle population and are a poor source from which to look for emissions reduction, ignores the fact that classic vehicles are overwhelmingly well-maintained and infrequently driven, and represents another attempt by California legislators and regulators to scapegoat older cars. If you're from California and agree, contact your representative ASAP.
Diesel Ruminations
Ford's 2009 F-150 joins the half-ton diesel club in 2009 for the 2010 model year with the new 6.4 liter Power Stroke V-8, rated 350 horsepower and 650 pound-feet in the current Super Duty. That's in time to compete head to head with GM's upcoming 4.5 liter turbodiesel V-8 slated for the Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, and Hummer H2 (and later, probably other GM SUVs) in 2009. Dodge is rumored to be working on a V6 turbodiesel for its next-generation half-ton Ram, not with help from Mercedes-Benz, but probably with Cummins.
inQUOTES
Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, announcing off-highway diesel emission regulation that'll affect virtually all the state's construction equipment, perhaps inadvertently made a bad pun, stating, "We're really breaking new ground here." No one laughed.