The WardsAuto Engine & Technology Update

OCTOBER 10, 2016

Fuel-Cell Vehicles Don’t Add Up, Analyst Says

The cost of the technology, the energy required to produce the fuel and the resulting well-to-wheel emissions make FCVs less than green, concludes a Hong Kong-based investment firm.

2016 Wards 10 Best UX Winners

Articles, videos and photo galleries from our inaugual ranking of the best man-machine interfaces in vehicles.

Valeo Sets Sights on 48V Leadership

Valeo’s 48V system, which is underpinned by the French supplier’s electric supercharger, makes its debut this year on the redesigned Audi SQ7 high-performance large SUV.

Infiniti Reveals Full VC-Turbo Details

A multilink technology, with piston-connecting rods almost vertical during the combustion cycle, was created in 1998 and is one of 300 technologies Infiniti says it has patented for the VC-Turbo.

Mobility Services Key Destination for Opel Ampera-e

Opel marketing chief Tina Müller says EVs will see rapid growth. “In 10 years, I’m sure we will laugh about the old times and internal-combustion engines,” she says.

Toyota Puts Fun in Functionality With New Prius

2016 Story Behind 10 Best Engines
Toyota claims the new Prius engine is the world’s first to achieve an amazing 40% maximum thermal efficiency, the measure of how much energy from the fuel actually reaches the drive wheels.

Continental Shows Off Its Latest Self-Driver

“Automated driving is a complex system, but we have to make it simple for the end consumer,” says Tom Kenny, a Continental project manager.

Toyota Brings Stop-Start to U.S. on Highlander, Expands D-4S

An up-to-1 mpg (0.4 km/L) improvement in city driving can be realized by leaving on Toyota’s stop-start.

VW Alltrack’s Amazing Feat: Making the Station Wagon Cool, Rugged

Test Drive
To some people the moniker “station wagon” is synonymous with loser cruiser, vintage 1955.

ZF, TRW Make Powerhouse Technology Team

In the year since ZF acquired TRW, the two automotive suppliers have combined to flex their complementary technology muscle across a wide range of chassis, safety and driver-assistance systems.

VW Chairman Diess Forecasts EV Market Leadership

The automaker intends to refashion its image and product portfolio in the coming years with a focus on electrification and advanced mobility technology and ventures.

Executive Denies VW Acted Illegally in Dieselgate

Imelda Wander-Lamé, Volkswagen’s director of group aftersales, apologizes “for this inconvenience and loss of trust that we caused to our customers,” but refuses to admit to a consumer group any illegality by VW in installing so-called defeat devices.