the cast-iron block of Ford's new 1-liter EcoBoost engine is 52 pounds

[yortsed snacilbuper]

The compact dimensions of 3-cylinder engines, together with fuel efficiency and reasonably good performance, have pushed Ford and a growing list of competitors -- including Audi, BMW, Citroën, Mini, Peugeot and Volkswagen -- to introduce a new generation of triples, as they are often called.

"Turbocharged 3s are now replacing nonturbo 4-cylinder engines, just as fours have been replacing 6s," said Eric Fedewa, an IHS Automotive analyst who tracks powertrain trends. He explained that in the new 3-cylinder engines, the combination of a turbocharger and features like direct fuel injection and variable cam timing "effectively serves as a fourth cylinder."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/auto-news/packing-123-horsepower-into-3-cylinders-678614/#ixzz2N6PTFEjW

[sabbat hunter]

1. the ecoboost engine

did not get very good reviews from Consumers Report (CU the parent company of CR is a non-profit company that takes no ad dollars)

[BlueStreak]

3. They have some rather peculiar biases. I don't find them very useful.

They tend to be anti-technology.

[RC]

4. You beat me to it.

Back in the 1970, Consumer Reports did a deal on four wheel drives and said the marginally improved traction was not worth the extra cost or some such nonsense.
When you can push snow with your headlights in a two wheel drive car, then I will be convinced.

While 4wheel drives may not be able to stop any better, traction is much improved over one or two wheel drive. I drove 4wheel drives for over twenty years. I bought my first one because I worked at a TV transmitter site 20 miles south of town - The site being on the top of a bluff, 600 feet above the average terrain. I never had to walk that last mile after that.

[caraher]

7. But you actually needed improved traction

CR is partly about helping people save money, and for people in what they took as their target demographic I'd guess the added expense of 4WD probably was not going to be worth it.

But as "they" say, "your mileage may vary." They presumably would have had different recommendations for a population of people buying vehicles for your kind of work.

In any case, it's certainly true that CR reviews cannot be taken as gospel. They may offer "independent" opinions but even those are fraught with tacit assumptions about what the needs and values of the "consumer."

[BlueStreak]

8. Their concept of the "ideal product" is not at all close to mine

CR puts a lot of emphasis on things that don't matter so much to me, such as rear seat leg room. And they do not value some of the things I find most beneficial, mostly in the technology area. At one time, perhaps they provided a useful service for car buyers -- back in the day when there were really big difference in build quality and product longevity. But these days, all the major brands are pretty well built, so now they obsess on safety numbers. While safety is important, I don't think safety is entirely a numbers game.

[caraher]

9. Yep

If you understand what they value and it matches what you do, then they probably do have good recommendations. When I read their views I largely ignore overall recommendations and try to glean from the details information about what matters to me.

[BlueStreak]

10. That's a good approach. Unlike most of the other reviews

I think CR is still unbiased, at least inasmuch as they don't accept payment for good reviews. All those Motor Trend (and similar) articles have at minimum a quid prop quo with the advertising budget, and some are outright purchased articles.

I don't know if there are "car magazines" that do objective reviews that are insulated from the revenue side of the magazine.

[BlueStreak]

2. Super cool. But is is just the start

In an aggressive hybrid configuration, you really only need 50-60 HP for just about any car or SUV. You can supplement that with as much HP in electric motors as you need for peak acceleration or torque.. The gas engine only needs to be a little more than the average power consumption. Basically you need enough HP to make it up the steepest mountain grade that is long enough to fully drain the batteries. Please note that the gas engine on the Volt is only 84HP and that is probably way overkill.

So we might see this eventually get to a turbo-2 or an even more compact turbo-3. Either way, this is the near-to-medium-term future, until fuel cells become feasible.

[Mopar151]

5. Ecoboost engines are turbocharged, direct injection, candy for motorheads!

Affordable direct injection technology and computerized engine control have finally begun to acheive the levels of power and efficency sought by small-car enthusiasts since the 50's.
Some people laugh when I share memories of Dad's 1200cc, 36 hp '60 Bug, or Bud's 850cc, RHD Mini (4 speed non-synchro, dodgy hyd. clutch cyl.) The Mini was as much fun as you could have with your clothes on, if there was'nt a grade involved. But all the racers nod sagely, and talk about the cars they had that you could drive flat-out, all the time - and nobody noticed!

[NBachers]

6. Very interesting- Thanks for posting this, yortsed