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Next Gen Turbo in 1 litre engines

Discussion in 'Other Cars' started by SageBrush, Mar 17, 2012.

  1. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I found this LA times article very interesting.

    Ford (and others) seem to be placing sincere bets on cars with tiny engines mated to turbo. This is a different solution to the same problem(s) that hybrids have solved: partial power most of the time in a conventional car, but higher power on demand. The forward hype suggests 40 mpg in the city, 50 mpg on the highway. That seems possible for small cars.


    One problem with turbo is lag until it kicks in, although I get the impression improvements have been made. Another problem is the noise in turbo mode; and a 3rd problem is "tinny" sounding tiny engines that offend Merkin ears. This last "problem" might be addressed by playing a soundtrack of a different engine, or DSP'g the track first :rolleyes:

    What say you folks, will these cars become hybrid competitors as fuel prices rise ? I think so, although perhaps mostly in the price conscious consumer who has to agree to some tradeoffs.
     
    #1 SageBrush, Mar 17, 2012
  2. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The 2013 Fusion will interesting to watch. The consumer will have the choice of a hybrid, plug-in, eco turbo DI engine, or a power one.

    I believe Ford's ecoboost has solved the first two problems. The radio is already there for the third.

    A 3 cylinder turbo mated with an auto stop/start system is going to be a strong contender to hybrids in the subcompact to compact segment. The new Accent starts under $15k. These improvements might only add a $1000 to the price. Perhaps less, but definetly less than a decent hybrid system.
     
    #2 Trollbait, Mar 17, 2012
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