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The Fast Lane

Automakers on the Go For Fuel-Saving Technology

thefastlane | 29 June, 2007 03:00

Everywhere in the world, you will be annoyed by news regarding price hikes. Either you see people rallying or drivers who are on strike - these sure are affecting the economy as a whole.

But we can’t blame those people and as the answer to this issue, automakers are on the go to battle it out with the high fuel prices through fuel-saving technology. This one aims to increase a few tenths of a mile per gallon of gasoline. Not that demanding, right? But then, if you will look deeper into this technology which comes with quite a number of names, you would see only one thing - whatever the name, it still is the same technology.

It shuts down fuel to several of the engine's cylinders when your vehicle only needs limited power. Amazing, isn’t it?

According to Chrysler, the new line of V-6 engines fortunately will have cylinder deactivation in 2010 while Honda (HMC) asserted that their company will have an improved adaptation of what it calls the Variable Cylinder Management. This one will be seen on V-6 engines soon in the redesigned 2008 Accord which would be coming this fall.

And as for General Motors (GM), according to their execs, they will employ the mentioned feature on the 2008 Buick LaCrosse V-8, the '08 hybrid edition of GMC SUVs and the full-size Chevrolet.

All the mentioned automakers have been selling vehicles with the cylinder cutoff. It aids to boost mileage by about 6%. These cutoff systems work by closing all the valves and halting fuel to those cylinders that are not in use. Then, if the driver desires more power, it will be reactivated in just milliseconds.

According to the Ford spokesman, Nicholas Twork, "We have it, we can use it, but the real-world fuel-economy benefit hasn't been there. Not to say it won't be some day, but for the time being.” And Ford is not even working out to deal with this “cut-off”.

David Champion, the director of auto testing for the Consumer Reports magazine, said that, "Every little bit helps. But I think it's for marketing reasons.” Champion even attested that they’ve figured out that the systems are altered to bring their main features throughout the national fuel-economy test cycle - it’s the test that creates the mileage statistics placed on latest vehicles' window stickers.

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