Lotus Teases With a Fuel-Agnostic Two-Stroke Engine 269
JohnnyBGod writes "Lotus claim to have invented a new, more efficient engine design. The two-stroke, flex-fuel engine can achieve, according to the surprisingly technical press release, 'approximately 10% better [fuel consumption] than current spray-guided direct injection, spark ignition engines.' The engine has a sliding puck arrangement to control its compression ratio, and has direct injection and a wet sump, to eliminate fuel leakage to the exhaust and the need to mix oil with the fuel, two common problems with two-stroke engines. Lotus engineering have released a video explaining the engine's operation."
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:5, Insightful)
So where is this magical Ford engine at now? A one-off prototype car is no better than a single experimental engine.
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:3, Insightful)
Various theories hint at the interests of the oil lobby to continue four-stroke dominance (just look at the low mpg of most american manufacturers in general) and perceived customer comfort being the most widely used trump. High fuel efficiency does not usually provide sporty acceleration, low engine noise, and high torque at low revs.
Uh... explain then why European & Japanese manufacturers can make high mpg with the same four-stroke engine technology? Oil lobby aside, the technology has more efficiency possible.
And irrespective of that, two-stroke doesn't necessarily mean less fuel consumption - and is far more likely to mean higher lubrication oil consumption.
In reality, noisy diesels have sold well in Europe (thanks in part to diesel fuel subsidies)
Where on earth did you get the idea that Europe subsidises diesel?
and customers have bought poor performing, smaller cars for everyday use.
That's more likely to be a pattern of behaviour - distances between cities and key locations are smaller due to higher density, and roads are narrower in Europe, so having a massive car is more likely to be an inconvenience.
Re:Uh huh. Just add to the Copenhagen free promoti (Score:5, Insightful)
Dude, Chill!
Let's assume you're right and it could have been done 30 years ago (it couldn't but I'll get to that later). It's newsworthy because no-one has done this before, in fact it's more newsworthy if someone has a really obvious idea that no-one has done before. I'm sure the first person to stick an internal combustion or steam engine on a cart was told it was a really obvious idea, but the first horseless carriage still deserved to be big news. I'd certainly class a major engine development as being as newsworthy as the latest revision of the Linux kernel being released.
As I understand the article they're using direct injection similar to that used in modern performance diesels. This is a relatively new technology that requires very high pressure fuel injectors which are still a developing technology and weren't available 10 years ago never mind 30. Don't forget mechanical engineering is a much slower moving field than software - they have to design and test things in their field before they release them ;-)
Re:10% improvement isn't that much (Score:5, Insightful)
You are assuming that ethanol is a green fuel. I'm not so sure about corn-based ethanol. Future technology may change that, but I am uneasy using a subsidized food crop to make fuel for cars.
Re:10% improvement isn't that much (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:10% improvement isn't that much (Score:3, Insightful)
And that's used for BioDiesel, not Ethanol. BioDiesel is MUCH more environment friendly in terms of production. A few simple catalysts and it's done, no waiting for or heating fermentation.
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:2, Insightful)
Well.. yes. Not for a 2 month drive-across-the-continent-type vacation, but believe it or not we don't drive around in cars like the one Mr. Bean [wikimedia.org] uses. Besides, as I posted elsewhere on this article, fuel costs roughly €1,5 here in Norway (despite the fact that we are a major producer of oil products). Even so, the fact that you get your fuel almost for free (in comparison) doesn't in any way justify driving a huge monstrosity of an SUV/pickup-truck/whatever just because you might go to Disneyland or you might have to move some heavy shit.
I can't be arsed to do the math right now, but I'd bet that having a sensible car (that accelerates no worse, and probably drives and handles better than a huge SUV or something) offsets the cost of leasing something more roomy that one time per decade you actually go road tripping with your family of five.
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:3, Insightful)
So once again striking a balance between shareholder interest (increasing profits) and global economic / ecological interest (decreasing emissions and oil reliance both by better fuel efficiency and better combustion of cleaner, more varied fuel) is an impossible mission.
Why should it be the state's interest to ensure shareholder value for private companies ?!? And honestly, if the state mandates fuel economy on new cars and forces a change in production lines, I have no fear the companies would adapt their lines to make sure their bottom line does not drop. Destroying the economy my ass.
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:4, Insightful)
I have lived in Europe and the US - people in Europe really have a hard time understanding the American way of driving. Every winter we (family of 4, plus dog) take a trip of 2000 miles round trip, and most summers we take another of 1000 miles. A 400 mile round trip camping trip is something we do twice a year. No way am I going to rent a van 4+ times a year, I love my minivan and all its creature comforts.
Look at the statistics - Americans have almost twice as many cars per head as in Europe, and they drive each of those cars almost twice as far each year. The fact that we get our fuel "almost for free" may not justify such behavior, but it does help explain it.
I think that a lot of Europeans kid themselves that their virtuous behavior is due to a moral superiority when really, if fuel suddenly cost one third of what it does now in Norway, I'd predict in a couple of years you'd be seeing a lot of V8s on your roads.
Re:What took it all so long?? (Score:3, Insightful)
And when gas was up to $4.50 here in the states around the last summer Olympics, people did, in fact, drive much less.