Smaller engines

I’m on my second Volvo, a car which I believe is one of the best possible buys I could ever have made. It’s good in the city, on the open road, at high speeds, economical, handy, comfortable… everything. But I’ll admit my main concern is fuel economy. So I was chuffed when Volvo launched an Eco-Driving challenge here in Portugal, where contestants would be asked to see how far they can go with a single tank of fuel in the new Volvo C30 DRIVe, a super-economical version of the normal 1.6 diesel. I signed up and have been waiting eagerly,and lo and behold, I get a mail saying the drivers are on their way. So I am terribly gutted by the fact I wasn’t even shortlisted for this challenge, it would seem they only chose people from Lisbon (as per usual in this shit-headed country) and who didn’t own a Volvo (after all, what’s the use of preaching to the converted?). I am severely pissed off.

In this quest for fuel economy, I came across an interesting piece on future small engine technology from BMW. Now as a principle, I’m not particularly affectionate toward the Big German Three. Their cars aren’t bad, but they’re rather unimaginatively styled and, IMO, ugly as sin. But the main reason I dislike them is their belly-scraping clientèle. In a country like Portugal, with a quasi-Third World mentality, most people think their status increases hugely due to the car they own, and the best way to do this is to buy an overpriced Audi, BMW or Merc. Then they all drive like animals. And they look down their noses at people who drive Volvos (too boring and safety-conscious) or Citroens (cheap, French and unreliable). But I digress. The aim is to produce three and four cylinder engines that range from 1.3l to 1.8l, but with a great power output. Given these data, and considering how the evolution of the internal combustion engine has turned out, this will translate to great fuel economy and low emissions. So it’s good news.

~ by Alexander on 26/06/2009.