Autoblog

After the DARPA dust settled, only 40 minutes separated the first, second and third place contenders for this year's $2 million bounty. The Carnegie Mellon team, behind the virtual wheel of a tech'd-out Tahoe dubbed the "Boss," won the DARPA Urban Challenge, the first event held in a mock city environment.

The Mellon crew beat out Stanford, Virginia Tech and MIT, and according to Wired's report, none of the top competitors were cited for traffic violations – something that most manned vehicles can't claim. Average speeds ranged from 13 to 14 mph over the course of the 55-mile trek. There was no mention of top speed and we're still uncertain about what specific obstacles were set out to befuddled the ghosts inside the machine.

There's no word yet on whether the DARPA event will continue, as many maintain that since the technical end of things have been sorted, it's time for private firms to take the lead. We'll have more on DARPA when Mr. McElroy reports on the event later in the week.

[Sources: GM (Press Release after the jump), Wired]

Ford is looking for ways to pack their automobiles with innovative technology that achieves the seemingly impossible goal of using smaller, more efficient engines while still delivering the performance wallop customers are demanding. Not only is the Blue Oval seeking more involvement from their suppliers to push new technology and techniques forward, but the automaker's also looking outside the typical realm of automotive OEMs.

One promising new technology is a system developed by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology startup company. Putting a modern-day spin on the concept of water or alcohol injection to either boost octane or cool the cylinder charge (or both), the MIT developed fuel injection system uses direct injection to deliver a shot of ethanol when the engine is under heavy load. The intravenous drip allows turbocharger boost pressure to be cranked way up, adding a significant amount of power gain. Normally, with your wastegate actuators cranked all the way down, you'd discover new and exciting ways to ventilate the crankcase, but this system keeps detonation at bay, which keeps the pistons in the block.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

The Toyota Prius is a fairly high-tech piece of automotive equipment compared to the simple-engined vehicles of the not-too-distant past. Even so, like us, most of you gearheads can give at least an elementary explanation of how the fuel-efficient Prius works. Toyota takes specially grown unicorns and grinds them into a paste that is then packed into magic elfen-made batteries. Those batteries power tiny but powerful electric motors brought back from far in the future using Toyota's time machine technology. Or something like that.

For a much more technical answer (that's filled with elusive little things called "facts"), take a look at MIT's Technology Review. The interactive graphic could help you explain to less car-centric family and friends how hybrid technology works. Or it could help clear up some of the more fantastic myths (time machines?) about Toyota's popular hybrid.

[Source: Technology Review]

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. That can be re-interpreted, for automakers, as the more consumers want your car, the more money they’ll spend your way. And what consumers want right now is better gas mileage, as gas prices continue to climb towards that magical $3 a gallon mark.

Bob Brooks of Consumer Guide reports on one technology, the hydrogen-boosted engine, as a possible future consumer demand. This gas engine injects hydrogen in the regular air/fuel mix of a normal gasoline powertrain. Fuel economy is increased by as much as 30-percent. Other advantages include very little NOx emissions, and low installation costs. The biggest issue, of course, is the lack of hydrogen-fueling stations.

The technology was developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with ArvinMeritor and IAV currently developing it. An SUV is being equipped with the engine for trials, with the first production vehicle planned for delivery by 2010.

More details on the hydrogen-boosted system can be found at the link.

[Sources: Consumer Guide, ArvinMeritor]