Downsizing

Automakers claim that the new generation of small turbocharged engines keep the same performance or even improve older powertrains, as we saw for a VW Passat. However, it's good to know that a mostly performance-oriented publication, Auto News, has tested the new 122 hp 1.4-liter turbocharged VW engine, mated to a 7-speed DSG transmission. Their veredict? Yes, it works as advertis

The French press is all over this: Dacia has saved Renault's numbers by offering decent quality vehicles at decent prices with the latest emissions technology. PSA has decided that it's time to follow Renault's cheap-is-good path and is now searching for a location in Poland and Turkey to make a new model. The new car would be sold under the Citroën and/or Peugeot brands in emerging markets, starting in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Turkey and North Africa. Should the model be success

Click for high-resolution gallery of the S4 and the S4 Avant

Click picture above for a glimpse at the history of the Nissan Micra.

As we've watched the sales of trucks and SUVs implode faster than a twenty-year-old Las Vegas casino over the past year, we of course wonder why? Not that we don't consider this a good thing around these parts. I personally have long felt that American consumers' fascination with SUVs was at best dubious and at worst idiotic. Nonetheless, the dramatic swing to small cars still has to raise an eyebrow or two. Certainly there are those among us who would like to believe that Americans have suddenl

Saab's decision to start down-sizing goes into full effect in 2009 with the debut of the new 9-5. The 9-5 is expected to break out the Geneva Motor Show in March. Saab's largest car will be built on the new Epsilon II architecture that debuted last month with the new Opel Insignia. The smallest engine in the new 9-5 is expected to be a turbocharged 1.6L probably with direct injection. Other engines will include the 2.8L version of GM's twin cam V6 along with a pair of diesels. A 2.0L four cyl

Ford is planning to make a huge push for turbocharged engines starting in April 2009 with the introduction of the first in its line of EcoBoost engines. Honeywell Turbo Technologies will be supplying Ford with turbochargers for the 3.5L V6 and the followup four cylinder EcoBoost engines. Honeywell is estimating that turbocharged engines will go from 30 percent of global vehicle installations to 38 percent over the next five years. Ford and other manufacturers are adding direct injection and turb

With everyone else working on downsized engines to deal with rising (in spite of the current respite) fuel costs, one brand who hasn't said anything is Cadillac. One model in the lineup that would be ripe for the treatment is the CTS. For all the praise the model has earned since its debut last year, one problem it has is mass, as in too much of it. GM has already indicated that they are open to the possibility of using the 2.0L direct injected turbo four cylinder from the Solstice GXP in the Ca

Volkswagen has been one of the leaders in recent years in the area of downsizing engines. The German company was one of the first to start employing boosted and direct injected small displacement four cylinder engines to replace larger displacement equivalents. Yes, I know turbocharged engines have been used by the likes of Saab and others for years. I'm speaking specifically of the latest DI versions that are able to run higher boost and compression without pre-ignition. The same technology is

Audi looks set to go on a major engine downsizing kick in the next few years in an attempt to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. It doesn't look like Audi plans any significant power reductions, but many of its engine will move smaller displacements and fewer cylinders with boosting. The result is lighter weight, smaller engines with smaller thirst most of the time and power available on demand. Audi's upcoming mini, the A1, will have gas engines ranging from a 1.2L 86hp TFSI

At a Powertrain technology event in Europe, General Motors has announced a pair of new small displacement turbocharged engines. The 1.4L turbo is gasoline fueled and will be used globally in cars like the Opel/Saturn Astra starting in 2010. Depending on the application, the engines will generate 120-140hp and use eight percent less fuel than a comparable output 1.8L normally aspirated engine. The turbocharger is integrated into the exhaust manifold and both the intake and exhaust valve timing ca

Upcoming fuel economy regulations in the U.S. and carbon dioxide emissions limits in Europe appear set to take a bite out of the next generation Saab 9-3. The current 9-3 is derived from GM's Epsilon platform and the new 9-3 was due to come off the Epsilon II that underpins the new Opel Insignia, but a change may be in the works. GM has reportedly canceled the Epsilon II-based 9-3 in favor of a model built off the Global Compact Car platform that will be the basis of the next Astra/Cobalt and, o

As fuel prices continue on their upward trajectory, more and more evidence is coming to light that American drivers are making adjustments. Sales of mid-sized SUVs have completely tanked in the last few years, and now J.D. Power and Associates has compiled sales data on the relative market shares for different engine types. Since 2003, market penetration for both eight and six cylinder engines has dropped while four cylinders are on the rise, a trend likely to accelerate in the coming years.

Well, Volkswagen's job cuts at the brand's German facilities may not be popular, but at least they're fair. The company confirmed Wednesday that its plan to improve productivity and efficiency by cutting up to 20,000 jobs includes up to 20 percent of the company's 1,000 management staff.

According to the Wichita Eagle, local dealerships are seeing buyers either purchasing new, more fuel-efficient SUVs or just delaying their purchase of a new SUV until fuel prices fall. Few have seen buyers choosing to downsize even to large cars, let alone small ones. Les Eck of Rusty Eck Ford states, "I haven't seen people trading in their Expeditions to buy a small car."