General Motors has confirmed plans to bring a new global family of small displacement Ecotec engines to the market within the next three years.
The development program calls for the reduction of manufacturing complexity by consolidating three engine families into one and increasing the interchangeable global components.
The new family of gasoline engines will comprise of both three- and four-cylinder units in displacements from 1.0-liters to 1.5-liters, and will feature a lightweight design and technologies such as direct injection, turbocharging and alternative fuel compatibility.
“Our customers around the world agree we need to reduce our dependence on petroleum and reduce vehicle carbon emissions,” said Jim Federico, vehicle line executive for GM global small cars and electric vehicles.
“We are working aggressively on vehicle electrification and other technologies, but the most immediate progress will come from continually improving the internal combustion engine,” added Federico.
GM is developing the next generation of small displacement Ecotec engines in partnership with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), Shanghai General Motors (SGM) and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC).
The Detroit carmaker said that engines will be used in multiple vehicle architectures in various regions around the world through the end of the decade.
2 Comments:
Glad to see GM finally doing what US auto makers should have started doing back in the 70's, better late than never I suppose.
There is no reason a 1.0 L engine can't produce 170hp and be reliable, Japanese motorcycle engines already do this. And a 1.5 L turbo should be able to produce 300hp and be fuel efficient. The only hard part is making enough torque, and you do that by augmenting with an electric motor, torque is their strong suit. Building an efficient hybrid powerplant that has the equivalent of 400 hp and 350 lb/ft of torque is certainly doable, and with such a system you can propel virtually any large standard vehicle in your line.
So...the Americans have finally find out that their concept: bigger is better...is not a real concept?
Great! Welcome to: smaller is more efficient.
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