I would have thought that staying around as an engine supplier would make sense, the engine is already developed and there is an engine freeze.

But F1 is filled with so many shady deals recently, manufacturers have left and in there place we have odd companies run by felons coming in to buy these teams out

Qadbak & BMW Sauber for instance:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=39112

There have always been new companies that claim to have revolutionized the internal combustion engine.

Claims are wonderful, and McElroy has seen it running on dynometer. Great, so what are the impressions? 500 hours is great, but real-world conditions are harder and longer and not in a controlled environment. Does is meet emission regulations? What mileage does it produce in the real world?

The engine to me looks incredibly wide; wider even then a flat-twin. What advantages would this engine have over a 75hp flat-twin, set up in an array config like this engine?

There are a lot of unanswered questions. This sort of technology is exciting but other then a rehash of whats been in previous press releases what is the actual viability of this new technology?

>>gas-powered Nano delivers well over 50 U.S. miles per gallon, which would surely make for a welcome option here in America.

That gas-powered Nano you are referring to makes only 33hp.

Being that in the US highway driving is important the Nano in its current configuration won't do. If you're in congested Mumbai then its another issue, but I'm assuming that they "hybrid" they are referring to is a start-stop variety.

@Gad Get

Racist comments on this site is much more prevalent then the other large gadget blog. When you put comments in your title that says "shame for humanity, shame on *culture x*" you have to expect racists to come out the woodworks.

Let's look at some sample comments on Engadget and the link:


"fuck japan, seriously '

"I feel shame for the crazy-damn Japs as well..."

"seriously... WTF is wrong with the Japanese? "

"These japs really need to get a life......"

... need I say more.

@KAL326

The problem with eSATA is that it isn't USB- meaning that it isn't ubiquitous. You can't stick it in your PS3 or Xbox360, you can't connect it to any computer or laptop or netbook.

With USB3.0 the necessity of eSATA becomes fewer. As a standard it superior, but its less useful merely because its less ubiquitous. Every device has a USB port these days.

Putin doesn't want to see Avtovaz become just a domestic player. They want its brands to have the technology to compete globally and bring money in through exports- especially from emerging Eastern European market. Blocking foreign competition really doesn't help.

The ruble crumbling in value doesn't help, it deters FDI (foreign direct investments) into Russia. A lot of automotive companies have scaled back or pulled out of that market.

There is obviously a lot that happened behind closed doors on this deal.

Seriously, why even post this if all Engadget is going to do is incite racist comments?

Yes, it sucks hard, the robotics and the music both.

But honestly, there are a ton of crappy robots in the world that don't deserve attention, Engadget "feeling shame for humanity" and "Japan". We don't need to be every failed attempt at battlebots or crappy dancing robots if the only thing interesting is to pass judgment on other races based on an obviously crappy attempt at robotics.

>>So the Volt weighs about 400 pounds more than a Cruze, which should put it at around 3,500 pounds.

I thought that the Cruze weighed closer to 2,800lbs?

The underlining concept will live on; maybe in the form of a Chrome OS tablet, maybe in the form of an Apple tablet. It is a novel idea.

For the CrunchPad, the gestation time just took too long, ARM-cpus are coming in art below $10, Google has shown their OS, Apple is patenting things left and right, the big players are starting to move and there really isn't enough room for a tech start-up anymore.

Comparing mileage of an Infiniti, 911, and Mustang isn't an effective methodology in comparing the technology of the engine. First and foremost the cars are very different with very different range of weights and aerodynamics and rolling resistance of the tires.

Let's consider that at highway speed (60 mph) the majority of energy from the engine is used to overcome drag. This increases as speed increases. More aerodyanmic cars with smaller front surface area (A) that produces less drag like the 911 get better mileage.

Also, for mileage the maximum horsepower isn't as important as the general power curve and load at highway speeds. The transmission plays a big role in this, and the new 6-speed Automatic deserves a good deal of the credit for Ford's mileage figures.

In reality, this new Ford V6, the Nissan VQ, and Porsche's flat-6 are all wonderful engines. But mileage is a result of the entire package; aero, transmission, tires, weight, etc. and using it to paper compare the relative efficiencies of engines is ineffectual.