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That's slightly different, but true. There are 2 reasons you need weights on tractors: - you need mass to create traction under the wheels to be able to pull with high force. That is total mass. - you need some force to counteract the toque applied by the rear axle, which tends to tip over the...

Worth noting that double-clutch-type transmissions have been used on agri tractors long before they entered the automotive market. Without a hidraulic drive or DSG-type box, in high-tractive-force / low-speed applications it's impossible to shift gears once the load is on (e.g. plow in the...

Pure IC-electric is very inefficient. The conversion from mech. work to electric may reach 85%, power modulation will loose you another 5%, traction motors may reach 90%. So you will loose 30% off the IC motor's power production. It works in locomotives purely because alternatives are even...

I can confirm, flaps are present in Romania, although not all stations... don't think it's a legal requirement, just that Euro-model multi-combo pumps are used.

AFAIK the XL1 had a parallel hybrid setup, so the diesel was not just a generator for the electric drive, but rather powered the car directly, the electric was either offering extra power when needed, or taking power off the diesel (or off the wheels during braking) to recharge the batteries...

In my oppinion a hybrid diesel does make sense, but only if you use a small diesel. The big advantage is that diesel engines are most efiicient at high load. So size the diesel so that you use all of it's power in a moderate acceleration, use extra electric power for strong acceleration and use...

MPGe: Gallon of what? Gasoline? And "equivalent" how? Energy or cost? One gallon of gasoline does not cost the same as one gasoline-gallon-energy-equivalent of electricity, or one gasoline-gallon-energy-equivalent of CNG, or... Whatever you do, it still takes a bit of intelligence to figure it out.

Torque is analogious to force, not to work or power. So just as you can have force with no motion, you can have torque with no motion. For sure, an electric motor can generate toque at 0 rpm. Otherwise it could not set itself or anything else into motion without external help, just like an IC...

Too little power, but then there's the 1.2L TSI (105 hp), that I could see working.

How about flywheels? Big headache in a car that's supposed to be light and nimble, but on a bus, these should be space for it? Place it horizontally, to avoid the gyroscopic effect when turning tight corners, and the same gyroscopic effect still helps with roll stabilization as an added benefit.

To me the article is so confuse as to be irrelevant. !

So, a 285hp compact family hatchback with luggage room barely enough for weekend shopping, aimed at the fuel-economy-minded mother-of-two with a racing hobby? MAKES. NO. SENSE. Use the same architecture, half the power and half the battery pack, you get a regular family hatchback with...

There is no problem with the turbo "spooling up and down". That's what automotive turbos are designed to do and do it in regular driving. They put variable geometry vanes in them so they can do it even more. These are not high-inertia tubos like those used in locomotive ore marine engines. In...

Ramps are... adequate. Your suspicion is confirmed. Also, drivers on the 1st lane do keep an eye out for vehicles merging onto the road and (out of instinct of self-preservation if not courtesy), do assist the latter. Exceptions abound everywhere, of course. But just one thought: millions of...

Exactly. If a 60hp N/A gasser (95Nm torque @3500rpm) is adequate, than a 50hp TDI with 130Nm @1800rpm will be too. Mind you, there are plenty of cars in this power range on Europe's roads (Fiat, PSA, Renault, GM all sell small cars with <70hp <100Nm N/A gasoline engines in EU, and have been...

No, it's a parallel twin. Makes it share many parts with the 1.6TDI, and so cheap to manufacture. I'm sure they'll sort out the vibrations to an acceptable level. Fiat did, with the 0.9 Twinair, and I tip my hat to them for having the guts to be the first who brings a twin cyl. engine into the...

It exists. It's called Fiat 500, it is pretty, fuel efficient, can be configured in a million ways, costs too much for precicesly that reason and does not sell in the US. Like it or not, in that market small still has to mean cheap, no matter how cool it is.

Well, the jury's still out on that one. Some people like the typical twin sound, but it's not as refined as a 4-holer, for sure. And FE figures in the real world tend to dissapoint. Then again, maybe the expectations were too high... it's a 90hp petrol engine after-all on a 1000Kg car. TomJD...

The kids need to find jobs first... With the uneployment rates across western Europe but also the US already at alarming levels and growing, and the younger being most affected, what the kids will buy is what their parents will afford.

The key here, IMO, is the differentiation between force and work. The force exerted by the exhaust gasses on the piston is indeed equal to that exerted on the turbine blades, as rex points out. But energy is a product of work, and work is a product of force AND displacement. While your piston...