Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Ford To Offer Fuel-Saving 'Start-Stop' System

Posted by Soulskill on from the eventual-acceleration dept.

Ponca City writes "The Detroit Free Press reports that Ford plans to offer start-stop systems on many cars in 2012 that save fuel by turning an engine off when the vehicle is idling and quickly restart it when the driver releases the brake or steps on the gas pedal, improving fuel economy by 4% to 10%, depending on driving conditions. The system, common in Europe on cars with manual transmissions, is already in use in the US on gasoline-electric hybrids, including the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Automakers have been reluctant to add the feature to cars in the US because the testing method that the Environmental Protection Agency uses to determine fuel efficiency ratings doesn't include many stops and thus doesn't recognize the technology's effectiveness."

6 of 572 comments (clear)

  1. Cold weather by E-Sabbath · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How does this system behave in cold weather? Sometimes, I want the car running for a while, either to power the heater or to just warm up the engine before I take it on the road?

    1. Re:Cold weather by lyml · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well we've been using it for a while in Sweden and it's pretty cold up here. No problems so far.

    2. Re:Cold weather by Shuntros · · Score: 5, Informative

      It behaves perfectly well in cold weather. I have a 2.0L/200bhp diesel BMW in the UK where it's been sub-zero (that's on the rest-of-the-world temperature scale) for the last month. A number of pre-requisites have to be met for the car to commence the start-stop behaviour, such as the engine having warmed up sufficiently, battery charged etc.. There's also a button on the dash to disable it as it can get a little annoying during rush hour due to frequent stopping in heavy traffic. It took a couple of weeks to get used to, but it now feels strange to sit at the lights with the engine running. It's very fast aswell; kills the engine below 5mph when the car is in neutral and clutch is out, then the moment you hit the clutch to pop her back in gear she fires up again, so quickly that it's almost impossible to get your foot on the gas before she's running.

      Not sure how they plan to implement it for cars which run in "stupid mode" (automatic transmission); presume it'll crank it when you take your foot off the brake to drive off.

      BMW specifically recommend NOT warming the car up for long periods before driving off; it's no longer necessary due to today's technology, nicosil-plated cylinders etc...

    3. Re:Cold weather by afidel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, because -40F and -40C are so different.....

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  2. Re:Fuel-Saving? by lyml · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Since it's already been deployed in Europe with great success (although the silence when you stand still at a red light is ominous) Mythbusters seems redundant.

  3. Re:Why hasn't it been done before? by Ebbesen · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, Volkswagen made the Lupo back in the 90s. It was able to achieve 78 miles to the US gallon with a 1.2L diesel engine.

    So, I guess he's full of it, if the battery pack on the big American cars are unable to store enough energy.