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And the US automotive industry is in dire straits. It did not learn from the 1973 energy crisis. It did not learn from the Chrysler experience. It did not learn from Toyota. It continued to depend on old, worn out concepts and on CEO’s that are kept in their positions by nepotism and by boards that do not understand the automotive business.

In a joint effort the Big Three are asking the US government for a $25 billion loan. They argue that government demands for increased fuel efficiency are too expensive to implement and require huge amounts of capital for retooling.

Let’s assume for the moment that the argument has some merit. But how can companies with worldwide manufacturing facilities fail to notice the steady increase in fuel prices and not see the warning signs hoisted by governments across the world that want to limit greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption. This neglect is inexcusable. Efforts of US and European governments to limit fuel consumption are misdirected, counterproductive, and coercive. A comprehensive analysis quickly reveals that we must indeed limit and eventually halt greenhouse gas emissions.

OPEC countries will continue their unstoppable increases of petroleum prices. Electric cars, CNG powered cars, and hydrogen powered cars cannot stop carbon dioxide emissions perceptibly and will not make our country independent of OPEC imports. Automotive companies are critically dependent on the fickle and changing preferences of national and international markets.

Industrial companies that follow political hype will be punished sooner or later. Governments are incapable of designing automobiles for the market place. The world is relegated to using automobiles, trucks, trains, ships, and airplanes for the next century and will have to power most of them with liquid transportation fuels. We may be able to use less of them, we will be able to reduce energy consumption, we can use other forms of energy for some transportation, and we can produce petroleum substitutes from biomass. We can even produce biomass without competing with critically important food crops.

In order to minimize fuel consumption quickly, the auto industry is forced to deal with performance features. American drivers cannot avoid covering much longer distances than European or Japanese drivers. American drivers have less access to public transportation, have larger families, and drive on different types of roads. Automotive companies must listen to their customers.

Toyota and Honda have been listening most successfully. American and foreign car companies have developed a wide range of comfortable cars with a wide variety of utilitarian and luxury features. Sportive cars and SUV’s are attracting large numbers of buyers. All cars offer a wide selection of comfort and entertainment features. One major car component has received only peripheral attention; it is the much maligned internal combustion engine.

Many modern internal combustion engines are marvels of engineering. Materials, manufacturing processes, and especially peripheral components have progressed to unprecedented levels of performance and longevity. There is a last frontier that has escaped deserved attention. This is the highly energy efficient combustion engine. This is the type of engine that the automotive engine needs to develop, this is the engine that legislators should make mandatory.

This is the engine that we need to use for at least one more century. Long term the automotive industry has to develop an entirely new, advanced, internal combustion engine! Average energy efficiency of the worlds inventory of combustion engines is somewhere in the lower mid-twenties. Energy efficiency cannot grow indefinitely. When approaching the 50% efficiency mark, it will be difficult and very expensive to increase efficiency by a single percent. Advanced automotive engines are operating in the mid-thirties.

Large stationary engines are breaking the 45% mark. Large engines on trains and ships are getting above 40%. Looking at the total world inventory, we may still have a chance to nearly double energy efficiency and to cut energy consumption of present inventory in half. We cannot reach this goal by legislating fuel consumption of cars only. We can achieve optimum energy efficiency only by reengineering the processes taking place within and around the internal combustion space.

We know that higher compression ratios will increase energy efficiency, we know how to produce high octane fuel, we know why Diesel engines are more efficient, we know how to minimize formation of pollutants. The automotive industry has developed a huge selection of sophisticated electronic components for single cylinder fuel injection, for precise controls of valve motion and ignition timing, and for reclaiming waste energy at the exhaust.

No company seems to have found the nerve to get a jump on the competition and develop the successor to the two more than century old engine concepts; the Otto and the Diesel engines. If the US government decides to extend a $25 billion loan to the automotive industry, it should attach a few conditions. The loan needs to be secured and must take precedent over shareholder equity. The loan should stipulate that the salaries of top management are tethered to salaries of other top CEO’s like that of the US President.

The obscene bonuses of yesterday should be paid only after a waiting period of at least five years; in which previously agreed upon management objectives must have been met or exceeded. We must stop the prevalent looting of cash from US manufacturing companies by unscrupulous investors. These investors do not contribute anything of lasting value. They are excessively rewarded for ruining once healthy companies. We cannot continue to let a selected few impoverish the many and ruin our country irreparably.

Acura has been setting new standards in automotive design and engineering for two decades with a strong commitment to bold innovation, precision manufacturing, and satisfying performance. The result is a roster of well-refined luxury vehicles that best typifies cutting-edge technology and thrilling automotive experience. Acura’s reputation for thrilling performance, for instance, relies on well-researched mechanical concepts, considerable of which has already resulted to exceptional Acura engine parts.

Acura was the first Japanese automaker to sell luxury-performance cars in the United States. It was a bold, but nonetheless sharp, move as the first two vehicles were introduced—the Legend luxury sedan and the sporty Integra series. Since the brand’s inception in 1986, Acura vehicles have won countless awards and accolades for its work. In fact, it was the best-selling luxury-performance import nameplate in the US in 1987. Also in the same year, the Acura Legend won Motor Trend’s prestigious Import Car of the Year trophy, while the Integra landed in the Car and Driver’s Ten Best list, both within the same year.

Acura’s heritage of innovation perpetually redefines state-of-the-art luxury in automobiles. A steadfast commitment to Research & Development continues to pioneer industry firsts in fields such as engine structural design, safety, all-wheel drive systems, voice recognition, and cleaner engine technology. Intelligent design propels the VTEC® engine and a group of Acura engine parts to provide legendary performance and fuel efficiency. VTEC® technology improves fuel efficiency at low rpm and boosts engine output at higher velocities.

Supplementing the excellent Acura engine parts is the Drive-by-Wire Throttle System™, which brings a sophisticated electronic system—normally found in race cars—to the Acura gas pedal. The Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD™) system, on the other hand, introduces North America’s first independent torque-distribution control system to raise turning precision and safety. Acura engineers’ forward-thinking has led to safety advancements like Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™), building crash protection right into the frame of the car. These technologies prove that Acura consistently pushes the limits, staying on the cutting edge by sharpening the edge itself. It’s really no wonder then why enthusiasts and drivers have turned their sights on the Japanese-bred automotive force.

The vehicles that use two power sources in conjunction with one another are called hybrid automotives or hybrid vehicles. The history of hybrid power technology is very old. It dates back to the time when diesel electric submarines were first used.

The idea is quite simple, use two power sources to increase the overall efficiency.

Now the question arises that why it was needed. The answer is simple, it was realized that an average person would not be able to afford gasoline in the near future. CO2 emissions will also increase similarly an average person does not require a V8, he/she just needs enough power to reach his destination in time. A V8 as well as a small vehicle can accomplish this. So the hybrid vehicle was introduced.

How it works?

The hybrid vehicle works by using electric as well as gasoline power. Diesel electric vehicles are also there but there numbers are quite low. The hybrid vehicle works by using electric power when the requirement for engine power is low for example when starting the vehicle and up to the speed of 30-40 mph as the electric source cannot run a vehicle by itself.

What is the basic idea behind Hybrid automotives?

The basic idea is to use a smaller lightweight engine to run a vehicle up to a required speed and when the car has to accelerate then the electric source can add some extra power to gain more speed. As a 1.0 liter engine can also move at 75 mph just like a V8 although the V8 has more acceleration power so why waste fuel on a muscle car when a 1.0-liter vehicle can work for you.

Types of Gasoline Hybrid Vehicles

There are two main types of gasoline hybrid vehicles: parallel hybrid car and series hybrid car. The series hybrid car uses the gasoline engine to turn a generator that can either charge the batteries or run an electric motor whereas the parallel hybrid car can combine the two power sources to give more power or the same amount of power but with a better mileage.

Body Structure of Hybrid Vehicles

Now the question arises how the hybrid vehicle can deliver these types of performances when they have such a small engine. They do so by using lightweight materials like carbon fiber composites, low-rolling resistance tires and advanced aerodynamics to reduce drag. The hybrids can even turn the gasoline engine off when not needed such as when stopping at traffic lights. Some vehicles even use the electric power to gain a speed of 30 to 40 KM/h. Some vehicles also use regenerative braking. By this method when breaks are applied, the car decreases the speed by cutting some amount of power. This power is then used by the generator to generate electric power that can be stored for later use.

The price of these vehicles start from 23000$ and they reach up to 54000$. There are some hybrid SUVs are also available in the market.

In the United States auto market, the highest selling luxury brand is the Lexus. The brand is a division of the Japanese car company Toyota Motor Corporation. Its popularity among luxury car buyer is evident on the increasing acceptance of the Japanese brand in the United States auto scene.

One of the most notable models from the brand is the LS 460. The model is the ultra-luxury model of the brand. It made its debut at the 2006 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) and since then has received positive reviews and feedbacks from consumers. Recently, the vehicle is named as the 2007 Best Engineered Vehicle by the Automotive Engineering International Magazine.

The Lexus LS 460 received the distinction after it received the most votes from AEI’s subscribers. Kevin Jost, the Editor-In-Chief of the magazine, has this to say about the award: “The voters had good reason for choosing the Lexus LS 460. ‘The LS 460 brings consumers at least nine world-firsts, including safety breakthroughs such as an advanced obstacle-detection system, emergency-steering assist and rear pre-crash systems. For driving pleasure, there’s also an eight-speed automatic transmission.” Indeed, the LS 460 is packed with a variety of features never before seen in a luxury vehicle.

One of the cutting edge features employed by the Lexus LS 460, as stated by Jost, is the eight-speed automatic transmission. This technology allows the vehicle to accelerate quickly since it provides smooth gear changes in with a wide variety of gear ratios. The smooth transmission also reduces the amount of power wasted thus increasing fuel efficiency.

The pre-crash safety systems are also a first for an automobile and the LS 460 provides such. This means that the vehicle not only provides a good performance but also protects its occupants. The obstacle-detection system provides drivers with sufficient warning to avoid possible accidents. The driver-monitoring system is also a feature of the Lexus LS 460. With this technology, safety can be checked basing on the driver’s capacity to properly drive the vehicle.

Safety features also include the emergency-steering assist which checks oversteer and understeer. With the use of sensors and advanced electronic programs, this vehicle can provide valuable steering assistance to avoid or minimize the risk of accidents.

Aside from the said features, the Lexus LS 460 also employs an intelligent powertrain control system. This system adapts to the engine’s need for power and other variables to provide good performance and respectable fuel efficiency. Rear collisions are also one of the most dangerous accidents a motorist can encounter.

To reduce the risk of severe injury caused by rear end collisions, the Lexus LS 460 features a rear pre-crash safety system. Its roof climate diffusers are also one of the advanced features that the LS 460 boasts of. Another advanced feature that made the LS 460 the top choice for most luxury car owners is the VVT-IE electrically actuated camshaft phasers. These features fused with Lexus performance parts truly make this one of the most advanced cars in the world today.

Winning the coveted title is made even sweeter by the fact that it outclassed some of the most famous vehicles. The Lexus LS 460 took the first spot with the Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra taking the second spot. The Silverado and the Sierra are acknowledged for their remarkable fuel efficiency.

These General Motors vehicles are known to squeeze 20 miles for every gallon. This is despite the fact that the Sierra and the Silverado are both full-size pickup trucks equipped with humongous V8 engines. Taking the third spot is the sports car from German car manufacturer Porsche, the Porsche 911 Turbo. The sports car made is acknowledged as one of the best engineered vehicles due to its advanced materials and aerodynamic engineering.

Revolutionary advancements to automotive engineering and design have incorporated the use of engine computers to enhance the efficiency of engine operations. Along with the use of electronic engine sensors, computer-assisted engine system operations have established greater engine power and performance perfect for daily driving applications. For high performance driving applications, you can simply employ a cost effective Pontiac performance chip to do just the trick in taking your vehicle’s overall engine performance a level up notch. The chip carries a program that is designed to upgrade the critical factory performance settings of your engine. Aside from that, the incorporation of application tested technologies backed up the dyno-test proven results of the fuel efficiency as well as the performance gains offered by premium performance chips. Souping-up serious power train has never been easier. The secret to enjoying practical and convenient solutions to unleashing your vehicle’s overall level of performance lie on the functionality of a single unit of sophisticated performance enhancing device.