For automakers worried about meeting the 54.5 mpg CAFE mark by 2025, Johnson Controls — the ones who predicted the end of the steering wheel by 2025 — assured them that the target could be met, and without the need to turn everything into a plug-in or full EV.
Johnson Controls own Brian Kessler, who heads the company's battery division, claims that a combination of turbocharging, stop-start systems, direct injection and other bleeding-edge fuel economy technology could be leveraged to meet this target. He then added that no automaker necessarily needs to go the route of Tesla, Nissan or Toyota to meet the CAFE target, implicitly endorsing the Environmental Protection Agency's approach to fuel economy regulations over that of the California Air Resource Board's mandate of electric batteries or fuel cells for zero-emission vehicles.
While most manufacturers have had mixed results with plug-in hybrids and other EVs, they've had better luck upgrading the internal combustion engine to meet the challenge before them. Downsized and turbocharged powertrains, like Ford's EcoBoost engine lineup, were cited as a cost effective solution. 80 percent of the Blue Oval's line of vehicles can be optioned with an EcoBoost engine, spreading the cost of development throughout the line. Of course, downsized turbo engines are notorious for delivering big numbers on government fuel economy tests, while falling short of real world fuel economy expectations.
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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