Ward's Auto Announces the 10 Best Engines of the Year

The annual list of Ward's 10 Best Engines of the year has been released. The magazine's editors chose the winners after spending October and November driving 36 vehicles with 34 of those featuring new or significantly upgraded powerplants.

To be eligible to participate in the competition, Ward's states that "each engine must be available in a regular-production U.S.-specification model on sale no later than first-quarter 2012, in a vehicle with a base price below $55,000".

And the winners of this year's competition are:

• 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi A6)


• 2.0L N20 Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (BMW Z4/528i)


• 3.0L N55 Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (BMW 335i coupe)


• 3.6L Pentastar DOHC V-6 (Chrysler 300S/Jeep Wrangler)


• 2.0L EcoBoost DOHC I-4 (Ford Edge)


• 5.0L DOHC V-8 (Ford Mustang Boss 302)


• 2.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Buick Regal GS)


• 1.6L DOHC I-4 (Hyundai Accent/Kia Soul)


• 2.0L Skyactiv DOHC I-4 (Mazda3)


• 3.5L DOHC V-6 HEV (Infiniti M35h)

The magazine's editors pointed out that seven out of this year's 10 Best Engines came equipped with direct fuel-injection technology.

"With so many engines featuring gasoline direct-injection and forced induction, we're pleased to have a list that is rich in technology," commented Drew Winter, editor-in-chief of WardsAuto World magazine. "Additionally, every engine reinforces the idea that even fuel-efficient vehicles must be fun to drive."

Notably, all 10 engines are gasoline units with no diesel or electric engines making the final cut. The only hybrid powerplant is the Infiniti M35h's V6 unit. Ford and BMW where the only companies to be represented twice in the list, while GM had only one engine, the Buick Regal GS's 2.0L turbo, as did Audi, Chrysler, Hyundai, Mazda and Infiniti.

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C&D Nabs Official 2014 Volvo XC90 Design Proposals

By the admission of Volvo, the XC90 is a "newcomer" in the luxury SUV market, and which began in 2002 - five years after Mercedes-Benz M-Class and three years later than the BMW X5.

However, Volvo says the XC90 has become the "most valuable export product of Sweden", record sales of 85 000 points in 2005 and will bring about 6.2 billion dollars by year's flagship. The United States has been the market leader in the XC90 38 800 units sold in 2004 and 36 200 in 2005.

But nine years is a very long time in the automotive industry, and even though Volvo SUV was updated at least three times in 2007, 2009 and 2011, the competition advanced. Meanwhile, the Swedish company has changed hands when it was sold by Ford to Geely, which is currently developing XC90 replacement.

While the second generation XC90 are linked to another "backwards" as it is in the early stages of development and is not intended to hit the market until 2014.

Car & Driver, visited Volvo's Design Studio in California just before the Los Angeles Auto Show, which the Swede has little to show other than the concept prototype.

There, the magazine has a vision of four drawings that describe the various design proposals for the new XC90. One of them is a blow to, and incorporates the new "face" in advance for that concept.

The other three images are three quarters behind sketches and although they are similar, they vary considerably in many details of the shape of the tail lamps of the size and angle of the pillar C.

The people at Volvo would not comment on which of the four is the closest to the green light, but they revealed that the new XC90 is the first model of the company to use the new architecture scalable platform - possibly with the system of kinetic energy recovery currently being tested by the manufacturer.

The leaders of the Swedish company has also told the magazine that the 2014 driver line-up XC90 is composed of four cylinders (probably turbo), according to the trend driven by the regulations more stringent emission reduction.

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Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Next President Confirms Hybrid Powertrain

Maybe the Mayans were right and the world will end in December 2012. So we never had a chance to see what the Lancer Evolution Hybrid diesel look like in 2015.

But let's take it from the beginning. The hybrid part of the story is not just another one of those crazy rumors that arise in the network. In fact, it's as official as it is because it comes from the mouth of President Osamu Masuko of Mitsubishi.

Revealed to British magazine Autocar Masuko that the next generation of Mitsubishi Lancer Evo enter into a ditch on a standard 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which has become the pillar of the 10 previous versions, you should be driving a hybrid.

That in itself is not a surprise: an electric motor was more or less expected because of the strict regulation of emissions. The real shocker is that the British magazine says there is a very good chance it will not be a gasoline-electric hybrid, but a diesel-electric hybrid. A diesel engine Evo XI? How exactly is this world?

Masuko said, has set clear objectives and a very tight schedule, "states that the objective of developing an electric sports car. Let's start working on the project next year and will be ready in three," said Coach .

The switch radical powertrain was forced to Mitsubishi, the company needs to reduce CO2 emissions below 200 g / km, while providing a second sub-five 0-100 km / h (0-62 mph) the acceleration.

Fortunately, the 11 version of the Evo-killing supercar will not all eco-friendly and stress free for us: it will always send torque to all four wheels via a new version of the fantastic asphalt hugging S-AWC-wheel system training.

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Jaguar Rumored to Tease E-type Successor with a New Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show

Over the past few years, we've heard plenty of rumors concerning Jaguar's plans to build a spiritual successor to the famed E-type of the 1960s and 1970s. The latest word on the grapevine comes from British weekly magazine Autocar that claims Jaguar will release a sporty model in the spirit of the E-type as early as next year.

The magazine says the firm's Indian owner Tata Motors is determined to resurrect the spirit of the iconic Jag. The new model, codenamed XE, is planned as a rival to Porsche’s new Boxster.

Company insiders are cited as saying that the XE will not be a retro interpretation of the classic E-type but a modern roadster that will, however, have some styling similarities with the original like a long bonnet and short tail.

The XE will be based on a new, all-aluminum platform that will also underpin the successor to the current XK, itself due for launch in 2014. It will be smaller than the XK with a length of around 4.3 meters, because its wheelbase will be shortened since it will only accommodate the driver and a passenger.

The report goes on to say that the XE will be revealed as a concept at the forthcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September, while production of the road version is expected to begin at Castle Bromwich in 2012. It will initially be produced only as a roadster, although there is still talk about a coupe version to battle the next generation of the Cayman.

Under the hood will be V6 engines, both normally aspirated and supercharged for the hotter versions. A more affordable turbocharged four-cylinder with lower emissions has also been considered.

What hasn’t been decided yet is what to call the new model. XE will most likely remain just a code. XE-E would be too close to the original, plus Jaguar has already expressed its desire to change the names of its cars. So the brainstorming continues.

Whatever they decide to name it, we hope that they eventually build it and this is not just another false alert.

*All Photos are of the Jaguar F-Type Concept that was introduced in 2000

 

PHOTO GALLERY: 2000 JAGUAR F-TYPE CONCEPT

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