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Ward's announces 10 Best Engines 2015

Ward's Auto has named its 10 Best Engines for 2015, covering a range of powerplants from fuel-sippers to fire-breathers. As with past years, forced-induction reigns supreme, with seven of the ten engines featuring a turbo or supercharger. This year is slightly different, though, as two of the seven blown engines are turbocharged three-cylinder mills, from the Ford Fiesta and Mini Cooper. They're joined by the 2.0-liter turbo four from the Volvo S60, the 1.8-liter turbo four from the Volkswagen Jetta and the 2.0-liter boxer from the Subaru WRX. BMW and Chrysler were the only marques to be named to this year's list twice, with the electric motor from the i3 joining the Mini's three-pot, and the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee repping the diesel crowd, alongside a certain supercharged monster. Hyundai also took a prize with a zero-emissions powertrain, with the Tucson FCV's 100-kilowatt fuel cell making the list (apparently Ward's is quite generous with what it deems an "engine"). Rounding out the list are two Autoblog favorites, each displacing 6.2 liters, but producing their power very differently. On the one hand, Chevrolet's overhead-valve, 455-horsepower V8, found in the Corvette, makes its power the old fashioned way. And in the other corner, we have one of the most exciting engines of the year – the 707-hp, 6.2-liter, supercharged Hellcat V8, featured so prominently in the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat. "We spend a lot of time reading the powertrain tea leaves throughout the auto industry, and we're proud that this year's list is a microcosm of all the latest innovation coming from automakers," said Ward's Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter in a statement. "It's not just a list for enthusiasts or for environmentalists," he says. "There's something for every vehicle shopper and every budget. All the powertrains on this list deliver a first-rate driving experience," Winter added. Scroll down for the full list from Ward's, and let us know which engines you think belong and which should have been included in this year's rankings. Ward's 10 Best Engines of 2015 Announced by Penton's WardsAuto Honorees span most diverse and technically advanced engines in 21 years of recognized powertrain excellence SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's Wards 10 Best Engines of 2015 have been announced.

Hyundai Motor reassigns 17 top execs to make way for fresh ideas

SEOUL — South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group shook up its executive ranks on Tuesday and appointed its first foreign head of research and development, raising expectations of a smooth transition of power at the family-run business empire. The reshuffle, first reported by Reuters on Tuesday and confirmed by Hyundai on Wednesday, is part of preparations for generational change in the executive ranks at South Korea's second-largest family-owned business empire. Group President Albert Biermann, a German former BMW executive, was named head of research and development, replacing longtime executives Yang Woong-chul and Kwon Moon-sik. The move was seen as a significant step to bring in fresh ideas at the Korean-dominated group. In all, 17 top executives were reassigned across the group including at Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp — which together form the fifth-biggest automaker in the world. The move follows the promotion of Euisun Chung in September to Hyundai Motor's executive vice chairman, moving him closer to succeeding his 80-year-old father, Mong-Koo Chung, as group chairman. It comes as Hyundai Motor Co battles to reverse falling profits as a result of U.S. recall costs and weak sales in the U.S. and Chinese markets. Hyundai Motor Co shares jumped as much as 9 percent to their highest level since Oct. 10, while shares in affiliates like Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Wia and Hyundai Glovis also rallied. While the announcement by Hyundai on Tuesday of a major investment in fuel cell production also lifted sentiment, analysts said most of the share price rise could be attributed to the leadership changes. In particular, it signaled that the junior Chung was making progress with his plans to restructure the sprawling group after a previous plan was scrapped due to opposition from U.S. hedge fund Elliott. "The reshuffle signals that the junior Chung is tightening his grip on the conglomerate, a move which raises investors' hopes for change," said Kim Joon-sung, an analyst at Meritz Securities. Ascendance of outsiders In a sign that Chairman Chung's grip may be weakening, one of his closest lieutenants, Hyundai Motor Co Vice Chairman Kim Yong-hwan, was reassigned away from the core automaker and named vice chairman of steelmaking affiliate Hyundai Steel.

Ford fights back against patent trolls

Some people are just awful. Some organizations are just as awful. And when those people join those organizations, we get stories like this one, where Ford has spent the past several years combatting so-called patent trolls. According to Automotive News, these malicious organizations have filed over a dozen lawsuits against the company since 2012. They work by purchasing patents, only to later accuse companies of misusing intellectual property, despite the fact that the so-called patent assertion companies never actually, you know, do anything with said intellectual property. AN reports that both Hyundai and Toyota have been victimized by these companies, with the former forced to pay $11.5 million to a company called Clear With Computers. Toyota, meanwhile, settled with Paice LLC, over its hybrid tech. The world's largest automaker agreed to pay $5 million, on top of $98 for every hybrid it sold (if the terms of the deal included each of the roughly 1.5 million hybrids Toyota sold since 2000, the company would have owed $147 million). Including the previous couple of examples, AN reports 107 suits were filed against automakers last year alone. But Ford is taking action to prevent further troubles... kind of. The company has signed on with a firm called RPX, in what sounds strangely like a protection racket. Automakers like Ford pay RPX around $1.5 million each year for access to its catalog of patents, which it spent nearly $1 billion building. "We take the protection and licensing of patented innovations very seriously," Ford told AN via email. "And as many smart businesses are doing, we are taking proactive steps to protect against those seeking patent infringement litigation." What are your thoughts on this? Should this patent business be better managed? Is it reasonable that companies purchase patents only to file suit against the companies that build actual products? Have your say in Comments.