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Ward's reveals annual 10 Best Engines list for 2013

Ward's Auto has released its annual 10 Best Engines award winners. The 2013 list covers the full width and breadth of the internal combustion spectrum, from a spate of efficient four-cylinders to the most powerful production V8 on the planet. As always, the entries must be available in a production vehicle in the first quarter of 2013 with an MSRP of less than $55,000. The supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Audi S5 held on for the fourth consecutive year, and BMW earned two spots on the list with its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
Ford pulled in two awards for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and and the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 from the Shelby GT500. Honda matched BMW and Ford with two wins of its own. Wards awarded the 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the Honda Accord Sport as well as the 3.5-liter V6 from the Honda Accord. Chrysler, General Motors and Subaru each garnered a spot on the list as well for the 3.6-liter V6 in the Ram 1500, the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder the Subaru BRZ, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information.

Ford finds flex-fuel engine design plays big role in emissions output

How bad is ethanol for your engine? There's been a lot of debate on this issue as the US considers upping the biofuel content in the national gasoline supply from 10 percent (E10) to 15 percent (E15). The ethanol industry and some scientists say higher ethanol blends show no "meaningful differences" in new engines while the oil industry says ethanol creates health risks. Researchers working at the Ford Research and Innovation Center decided to take a closer look at how a wide range of gas-ethanol blends - E0, E10, E20, E30, E40, E55 and E80 - affected the emissions coming out of a flex-fuel 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis. To see the full report, printed in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, requires payment, but there is an abstract and Green Car Congress has some more details. The gist is that, "with increasing ethanol content in the fuel, the tailpipe emissions of ethanol, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, methane, and ammonia increased." At least NOx and NMHC emissions decreased. The researchers say that the effects are due to the fuel and "are expected for all FFVs," but that the way that a manufacturer calibrates the engine will affect NOx, THC, and NMOG emissions. It's this last bit that's important, since the researchers found, "Higher ethanol content in gasoline affects several fundamental fuel properties that can impact emissions. ... These changes can have positive or negative effects that can depend on engine design, hardware, and control strategy. In addition to direct emissions impacts, higher ethanol content fuel can also provide more efficient combustion and overall engine operation under part-load conditions and under knock-limited higher-load conditions." So, as we head towards more ethanol in our fuel supply (maybe), manufacturers are going to need to learn how to burn it most efficiently.

Ford continues autonomous tech development

Some of the autonomous-driving features that Ford offers in Europe will come to the United States as soon as next year. The Blue Oval will add the pre-collision assist and pedestrian detection technologies that it has already installed on the Mondeo sedan in Europe. Those features, part of what Ford calls the "second of three phases" in driverless technology, will be brought stateside in a yet-to-be disclosed model, while most of Ford's US vehicle line will have the features by 2019. It has been testing an automated Fusion for more than a year. Ford is looking to build upon the autonomous-vehicle technology that it already has on models such as the Fusion, Taurus, F-150, Edge, and Explorer. Those amenities include active-park assist, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring. Ford said early last year that it was working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University to develop algorithms for use in driverless cars. The effort is part of Ford's so-called "Blueprint for Mobility" geared toward autonomous driving features that are being developed over the next decade. FORD COLLABORATES WITH SILICON VALLEY INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, 3D PRINTING, WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY Autonomous vehicle technology is another step closer to production at Ford – moving from a research effort to an advanced engineering project Ford announces it is working with Silicon Valley-based 3D-printing firm Carbon3D to quickly produce high-quality automotive-grade parts Ford kicks off wearable technology development with MyFord® Mobile app extension – coming soon to smartwatches including Android Wear – providing customers the ability to check vehicle driving range, battery charge and more for their plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle quickly from their wrists Autonomous vehicle technology is another step closer to production at Ford, moving from a research effort to an advanced engineering program, the company announced today. Ford has appointed a director of autonomous vehicle development – 29-year Ford veteran Randy Visintainer – and created a global team to work on the advanced program. Ford Research and Innovation Center Palo Alto is working on the global Ford team to deliver the Ford Smart Mobility plan, which aims to take the company to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data.