“Eco Mode” better than EV’s says Toyota

https://www.realclearenergy.org/art...n_electric_vehicle_after_all_904060.html

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Of course, there are drawbacks or modest inconveniences of employing the eco mode function. In order to use less fuel, eco mode requires the car adjust its throttle response, shift earlier than usual, and keep the engine running at lower RPMs. The car is less responsive with this reduction in power output.
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Companies that currently offer the eco mode in some of their vehicles are
Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Lexus, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Volvo.
The latest Mini Cooper models have a green mode. It’s only a matter of time before others follow suit with a similar feature.

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Wonder if they'll offer the ECO mode on the ICE performance cars, like Bugatti, Lamborghini, and even any from what used to be the big 3 🤣

Versions of 'Eco Mode" have been around for decades, both mechanical and electrical. Mitsubishi had a "Super Shift" manual trans they marketed in Japan late-70s and early-80s here in the US (Twin-Stick) which had a separate shifter as a high-low control. This second, smaller stick was marked 'Economy' for the higher gearset, and 'Power' for the lower gearset, making this an eight speed trans.

And of course GM tried to do great things with the 8-6-4 engine.

As for the newer 'Eco' modes, they are great for long cruises, but are dangerous for daily driving. If you're in 'Eco' in, say, a KIA, at an intersection and want to scoot out ahead of another car, you can stuff it to the floor and the car will barely move, with no real acceleration. For most cars, the 'Eco' mode is non-adaptive, so it won't 'learn' as you drive it as it would probably defeat it's intended purpose.

And while on this "save fuel & save the planet" subject, my wife & I can't stand the shut-off feature when you come to a stop on her Grand Cherokee. First thing either of us do when driving it, is to disable this feature. I'll bet the amount of fuel saved by enabling this shut-off feature is zero to almost no fuel saved. It's virtue signaling & nothing more.

I hate those shut off at stops systems too.

The fuel saved is negligible, the big factor is tailpipe emissions on the EPA tests. They measure emissions per mile and ANYTHING emitted at a stop is a huge obstacle to overcome.

Eco mode isn't cylinder deactivation?

Thats how hemis do it. Chevy does it that way on the LS engines. Others change shift and throttle aplication...

I'm surprised they still give you a button to disable it. And it can't be good for starter life.

A buddy of mine has a Ford - I think it's a Fusion, but wasn't interested in it enough to look - and it has the shut-off feature.
Riding around in it, I actually didn't notice it for some time.
It restarts instantly when he picks up the throttle, but apparently without the starter as in older cars.
Seems to me its main benefit is for passing the EPA/CAFE MPG & emissions driving loop test.

My fuzzy memory is that one of the Japanese automakers has a Patent for restarting the engine without engaging the starter - they let the PCM calculate which cylinder to fire the spark plug on.

I have seen 6 cylinder diesels that idle on one cylinder

I know from my aftermarket Oztrip meter that a gasoline 1995 Magnum 5.9 V8 uses 0.60 gallons per hour idling.

https://web.archive.org/web/2017050...title=The-OzTrip-Car-Computer&A=0639

There is lots going on with those vehicles. We did a test stand when I was working for Ford for the water pump they were working on. Was belt driven with an integral DC motor controlled by CanBus so that when you came o a corner and the engine shut off, they would then enable the DC motor to spin the water pump to keep the coolant flowing until the engine restarted. I'm sure that water pump would be cheap to replace as well...NOT

Having replaced the electric water pump on my BMW, no it isn't cheap, lol.

I wonder why they would care if the water quit pumping? Just for heat?

As for auto start/stop some of them figure out witch cylinder can fire and squirt in fuel and light it off. Some like chrysler use a heavy duty really quiet starter. Toyota hybrids (at least some of them) use the hybrid motor to start the gas motor and since it is direct to the crank you never hear gears meshing.

Akio Toyoda managed to get enough votes to get reelected to the board of Toyota on Wednesday,
despite European and USA asset managers saying his sin of saying plug-in-hybrid vehicles might be superior to all battery EVs
should get him cancelled.

Executive Vice President Yoichi Miyazaki issued a statement after the vote:

“While the automaker will maintain a diverse lineup of cars in its fleet,
we are of course continuing to prepare EV options”

In what sane world does telling the truth get you cancelled? The one where those that voted are insane.

https://www.freethink.com/transportation/toyota-ev-batteries

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New battery tech: First on Toyota’s innovation docket is an optimized version of the lithium-ion battery that currently dominates the electric car market, InsideEVs reported. The 600-mile per charge battery will power a new model from Lexus, the luxury brand owned by Toyota.

Two new bipolar lithium iron phosphate batteries will launch next. The first, scheduled for 2026-27, is expected to reduce costs by 40%, InsideEVs reported; the second will be an advanced version with 10% more range, slated for production in 2027-28.

Finally, Toyota announced plans for a solid-state battery with a range of over 900 miles on one charge, hoping to hit the road in five years.

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Our 2020 Elantra is an ECO. What that means, to my knowledge is just a different engine. Instead of the standard 2.0 engine, we have a 1.4 with a turbo. Acceleration is not a problem. Fuel mileage is a little better than the standard engine, up to 45mpg on the highway.

Lot's of ad man weasel words in those quotes.

Expected to, slated for, hoping to.