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New car lines
publication date: May 10, 2010
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author/source: Robin Roberts
Mazda Motor Corp plans to end sales of its rotary
engined RX-8 sports car in Europe as it fails to meet
new European auto emission regulations taking effect in January 2011,
reports Japan Today.
RX-8 sales will continue in
Japan and North America, company officials said, but it will terminate
production of the RX-8 for Europe in June and end European sales when
inventories sell out. It launched the RX-8 in
Europe in 2003 and sold 18,525 units in the region in 2004 but RX-8
sales totalled only 1,128 units in 2009. |  | | | | Following the launch of the face-lifted Fabia and
Roomster, Škoda Auto has unveiled the Fabia Estate GreenLine II and
Roomster GreenLine II - the first of its second generation of
environmentally-friendly GreenLine models.
The new model
Fabia (right) and Roomster's (below) have been facelifted and fitted with new technology
designed to further reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emission levels.
The most important innovations include a new engine (1.2 TDI CR
DPF/75bhp DPF) with Common Rail high-pressure direct injection,
|  | start-stop technology, energy recuperation and gear
recommendation (on a
Maxi DOT display). One of the biggest technological changes in the
second-generation GreenLine version is a new three-cylinder supercharged
engine (1.2 TDI CR DPF/55 kW) with a consumption of just 83.1 mpg and
CO2 emissions of 89 g/km for the Fabia Estate GreenLine II, and 67.3 and
109 g/km for the Roomster GreenLine II.
In addition to lower CO2 emissions, other contaminant
levels have also been reduced. The new engine complies with the EU 5
emission standard that, for diesel engines, has stricter regulations for
nitrogen oxides and solid particles. The gear ratios of the cars' five-speed transmission are identical to those of the ordinary Fabia and
Roomster models fitted with the same engine. As a result, the GreenLine
II offers the same responsiveness yet with lower consumption.
The
key benefits of the stop-start system stand out in busy city traffic.
The system operates automatically, directly after the engine starts. If,
after some time, the driver stops the vehicle, engages neutral and
releases the clutch pedal, the engine switches off automatically. As
soon as the driver presses the clutch, the engine starts again
immediately. stop-start makes it is possible to save up to 4.2mpg
(combined) or up to 7.7 mpg in city traffic.
Energy recuperation is
another state-of-the-art technology introduced on the new Fabia Estate i
GreenLine II and Roomster GreenLine II. Effective utilisation of the
vehicle's kinetic energy for battery recharging is a simple system that
helps to save fuel continuously. | The two systems - Start-Stop and Braking energy recovery
work in partnership and, along with other measures, help to make the
operation of these new models as environmentally-friendly as possible.
The application of the energy recovery system has helped to reduce the
CO2 emissions by 2 - 4 g/km.
Other technologies Škoda is introducing
on the Greenline II models to improve economy are the gear
recommendation system, which helps the driver make optimum use of the
engine's potential, a lowered and aerodynamically-covered chassis and,
last but not least, low rolling resistance tyres. |  |
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