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2010 Audi S5 Sportback – Official Photos and Info – Car and Driver
We mistook the new Sportback the first time we walked past it at the . We figured it was a show-spec
lowered and fitted with larger wheels. But a closer inspection revealed 3.0T badges and that it was indeed Audi’s world debut of the very handsome S5 Sportback, which goes on sale in Europe early next spring.
A stylish and practical alternative to the , the S5 Sportback is a hatchback version of that car, sporting a lower and more aggressive-looking roofline. And, like the S4, there is a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 with 333 hp under the hood, paired with a standard seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual. The Sportback certainly doesn’t look like a hatchback, but more like a compact-sized Mercedes-Benz CLS. But space under the hatch is remarkable, and with the seats folded the Sportback looks as if it could swallow a love seat.
An S4, Just With a Prettier Heinie
Like the S4 sedan and the and cabriolet, the exterior changes that denote the S5’s special nature are subtle. Twenty-inch RS 4–like wheels graced the car on the stand (18s are standard), and the rest of the understated styling includes a barely changed front end, a few small spoilers and diffusers, and four oval-shaped exhaust tips.
Options are expected to mimic those of the S4. Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive will be standard, but the active rear differential and Audi Drive Select that allows you to tailor the steering speed and effort, throttle sensitivity, and suspension firmness will be optional. We are already enamored of the S4 sedan, and although the hatch may weigh a few pounds more than the sedan due to the added structure at the rear, that weight will fall upon the back wheels and likely help balance the weight distribution.
It is more beautiful and practical than the S4 sedan and, unless it is priced substantially higher, the S5 Sportback will likely steal quite a few sales from its less attractive sibling. While we won’t get it in the U.S., Sportback fans can take heart in the likelihood of the larger but similarly conceived
coming here—without the Sportback name attached to the concept—and we expect to see a production version of that car debut sometime later this auto-show season.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09q3/2010_audi_s5_sportback-official_photos_and_info
2009 Honda Accord Diesel and New Honda Hybrids for 2009 – Car News – Car and Driver
From the Tokyo auto show comes confirmation that Honda’s 2.2-liter diesel engine will come to the U.S. installed in the 2009
The aluminum engine is fairly conventional in that it has a balance shaft, dual overhead cams, and high fuel pressure. The redline should be around 4500 rpm; that’s where the Euro-spec diesel Accord we drove topped out.
Power and boost levels have not been specified yet, but we can expect at least 150 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. Honda engineers say the diesel is about 44 pounds heavier than a similar gas engine, but they wouldn’t confirm the actual weight of either.
One interesting tidbit is the cast stainless-steel exhaust manifold, but the most compelling story here is the NOx converter. There are two substrate layers on the converter’s honeycomb matrix: an outer layer that stores NOx and a lower layer of platinum particles that, although it also stores a little NOx, mostly reacts with the exhaust to produce ammonia during rich combustion. The ammonia, which is described by the formula NH3, reacts with the stored NOx to produce nitrogen and water. The process is choreographed by the ECU.
Honda claims its system was developed in-house and that, unlike VW’s similar NOx trap that will be for sale soon, Honda’s is scalable to larger vehicles. In other words, Honda says it believes it can put a V-6 diesel in a Pilot or similarly sized vehicle that meets 50-state emissions without having to inject urea, as will be the case with the VW Touareg diesel. Three different engineers repeated these claims; that gives us the feeling that such a vehicle is in the works.
Honda’s Hybrid Story The next Honda hybrids arrive for 2009—the first model, a five-passenger vehicle, could be followed by something like the
a year later—and Honda president Takeo Fukui says they’ll be priced so that the fuel saving will pay off the added cost in just two years. (We’ll believe that when we see it.) That two-year payoff seems to be what Honda terms acceptable for fuel-saving technology, including the diesel.
And although Fukui said hybrids are the best way to increase fuel economy, he did acknowledge that the diesel engine—even with its pricey emissions treatment system—is the more cost-effective way to reduce fuel consumption. Plug-in hybrids, according to Fukui, are silly because you always have to carry around an engine and fuel tank, and therefore Honda isn’t working on one.
Not Just Diesels and Hybrids, but Fuel Cells, Too
We again had the chance to drive the current , and it remains quite impressive. Honda has managed to increase the power density of the fuel cell so that it produces about 130 horsepower and fits in the transmission tunnel of the large four-door sedan. Rear-seat room in the car is terrific. It accelerated smoothly and lacked the porky feel of previous FCXs we’ve driven. A handful of FCXs will be leased out next year, as Honda continues to commit to fuel-cell technology.
Honda believes batteries will always have the limitations of low energy density and long charging times and that fuel cells are a better alternative. The company is not doing much to further battery technology and envisions solar panels on everyone’s houses—Honda R&D is in fact working on making its own solar cells—that capture energy to produce the hydrogen for fuel cells. (Again, we’ll believe that when we see it.)
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/07q4/2009_honda_accord_diesel_and_new_honda_hybrids_for_2009-car_news