TPT May 2015

Global Marketplace

technology. But in Europe, which took to small engines early and earnestly, 67 per cent of showroom cars are turbos, including virtually every diesel. Germany’s Audi, which helped pioneer turbos in the US decades ago, offers them up and down its lineup. Other carmakers eager for luxury buyers – Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin and, in the US, Cadillac – are revamping their lineups with turbos of 400, 500, even 600 horsepower. Mr Ulrich also noted that Aston Martin – famed for its “silken yet gas-guzzling” V12 engines – recently sold Mercedes a 5 per cent company stake in exchange for components including Benz’s downsized bi-turbo V8 engines. Mr Stoller, of Honeywell, told the Times that the full-spectrum appeal of turbocharging was being driven by its ability to complement other fuel-saving technologies; and, in the US, by regulatory pressures. As automakers strive to lift their average fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 – the target set by the Environmental Protection Agency – turbochargers provide a key to higher mileage at no sacrifice of the performance demanded by consumers. In the process, Mr Ulrich wrote, “Analysts say the efficiency [of turbochargers] has had the unintended effect of helping slow the broader adoption of alternative-fuel vehicles.”

efficiency by means of computer-managed sprays of atomised fuel. (“Carmakers Find That Turbos Are a Powerful Path to Fuel Efficiency,” 26 February) While this information is useful, a premise advanced by Mr Ulrich is more interesting. He suggests that the turbocharger – with its advantages of bountiful power and savings at the pump – may be the reason why electric vehicles are so slow to find favour with consumers. Statistics supplied by the Times support Mr Ulrich’s assertion that “by any industry standard the pace of the turbocharger revolution has been breathtaking.” In 2011, less than 7 per cent of new cars and trucks in the US were sold with turbochargers. In just four years that percentage tripled to 21 per cent. The consumer auto website Edmunds.com says that 49.7 per cent of the 350 car and truck models sold in the US offer a turbocharged engine, up from 30 per cent in 2010. Honeywell (Morristown, New Jersey) forecasts that nearly four in ten new cars and trucks sold in the US will be turbo-powered by 2019. Turbocharged engines are expected to be found in a staggering 80 per cent of new cars by 2025. e uroPe the leader in turBos The proliferation of turbochargers is by no means an American phenomenon. Japanese automakers have been somewhat slow to adopt them, focusing more on hybrid

Dorothy Fabian, Features Editor (USA)

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M ay 2015