Blog - May 2010
A review of the BMW 320d in the Financial Times caught my eye. This substantial 3-series sports saloon gives 68.9 mpg, emitting just 109g/km CO2, but is not a hybrid. Rather, the car exhibits BMW's 'EfficientDynamics' technologies, including real time indication of fuel consumption, engine stop-start for urban crawling, the ability to switch off energy consuming air conditioning, power steering etc when not needed, raised gearing, low rolling resistance tyres, a downsized diesel engine (but top speed still 142 mph) and better aerodynamics.
Whenever tighter environmental regulation is proposed, the affected industry always protests that the new regs would not be deliverable except at excessive cost. But once implemented, firms almost always discover innovative solutions at much lower costs than predicted. This new energy-efficient BMW model is just such an example, selling at no extra cost over its standard counterpart. The FT reviewer predicts that the EfficientDynamics technologies will rapidly spread through the rest of the BMW range, with other car makers having to follow suit. I wonder what impact hybrid technology would have - extra fuel savings, or would that be cancelled out by the greater weight?
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