I'm Shocked, Just Shocked That There's Turbocharging Going On!

It's amazing how the obvious can grab one's attention.  A recent study of U.S. consumers by Honeywell found that more than half of those planning to purchase a vehicle in the next two years consider fuel efficiency to be more important than it was during their last vehicle purchase. The study also found that more than 80% of American consumers were more likely to consider purchasing a turbocharged vehicle after learning that the readily-available turbocharger helps to increase the fuel efficiency of a gas engine by up to 20% without sacrificing performance or reliability.  The operative line here is "after learning" turbocharged vehicles already exist and can be purchased here.

According to David Paja, vice president of marketing for Honeywell Turbo Techonologies, "The success of the 'Cash for Clunkers' program shows that a consumer appetite exists for fuel efficient options on traditional engine platforms that don't sacrifice the power, reliability and price that Americans demand. For that reason, almost every major automaker has announced plans to broadly introduce turbocharged engines to the U.S. market in the coming years. We anticipate demand for gas and diesel turbocharged engines in the U.S. market may increase from 5% today to 25% by 2014 and could top 85% by 2020."

This is yet another admission by domestic auto manufacturers that they actually had a ready-made market to exploit and still dropped the ball. To really drive the point home, almost 50% all new cars manufactured in Europe already have turbocharged techonology.  Of course any movement towards more energy-efficient automobiles is the positive development that is necessary to improve our energy independance as well as cut down on our carbon footprint.  However, sometimes you just have to scratch your head and wonder, "What on earth were these manufacturers thinking about?"

Jonathan A. Schein is the publisher of MetroGreenBusiness.com and GreenBusinessCareers.com.

Follow Jonathan A. Schein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaschein

Comments

[knosiswar]

I thought the question with turbo chargers was reliability, because they operate off of hot exhaust gas, there were shorter maintenace intervals required. I have never owned one.

Also, aren't super-chargers the better option because of those maintenance issues?

[cybexg]

20 years ago you would be correct. Now, because of exotic materials, better design, computer regulated internals, etc., turbo chargers are reliable and practical. Mind you, you can’t be an idiot – you can’t over fill the engine with oil (causes oil to whip and lose effectiveness) or run the engine without oil without eventually damaging the turbo but other than that, Turbo assisted engines are practical, long lived, and effective

[ProperGanda]

I am definitely a car buff. I prefer the bigger engine available in most every car. Turbocharging is great, as with a few modifications, you can make it a lot faster than stock. One downside, however, is most turbocharged cars require 91 or 93 octane. You can get better mileage than a V8, but its all in how you drive your car. I have an older Cadillac V8 sedan, and my wife has a new Hyundai that's supposed to get 33mpgs, however it usually only gets around 25. In South Florida, every road is practically a highway, and if you have a lead foot, your smaller engine has to work harder to get the car up to speed.
There was a test on Top Gear, an automotive show from the UK, put a Prius around a track, going as fast as it could go. Behind it, keeping up with the Prius (pronounced pry-us overseas) was a new BMW M3 with a V8. The Prius got 19mpgs, while the BMW got 22mpgs.

[HeevenSteven]

Americans have always had a love affair with big engines with lots of bottom end torque.

I've Been driving turbocharged cars since the early 1990s. Don't know what's so new about them, or why they haven't been more popular.. I have for years though seen so many car reviewers and testers in the automotive press whine about turbo-lag, like it's some really horrible thing.

The truth is, car makers earn more selling bigger engines, and the automotive magazines are really just publicists for those makers.