January 22, 2009

Hello, Driving Range fans. This time around we will be checking out the new Toyota Venza, cold combustion and a vehicle that is the ultimate in luxury...

New vehicles
Toyota Venza – One might think that the last thing we need is another crossover vehicle to choose from but, realistically, the market is not quite flooded yet. It was only a matter of time before the dominant Toyota car company produced its own car/SUV/minivan combo and it appears to be a good one. The five-passenger Venza is based on the Camry platform, with which it shares some specifications, and comes with a high level of standard equipment. There is no “base” model according to Toyota, which is marketing the Venza as a premium vehicle, so they won’t be cheap, with the loaded V6 AWD running close to 40 grand. Standard features such as fog lamps, aluminum wheels, projector beam headlights, six-disc CD, a power group and a full complement of safety features, to name but a few, substantiate this approach. Oodles of additional options such as leather, a nav system, etc., are available of course and if you’re a pet owner, Toyota also offers a unique line of pet accessories such as ramps, pet seats and harnesses. Styling is adventurous for a Toyota, which has managed to produce quite a good-looking vehicle in the Venza. With its purposeful stance, muscular design and large (19 or 20 inch) wheels at each corner, the Venza will likely garner a few stares during its early days of production. Powerful four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines are available with the four rated as a PZEV/SULEV-II powerplant, which means it's about as clean as an internal-combustion engine can get. Both powerplants achieve exceptional fuel-consumption ratings considering the size of this vehicle. And since crossovers are supposed to be about versatility, you can have the Venza in either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configurations with both engines. It looks like Toyota will have yet another hit.

Available - now
Base prices - 4-cylinder, FWD = $28,270 | 4-cylinder, AWD = $29,720 | V6 FWD = $29,970 | V6 AWD = $31,420
Engines - 2.7 L 4-cyl. – 182 hp – 182 lb-ft torque (10 L/100km C, 6.8L/100km H-FWD)
3.5 L V6 – 268 hp – 246 lb-ft torque (11 L/100km C, 7.6 L/100km H-FWD)


The Green Scene
Cold Combustion – In times when seemingly every manufacturer is scrambling to develop the next hybrid or electric vehicle, it’s refreshing to see that some engineers are making the best of the stalwart internal-combustion engine through cold combustion technology. Similarities between diesel and gasoline engines coexist in cold combustion. Like a diesel, no spark is needed to trigger ignition. Like a gas engine, the fuel is ordinary, regular-grade gasoline. The key benefit with cold combustion is higher efficiency: 15 per cent better mileage than the best gasoline engines without the more expensive fuel or the more complicated fuel injection and emissions controls necessary with diesels. Another major side benefit is that peak combustion temperatures are too low for NOx formation.

Ironically, heat is cold combustion's crucial ingredient. Basically this is how it works: Closing the exhaust valve early during the exhaust stroke traps a portion of the previous combustion cycle's burned gases in the cylinder. This residual exhaust heats the fresh charge of fuel and air. When just the right pressure and temperature conditions are achieved at the end of the compression stroke, the mixture self-ignites. The entire charge lights off in an instant — diesel-like — without the usual spark ignition and subsequent flame front sweeping through a gasoline engine's combustion chamber.

Cold combustion requires no drastically different hardware. The pistons, blocks, heads, cranks and catalytic converters already in production work just fine. Engines do require direct fuel injection and a fast-responding valvetrain with variable timing. A cylinder-pressure sensor is also needed to monitor what happens during one cycle so that fuel delivery and valve operation can be adjusted for the next. The speed and authority of the engine control computer must be increased as well.

The chief hindrance keeping cold combustion in the lab is that it doesn't work in all driving regimes. The conditions necessary for automatic ignition cannot be achieved immediately after a cold start or when the accelerator is floored to extract the engine's full power. When this technology arrives in five to eight years, it's most likely to be in a dual-mode application with cold combustion for cruising and hot combustion used the rest of the time. Another possibility is a hybrid configuration with the engine running only with cold combustion and electric propulsion picking up the slack. Stay tuned.


If Only!
Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe – In the world of excess and luxury, Rolls-Royce sits as king of the castle atop the throne of automotive indulgence. The Drophead moniker, as the title implies, is the two-door convertible version of the RR Phantom sedan. This 19-foot-long, 5,800-pound rolling example of wealth and status comes with an (optional) teak deck to cover the five-layer folded roof, and a stainless steel hood under which resides the 453 HP V12. The 5.7-second 0 to 60 sprint is impressive for a vehicle of this mass although performance numbers are not the reason one would fork out an astounding $412,000 (U.S.) for the privilege of owning one of these rare and luxurious automobiles. Interior accoutrements are equally impressive once you enter through the electric closing, enormously heavy suicide doors and step past the wide sill. With an interior swathed in the highest-quality leather, wood and metal trimmings you feel more like you’re sitting in a luxurious mansion than a conveyance of transportation. Smooth, solid, powerful and impeccably finished, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead coupe flies the Sprit of Ecstasy with honour and pride. Indeed!