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Expert: 54.5 mpg CAFE standard can be reached without many plug-ins

Johnson Controls executive Brian Kesseler isn't likely to get any holiday presents this year from Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn or Tesla Motors head Elon Musk, but lots of other folks might be happy with what he has to say about automakers' efforts to reach stricter fleetwide fuel-economy standards. Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, Kesseler said automakers wouldn't need to sell an extensive number of plug-in vehicles in order to meet the 54.5 mile per gallon Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard the US government set in 2012 for 2025 model-year vehicles. In fact, he said, components such as stop-start engine technology, turbochargers and direct injection may actually do the trick. Already, things like smaller engine sizes and lighter cars are already playing major roles in spurring fuel-efficiency gains. Of course, Johnson Controls sells batteries specially built for stop-start systems, so Kesseler does have a bit of skin in this game. The 54.5-mpg CAFE standard equates to about a 40-mpg "real world" fuel-efficiency level. To put that into perspective, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a report late last year that model-year 2013 average fuel economy was an even 24 mpg. That was up from 23.6 mpg for the 2012 model year and 22.4 mpg for 2011. News Source: Automotive NewsImage Credit: AP Government/Legal Green Ford Fuel Efficiency mpg CAFE standards ecoboost johnson controls

Amazon can now deliver packages to some Ford and Lincoln vehicles

Nothing succeeds without complications popping up along the way. Sure, Amazon's Prime delivery services have made shopping more convenient than brushing your teeth, but leaving millions of packages on doorsteps comes with an inherent danger: Thieves might swipe them without anybody knowing. Amazon's solution is called Amazon Key, which allows delivery men and women to enter a customer's house or car to drop off a package. This week, Ford and Lincoln announced they would be partnering with Amazon to integrate the service into some of their vehicles. Ford is following in the footsteps of Volvo and General Motors, as both companies announced their participation about a year ago. That includes Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC. Key will be made available for 2017-and-newer Fords equipped with FordPass Connect, and 2018-and-later Lincolns with Lincoln Connect. Key is not available everywhere, but it can be used in dozens of city throughout the U.S., and the network is expanding. To look for compatibility for your car and city, check on Amazon's dedicated Key website. Like every other tech invention these days, Key requires a smart device application, which requires a one-time setup. The service is available on the Key app or the FordPass and Lincoln Way apps. While ordering on Amazon, customers will then select in-car delivery during checkout. Input a public delivery address, and park the car within two blocks of that address. While the order is in transit, Amazon will provide status updates, another feature that takes away some of the anxiety of waiting for a package to be delivered. The package will be put into the car within a four-hour window, and users will get notifications that the exchange is complete, and the car is again securely locked. Should customers change their minds, they can always cancel the delivery method, and the car will remain locked. In that case, the delivery could go to the building where the car is parked, or be rescheduled. Ford imagines this as the beginning of numerous car-based services in the near future that can be scheduled while the owner is not there, such as car washes.

All 25 James Bond movies ranked only by their cars

There is no shortage of lists ranking the best James Bond movies. Ditto lists about the best or worst James Bond cars. I know, I've written some of them. As such, why not combine the two ideas into one new list that ranks all 25 official James Bond movies based exclusively on their cars, or more accurately their car content. I would then pull from my 25 years of James Bond nerddom plus the excellent "Bond Cars: The Definitive History" and our interview with long-time Bond special effects supervisor Chris Corbould to provide tidbits and factoids about the cars and their roles in the movies. And yes(!), this list now includes "No Time to Die," which impresses by adding plenty of car content to the series. It's now available on Blu-ray and download. To determine the list, I considered the inherent coolness of the cars as well as their importance to Bond, film and car history. I considered their importance to the story as well as the quality/excitement of the chases and scenes they participated in. Finally, I tried my best to divorce the car content from my opinions about the movies in general. That my personal list of best James movies looks nothing like this shows I was at least partially successful.     25. 'Moonraker' There are virtually no cars in "Moonraker." None. Oh, there's a gondola on wheels that makes a pigeon do a double-take, but that's not the same thing as a car. Neither is a golf cart. Or an ambulance. Or a space shuttle.   24. 'From Russia With Love' The literary James Bond mostly drove an ancient Bentley, and "From Russia with Love" is the only film in which it appears. It stays parked and the coolest thing that happens (by 1962 standards) is 007 answers its car phone. Thereafter, we get some old cars (even by 1962 standards) driving around Istanbul and a yellow truck. So yeah. Classic Bond film, a must-watch, just not for its car content.   23. 'Dr. No' History records that the first "Bond car" is the Sunbeam Alpine in "Dr. No." The car itself was literally borrowed from a Miss Jennifer Jackson of 53 Lady Musgrave Road in Jamaica for 10 pounds per day for two days during filming. Also, the stunt where it drove under an excavator blocking the road was entirely conceived because the filmmakers showed up to the road they intended to film on and discovered an excavator blocking the thing. Sadly, those are really the only two things interesting about the Alpine, which is a pretty small and dainty thing by Bond car standards.