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Nissan's Cummins tie-up bears first fruit with Frontier Diesel Runner concept

The 2014 Chicago Auto Show is proving to be a surprisingly big show for alternative fuels. The Chevrolet Silverado HD pickups are getting a compressed natural gas option and the refreshed BMW X3 is receiving a diesel engine, as is the German automaker's 7 Series. You can add one more oil burner to the mix, at least in concept form: Nissan has released its Frontier Diesel Runner Powered by Cummins with a 2.8-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission from ZF.
While Nissan calls the Cummins-powered Frontier a concept, it's really just a Frontier DesertRunner 4x2 with a diesel engine replacing the standard 4.0-liter V6, and it's meant to gauge consumer interest for a diesel option in the next-generation Frontier. Nissan has clearly noticed that Chevrolet will be offering a diesel in its new Colorado and wants to see how buyers will react to a mid-size alt-fuel pickup from a Japanese brand.
Exterior modifications to the concept are minor. To show off the engine, there is a transparent hood insert and the pickup has been painted in a two-tone finish of high-gloss red and matte silver edged in carbon fiber trim. The interior gets the same combo of red, silver and carbon fiber to match the outside.

Infiniti's new VC-T changes the rules of small turbocharged engines

The upcoming Infiniti QX50 crossover does not get our pulse racing, no matter how shapely the QX Sport Inspiration concept that previews it may be. No midsize SUV does, to be fair. But it has something special under the hood – the world's first production variable-compression-ratio engine. That means the QX50's 2.0-liter turbo four, which makes 268 horsepower and 288 pound-feet of torque, will have up to 27 percent better fuel economy. Here's how it works. The trend of moving to smaller, turbocharged engines carries with it one big falsehood. Under low load when the turbo isn't needed, these engines are less efficient than an equivalent engine without a turbo because of the low compression ratio the turbo requires. That is, if you never need the extra power, you're wasting fuel. Turbocharged (and supercharged) engines use a lower compression ratio to prevent detonation. When you force extra air in a cylinder and mix it with fuel, it's more likely to prematurely go boom. Lowering the compression ratio prevents this problem, but it's less efficient. Infiniti's VC-T promises the best of both worlds, with a compression ratio that ranges from 8.0:1 for high-power turbo needs to a 14.0:1 ratio for fuel-sipping efficiency. At its heart the VC-T engine is a simple idea, but it's complicated to explain. Consider yourself warned. The photo below from Infiniti serves as a good visual overview. For the truly nerdy, this patent application covers the mechanical concept. Instead of having the pistons connected to the crankshaft, Infiniti's engine has a pivot arm with a connection on each end. One end connects to the piston, the other connects to a second lower shaft, which is controlled by an actuator arm. At any given time the engine's pistons move up and down according to the lobes on the crankshaft. But the actuator arm can change the angle of the pivot arm up and down. That is, the pistons still move in the same motion with the same stroke, but phase the entire stroke up or down. Move the pivot up and there's less room at the top, which means a higher compression ratio. Move the pivot down and the compression ratio goes down, too. As an added bonus, the lower shaft eliminates the need for counter-rotating balance shafts. Infiniti says this system works constantly and can vary the compression ratio to any number between 8:1 and 14:1. It also uses electronic variable valve timing on the intake valves to switch into Atkinson-cycle combustion for greater efficiency.

Renault-Nissan zero-emissions car sales whir past 100,000 [w/video]

The electric vehicle has gone gold at Renault-Nissan, clocking 100,000 sales in a three-year period that began with the first Nissan Leaf being sold in Silicon Valley, California in 2010. Since then, the Leaf has become the EV champion of the world, selling more than 71,000 units so far, the majority of those in the US. The 100,000th EV sold by the Alliance was also a Leaf and also sold in the US, but on the other side of the country, in Georgia.
By comparison, Renault has sold 30,000 electric vehicles since late 2011, looking after other segments of the EV market with the Kangoo Z.E., Zoe, Twizy and Fluence Z.E. The alliance estimates that its efforts have been driven 5.2 million ion-powered miles and saved 14 million gallons of oil since they appeared. For a bit of sobering context, the US averaged 18.83 million barrels of oil per day in 2011, which is almost 791 million gallons. Per day.
So we're getting there, albeit slowly. Quietly. There's a press release and a video below with more details on the achievement.