Edmunds.com Consumer Car Expert Phil Reed (Part 4 of 4) – Turbocharging Strikes Back; ‘Micro’ Cars Coming Soon
Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
Not since movies like American Graffiti and Mad Max has turbocharging caught the public’s eye in the way it’s about to, predicts Phil Reed, consumer automotive expert for Edmunds.com.
“Turbocharging has been rediscovered,” Reed told EnergyTechStocks.com during a lengthy interview. Why now? Because, he said, in this era of rising pump prices, a turbocharger can give a car the power of a V6 engine without the engine (and the added fuel costs).
Reed predicted that Volkswagen could do very well later this year when it introduces a diesel Jetta with turbo direct injection (TDI). He further predicted that, as more and more turbocharged diesel and gasoline vehicles hit the road, Garrett Engine Boosting Systems, which is a part of Honeywell, should do very well.
On the Honeywell Turbo Technologies web site, the company states that gasoline direct injection (GDI) “is gaining momentum as a key technology of the future, working in tandem with turbocharging to help auto manufacturers achieve the goal of better fuel efficiency.”
As much as turbocharging will again be part of the car-buying experience, Reed also predicted that rapidly rising gas prices will also lead to a new kind of vehicle on the road—the “micro” car.
These extremely small, fuel-efficient vehicles are already popular in Europe, where super-high gas prices and narrow city streets makes them ideal. While Americans have always preferred open roads and big vehicles, Reed said that the whole car-buying experience in America is changing, with people much more interested in saving fuel than ever before. That should make America as hospitable to the micro car as Europe, Reed said. Reed said investors should keep their eye on how well the Mercedes “Smart” car does, because it will indicate how quickly other micro cars, such as the Ford KA, may come ashore from Europe.
