NEW YORK– Dec. 11, 2007 – Penton Media‘s Ward’s AutoWorld magazine has named the winners of its annual listing of North America’s "Ten Best Engines." Amid high-profile national debate over automotive fuel-efficiency, these engines reflect the automobile industry’s success at improving fuel economy without compromising performance. The awards will be presented at a January 16, 2008 ceremony in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show.
Details on Ward’s "Ten Best Engines" will be featured in Ward’s AutoWorld magazine and on www.wardsauto.com in January 2008.
Selected by Ward’s AutoWorld editors, the 2008 list is the magazine’s 14th annual ranking; the list is North America’s only awards program honoring powertrain excellence.
The 2008 winners are:
- Audi AG: FSI 2.0L turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A3)
- BMW AG: 3.0L turbocharged DOHC I-6 (335i Coupe)
- Daimler AG: 3.0L DOHC V-6 Turbodiesel (Mercedes E320 CDI)
- Ford Motor Co.: 4.6L SOHC V-8 (Mustang Shelby GT/Bullitt)
- General Motors Corp.: 3.6L DOHC V-6 (Cadillac CTS – See Photo)
- General Motors Corp.: 6.0L OHV V-8 Hybrid (GMC Yukon Hybrid)
- Honda Motor Co. Ltd.: 3.5L SOHC V-6 (Accord Coupe)
- Mazda Motor Corp.: 2.3L DISI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Mazdaspeed3)
- Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: Yukon Hybrid3.7L DOHC V-6 (Infiniti G37)
- Toyota Motor Corp.: 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350)
"The auto industry is in an era that will force enormous powertrain engineering advances," said Bill Visnic, Ward’s editor for technical and special projects. "New fuel-efficiency standards are on the horizon, an improvement the public seems to demand. The fact that more than half of this year’s ‘Ten Best Engines’ winners are six cylinder engines mirrors the shift occurring in the market and on engineering drawing boards."
This year, six Ward’s editors nominated 37 engines for the competition. Over two months, editors scored each engine against all others in a number of objective and subjective parameters. Each engine must be available in a regular-production, U.S.-specification model on sale no later than the first quarter of 2008 in a vehicle priced no more than $54,000, a price cap indexed to the average cost of a new vehicle.