Industry Issues:

Clean-up time for two-stroke
Two-stroke engines have always been popular. Their simplicity, size and power-to-weight ratio making them ideal for both small vehicle and agricultural applications. But they have long had a reputation as polluters - in terms of both noise and exhaust emission. Today, however, two-stroke's poor reputation is rapidly being eroded, as manufacturers respond to the need for environmental cleanliness with both new engine technologies and exhaust after-treatment. Is the smoky old two-stroke cleaning up its act? Insight takes a look at some of the recently emerging technologies.

September specifications
September 1 1999 saw the latest ACEA specification for heavy duty diesel engines - E5. The main driving force for E5 has come from OEM requests for an oil quality upgrade to support longer drain intervals - but one which doesn't necessitate a move toward fully non-conventional basestocks. So among ACEA's aims for the specification was that it shouldn't be necessary to use either a fully synthetic lubricant or a significant quantity of non-conventional basestock to meet the test requirements. This feature lists a brief review of the changes and updates.

Onward and upwards
The European crankcase lubricants industry is affected by pressures from many quarters, and today, among the foremost are environmental considerations; the result, an increasing need to reduce emission, achieve better fuel economy, reduce lubricant volatility and extend drain intervals. This in turn forms one of the major driving forces dictating the industry's trends, both now and for the foreseeable future. Henrik Holmqvist, Vice President of Base Oils at Finland's Fortum Oy, formerly known as Neste Oy, gives his view of today's industry trends.

A different breed of cat

One of the major stumbling blocks in developing particulate filters suitable for on-vehicle use is the difficulty of avoiding filter clogging and purging filters of accumulated material. But now a new approach is being proposed by a number of developers - using plasma to enhance the performance of emission control catalysts.

Face to Face:

Alessandro Piccone on Fiat's hundred years of engine design
This year, Fiat celebrate their centenary - a hundred years of automotive evolution. Or is that revolution? Accommodating the century's changes has been one of Fiat's greatest strengths. "Today you must have a car to survive. This has changed a lot over the years, so we have to change our approach on the design of the car," says Alessandro Piccone, Fiat's Director of Product Engineering and Powertrain Engineering. Lesley Welbourne finds out more.

Global Viewpoint:

Asia Pacific - Bigger, better faster more
The Chinese Automotive industry is among the most rapidly growing in the world, keeping pace with the country's increasing GDP. Throughout the 1990s, there have been dramatic increases in production across all vehicle sectors, plus significant upgrades in vehicle technology, not to mention new and more stringent emissions regulations which will eventually bring China into line with European standards. Yang Dao Sheng reports.

The Americas - New specifications - A cost reward dilemma for additive companies
In October the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA) sponsored a session titled "New Engine Specifications - Who pays?" Dave Corson, Vice President of Sales, spoke on behalf of Infineum, focusing on who pays, who benefits? Although the topic was specific to US specification development, in reality the same underlying dilemma is relevant globally, Corson says.

Plus...

Six thousand years of transport history - A special edition pull out poster to mark the beginning of a new millennium
Take a look into the annals of history and some surprises lurk there. Given that tribology wasn't studied quantitatively until the 1400s, it's not unreasonable to suppose that lubricants also hail from this millennium. But no, we find that the ancient Egyptians were using a (primitive) variant 4000 years ago. And who would have thought that the first vehicle on-board computer was pioneered in 1928? So where might out transport technologies lead in the future?