Fuel efficiency

A new concept from Volvo Trucks is said use 30 percent less fuel compared to typical long-haul trucks. Among the features that are said to improve the efficiency of the Volvo Concept Truck are an aerodynamic design and reduced weight.

Having covered the Shell Eco-marathon so many times over the years and with the teams gearing up for this year's competition, we thought it was about time we tried our hand at driving one of the cars ourselves. Suffice to say, we won't be winning any efficiency awards anytime soon.

Rather than using a traditional camshaft to control an engine's valves, Qoros' QamFree motor uses electro-hydraulic-pneumatic actuators​ to provide precise control over each valve for more power and a 12 to 17 percent improvement in fuel economy.

Shell is perhaps best known for producing what goes into cars, rather than cars themselves. Now, the firm has taken the wraps off a car that it says will use a third less energy in its lifetime than a typical city car and around half the energy to build and run than a typical small family car.

Komatsu has introduced the HB365LC-3, a 36-tonne hydraulic hybrid excavator to the European market. Compared to its diesel-only counterpart, the PC360LC-11, the Komatsu Hybrid is 20 percent more fuel efficient.

Hot on the heels of Honda's hypermiling efforts in Europe, Volkswagen has traversed the lower 48 American states in a Golf TDI, using just 101.43 gallons of diesel along the way.

Honda has claimed a new Guinness World Record, for the "Lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)." Although that's a bit of a mouthful, it simply means that the carmaker achieved the highest fuel efficiency ever recorded while traversing all 24 adjoining EU countries.

Students from Canada have designed and built a car that is capable of achieving a fuel efficiency of 2,098 mpg (0.11 l/100km). The team from Quebec's Université Laval (University of Laval) was competing in the 36th SAE Supermileage competition.

BMW has turned to water injection technology in its ever-continuing quest for improved fuel economy and power. Its latest 1 Series prototype is fitted with such a system to help create lower combustion temperatures, which brings fuel economy benefits of up to 8 percent.

It might look like all the other Audis that have been launched in the past few years, but you're staring at the brand-new, totally redesigned A4. The new A4 takes advantage of autonomous driving tech and a lightweight construction to save fuel and improve performance.

Ordinarily, when a ship is heading into waves, those waves cause it to work harder. An experimental new setup known as a "whale tail," however, utilizes wave action to actually help ships move forward, allowing them to use less fuel when tackling rough seas.

The RAC and Audi have set a new Guinness World Record for the most countries driven through on a single tank of fuel. An unmodified Audi A6 TDI Ultra was driven through 14 countries in a journey that clocked up 1,158.9 miles (1,865.1 km) and took nearly 28 hours.