????以普銳斯（Prius）品牌為代表，豐田汽車公司（Toyota）通過普及油電混合動力發動機技術在全球汽車行業中搶得先機。現在，普銳斯和混合動力車型已經在產品線中占得一席之地，豐田決定接下來要在傳統汽油發動機技術領域趕超對手。

????日產（Nissan）、馬自達（Mazda）等汽車制造商在燃料效率評級方面極具競爭力，其車型使用了較小較輕的發動機，因而得到消費者和政府部門的高度評價。據汽車行業媒體報道，豐田將利用兩款全新發動機迅速縮小自己跟競爭對手的差距，該公司將在接下來一年把這些發動機裝備到旗下14款不同車型上。第一款車型已經在日本面世，這款名為Passo的掀背式轎車，其發動機擁有1.0升排量，燃料效率據信可以比原來提高30%。

????一年多以來，豐田一直在宣揚一個名為“豐田新全球架構”（Toyota New Global Architecture，簡稱TNGA）的項目，其中包含了一系列汽車技術（包括發動機）創新。作為這個項目的第一步，豐田將推出一款1.3升的四缸發動機和一款1.0升的三缸發動機，它們將采用一些先進技術來提高燃油效率，其中包括一種名為“阿特金森燃燒循環”（Atkinson burning cycle）的技術。在過去，這項技術僅被應用于豐田的油電混合動力發動機中。

????豐田正在跟上其他汽車制造商的步伐。本田（Honda）推出了名為“地球之夢”（Earth Dreams）的高效節能系列發動機，馬自達則推出了“創馳藍天”（Skyactiv）系列發動機。【日產憑借聆風（Leaf）汽車成為電池動力汽車領域的領導者。】所有這些汽車制造商都在利用燃油噴射、渦輪增壓等技術來提高燃料效率——有時甚至會以犧牲功率或扭矩為代價——從而符合美國和其他國家在碳排放方面日益嚴格的規章條例。

????豐田負責發動機和傳動系統開發的高級經理佐賀光榮（Koei Saga）在公司全球總部接受《汽車新聞》（Automotive News）采訪時表示：“我們希望在接下來將要開發的所有發動機上實現第一流的燃油經濟性和成本效益。”

????佐賀光榮用日語“髪挿”（即中文的“發簪”，一種裝飾性發飾）一詞來形容各種“擴展”技術，例如在不消耗更多燃料的情況下，通過發動機廢氣再循環產生更多動力。

????“我們有各式各樣的髪挿，”佐賀告訴《汽車新聞》。

????由于重新設計發動機并且整合技術需要大量資金（豐田并未說明具體數額），豐田必須在其他地方想辦法省出這筆錢。已有諸多報道表明，豐田將會通過開發更多可在不同發動機間通用的部件來完成這項壯舉。

????公司發言人安德魯?庫切表示，隨著汽油發動機得到改進，油電混合動力發動機也會隨之得到提升。他說：“我們的工程師都很興奮，并迫不及待想讓每一項創新技術盡快投入使用。”

????TNGA項目還包括重新設計的懸架以及其他提升操控和駕駛體驗的系統，而充分體現該項目成果的車型在近兩三年還不會登陸美國市場，這段時間里豐田預計將推出最新一代凱美瑞（Camry）。

????與此同時，我們預計將會看到豐田推出一系列具有較高燃油效率的發動機產品，以及在其他重新設計的部件上實現增量改進。這家日本汽車制造商并不打算輕易將自己的“全球第一”稱號拱手讓人，在德國大眾汽車公司（Volkswagen AG）這樣的競爭對手向前邁進時，豐田似乎并不甘于坐困愁城。（財富中文網）

????Toyota stole a march on the global automotive industry by popularizing gas-electric hybrid engines, using its Prius brand to highlight the technology. But now that the Prius and hybrids are permanent fixtures in the automotive lineup, Toyota has decided it has some catching-up to do in the category of conventional gasoline engines

????Automakers like Nissan and Mazda are highly competitive in fuel efficiency ratings, using smaller, lighter powerplants to score high with consumers and governments. According to reports in the trade press, Toyota will narrow the gap shortly with two new engines that will be available in 14 variations around the world through next year. The first example has appeared in Japan, a hatchback known as Passo, powered by a 1.0-liter engine. Fuel efficiency in this model supposedly has been improved by 30 percent.

????For more than a year, the automaker has been touting a program it calls Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), that includes a number of automotive innovations, including engines. First off will be a 1.3-liter four-cylinder and a 1.0-liter three-cylinder that employ several advanced processes that improve fuel efficiency, including one known as an Atkinson burning cycle. Engines using the Atkinson technology previously had been used only in Toyota’s gas-electric hybrids.

????Toyota is following in other carmaker’s footsteps. Honda has introduced a line of high-efficiency engines it calls Earth Dreams, while the Mazda’s is called Skyactiv. (Nissan, with its Leaf, has made itself into a leader in battery-powered cars.) All are using technologies such as fuel injection and turbo charging to improve efficiency – sometimes at the expense of power or torque – and thus comply with increasingly stringent rules in the U.S. and abroad governing carbon emissions.

????“We would like to achieve No. 1 performance in fuel economy and cost for all the engines that we will be developing,” said Koei Saga, senior managing director in charge of engine and transmission development, in an interview with the Automotive News at Toyota’s global headquarters.

????Saga referred to the Japanese word kanzashi, a kind of ornamental hairpin to describe “add-on” technologies, such as recirculating exhaust from the engine to generate more power without burning more fuel.

????“We have a wide variety of kanzashi,” Saga told Automotive News.

????Since redesigning engines and incorporating technology require substantial capital – Toyota hasn’t clarified how much – the cost must be recouped by saving elsewhere. Published reports suggest that Toyota will accomplish this feat by creating more common parts among engines.

????As the gasoline engines improve, so will the gas-electric hybrids that use them in tandem, said Andrew Coetzee, a Toyota spokesman. “Our engineers are excited,” he said, “and very eager to put every innovation on the road as fast as possible.”

????Full expression of TNGA, including redesigned suspensions and other systems that improve handling and drivability, may not be apparent in the U.S. for another two to three years, when Toyota is expected to introduce its newest generation Camry.

????Meantime, expect to see a spate of engines featuring higher fuel efficiency from Toyota, along with incremental improvements in other redesigned parts. The No. 1 automaker from Japan doesn’t intend to give up its title easily, and doesn’t seem content to sit in idle while competitors like Volkswagen AG races ahead.