2010 Ward's 10 Best Engines Announced

It's that time of the year when almost every automotive publication across the globe has an award to announce. Unlike other auto publications which crowns Cars, Trucks and Automobiles of the Year, Ward's 10 Best Engines is the only award in North America which honors "Engine Excellence". The list of 10 Best Engines for the year 2010 has been announced and all the winners will be crowned at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.



The Volkswagen Group is the clear winner taking home 3 awards including 2 for it's premium brand Audi. Ford also chips in with 2 awards including one for it's famed 2.5L Hybrid engine in the hot-selling Fusion model. While Subaru and Hyundai are getting this honor for the second time, the biggest loser this year seems to be Honda with no representation in the Top 10. Each engines were scored based on horsepower, torque, refinement, technical relevance and comparative data. The engines evaluated should be either all-new and should offer significant technological upgrades or was a returning winner from last year.



The following are the list of winners for the year 2010 along with the models in which the engines were tested.

• 2.0L TFSI Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A4) 


• 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi S4)


• 3.0L DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel (BMW 335d)


• 2.5L DOHC I-4 Hybrid (Ford Fusion Hybrid)


• 3.5L EcoBoost Turbocharged DOHC V-6 (Ford Taurus SHO)


• 2.4L Ecotec DOHC I-4 (Chevrolet Equinox)


• 4.6L Tau DOHC V-8 (Hyundai Genesis)


• 2.5L Turbocharged DOHC H-4 (Subaru Legacy 2.5GT)


• 1.8L DOHC I-4 Hybrid (Toyota Prius) 


• 2.0L SOHC I-4 Turbodiesel (Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI)
  
  

Milestone #2: Hyundai crosses 25 Lakh Car Production in India

Let me settle things first. This blog is not a Hyundai PR Website. Now that things are clear, let me also state that I wish that there are some other automobile companies to rival Hyundai in constantly attracting media attention and being in spotlight. Seriously, this Korean company is not only growing globally in terms of sales, models, profits and brand image but is also setting milestones across the globe. Following my previous post of Hyundai's milestone in Alabama (USA), it is now the turn of it's Indian subsidiary Hyundai Motor India (HMI) to achieve a significant milestone.

The cumulative production of cars in it's plant at Sriperumbudur, 35 kms from the auto hub of Chennai, crossed 25 Lakh units today (08-Dec-2009). Hyundai started operations in India in the year 1998 after completing the construction of the greenfield facility in a record time of 17 months. The first car "Santro" was launched in September 1998 and it went off to become one of the most popular cars to be made in India with a total cumulative sales of 15 Lakh units till date. Cars like the Accent, Sonata, Getz, Elantra, i10 & the recent i20 have followed the Santro and continued the legacy of Hyundai in India. Of the total 25 Lakh units produced, approximately 16 Lakh units were sold in India and 9 Lakh units were exported.

Hyundai Motor India has always been a trendsetter of sorts in our country and this event is no exception. Hyundai has achieved this milestone in just a little over 10 years - the fastest in India and only the second auto manufacturer after Maruti to achieve this milestone.

Milestone #1: One Millionth Vehicle rolls off Hyundai's Alabama Plant

November-30-2009 will go in books as a red-letter day for South Korean auto-major Hyundai's American subsidiary - Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA). The day marked the "Roll-Out of 1 Millionth Vehicle" from the plant which started operations in 2005 with the mid-size Sonata sedan and henceforth added the crossover Santa Fe to it's lineup. In a short span of a little over four and a half years, a total of 655,496 Sonatas and 344,504 Santa Fes were built to achieve this landmark.

Speaking on the occasion, HMMA President & CEO, Mr.H.I.Kim said, "Our guests of honor today are without a doubt the team members wearing the Hyundai logo on their chest. We've overcome many challenges since production began in 2005 and through it all our Team Members never turned away from those challenges. It is because of them that we were able to accomplish this tremendous milestone."

It seems that Hyundai is on a spree of achieving milestones across the globe. On November-03-2009, Hyundai reported that the worldwide cumulative sales of it's Santa Fe SUV has touched 2 Million units. This included 500,000 unit sales in the Korean domestic market. This multiple award-winning and successful model was launched by Hyundai in June 2000 and it has steadily gained in popularity in most of the markets it was launched in. The Santa Fe is in it's second generation now and it was given a mid-cycle facelift very recently.