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Scuderi has been hard at work refining its split-cycle engine technology for the last few years, and the company believes that it’s close to another milestone. Though still far from production, testing has recently validated an important aspect of the design involving the valvetrain, so vice president Stephen Scuderi believes that he is close to licensing the technology to other manufacturers.

The split-cycle engine is intended to be an improvement on the traditional Otto cycle and acts a bit like the Miller cycle. Instead of using a mechanical supercharger, though, the Scuderi design uses paired cylinders to compress air, which is then used to prevent reversion of the exhaust gases into the intake tract. It is also possible to store some of this compressed air to power the vehicle as part of a hybrid drivetrain. If this seems to make little sense (don’t worry, you’re not alone), click past the break for a computer rendering of the engine running.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

As Chrysler moves ahead with its “consolidation strategy” (a.k.a. Project Genesis), it’s apparently had enough foresight to realize that shutting down dealerships seriously handicaps your ability to service your customers. According to Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of North American sales, the company’s solution will be “stand-alone service stores” — it is easiest to think of them as dealerships that have closed, but the service department still remains open.

While the first stand-alone service store is still about two years from opening its doors, Chrysler is in active talks with a handful of other retailers about the strategy with customer service as their goal. “If we all of a sudden go from 80 stalls to 40 stalls we don’t want to do our customers a disservice,” says Landry. “You need to have the right number of stalls.” Funny, any woman at a professional sporting event could have told you that.

[Source: Automotive News]