California company already has 80-mpg engine for 1999 Supercar.

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 1995--MicroPulse Controls Inc., developer of advanced fuel injection equipment, Wednesday announced it has beat the Clinton administration's 80-mpg Supercar deadline by nearly five years by developing essential technology for it already.

In a technical paper delivered Wednesday by Douglas Kruse, president and R&D director of MicroPulse Controls of Burbank, Calif., to the Society of Automotive Engineers Future Transportation Technology Conference, he revealed the new engine design evolution of the Otto cycle spark ignition gasoline engine.

There is still work to be done by U.S. auto manufacturers before the car is a reality, Kruse said, but the deadline is now reachable. He said a 1994 Chevrolet Geo Metro Xfi, EPA rated at 53 mpg for city driving, could reach 78 mpg with the new technology. Other auto company improvements would provide additional fuel efficiency and customer needs for quality, performance and utility.

With the same technology, Kruse said, a more mainstream Ford Taurus or equivalent automobile rated at 30 mpg for city driving could achieve 44 mpg.

The Supercar program, first announced by Vice President Al Gore on July 27, 1994, is coordinated by Mary L. Good, undersecretary for technology, U.S. Department of Commerce. The program is a cooperative research effort involving Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, other automotive-industry suppliers, universities and federal laboratories.

Officially titled Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), this initiative has goals including improvement of national competitiveness in the manufacture of motor vehicles as well as development of a passenger car to achieve 80 mpg by the year 2004.

The conclusion of the technical paper presented by Kruse stated:

"The new limited temperature cycle (his company developed) is an enabling technology for high efficiency internal combustion engines. There are no known technical barriers to early use of this technology for 1.5-liter gasoline engines, including hybrid electric applications. Initial use at a compression ratio of 12-to-1 will allow development of higher compression engines as an evolutionary process.

"Larger displacement engines operating on natural gas provide a near-term clean fuel application for the new combustion process. Development of a lean-NOx catalyst will extend the use to 3.0-liter and larger displacement engines using reformulated gasoline.

"Industry-wide use of the limited-temperature cycle for passenger cars will allow the petroleum industry to concentrate on clean-air formulations for gasoline without a need to develop new anti-knock additives to raise fuel octane rating for advanced engines. With direct injection and temperature-limited injection rates, present fuels can be used at a compression ratio of 12-to-1 to achieve a 38 percent gain in fuel efficiency over present engines. At a compression ratio of 20-to-1, a 47 percent increase in fuel efficiency over present gasoline engines is possible."

Kruse said this technology can improve the competitiveness of American auto manufacturers, especially in export markets with high gasoline costs, such as Asia and Europe. The technology is covered by an issued United States patent, with additional U.S. and foreign patents applied for.

MicroPulse has initiated discussions with two automotive companies to consider applying this innovative technology to conventional vehicles. The auto industry has made a commitment under the PNGV program to apply, on an expedited basis, commercially viable technologies that can be expected to significantly increase fuel efficiency and improve emissions for standard vehicles. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: For a copy of SAE technical paper No. 951963

"Limited-Temperature Cycle," contact Douglas

Kruse.

Voice -- 818/341-5041

Fax -- 818/341-5037

CONTACT: Deke Houlgate Enterprises, Torrance, Calif.

310/540-5001; Fax: [phone]

(for MicroPulse information)

or

Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.

Virginia Miller, 202/482-6260; Fax: [phone]

(for U.S. Government information)