Jargon Buster

Auto stop-start
Engines that switch off at traffic lights.

Bio-diesel
Diesel which includes oil derived from plants.

Bio-ethanol
Petrol which includes oil derived from plants.

Bluetec
A way of cleaning the emissions of diesel engines, developed by Mercedes and VW.

CO2 air conditioning
Air conditioning that reduces pollution.

Direct injection
Fuel injection into the cylinder for greater efficiency.

Displacement on demand
Engines that shut down cylinders when cruising.

Down-sizing
Smaller engines with no loss of power.

E85
A blend of biofuel

Electronic power steering (EPS)
cuts fuel consumption by removing the hydraulic pump.

Fuel cells
Theoretically, the ultimate solution, as they have no emissions at all.

Gas-to-liquid (GTL)
Natural gas converted to a liquid and mixed (usually) with diesel.

Homogenous charge
Petrol engines that work like a (very clean) diesel.

Hybrids
Cars using an electric motor as well as a petrol engine.

Hydrogen fuels
Zero emission fuel, making it the ideal power source - in theory.

Lithium-ion Battery
Lithium-ion batteries are expected to play a key role in the future of electric and hybrid cars.

LPG/CGN
Using Liquid Petroleum Gas and Compressed Natural Gas as alternatives to petrol

Mild Hybrid
Electric motor that assists the engine, but cannot drive the car alone

Oxides of Nitrogen (NoX)
Pollutant that causes low-level ozone.

Particulates
Essentially the black soot that comes out of diesel engines

Plug-in hybrid
Hybrid motors that can be recharged from a mains power source

Regenerative braking
Brakes that automatically recharge the battery.

Super caps
Capacitors that can boost the power of an engine for short periods.

Turbocharger
Originally designed to boost power, now being used to save fuel.

Well-to-wheel
Measuring the total environmental impact of a fuel.