First seen at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show in the Ford Start concept, the 1-liter EcoBoost engine appeared again this year in the Ford B-MAX at the 2011 Geneva Motor show. It was originally designed at Ford's Dunton Technical Centre in the U.K. with a focus on enhancing efficiency and…

Stop-start technology first emerged in Europe about four years ago, in response to carbon reduction regulations, stop-start technology is capable of improving fuel economy by between five and 12 percent, and when used in conjunction with other fuel-conserving technologies - by approximately 18-25 percent. The real value of stop-start technology however, is that it's usually less expensive than hybrid or pure EV technology and can be easily integrated into a standard internal combustion engine.

Ford…