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A start-stop system automatically shuts down and restarts an automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
's internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
 to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idling
Idle speed

Idle speed is the minimum operating speed of a combustion engine. At idle speed, the engine generates enough Power to run reasonably smoothly and operate its ancillaries , but usually not enough to perform useful work, such as moving an automobile....
, thereby improving fuel economy
Fuel economy in automobiles

Fuel economy in automobiles is the amount of fuel required to move the automobile over a given distance. While the fuel efficiency of petroleum internal combustion engine has improved markedly in recent decades, , this does not necessarily translate into better fuel economy, if larger and heavier vehicles are used, or if that effici...
. This is most advantageous for vehicles which spend significant amounts of time waiting at stop lights or frequently come to a stop in traffic jams. This feature is present in hybrid electric vehicle
Hybrid electric vehicle

A hybrid electric vehicle is a hybrid vehicle which combines a conventional ground propulsion system with a rechargeable energy storage system to achieve better fuel economy in automobiles than a conventional vehicle....
s, but has also appeared in vehicles which lack a hybrid powertrain. For non-hybrid vehicles, fuel economy gains from this technology are typically in the range of 5 to 10 percent.

Since automobile accessories like air conditioners and water pumps have typically been designed to run off a serpentine belt
Serpentine belt

A serpentine belt is a single, continuous belt used to drive multiple peripheral devices in an automotive engine, such as an alternator, power steering pump, water pump, Air conditioning gas compressor, air pump, etc....
 on the engine, those systems need to be redesigned to function properly when the engine is turned off.






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A start-stop system automatically shuts down and restarts an automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
's internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
 to reduce the amount of time the engine spends idling
Idle speed

Idle speed is the minimum operating speed of a combustion engine. At idle speed, the engine generates enough Power to run reasonably smoothly and operate its ancillaries , but usually not enough to perform useful work, such as moving an automobile....
, thereby improving fuel economy
Fuel economy in automobiles

Fuel economy in automobiles is the amount of fuel required to move the automobile over a given distance. While the fuel efficiency of petroleum internal combustion engine has improved markedly in recent decades, , this does not necessarily translate into better fuel economy, if larger and heavier vehicles are used, or if that effici...
. This is most advantageous for vehicles which spend significant amounts of time waiting at stop lights or frequently come to a stop in traffic jams. This feature is present in hybrid electric vehicle
Hybrid electric vehicle

A hybrid electric vehicle is a hybrid vehicle which combines a conventional ground propulsion system with a rechargeable energy storage system to achieve better fuel economy in automobiles than a conventional vehicle....
s, but has also appeared in vehicles which lack a hybrid powertrain. For non-hybrid vehicles, fuel economy gains from this technology are typically in the range of 5 to 10 percent.

Since automobile accessories like air conditioners and water pumps have typically been designed to run off a serpentine belt
Serpentine belt

A serpentine belt is a single, continuous belt used to drive multiple peripheral devices in an automotive engine, such as an alternator, power steering pump, water pump, Air conditioning gas compressor, air pump, etc....
 on the engine, those systems need to be redesigned to function properly when the engine is turned off. Typically, an electric motor is used to power these devices instead.

Carmakers and models

One of the earliest vehicles to use this technology were the Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo

The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, sedan , coup? and station wagon variants....
 Formel E and Fiat Regata
Fiat Regata

The Fiat Regata was the sedan version of the Fiat Ritmo small family car, produced by Italian automaker Fiat. It was produced from 1983 to 1990, corresponding to the post-facelift Ritmo....
 ES models of the 1980s. Volkswagen also tried it in the Golf Ecomatic and in the Lupo 3L in the 1990s, though those early implementations were considered rather disconcerting by many drivers. Citroën
Citroën

Citro?n is a France automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by Andr? Citro?n, it was the world's first mass-production car company outside of the USA....
 introduced a more refined system in its C2
Citroën C2

The Citro?n C2 is a supermini car produced by the France manufacturer Citro?n since 2003. A completely different car, based on the Peugeot 206, is sold in China as the C2....
 and C3
Citroën C3

The Citro?n C3 is a supermini car with a range of inline-4 engines that has been produced by the French automaker Citro?n since 2002. It was designed by Donato Coco and Jean-Pierre Plou?, previously known for designing the Renault Twingo; the former has been the head of the Citro?n design team since 1999....
 models by 2006, and BMW
BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
 is including the technology across many of its cars and the MINI
MINI (BMW)

Mini is a British automotive brand owned by the BMW that has produced the successor of the original Mini in Oxford, England since April 2001. three body variants are available: Hatchback, Convertible, Pickup Truck and Clubman ....
 line for 2008.

At present, BMW's implementation is probably the most advanced. Many of these systems use an integrated starter-generator (ISG), for example by Valeo or Denso, which combines the role of the starter
Automobile self starter

An automobile self-starter is an electric motor that initiates rotational motion in an internal combustion engine before it can power itself....
 and alternator into one unit. BMW has been interested in ways to reduce parasitic loss
Parasitic loss

In short, Parasitic Loss is a loss that a parasite consumes from its host which may or may not be beneficial to the host....
es on engines, so the company took the technology a step further. Instead of using an integrated starter generator, BMW has used an enhanced-starter which is nothing more than a conventional starter, developed by Bosch GmbH, that can withstand the increased number of engine-starts in a stop-start vehicle. BMW has developed the system such that the alternator is not activated most of the time. This means that electrical components in the vehicle are normally running on battery
Battery (electricity)

In electronics, a battery or voltaic cell is a combination of one or more electrochemical cell Galvanic cells which store chemical energy that can be converted into electric potential energy, creating electricity....
 power. When the battery needs to be charged or when decelerating or braking, the alternator is activated to recharge the battery (regenerative braking). Since this battery experiences very different load characteristics than a normal car battery, BMW used an absorptive glass mat
Absorptive glass mat

#REDIRECT VRLA...
 type instead. Due to the use of regenerative braking, some have started calling this type of system a micro hybrid, a step below a mild hybrid
Mild Hybrid

Mild hybrids are essentially conventional vehicles with oversized starter motors, allowing the engine to be wikt:turn off whenever the car is coasting, braking, or stopped, yet restart quickly and cleanly....
 system where the ISG can be used to assist the engine or even drive the vehicle.

Smart Fortwo
Smart Fortwo

The Smart Fortwo is a rear-engined two-seater car manufactured by Smart and introduced at the 1998 Paris Motor Show. Initially named the Smart City Coupe, the fortwo has now entered its second generation, and in 2008 an all electric concept version of the model, the fortwo ed debuted....
 is a microhybrid sold in Europe.

Toyota has been selling cars with start-stop system for several years in Japan.

Both Toyota and Mazda will be introducing stop-start technology available also outside of Japan in some of their 2009 model year vehicles, and Renault will introduce the technology in all of its European models by 2010. Fiat introduced the Bosch
Bosch

Bosch is a popular surname in Catalan language and Dutch language; it means forest. It may refer to:Places*Bosch, Buenos Aires, Argentina...
 made system in the end of 2008 in Fiat 500
Fiat Nuova 500

A new Fiat 500 was announced by Italy automaker Fiat on May 5, 2006. Images of the new Fiat 500 were presented on March 20, 2007, and the car was launched officially on July 4, 2007, with 250,000 in attendance....
.

Mahindra&Mahindra, India, will be introducing the same in its Bolero Vehicles, and then later to Scorpio.

See also

  • Microcar
    Microcar

    A microcar is an uncommonly small automobile. They were popularly referred to as cyclecars in the 1910s and 1920s and bubblecars in the 1950s and 1960s....