In the race to make ever-more economical cars, Renault has stolen a march on rivals with the announcement of an innovative new system called ‘stop-stop’.
Stop-stop works much like the ‘stop-start’ engine cutting technology seen in many modern cars, but with one difference: When a Renault fitted with the new system comes to a halt and the driver puts the car in neutral, the engine cuts out. Then, when the driver depresses the clutch pedal and puts the car into gear, the car develops a sudden unexplained electrical fault and refuses to start again.
‘The beauty of this system is that when it is active, the car uses zero fuel,’ said Renault’s head of technologies, Quel Erreur. ‘And the car will continue to use no fuel for the next few weeks while it is at, how you say, the dealeur.’
Renault says the average owner of a car fitted with stop-stop will experience fuel savings of up to 60 percent, especially if they factor in all the journeys they will complete in the cab of a recovery lorry.
For fuel saving fans keen to know when stop-stop technology will be available in Renaults, the company says the answer is ‘since about 1995’.
