BOSTON --- A team of MIT researchers has found that injecting small amounts of ethanol into vehicle engines at moments of peak demand could improve gasoline engine fuel economy by 20-30 percent. Such peak-demand moments include sharp acceleration or climbing a steep hill. According to a report from Reuters, the research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology believes that development of an ethanol injection system would permit automakers to use smaller engines in their vehicles. This, in turn, would reduce weight and improve fuel economy at a lower cost to consumers than by adding a hybrid engine. Daniel Cohn, senior research scientist at MIT in Cambridge, estimated that adding the system to a car would cost about $1,000. The new system could be ready for mass production as early as 2011. The system is coupled with a turbocharger to produce more power.
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