About thirty-five years ago I interviewed a guy from Hong Kong. He was telling me that drivers, by tradition, turn off their headlights when stopped at a light to keep stress off the other drivers. He said that many people would also turn their engine off and not idle at a stop light. This was not so much to save fuel but to cut down on smog.

OK, maybe everybody did this or maybe just some folks did.

But start/stop engines are looking like they will be everywhere in the next few years. So, has anyone ever driven such a car?

And what was this like?

Yeah, I drive 'em every day. It takes some getting used to. If I actually owned one I'd probably switch it off.......

Just driven a golf cart. I have to say thought, what about my ice cold air conditioning while I am waiting for a train to pass? I wont be happy if my air conditioning doesnt work while its "off"

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

It's not all that seamless, but its not all that strange.

If the A/C gets warm the car will usually turn back on. In my friends 2.7 ecoboost F150 it will tell you on the onboard computer why the car didn't stop/start and I believe HVAC is one of the reasons, in addition to things like engine too cold, or engine too hot.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

We had an insight 2nd gen for a while...it had that feature...no biggie. At first you always though the engine had died but after a while...no biggie.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Do cars with this feature come with beefier starters? I've always wondered about starter wear on those.

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1963 Ford Falcon Convertible
1972 220D 4-speed
1986 190D 2.5 5-speed
1999 300D

Yes, or a combined starter/alternator.
http://youtu.be/VJSEQaxAh4c

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

That's an interesting innovation.

It also cuts about 20 pounds of weight (more or less) from the car.

My BMW has it. I found it kind of neat, but selected it off and haven't thought about it since. I don't have traffic, so I consider it pointless for the occasional short traffic light. The car is a manual transmission, so when I push the clutch in, it starts. By the time I have gear selected and ready to release the clutch, it's running at normal idle, so it doesn't get in the way at all.

The Mercedes S550 that I had for a couple of weeks had it, it's a little weird when you see the tach going to zero. I did got used to it pretty quick tho. With a new 3series diesel I drove recently it was more confusing because you can hear the engine quit and when used to driving older cars you think it's time to call AAA.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Toyota hybrids have had that feature for years. Seamlessly smooth, most of the time the driver cannot even feel it happening.

I had a GLA250 loaner car a few weeks ago with that feature. It was pretty herky-jerkey, not smooth at all. I think there might be a huge future market for starters, flywheels, and engine mounts if MB doesn't make substantial improvements in the way this works.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

My F150 with the 2.7TT EcoBoost has it and I hardly ever notice it anymore.

Working for an independent I haven't seen many of the eco start cars but I heard about them from the dealer when they came out. As I understood it the ECU tracks the crank angle pretty precisely and figures out which cyl is at or just after TDC. It then fires the corresponding injector and spark plug in an attempt to kick it over to start. I think the starter was only used as a last resort. The problem, "I heard" is that sometimes they wouldn't start, and then flood, and then bend a rod due to being hydrolocked with fuel.

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90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff

The GLK we have has it. We turn it off while driving. I have concerns about the wear and tear on the engine from starting and stopping.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

If it is designed to do it i would not worry about it.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.