Hasta La Gadget!

Auto-stop systems, which cut the engine while idling at a traffic light in order to save fuel, are beginning to hit mainstream vehicles across the globe. A Ford executive said at the Detroit auto show last week that over the next several years, all Ford vehicles will get auto-stop capability, according to AutoblogGreen. Today, only Ford hybrids, including the Escape and Fusion (along with their Mercury counterparts, the Mariner and Milan), can do it.

The report said that automakers are adding the systems to manual transmission cars first, since the driver always sends a clear signal—shifting back into first—before he or she wants to begin moving again. But in the U.S., automatic transmission cars represent 95 percent of the market. In the case of an automatic, “an electro hydraulic pump must be added to shift the transmission back to first gear before restarting.” Look for auto-stop systems to appear on dual-clutch and other “auto-manual” style combination transmissions first, before they eventually appear on regular automatics.