HCCI: HCC ... Say What?

Everywhere we turn, there's another acronym to learn--but in this case it's kinda justified. HCCI stands for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (yes, quite a mouthful), and who's gonna walk around saying that? So HCCI it is. OK, so now let's find out exactly what Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition is, and what it has to do with alt fuels and saving fuel.

Read on to get the scoop on how these engines work, along with boning up on some nifty terms like Otto cycle, stratified charge, throttle body and a handful of others. Enjoy.

left: spark ignition, right: compression ignition - photo © General Motors