Driving out of Toronto today with the windows down, I rolled up beside a new-looking Chevy Malibu stopped at a traffic light. When the light turned green I heard its conventional starter motor light up the engine and thought, "oh that's interesting -- maybe he's doing it with the key."
But at the next light when it shut down again I realized there was almost no delay between start-up and when the car started driving away -- no pause to account for shifting from N to D.
Which made me realize... it must be automatic stop/start.
And that's the
first time I've seen that feature in the wild that wasn't on a hybrid.
Someone posted a start/stop Malibu demo on YouTube. Jump to 0:35 if you're impatient.
Technical overview of the system below. I didn't realize the car had a secondary, smaller 12v battery that powers the car ONLY during the "restart" phase. And the car has a larger capacity glass mat battery for more power & durability.