Ford To Install EcoBoost
Date: Jan 8th, 2008 8:24:08 am - Subscribe
Mood: blue
Ford Motor Co. said that it plans to install a new family of turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engines dubbed the EcoBoost. The engine will be used on half a million vehicles over the next 5 years, including the 2009 Lincoln MKS and Ford Flex.
The MKS sedan, which the company expects to launch later this year, will be the first Ford vehicle with EcoBoost as an option, according to RTT News. The company noted that EcoBoost will give the MKS's 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 the power and torque of a V8.
According to reports, the EcoBoost will include four- and six-cylinder variants. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost will be used for the Explorer America Concept and select vehicles. It is expected to generate 275hp and 280 pound-feet of torque. A twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6, which will be used in the all-wheel-drive MKS, will make 340hp and 340 lb-ft of torque.
The America Concept equipped EcoBoost will be introduced at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Dearborn-based automaker said that the technology will provide a fuel-economy improvement of 20-30% over current engines. What’s more, the engine is relatively affordable compared with diesels and hybrids. The EcoBoost range is aimed to be applied in a wide variety of applications, including cars and trucks.
Additionally, the automaker said that it also plans to install hybrid and diesel powertrains in additional vehicles and is developing plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells for future applications.
Ford said on Thursday that its December vehicle sales in the United States dropped 9.2% from the previous year due to a weak demand for both cars and trucks. To note, the automaker, sold 212,094 vehicles in December, down 9.2% from 233,621 vehicles sold in the same month in 2007. In December, retail sales dived 13% and fleet sales plummeted 1% compared to a year earlier.
It seems to me that the auto rivalry is intensifying as previously predicted. One automaker innovates, the other upgrades and invents. Nice scenario. But the competition will get tougher and tougher and the upgrade of the ball joint won’t simply suffice.
