Smaller-More-Efficient Engines II: Ford EcoBoost Effort Expands

By John Voelcker

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2010 Ford F-150

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We said it on Friday: Smaller, more efficient engines are going to be the main way we increase gas mileage in the next few years (in that case, a four-cylinder 2010 Buick LaCrosse).

This morning, Ford has underlined that theme once more by announcing three new applications of their EcoBoost engines to be launched by the end of this year alone.

2011 Ford Edge

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The MKT will be available with either a 268hp (200kW) Duratec V6 or the new 355hp (265kW) EcoBoost mill

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2010 Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost

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Ford says all three new models will offer best-in-class fuel economy, while providing the performance of the next largest engine class.

EcoBoost engines combine gasoline direct injection with turbocharging to produce more power from a smaller displacement. The new engine offerings will appear in the following models:

• 2011 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck: Will get a 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost that offers "best-in-class fuel economy, along with the power and towing capability of a V-8"
• 2011 Ford Explorer: Will offer the same 230-horsepower, 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in the 2011 Ford Edge.
• 2011 Ford C-Max (a European small minivan): Will be fitted with a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four

The F-150 pickup truck may be the most significant of the three, since pickup truck buyers tend to be both more conservative and more cost-conscious than car buyers.  Its sales will be watched closely to see how fast buyers adopt more costly technologies for saving fuel.

Ford also said it had upped planned global production of EcoBoost engines from 1.3 million to 1.5 million by 2013,  of which roughly half are expected to be sold in North America, helping Ford meet new fuel economy rules by 2016.

Earlier this year, Ford's advanced engine manager Brett Hinds told High Gear Media that EcoBoost was being ordered at almost twice the 15-percent rate that Ford had projected. By 2013, Ford will offer an EcoBoost option in 90 percent of its global nameplates.

And there's room for further gains, Ford says. It's working on more efficient turbochargers, more precise control of the direct-injection system, and optimal transmission and final drive gearing, said director of powertrain research and advanced engineering Dan Kapp.

Ford currently offers a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 in the following full-size cars:

• 2010 Ford Taurus SHO performance sedan
• 2010 Ford Flex seven-passenger crossover
• 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan
• 2010 Lincoln MKT seven-passenger crossover

[Ford]