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Dayton Business Journal...
Ford to launch
three-cylinder engine
by DBJ Staff
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Ford Motor Co. said it will roll out its smallest engine ever, a
1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine dubbed the EcoBoost, for its small
cars.
The company did not give a timetable for its availability, but said
final calibrations are under way.
“Consumers are telling us they want to buy affordable vehicles that get
many more miles per gallon,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice
president of global product development. “Our new 1.0-liter EcoBoost
engine will give consumers looking for hybrid-like fuel economy a new,
more affordable choice.”
Kuzak said the new engine will deliver horsepower and torque outputs
equivalent to or better than most normally aspirated 1.6-liter gas
engines.
The engine was first seen in the Ford Start concept car that debuted at
Beijing in 2010, but more recently made its European debut in the Ford
B-MAX at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The company said it will release
more details on the engine in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show in
Germany.
Ford engineers in the U.K. began designing the new EcoBoost engine long
before the current spike in fuel prices.
The engineers focused on improving thermal efficiency and reducing
friction of the engine’s internal moving parts, especially during
warm-up. That’s when an engine emits higher levels of CO2 and other
pollutants.
The new engine introduces technologies that could someday be part of
the DNA of future Ford engines, said Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of
global powertrain engineering.
Ford competes against other automakers including General Motors Co.,
Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.
The Dayton region relies heavily on the auto industry, with many
supplying parts to automakers.
West Chester-based AK Steel Holding sells steel to many of the big
automakers. Other suppliers to the auto industry include Johnson
Controls Inc., Magna International Inc. and Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA).
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