Ford: efficiency for all

This week the Ford Motor Company won two awards for standout vehicles; one of which -- the Fusion hybrid -- being North America's most fuel-efficient mid-size sedan.

The Ford Transit Connect won Truck of the Year for its versatility and refinement among the Commercial contenders, and it too will be offered as a hybrid in markets such as the UK later this year.

The Fusion and green Transit will be joined by a range of vehicles equipped with Ford's EcoBoost technology which adds direct injection, variable timing and turbocharging for better efficiency, and further down the line, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell and even full battery electric vehicles will appear.

Ford wants to gain expertise in all available green motoring technologies and at this stage has not committed to any one in particular. Company spokespersons say that is because the brand wants to offer efficient motoring options to a wide range of vehicles and customers. It argues EcoBoost will be more affordable, relative to other technologies, and provides a faster payback to consumers than diesels or hybrids.

One of the easiest and most affordable options is gaining more efficiency from the current range of engines and offering those to customers in a move to "right-size" vehicle power. Ford's EcoBoost technique uses existing powerplants, but cylinder heads are adapted to suit turbocharging, and valve timing and compression ratios are altered.

We drove a naturally aspirated version of Ford's V6 against the EcoBoost offering in the seven-seater Lincoln MKT model. The former's displacement is 3.7-litres and the EcoBoost is 3.5-litres, but despite being somewhat smaller, the EcoBoost engine was considerably quicker off the line, felt more refined and was even quieter.

The EcoBoost V6 engine is designed to offer all of its torque well before 2000rpm, making the engine super responsive, and turbo spool-up is barely discernible. The engine is good for 197kW at 5500 revs and 475Nm from 1500 to 5250 revs.

Right-sizing across the range requires more than simply offering a reworked version of the same powerplant option, as Ford wants to replace larger engines with smaller displacement EcoBoost versions. According to company plans, the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 would replace naturally aspirated V8 engines, the 2.0-litre EcoBoost I4 would replace naturally aspirated V6 engines and the 1.6-litre EcoBoost I4 would replace naturally aspirated large I4 engines.

To that end, the likes of Australia's Falcon are destined for the brand's 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine in 2011, as an option for customers otherwise up for the in-line six-cylinder, which is being updated to meet Euro IV emissions standards. Meanwhile, many European brands are already accommodating Euro V and even VI...

In addition to the 3.5-litre V6 and 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder EcoBoost engines, Ford has developed a 1.6-litre version for the European market and a higher-performance version of the V6 for the Taurus SHO model. Ford wants to apply EcoBoost to 90 per cent of its nameplates (marque-wide, including its Lincoln and Mercury brands) by 2013.

Ford also offered journalists drive time in early versions of its hydrogen fuel cell Edge SUV, plug-in hybrid Flex and full hybrid Mercury Milan models. Perhaps tellingly, the company's BEV (battery electric) Focus wasn't available to drive, as someone either hadn't put it on overnight charge or its range had been spent by the time the Aussie journos got their turn...

On BEVs: in comparison to the likes of Nissan which has considerable experience and investment in battery technology, Ford believes time will tell whether options such as plug-in vehicles will suit the motoring masses.

During this week's North American International Auto Show we asked Ford's "electrification" program expert Nancy Gioia where she saw the green movement eventually headed.

"The Fusion hybrid and the Escape hybrid technology is all-Ford," she said proudly. "And those don't have to be plugged-in, which we think is a really good advantage. It's a much more affordable solution for many customers. It works for both the city and the highway and it really gives people everything they want."

But the company won't be far behind with plug-in options, also.

"For our next generation hybrid system and range we're going to add a plug-in hybrid."

After an overnight charge, the PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) will be able to run for up to 50km on battery power before reverting to the 'regular' hybrid mode. The PHEV offerings will be rolled out during 2012.

Full BEV examples will be seen in the UK later this year in the Transit Connect, and the Ford Focus BEV will be released in 2011.

But "hybrids will continue to dominate the volume between now and 2020," she told the Carsales Network.

"Simply because it will take time for infrastructure, and [improving] the cost and the performance of the batteries takes time and requires more development."

Gioia believes the next stage will heavily involve PHEV models, and full battery electric options will be made for specific users.

"So our approach is to make sure we have the technical solutions on our highest volume platforms," she explained.

Those platforms are the C-platform which underpins the new Focus, Escape and Transit Connect, and Ford's C-D platform used for models including the Fusion, Mondeo and Mercury Milan.

Implementing all technologies on the same platforms enables the company to "flex" within the existing manufacturing facility and supply base if one proves more popular, Gioia told the Carsales Network.

"That means economic stability, technology stability... and it's all Ford," she said.

Pictured: Derrick Kuzak, Ford Motor Company Group Vice President, Global Product Development

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