Size Matters: EcoBoost Gives Ford the Industry Lead in Reducing Engine Size Without Giving Up Performance

DEARBORN, Mich., April 19, 2012 – For decades, size meant everything when it came to engines – bigger was better and there was no replacement for displacement. But volatile gasoline prices and growing consumer interest in clean technologies are turning that notion on its head.

Today, buyers are snapping up cars and trucks powered by smaller engines that offer better fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance.

When the EcoBoost®-equipped 2013 Fusion, Escape and 2.0-liter Taurus arrive on dealer lots this spring and summer, Ford will offer an industry-leading seven vehicles with the smallest engines in their segments – more than any competitor.

Ford’s new global family of EcoBoost engines offer customers more affordable, high-efficiency powertrain choices, along with Ford’s growing lineup of hybrid and electric models. On average, an EcoBoost engine can improve fuel economy by as much as 20 percent, yet it costs around $1,000 on most vehicles.

Available now in displacements of 1.6, 2.0 and 3.5 liters, Ford’s EcoBoost engines are designed to offer drivers outstanding performance in everything from economy cars to trucks.

Most of the Ford vehicles with the smallest engines in their segments – 2013 Escape and 2013 Fusion (1.6 liters); Explorer, Edge and Taurus (2.0 liters); and Interceptor and F-150 (3.5 liters) – deliver the same or greater power than the larger, heavier engines in competitive vehicles, along with higher fuel economy.

Replacing large engines with smaller-displacement EcoBoost engines is one way Ford is delivering on its promise to lead or be among the leaders in fuel economy in every segment in which it competes.

As with cell phones, laptops and other consumer electronics, Ford’s engines will continue to shrink – yet become more powerful – in the coming years.

The next new EcoBoost engine scheduled for launch in North America, a 1.0-liter three-cylinder coming in 2013, will be Ford’s smallest yet. This compact, innovative engine – which is the same length as the average laptop computer – is rated at 125 horsepower, making it one of the highest output-per-liter regular production engines Ford has ever made.

This year, Ford Motor Company will offer EcoBoost engines in 12 Ford and Lincoln nameplates – Focus ST, 2013 Fusion and Escape, Taurus, Interceptor, Flex, Edge, Explorer and F-150, as well as the latest Lincoln MKT and MKS models and the all-new Lincoln MKZ.. By 2015, the company plans to offer an EcoBoost engine on 90 percent of its North American nameplates.

Light + small + power = better
In addition to developing more horsepower per liter than the larger engines they are replacing, EcoBoost motors are helping Ford reduce vehicle weight, which improves handling and braking and helps increase fuel economy.

The 2013 Escape and Fusion models provide a graphic example of why Ford’s new generation of smaller, lighter and more powerful engines are better. In the 2012 Escape and Fusion, the 3.0-liter V6 engine is rated at 240 horsepower and 223 lb.-ft. of torque. That engine weighs 340 pounds.

The new 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine that is optional in the 2013 Escape and Fusion is rated at 240 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque and it weighs 295 pounds, 45 pounds less than the old 3.0-liter. The 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine available in both vehicles delivers 178 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft of torque and weighs just 223 pounds.

Since launching EcoBoost in summer 2009, Ford has sold more than 180,000 EcoBoost-equipped vehicles in North America, making it the most rapidly adopted fuel-saving technology in recent automotive history.

According to Ward’s sales data, it took Toyota 50 months, for example, to sell 100,000 gasoline-electric hybrids in North America. And Ford’s EcoBoost lineup outsells all competitors’ diesel, compressed natural gas and battery-electric cars combined.

EcoBoost is a suite of technologies that combines turbocharging with direct injection, variable valve timing and precise engine controls to increase the power output and efficiency of the gasoline internal combustion engine. The increased power output enables Ford to replace a V8 engine with a V6, a V6 with a four-cylinder and a four-cylinder with a three-cylinder – with no loss of performance.

“The F-150 is a great example of how EcoBoost is changing the way customers think of our engines,” said Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of Powertrain Engineering. “Before we launched the 3.5-liter EcoBoost, few people would have believed a V6 was tough enough to get the job done in a full-size truck. The last time a six-cylinder engine outsold a V8 in the F-150 was in the late 1980s.

“But with 365 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque, towing capacity as much as 11,300 pounds and EPA highway fuel economy of 22 mpg, the EcoBoost V6 has quickly become the top-selling engine in the F-150,” said Bakaj. Just over 40 percent of F-150s are sold with an EcoBoost engine, he added.

EcoBoost Edge is another small-engine success story. With a nearly 20 percent take rate, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost-powered Edge is exceeding sales projections.

Ford EcoBoost engines are also proving popular in Europe, where the 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder units are offered across several nameplates, and the all-new 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost has met with unanimous acclaim.

Ford Launches Focus Electric Online with World’s First Digital Road Trips for Facebook Friends

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, 2012 – Ford is giving Facebook users the chance to take a road trip in the all-new Focus Electric before the car is available in most markets and without even having to step away from their computers.
Called “Plug N Play in Electric City with the 2012 Focus Electric,” the Facebook-based game gives the user and four of his or her friends the ability to take a short trip in a virtual version of the car using Mapquest® mapping data to calculate how far different destinations are in proximity to charging stations along the way.
“This is a great way for consumers to both have fun and learn about the new Focus Electric at the same time,” said Chad D’Arcy, Focus Electric marketing manager. “We want to offer people the opportunity to experience the car now, especially those on Facebook who have supported us for so long.”
The trip provides a glimpse into just some of the technologies and features of Focus Electric, rated America’s most fuel-efficient five-seat passenger vehicle and certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to offer the equivalent of 110 miles per gallon (MPGe) city, 99 MPGe highway and 105 MPGe combined.
Plug N Play in Electric City is Ford’s latest foray into the social media arena and further illustrates how Ford is launching the new 2012 Focus Electric in a new and different way.
Ford’s electrified vehicle business is fundamentally different than some competitors, beginning with a strategy to electrify platforms – not one-off specialty models – realizing sales will grow over time and the need for flexibility to adjust production to demand as the market develops.
Now, Ford is building on social media innovations such as the Fiesta Movement by taking the Focus Electric to consumers in a very targeted, digitally focused manner with an educational foundation because the company’s research shows many Americans simply do not yet understand the technology.
“Social networking allows Ford to meet customers it might not connect with through traditional advertising, making it easier to open a dialogue with a whole new audience,” said D’Arcy.
Ford announced earlier this week it is casting for “Plugged In,” Yahoo!’s first reality competition series pitting teams of two against each other in a competition for the chance to win a Focus Electric. The series highlights many of Focus Electric’s features as contestants rely on the vehicle to complete various challenges.
Ford’s Electrified Vehicles Facebook page – home to the Plug N Play in Electric City game – was developed and launched in late 2010 to help consumers understand the differences between electrified vehicle technologies so they can make informed decisions about alternative-fuel vehicles. Now with more than 38,000 subscribers, the page can be found at www.facebook.com/FordElectricVehicles.
Plug N Play in Electric City highlights many of Focus Electric’s features, such as the technology behind the car’s advanced charging system and how easy it is to use.
“We worked diligently to provide an experiential application that offers both entertainment as well as education for our fans,” said Scott Monty, Ford global digital and multimedia communications manager. “It’s fun to share experiences through Facebook – and we hope to educate our customers on Focus Electric features along the way.”
Plug N Play in Electric City is paired with Ford’s electrified vehicle website at http://www.ford.com/technology/electric/, including a “Ford for Me” that allows consumers to describe their driving habits so the best electrified vehicle technology can be matched to their needs. More than 200,000 visitors already have checked out the Ford site.
Production of the Focus Electric began in December 2011 at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich. More information about MAP can be found here.
Ford will ramp up Focus Electric retail production in the first half of 2012 for dealership availability in California, New York and New Jersey. By the end of 2012, Focus Electric will be available in 19 markets across the U.S.