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Ford Adds Smaller EcoBoost Engine, Will Be In 90 Percent of Vehicles by 2013

<p>Next year Ford will introduce a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, providing the power of a V6 with improved fuel economy. The company expects to have EcoBoost engines available for 90 percent of its nameplates by 2013.<br /> &nbsp;</p>

[Editor's Note: GreenBiz.com editor Jonathan Bardelline traveled to Michigan this week to cover Ford's green-car announcements; you can read his other reports here and here.]

Ford is expanding its EcoBoost engine line to include a 2.0-liter version next year, offering the power of a V6 engine and the fuel economy of an inline-4 engine.

Dan Kapp, Ford's director of powertrain research and advanced engineering spoke about the expansion of the EcoBoost engine technology at a press event held by Ford yesterday. [Full disclosure: Ford paid for my travel to Michigan and lodging for the event.]

The EcoBoost engine provides vehicles with a 10-20 percent improvement in fuel economy and up to 15 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The engine technology was developed to fit into anything Ford makes.

"We can take the same basic technology and apply it to any number of our vehicles," Kapp said.

The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost will add to the company's existing 3.5-liter EcoBoost, which is available in the Lincoln MKS and MKT, Flex and Taurus. Nearly one in five buyers of those vehicles have chosen the EcoBoost engine since it was make available in August.

In 2010, Ford will also make the 3.5-liter EcoBoost available for the F-150 and offer the 2.0-liter version in Europe and Chine, and offer a 1.6-liter version in Europe.

The company expects to have EcoBoost engines available for 23 percent of its nameplates in 2010 and 90 percent in 2013.

The smaller EcoBoost engines, Kapp said, are mainly being aimed at fuel economy, while the larger ones are aimed at performance. Nevertheless, even the four-cylinder EcoBoost engines will provide equal or better performance than comparable engines, he said.

Smaller EcoBoost engines are also being made possible through the company's weight reduction strategies. As vehicle weights come down, so can the size and weight of EcoBoost engines.

EcoBoost engine - photo by Jonathan Bardelline
 

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