Ethanol Boosting Systems
08-07-2008, 10:17 AM
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Ethanol Boosting Systems
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Ford high on fuel sippers
Automaker touts 'unprecedented' stake in powertrains geared to efficient performance.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. offered more details in what it called an "unprecedented" investment in new fuel-efficient engines and transmissions Wednesday.
And, the company is so confident that its new powertrains will deliver the performance and fuel economy customers are increasingly demanding that it is tabling plans to build a smaller, lighter version of its F-150 pickup and import its Ranger compact truck from South Africa, The Detroit News has learned.
On Wednesday, Ford Americas President Mark Fields told reporters the automaker is making the investment to catch up with changing consumer demands for smaller gas-sipping vehicles.
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Much of the new investment will be spent on rolling out Ford's new EcoBoost engines, which combine turbo-charging and direct injection to deliver more power and better fuel economy. Ford's head of advanced powertrain research, Dan Kapp, said the company also is looking at a technology called "ethanol boosting" that could make those engines even more efficient.
EcoBoost will debut on the Lincoln MKS sedan next year and quickly appear in other models. Ford's bread-and-butter F-150 pickup will get the EcoBoost in 18 months, Ford said Wednesday.
Company sources privately told The News Ford is hoping the fuel-efficiency gains delivered by this engine will obviate the need for the smaller pickups the automaker had been planning to sell.
As a result, The Detroit News has learned, the automaker has put aside plans to build the F-100, a smaller, lighter version of the F-150. The new truck was to have been built at the Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, but Ford has decided to retool that plant to produce small cars. It could still build the F-100 at one of its other truck plants if it later determines there is a need for the product. Ford has also taken steps to ensure that it can quickly change its mind if it decides it needs to bring a new global version of the Ranger to the United States.
Though sales have collapsed in the face of rising fuel prices, Ford's F-series remains the best-selling vehicles in the United States.
"We have no intention of giving up our leadership in trucks," Derrick Kuzak, Ford's global product development chief said Wednesday, adding that Ford will now make fuel efficiency a priority on all its vehicles. "Fuel economy (will be) a reason to buy -- no longer a reason to reject -- Ford vehicles."
At least one analyst said the Ford truck strategy makes sense.
"The small pickup segment doesn't really provide a lot of benefit," said Erich Merkle, an analyst from Crowe Chizek and Co. "You buy a pickup truck for bed space and towing. There really isn't much substitute for a full-size pickup. But it all depends on what happens to the price of fuel."
Initial capacity restraints
On Tuesday, Ford powertrain chief Barb Samardzich, told managers that the company is planning a big shift away from gas-guzzling V-8s and even V-6s to four-cylinder engines, though she warned that Ford will face significant capacity restraints for at least the next couple of years.
"You are going to see more four-cylinder capacity," Fields said, adding that Ford will retool its engine plants to allow them to produce bigger engines, too. "The key is having the flexibility to respond to the market place, whichever way it goes."
Ford also confirmed Wednesday that it is in discussions with cross-town rival General Motors Corp. on possible collaborations on powertrain development.
Further efficiency prospects
One company that Ford is talking to is a small, Massachusetts-based startup called Ethanol Boosting Systems LLC. The firm has developed a system that it claims will make Ford's EcoBoost engines even more efficient by injecting a small amount of ethanol into the fuel supply.
The company said its system will add $300 to $400 in costs to an EcoBoost engine, while doubling the efficiency gain. The system would require motorists to fill a small auxiliary ethanol tank about every 5,000 miles.
"It has its potential," Kapp said. "That's in the portfolio of things we're looking at."
None of these new technologies come cheap, but Fields said these investments will be partially offset by gains Ford has realized from its improved quality. He said warranty costs have dropped $1.2 billion in the past 18 months.
Ford high on fuel sippers
Automaker touts 'unprecedented' stake in powertrains geared to efficient performance.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. offered more details in what it called an "unprecedented" investment in new fuel-efficient engines and transmissions Wednesday.
And, the company is so confident that its new powertrains will deliver the performance and fuel economy customers are increasingly demanding that it is tabling plans to build a smaller, lighter version of its F-150 pickup and import its Ranger compact truck from South Africa, The Detroit News has learned.
On Wednesday, Ford Americas President Mark Fields told reporters the automaker is making the investment to catch up with changing consumer demands for smaller gas-sipping vehicles.
Advertisement
Much of the new investment will be spent on rolling out Ford's new EcoBoost engines, which combine turbo-charging and direct injection to deliver more power and better fuel economy. Ford's head of advanced powertrain research, Dan Kapp, said the company also is looking at a technology called "ethanol boosting" that could make those engines even more efficient.
EcoBoost will debut on the Lincoln MKS sedan next year and quickly appear in other models. Ford's bread-and-butter F-150 pickup will get the EcoBoost in 18 months, Ford said Wednesday.
Company sources privately told The News Ford is hoping the fuel-efficiency gains delivered by this engine will obviate the need for the smaller pickups the automaker had been planning to sell.
As a result, The Detroit News has learned, the automaker has put aside plans to build the F-100, a smaller, lighter version of the F-150. The new truck was to have been built at the Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, but Ford has decided to retool that plant to produce small cars. It could still build the F-100 at one of its other truck plants if it later determines there is a need for the product. Ford has also taken steps to ensure that it can quickly change its mind if it decides it needs to bring a new global version of the Ranger to the United States.
Though sales have collapsed in the face of rising fuel prices, Ford's F-series remains the best-selling vehicles in the United States.
"We have no intention of giving up our leadership in trucks," Derrick Kuzak, Ford's global product development chief said Wednesday, adding that Ford will now make fuel efficiency a priority on all its vehicles. "Fuel economy (will be) a reason to buy -- no longer a reason to reject -- Ford vehicles."
At least one analyst said the Ford truck strategy makes sense.
"The small pickup segment doesn't really provide a lot of benefit," said Erich Merkle, an analyst from Crowe Chizek and Co. "You buy a pickup truck for bed space and towing. There really isn't much substitute for a full-size pickup. But it all depends on what happens to the price of fuel."
Initial capacity restraints
On Tuesday, Ford powertrain chief Barb Samardzich, told managers that the company is planning a big shift away from gas-guzzling V-8s and even V-6s to four-cylinder engines, though she warned that Ford will face significant capacity restraints for at least the next couple of years.
"You are going to see more four-cylinder capacity," Fields said, adding that Ford will retool its engine plants to allow them to produce bigger engines, too. "The key is having the flexibility to respond to the market place, whichever way it goes."
Ford also confirmed Wednesday that it is in discussions with cross-town rival General Motors Corp. on possible collaborations on powertrain development.
Further efficiency prospects
One company that Ford is talking to is a small, Massachusetts-based startup called Ethanol Boosting Systems LLC. The firm has developed a system that it claims will make Ford's EcoBoost engines even more efficient by injecting a small amount of ethanol into the fuel supply.
The company said its system will add $300 to $400 in costs to an EcoBoost engine, while doubling the efficiency gain. The system would require motorists to fill a small auxiliary ethanol tank about every 5,000 miles.
"It has its potential," Kapp said. "That's in the portfolio of things we're looking at."
None of these new technologies come cheap, but Fields said these investments will be partially offset by gains Ford has realized from its improved quality. He said warranty costs have dropped $1.2 billion in the past 18 months.
