Ford to unveil eco-friendlier ‘turbo’ engines

Ford Motor Co. is to unveil a new engine technology today called EcoBoost that will deliver up to 20% better fuel economy on half a million of the company's Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles during the next five years.

The new EcoBoost family of four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines will be optimized with a combination of turbocharging and direct injection technology. The first vehicle to get the new technology, which Ford views as a near-term solution to improving fuel economy and reducing emissions, will be the Lincoln MKS sedan in 2009.

The new technology also is to be featured in Ford's latest concept vehicle, the Ford Explorer America.

Unlike more expensive hybrids and diesel engines, Ford says EcoBoost builds upon today's affordable gasoline engine and improves it, providing customers with a way to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions without compromising driving performance.

During a media briefing on the new technology in December, Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of global product development, said EcoBoost will offer up to a 15% reduction in CO{-2} emissions, which are believed to contribute to global warming.

Relative to the cost, he added that EcoBoost will pay for itself with fuel savings in about three years, versus seven for diesel and 11 for a hybrid.

Ford spokesman Said Deep said the technology will allow smaller engines to feel like bigger ones, so a four-cylinder engine will feel like a six-cylinder.