Plenty of new innovations are emerging at this year’s North American International Auto Show and while Ford’s only true ‘green car’ to make its debut is the Ford Fusion Hybrid, it can also boast a number of new green innovations.
Among them is its first ecoboost engine – a 3.5 litre direct-injection, twin-turbocharged V6, which is being used in a 2010 Lincoln MKS. The purpose of the engine is to deliver 265kW and 350lb-ft of torque to the vehicle giving the power normally associated with a 4.6 litre V-8.
The engine is expected to be used in several vehicles including the Lincoln MKT crossover vehicles and the 2010 Ford Flex.
Indeed the ecoboost engine also made an appearance in another Ford concept to be unveiled at the show – the Lincoln C concept car which uses the four-cylinder engine alongside a dual-clutch powershift transmission. The Lincoln C can achieve 43mpg on the highway – a near 25 per cent improvement over the C-car sized Ford Focus that has a 2.0 litre aspirated engine.
The ecoboost engine also helps out other fuel-saving powertrain technologies such as the Assisted Direct Start (start-stop) system. The Assisted Direct Start shuts down the engine when the vehicle is idle and restarts it when the brake is released or the accelerator is engaged. This improves fuel economy by an estimated three per cent.
