Ford Motor Co. is developing its smallest engine ever and a new hybrid drive as part of a push to wring out greater fuel savings as gasoline prices rise and federal standards on fuel economy grow stricter.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker will introduce a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine within the next two years. The engine will have the same performance as a typical four-cylinder engine, but will increase fuel economy and lower emissions.
Engines of this size usually power smaller cars and motorcycles.
Ford says it will feature the three-cylinder engine in its vehicles worldwide, but didn’t specify which models.
The company is also developing its own hybrid transmission, and has plans for an eight-speed transmission.
By the 2016 model year, automakers’ cars and trucks must get 35.5 miles per gallon on average, according to new federal fuel economy standards. Vehicles made by the top 14 automakers for the 2010 model year averaged 22.5 miles per gallon.
The three-cylinder engine would have Ford’s EcoBoost technology, which includes turbocharging and direct injection. Ford considers EcoBoost to be the "centerpiece" of its fuel economy efforts.
Many small engineering changes are one of the ways to wring out more energy savings. For example, an engine with an offset crankshaft can boost fuel economy between 1-2%.
"It’s a very subtle detail, but it’s an important detail if you want to get to the absolute lowest fuel consumption possible with this engine," says Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of global powertrain engineering.
The hybrid transmission will be built at Ford’s Van Dyke transmission plant in Detroit. Production starts late this year and full output is slated to start in early 2012. The eight-speed transmission will also be built in the US, but Ford did not specify where.
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