In 2009 Ford made huge waves in the auto world with the release of its new EcoBoost engines that combined unparalleled fuel efficiency with the horsepower of engines much larger than it. Instantly a hit when put in the Lincoln MKT, Taurus SHO, Lincoln MKS, and Ford Flex, it has since been added to the best selling Ford F-150 and in the month of April has accounted for over 35% of sales for the F-150, according to Ford. New order tracking shows that percentage increasing to 40% for the F-150 in upcoming months. In 2010 Ford sold over 560,000 F-150s and with the added interest in EcoBoost engines, sales are only going up for Ford. The 3.5 liter V6 provides top end power and torque usually only found in diesel engines providing 365 horsepower and 420lbs-ft of torque. This provides the best in class towing at 11,300lbs which is highly coveted among truck drivers and has the added boost of having top fuel economy at an EPA rated 22 mpg (highway). Ford recently showed the durability of the new F-150 engine by putting it through a harsh regimen meant to simulate 150,000 miles or 10 years worth of wear on the engines (usually the tear-down and rebuild phase for truck engines) and found the EcoBoost engine to still be within the working specifications.
For those who are more familiar with engines and cars you may be wondering how getting that horsepower at that fuel economy is possible? The answer is that this engine works to provide the best in class fuel economy and horsepower through a system that utilizes dual turbochargers and direct fuel injection into a naturally aspirated engine. Older port-fuel-injection models would spray fuel into an intake system before it was shot into the cylinders whereas the EcoBoost enters through the side of the cylinders. Fuel is sprayed with high pressure injectors past the high intensity spark plugs at 2150psi. That is 35 times higher than the pfi system. In layman's terms this means that a fuel mist is shot at a higher speed by the injectors directly into the cylinders of the engine and then uses atmospheric pressure and a partial vacuum to draw fuel in, making it more efficient with fuel consumption vs. into an intake system that pushes it into the cylinders. The dual turbochargers force more air into the cylinders allowing more fuel to be burned giving it that extra power while keeping the weight down.
In line with making the cars more fuel efficient while still maintaining horsepower Ford is offering the award winning Taurus SHO with a new 2.0 liter four cylinder engine. This gets a best in class fuel economy for full-sized sedans at 31mpg. For those of you worrying about performance never fear, this model still offers plenty of power at 237hp. People looking for more power can still purchase the award winning 3.5 liter V6 with 365hp. With a SelectShift 6 speed automatic transmission and 4 wheel drive this car provides peak performance at an efficient 25mpg (highway). The Taurus SHO is bringing in the new buyers as well with 57% of trade in cars being non-Ford. The new powerful EcoBoost engine is also attracting the younger (age 35-55), more affluent, male population than Ford has in the past with buyers of the Taurus SHO being an average of 7 years younger and having a household income of 4% higher than that of just normal Taurus buyers. This is a key development for Ford as they have being trying to target this market segment as they have been failing to draw this valuable market segment in the past. In an effort to get more of this market Ford plans on offering the EcoBoost engine in the Ford Edge, Explorer, Focus ST, C-MAX by 2012 and plans to produce 1.5million engines for those products.
