2010 Ford Lineup 20% More Efficient; Turbo Four-Cylinder Confirmed
Today, Ford took the wraps off its 2010 model lineup and made some pretty significant announcements, despite most models not seeing major changes. The biggest news that will grab headlines is the fact that the 2010 Ford lineup is 20% more fuel-efficient than the 2009 lineup. And this is without dropping any large vehicles from the lineup.
Significant chunks of that mileage improvement come from the Ford Fusion family of cars, including the 2010 Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ. The base Fusion and Milan, for example, see their combined mileage increase from 23 mpg to 25 mpg. Even a base 2010 Mustang now gets 21 mpg combined, compared with 20 mpg in 2009. The V-8s also add 1 mpg. The Edge crossover also adds 1 mpg in combined mileage. Even the 2010 F-150’s V-8 adds 1 more mpg to its highway or city rating, depending on transmission.
Big news on the new-product side of things is confirmation from Ford of a new turbo four-cylinder engine.
“A new 2.0-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine will go on sale in the 2010 calendar year. It is the first EcoBoost engine to include Twin-Independent Variable Cam Timing and will deliver a 10-20 percent fuel-economy improvement versus larger-displacement V-6 engines without compromising performance,” according to Ford’s press release.
The thinking here is that this engine could be fit not only into cars, but also crossovers like the Edge and the upcoming Explorer, which will have been transformed from a truck-based SUV into a crossover. For enthusiasts, the smaller footprint of a turbocharged four-cylinder means it could also be added to compact cars like the redesigned Focus that’s planned for the coming years. There’s also the question of whether it would be offered in the Mustang.
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Turbo four in a US-spec Focus SVT/ST/RS model, please...
So most lines improved fuel efficiency 5% to 10%. Where are the big changes that bring the average up to 20%?
Dan,
Hybrids maybe? Good point on how they get the 20% number.
The Mercury sable is gone. Replace that with a new Mercury Milan Hybrid that should add some %.
MKS kind of replaces town car but they get the exact same MPG!
the probably calculated it by formula:
(Model_mpg + [Model_N_mpg])/N
With this formula any added Hybrid will drive it up sharply.
What they should do is:
(Model_mpg x Units_Sold + [Model_N_mpg] x Units_Sold_N)/Total_units_sold.
since Ford can't produce enough of their
hybrids or in case with Focus it is expensive one, the numbers of actual units will be small. Most Fords on the road will be F150. This will never beat REAL corporate mileage of Honda, which sells hundreds thousands of Civics.
Ford has the best range of vehicles offered by any of the automakers with quality that is better than Honda or Toyoda.
Doesnt this sound like "New Chrysler Corporation" circa 1984 all over again? Turbo New Yorker,turbo Daytona,turbo Lancer,turbo Lebaron,Conquest turbo,Colt turbo....
So,really,Chrysler had it right all along.As Ricaro Montalban said in a Chrysler commercial: "Once you drive it,you'll never go back to a V8 again"...
Dice is another typical example of consumer that was swindled by the Ford's misleading commercials.
Tony-
You may be right, I suspected that is perhaps how they got the numbers. But still there are quite a few models for the hybrid's mileage to be spread over to achieve a 20% higher rating, but perhaps.
Your suggested formula is an improvement, but I still don't think is quite a fair way to judge a company's fuel efficiency. Just because you have one fuel efficient model that sells well really isn't a good excuse to sell gas guzzlers, and your proposed formula rewards companies that could hide inefficient vehicles among more efficient ones. If GM spun off Hummer and Saturn as one unit, it still wouldn't excuse the purchases of Hummers (no innuendo intended), just as I'm not being reasonable with fuel for purchasing a Ridgeline because Honda also sells Civics.
I beleive this new legislation is a big win for consumers who is ready to buy a new car with fuel efficient models
henry
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OK Turbo four is good.Maybe GM can get on their latest turbo 4 cyl. game by bringing the Cruze out for the US sooner.I cant Believe its already out in Australia but not here....Holden.com.au. Cobalts are alright the Latest SS models are still the best for the money but i would love to put the New Cruze in my driveway.
Actually, the press release states that it's a 20% increase in efficiency with respect to their vehicle lineup in 2005.
http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=30593
"Average fuel economy of Ford's vehicle lineup will improve approximately 20 percent through the end of 2010 versus 2005, and the company is on track to improve fuel economy by more than 35 percent by 2015"
Conveniently, the Excursion was last produced in 2005, making the 20% that much easier to hit.
Dave,
I posted a comment very similar to sean's before sean posted it that included the same URL to Ford's media site. It now seems to have been deleted. This is not the first comment I've made lately that has been deleted. Care to explain why?
Our '05 TT Coupe (Turbo 4, 225hp) weighs 3300 lbs and we've got up to 30mpg driving it conservatively.
Surely Ford can do better. A '10 turbo 4 Fiesta AWD would fit the bill nicely. I'd buy one.
Is that with or without the Fiesta? That's scheduled for a midyear launch and they're calling it a "2011".
These are very nice additions for Ford. I think Ford is, and will remain the smarter of the 3 US auto makers. I'm looking forward to the the next generation explorer; the concept was brilliant. As costly as it may seem, I think that this eco-boost 4cyl is from Mazda.
Ine thing i would recommend to Ford would be to consider bringing at least one good diesel from Europe to the States. I think a good 4cyl diesel that could fit in most of Ford's cars and trucks would put the company at a great advantage over the Europeans and Asians.
Also, for the geniuses that are trying to figure out the 20% increase:
1) it is not the cars sold. Is the company's fleet. Thats CAFE for you.
2) the company just added a hybrid power-train to its fleet, so that is bound to increase its fuel economy.
3) the company is adding a sub-compact to its US lineup within the next year.
Depending on the company's fleet size an average increase of just 5 mpg can get them a 20% increase. Along with all of the improvements in their existing models, and the replacement of some V-6s with the eco-boost motors i think 20% sounds about right.