Watch CBS News

Small Ford Engine to Deliver Large MPG's

DEARBORN -- (WWJ) When you ship an engine to an auto show inside your carry on luggage, it's bound to make an impression.

Ford's nwo confirming that its 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine--with three cylinders and 123 horsepower will make its U.S. debut in the all new Fiesta, which will be revealed at the LA Auto Show. The engine, Ford says, will have the best fuel economy of any gasoline engine. The numbers will be released later.

"Customers are going to be pleasantly surprised at what the smallest member of the EcoBoost engine family can do," said Joe Bakaj, Ford vice president of Powertrain Engineering. "Most customers are not going to be thinking about the number of cylinders under the hood when they drive the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost Fiesta. They'll notice an extremely smooth and quiet idle, terrific acceleration accompanied by a sporty sound at high revs, and – most importantly – outstanding fuel economy."

Ford putting a version of the small engine in a conventional suitcase, sending it through the metal detector at Detroit Metro Airport. The idea is to make a point about how small you can make an engine that gets decent power for a small car, but puts out impressive fuel economy.

While pricing of the new Fiesta hasn't been released yet, Bakaj sees the EcoBoost engine in general as a lower cost alternative to less conventional powertrains.

"Many customers would like the fuel efficiency of a modern diesel or a hybrid, but can't stretch their budgets to cover the cost premium," he said. "That's where the EcoBoost Fiesta fits in. It will offer a highly fuel-efficient alternative at a lower cost."

Ford says EcoBoost combines turbocharging with gasoline direct injection and variable valve timing to allow a smaller engine to replace a larger one with no loss of performance and at least a 20 percent gain in fuel economy.

Ford has now sold over half a million EcoBoost engines globally. They started with a six cylinder version that put out the power of a V-8. That's actually eclipsed the V-8 in terms of F-150 pickup sales.

Other EcoBoost options give you the power of a six cylinder engine with only four cylinders. This new optoin will make a three cyilinder engine replace a four.

This comes as car companies look for every possible way to squeeze out as much fuel economy as possible.

Ford recently introduced the 1.0-Liter EcoBoost engine in Europe. It already acocunts for about thirty percent of Fiesta sales, in a market normally dominated by diesels.

"We're extremely proud of the amazing success the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine has achieved in such a short time," said Bakaj. "We think it will do extremely well here in the United States. With the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine in the F-150, we learned customers will embrace smaller engines as long as you don't ask them to sacrifice performance. The 1.0-liter will deliver three things that matter most to our customers – value for the dollar, terrific fuel economy and great performance."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.