Ford touts 2010 fuel efficiency; adds Fusion, Milan engine choices

Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday laid the groundwork for the launch of its 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan early next year by announcing one of its most fuel-efficient powertrain lineups for a new-car model.

"Nobody is going to surpass us," Barb Samardzich, vice president of Ford's powertrain product development, told a group of journalists during a meeting at Ford's product development center.

The Fusion and Milan will have a choice of gas-powered engines designed to rival or surpass the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

The Fusion and Milan are made in Mexico, where Ford announced Wednesday that Louise Gueser, 55, its top executive there, would retire. She will be replaced by Eduardo Serrano, 49, Ford's chief operating officer in the region.

Ford's all-new Duratec 2.5-liter I-4 engine, for example, will offer at least 2 m.p.g. better fuel efficiency than the Camry and 3 m.p.g. better efficiency than the Accord, Ford says. It will also produce 175 horsepower.

All are paired with six-speed transmissions for up to a 10% fuel-economy improvement, Samardzich said. There are also a host of other engineering improvements to save fuel, such as aggressive deceleration fuel shut-off and adaptive spark recognition.

The Fusion and Milan will also offer Ford's next-generation hybrid system, which Ford says offers 5 m.p.g. better fuel efficiency than the Camry hybrid.

Ford says the new system features more seamless driving and can operate in electric mode at speeds of up to 47 m.p.h. with a range of more than 700 miles of city driving on a single tank of gas.

"This is 100% Ford technology, and we are super-proud of that," said Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of sustainable-mobility technologies and hybrid vehicle programs. "We are very committed to electrification."

The new system will also feature Ford's new SmartGauge with EcoGuide, an instrument cluster with colorful, high-resolution LCD graphics that provide real-time information to help drivers maximize fuel efficiency.

The guide coaches drivers to drive their hybrid for better fuel savings, adding leaves to a colorful display vine as one drives more efficiently.

Samardzich also noted that the company is reconsidering its commitment to diesel engines.

Even though Ford had planned to offer a diesel engine in the light-duty F-150, she said the high price of diesel fuel -- combined with the cost of the engine -- prompted the change.

"It's a hard value equation," she said.

Separately, Ford is among companies whose earnings may decline the most because of pension-fund deficits spurred by the tumble in global equities this year, according to Morgan Stanley.

Ford may take a 36-cent hit to per-share results in 2009, Morgan Stanley strategist Abhijit Chakrabortti wrote.

Pension-plan shortfalls may force companies to add cash to their funds, reducing liquidity at a time when credit markets are tight, Chakrabortti wrote in a note dated Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Ford Credit said it was granted access to the U.S. Federal Reserve's new short-term funding facility, joining GMAC LLC.

The financing arm has the program "available to us to use if we choose," said spokeswoman Meredith Libbey in an interview. She declined to provide further details.

Hybrid technology on fast track

As the owner of Salt Lake City-based Corsa Motorsports and the co-developer of an ecologically friendly car he has started racing in the American Le Mans Series, Steve Pruitt has two goals.
No. 1, he wants to win races.
No. 2, he wants to make the world a better place by refining the energy-saving technology used to power his car.
"I absolutely believe we are onto something that has some social relevance," Pruitt said. "Down the road, I think there will be a number of commercial applications."
Said American Le Mans president Scott Atherton: "As concerns over oil, energy and climate change continue to play prominently in headlines around the world, here is an example of a practical, real-world advancement that will be tested and developed in the most extreme environment."
Pruitt's hybrid, developed in partnership with the British-based Zytek Group, includes an ethanol-fueled internal combustion engine and an electric engine powered by an experimental lithium-ion battery.
The hybrid competed in this weekend's Monterrey (Calif.) Sports Car Championships. It debuted two weeks ago in the Petit Le Mans in Atlanta, where it was running beyond expectations until a suspension failure caused a crash.
"We never saw the car before [the race]," Pruitt said. "It was flown into us. We unbolted it and qualified 17th. . . . We were

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going about 260 mph when something snapped and we hit the wall."
The $1.6 million car was severely damaged, but his team rebuilt it in time for the final race of the American Le Mans season in California.
"It was a huge task," Pruitt said, "because the parts for this car aren't found down at Napa. These are more like aerospace parts."
Pruitt's journey into the world of sports began at New Mexico Highlands. He quarterbacked a small-college national championship team and was a teammate of future NFL stars Don Woods and Carl Garrett, who became the 1969 Rookie of the Year in a close vote over O.J. Simpson.
Pruitt's involvement in auto racing started in 1975, when he bought stock in the original Long Beach Grand Prix.
"There was a certain cachet, a certain intrigue about Grand Prix racing and I wanted to be part of it," he explained.
Eventually, Pruitt said, "I had to drive. I was working in real estate, but I quit to go to driver's school. I thought I had the talent."
After driving open-wheel race cars for three years - and after the premature birth of a son in 1982 - Pruitt returned to real estate and ended up working for Adnan Khashoggi, who built the Triad Center and tried to purchase 50 percent of the Utah Jazz in 1984.
In that job, Pruitt met world-famous race car drivers Niki Lauda and John Watson.
"Those guys befriended me," said Pruitt, who was again bitten by the racing bug.
Over the years, Pruitt started driving again and finally became a car owner. Last spring, he was in Long Beach with two Ferraris he was running on the Rolex Grand Am Series when he heard the Zytek Group was looking for a partner for its Le Mans hybrid.
"It was so intriguing, I immediately went to the U.K.," Pruitt said. "And, when I saw the program, I couldn't say no to such a challenge."
Pruitt purchased exclusive rights to develop the car, which produces 800 horse power and will cost between $15 million and $20 million a year to race in the American Le Mans Series.
"It's like owning a pro sports franchise," said Pruitt, who believes his car will be a technological and competitive success.
"I know what winning a [championships] ring is all about, and I'd like another one."

Audi A1 Sportback

Small is in all over the world these days, and Audi is using the A1 to push down-market and battle Mini and the BMW 1 Series in this emerging niche of petite premium cars. Audi's future vision for the category is the plug-in hybrid A1 Sportback concept, which the company says could travel up to 160 km at speeds "considerably more than" 96 km/h on electric power alone.

If Audi turns this concept into reality, it would blow away the 2011 Chevrolet Volt's 65 km electric only range.

The A1 Sportback is a four-door hatchback. A three-door hatchback A1 concept debuted at last year's Tokyo Motor Show.

The Sportback concept uses a 1.4-litre engine in conjunction with a battery-powered electric motor to drive 177 horsepower and 288 pounds-feet of torque through the front wheels. The lithium-ion batteries that store electric power can be recharged by plugging into a power outlet.

The production A1 is expected to go on sale next year, but there's no word yet on when or if this hybrid version will find its way to market.