Uncertain future for Ford's RWD vehicles, more EcoBoost on the way
It's been a while since we've heard about FoMoCo's development of large rear-wheel-drive vehicles for Ford and Lincoln – no surprise considering the current climate. With fuel prices continuing their upward trajectory and CAFE standards looming on the horizon, Ford is apparently reevaluating the efficacy of offering RWD vehicles in a market starving for fuel efficient whips.
In addition to this morning's story that Ford is considering offering an EcoBoost four-cylinder on its F-150 pickup, Automotive News is reporting that Ford's use of turbocharged, direct-injected engines could expand to beyond 500,000 vehicles annually by 2012.
On the small side of the product front, Ford will likely equip the base Fiesta with a naturally aspirated 1.4-liter four-cylinder that would deliver around 40 mpg when it arrives in the U.S. in 2010. Ford is also considering a 1.0-liter, EcoBoost engine in the Fiesta, which could migrate into the Focus after 2012.
V8 engines will remain the sole source of power in Ford's large truck and SUV lineup until the end of the decade, when the EcoBoost V6 arrives and begins to expand throughout the Ford lineup. The boosted six is expected to produce between 290 and 390 hp, depending on the application, and could spell the end of bent-eights in many of Ford's range-topping products. When the redesigned Mustang arrives in 2010, Ford intends to continue its use of the 4.0-liter V6 and 4.6-liter V8, but both engines will give way to the 3.5-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 soon thereafter. Don't ask us why they're not rolled out at launch.
New diesels are also in the cards, including a 6.7-liter V8 (codenamed "Scorpion") currently being developed for Ford's Super Duty trucks and full-sized vans. A 4.4-liter, V8 turbo-diesel is also in the works and will find a home under the hood of the F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator – assuming the two 'utes survive into the next decade.
[Source: Automotive News (1) (2) - Sub. Req.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
rypt 9:34AM (7/14/2008)
Let me be the first to ask ... how exactly is RWD any LESS efficient than FWD? They are exactly the same.
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Chris 9:40AM (7/14/2008)
Agreed. This sounds more like a cost cutting issue for the company and nothing to do with fuel economy.
Too bad, because I know a couple Ford designers and they keep telling me to wait and see the cool stuff coming from Ford once they get a RWD platform in production.
henrykrinkle 9:49AM (7/14/2008)
If you want to be the first to ask that, you're gonna need a time machine.
Dude 9:52AM (7/14/2008)
Also, who says all RWD cars have to be large and offer V8 engines? I'd love a small Mazda3 sized and priced car that was RWD with a peppy I4 engine.
rypt 10:02AM (7/14/2008)
Having said that, I can't complain if companies keep making FF cars, because this way I at least have something I can swap into my MR car in the future :)
why not the LS2LS7? 11:26AM (7/14/2008)
No, RWD is less efficient.
Energy is lost spinning the drivetrain up and down. So increasing the length of the driveshaft from 5 inches to 5 feet means you lose more energy spinning the drivetrain up and down.
Additionally, energy is lost just spinning the drivetrain. Anything that is moving wants to keep moving in a straight line, and by spinning it on axis, you have to apply constant centripetal force because you are constantly changing its direction of motion.
So yes, RWD is less efficient than FWD, always has been, as long as motors have been in the front.
Dustin 11:30AM (7/14/2008)
There are more drivetrain losses in a RWD car vs FWD. It's just physics.
ItGuy 11:50AM (7/14/2008)
Probably is less efficient but not that bad.
Just got back from a long 1k mile road trip. 2004 G35 sedan 6MT (RWD) and averaged 26MPG through the hills of Vermont. Was ticking around 27MPG on the level highway.
This was all reported on the factory nav screen.
RWD can and does rock - great handling, 260HP in a platform that will ourtun most cars on the road and decent economy.
Love it!
Chase 1:05PM (7/14/2008)
ItGuy: Last time I had a track event, there was a fellow with a G35 sedan. The only cars he was going faster than were a 1996 Jetta and a 2007 Forester. I'd lap him once a session in my 2007 GTI. Before you go off on me, I just want to point out that the G35 is only 100 lbs heavier than a GTI. Mine's chipped for 250 hp, but that's still less than the 260 out of the G35. Here's a comparison of their interiors... both are very similar in size:
http://autos.msn.com/research/compare/interior.aspx?c=0&n=3&i=0&ph1=t0&ph2=t0&tb=0&dt=0&v=t98311&v=t104187
I'd attribute the massive difference in track speed to chassis dynamics, suspension (not just the springs, but the the whole chassis), overall power (as opposed to peak), and rotating mass/drivetrain loss.
-- I get 35 mpg when taking it easy on a highway.
9394 2:21PM (7/14/2008)
RWD - increased weight & 2% loss in mechanical efficiency.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_layout
rypt 3:13PM (7/14/2008)
Oh yes 2% wow...
chuck 3:29PM (7/14/2008)
@LS2LS7
Your second statement is in error. There is such a thing as conservation of angular momentum. It doesn't require more energy to keep something spinning on axis unless there are frictional losses. Last time I checked, the Earth was still spinning around it's own axis. Asteroids go on spinning about their CG as they hurl thru the void of space.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_momentum
Todd 9:44AM (7/14/2008)
Uncertain are all RWD American cars! Front wheel drive Camaro? Challenger? Didn't we just go through the same knee jerk reaction in the early 80s?
"We will only make front wheel drive cars from now on." - Lee Iaacoca 1980
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nick 9:47AM (7/14/2008)
I owned 2 FWD cars, and I will never ever ever ever ever own one again...! From a driving standpoint they are terrible, but from a long term maintenance standpoint they ruin your wallet.
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Dude 9:53AM (7/14/2008)
Ever? :-)
Esemtee 10:58AM (7/14/2008)
You must not have had very good cars then! Don't give up on all FWD vehicles. I own a Toyota Matrix and a Scion tC and don't plan on giving them up anytime soon! I have had no major issues with either car and that includes cross-country trekking from Alabama's gulf coast to Wisconsin once or twice a year!
REALITYCHECK 12:19PM (7/14/2008)
You must be one hell of a driver on a closed course with nothing else to do! I have driven both Domestic and import FWD and have never had a failure before 100k. We drive a fleet of 34 cars and must hire the perfect drivers because we spend only for the basics.
PS. if you are that good of driver that FWD isn't up to your standards then you must be a Race car driver... zoom zoom....
SimbaDogg 11:53PM (7/14/2008)
you are...a liar
mk 9:53AM (7/14/2008)
Some people argue that a longer driveline has more inertia, and thus more parasitic drag.
But I am not sure I believe that the difference is much, considering compactness, and heat involved with FWD transverse drivetrains.
Plus that sliver of drag is far overshadowed by the inherent better handling and weight distribution of a RWD or proper longitudinal AWD layout.
Is 1 or 2 MPG, MAYBE, worth buying a FWD car, when you want RWD, or real AWD?
Don't think so, and Ford misses the point, yet again. I used to bleed Ford Blue... but man, they can't find a clue with two hands and a flashlight.
RWD Chrysler cars are the only chrysler cars that can even claim to be slightly compelling, as their FWD cars bite the big one.
GM is bringing more RWD to market, and trying to do it well, if they can. G8 and CTS are both quite nice, (although heavy, unfortunately) and Sol/Sky have some potential, even if they aren't 100% finely finished.
Infiniti has built a whole niche brand around being RWD/AWD above Nissans primarily FWD mainstream position, save the Z, GT-R and trucks.
Ford has NOTHING. The Mustang is being let down by sub-standard interior finishing, and the stupidity of a solid rear axle on a street car. (YES, We've all heard that the live axle does great on pool-table-smooth tracks... Racers can add Live axle a whole lot easier than a regular customer can't add IRS for the street.)
The panthers are going, going, gone. Finally. They should have been replaced with DEW98 YEARS ago, but no. Ford canned DEW98, too.
The ranger has been going almost as long without a replacement, while the Explorer got all the attention, including an IRS... on a truck, but not a sporty car...
But, no.... Lets have 9 variants of two FWD, somewhat boring cars, and lots of trucks and SUVs, that now they can't sell. And an economy car that is three generations older than the same nameplate overseas.
And, oh.... those RWD cars that they actually DO have... in Australia! No chance of them seeing the light of day in the northern and western hemispheres.
Throw another mustang variant on the Bar-B, though... Can't have enough of those.
And lets throw an entirely inappropriate gas-turbo I4 in the new HUGE full-size truck, where it will be completely over-worked... yeah. That sounds like a good idea. (Turbo diesel V8 sounds like a real option, not a a 2.5T gas I4.)
I really wish Ford would get with the program.
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why not the LS2LS7? 11:36AM (7/14/2008)
Yeah, some people argue, like Sir Isaac Newton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centripetal_force
I can't believe you even mention AWD here. A proper longitudinal AWD layout as you mention not only doubles the total length of halfshafts, but adds another driveshaft and triples the number of diffs. FWD smears AWD on efficiency. That's why a Subaru Impreza (non-WRX) gets the same mpg as a 2WD Honda CR-V.
I think the car companies know their sales better than we do, they may already see that the fat part of the market is already sensitive enough to fuel economy that 1-2mpg looks like a big deal to them.
Will RWD go away? I can't see it. Other than the smallest ones, sporty cars will need RWD, so it'll still be out there. But it's not going to be the fattest part of the market.
And why should it be? The Ford Mondeo is considered an even-up competitor to a BMW, is selling a zillion, and picked up just about every award and positive review possible, and it's FWD.