Autoblog

Autoblog talks EcoBoost with Ford Powertrain Direc

Turbocharging has long been associated with performance, but the 103-year-old technology is also very efficient. A small displacement gasoline engine with a turbocharger can equal or out-perform similarly sized naturally aspirated motors while also saving fuel. Europe is all over turbo engines for everything from high-performance Porsches to family wagons, but here in the States, force-fed engines are mainly sold in low volume sports cars.

Ford intends to jump into the turbocharging arena in a big way with "EcoBoost", and is planning to move up to 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. annually with twin-spool technology. Ford claims its EcoBoost suite of engine technoloies will give customers fuel savings of up to 20% versus a like-powered naturally aspirated engine, and the first samples are scheduled to go on sale in about a year. We wanted to learn more about Ford's plan, so we accepted an invitation to speak with Ford's director of Advanced Powertrain, Dan Kapp. Click play on the video above to see what Dan has to say about EcoBoost.

Paolo Martinelli is a name familiar to anyone who follows the technical side of Formula 1 racing. He joined Ferrari's powertrain department after graduating college in 1978, and has been in charge of the Scuderia's engine development program since 1994. Last year, however, Martinelli left Maranello for an executive role at Ferrari's parent company Fiat. The racing world has been waiting ever since to see what the motorsport-powertrain legend would produce next, and now they have their answer.

Next to a giant model of the Fiat 500 at the Bologna auto show last week, Martinelli, now Vice-President of Fiat Powertrain Technologies, took the wraps off of 420F3. Like sister-company Ferrari, which is working on the development of an engine for the A1GP racing series, Fiat will be offering the 420F3 engine to competitors in the Italian Formula 3 championship.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Chrysler today leapfrogged every other car maker by extending its powertrain warranty on every new car and truck it sells to the life of the vehicle. The warranty will apply to the entire powertrain including the engine, transmission/transaxle, drive shafts, and axles. The new warranty goes into effect today, July 26, 2007 and applies to all new 2007s that are on the dealer lots as well as 2008 models.

The warranty covers all parts and labor as long as the owner brings the car in to a Chrysler dealer at least once every five years for a free powertrain inspection. Apparently, the only fly in the ointment is that the new warranty applies to the original owner and is not transferable. If the car is sold within the first three years, the warranty reverts to the previous 3 year/36,000 mile coverage for subsequent owners. The press release is after the jump.

[Source: Chrysler]

UPDATE: The new warranty's logo has been added above. What do you think - infinity symbol with wheels a clever logo or too confusing?

There have been periodic rumors of a United States assembly plant for Volvo cars since at least the early 1980s. There was a North American construction arm of the Swedish carmaker, situated in Nova Scotia, but that plant has been shuttered for several years now. Volvo CEO Fredrik Arp has told Automotive News that an American plant would take an unacceptably long time to pay for itself, according to the automaker's studies. A weak dollar doesn't help the economic argument for a plant in the States, either. Volvo can currently handle its goal of 600,000 units worldwide, which they have yet to meet. Current plant capacity is good for 590,000 vehicles, so it goes building any new plants, Volvo would be wise to fully utilize its current capacity. The automaker is looking to markets other than North America to drive growth in the coming years -- China, India and Russia all look to be emerging soon as major Volvo buyers.

Arp would not be pressed regarding rumors of Volvo being put up for sale by parent Ford, but he did comment that the historically green-minded automaker has its finger on the pulse of viable alternative powertrains for the US market. Diesels and alternative fuels are big in Europe, but Volvo's not going to just forge ahead in the US with those technologies. Rather, what they intend to do is watch and see what green platform takes off here, and follow on quickly with their own version of whatever that turns out to be. Volvo is too much of a niche player in the US market to risk developing something that may be met with a yawn by the US consumer. Up for sale or not, it looks like Gothenburg's Rollers have their eyes on the brass ring.

[Source: Automotive News - sub req]


http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/ANE01/70626009/1116/rss03&rssfeed=rss03

Hyundai has just announced a new Certified Pre-Owned Limited Warranty on used (sorry, "previously owned") vehicles that are up to five years old and have less than 60,000 miles. Known for being the first to offer a 10-year/100,00 mile powertrain warranty on its new cars, Hyundai will now be including that same lengthy coverage with the purchase of a CPOV.

Hyundai's original 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty really forced the automaker to improve the quality of the cars it builds, otherwise the cost of warranty repairs would have put it out of business. That warranty first began around Y2K, so any vehicle that qualifies for Hyundai's new Certified Pre-Owned Limited Warranty was originally sold with its new car warranty. The new 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty for pre-owned vehicles demonstrates that Hyundai is clearly confident in the cars it built back in 2002.

[Source: Hyundai]

General Motors dropped a bomb this week when it announced that it was upping its powertrain warranty coverage to 5 years/100,000 miles. That gives the General the best warranty coverage of any full-line automaker, but which company has the best overall warranty coverage and which the worst? Where does your favorite brand fall in the mix? Cars!Cars!Cars! did some digging and compiled a complete list of every automaker's warranty coverage. It's great to see this information compiled in one place, and a little telling, as well. Below are some highlights we found interesting.

Best Overall Warranty Coverage

• Hyundai (Basic - 5 yr. / 60,000 mi., Drivetrain - 10 yr. / 100,000 mi.)
• Kia (Basic: 5 yr. / 60,000 mi., Drivetrain: 10 yr. / 100,000 mi.)
• Mitsubishi (Basic: 5 yr. / 60,000 mi., Drivetrain: 10 yr. / 100,000 mi.)

Worst Overall Warranty Coverage

• Chrysler (Basic: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi., Drivetrain: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi.)
• Dodge (Basic: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi., Drivetrain: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi.)
• Jeep (Basic: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi., Drivetrain: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi.)

Interesting Note: We noticed on a commercial for the Ford Focus that it was being offered with a 5-year / 100,000-mile warranty. Curious, we checked Ford's website and learned that the Focus has been offered with such extensive powertrain coverage since late 2003. It's identical to GM's new warranty save for a $100 deductible. We seem to remember other individual models being offered with extended warranties like this. Can anyone remember others?

Chrysler group CEO Tom LaSorda says that the company is considering developing a new line of V6 engines -- a decision he expects will be made by the end of the year. The engines will likely fit the Chrysler 300/Dodge Magnum/Dodge Charger platform, which is expected to go through a redesign in 2009. The plants being considered for the business are the Trenton Engine plant in Trenton, Mich.; Toledo Machine in Perrysburg, Ohio; and Kenosha (Wis.) Engine, but Chrysler's big boss says that the UAW has to be willing to change the work rules and stay competitive.

Unlike the company's four-banger that currently hauls around the Dodge Caliber and will serve to power the Jeep Copmass and Jeep Liberty, the new V6 engines will be developed completely in-house. The V6 lineup may also contain a diesel, but that has not yet been confirmed.

[Source: Autoweek]

Both General Motors and Ford are making big inroads into the aftermarket world for high-performance parts, and now GM Performance Parts is taking it to the streets-- literally. The company has put together a mobile exhibit of its offerings called the GM Performance Parts Power Shop, which is travelling the country this summer making appearances at various racing and car-oriented events.

One of the stars of the exhibit is a fully-operational display of the GMPP ZZ572 big-block crate engine - 720 hp of off-the-shelf motivation. The drag racing and hot rod-oriented display also features a brand-new drag racing simulator that promises the "full sensory experience of rocketing down the quarter-mile."

The Power Shop debuted this past weekend at "The Year One Experience" at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.

[Source: GM]

Ford Motor's new top-of-the-line diesel (photo at right) starting rolling off the production line Friday at the company's Dagenham Diesel Centre in Britain. The new powerplant is a twin-turbo 3.6-liter V8 that puts out about 265 hp (270 ps) and 472 ft-lb. of torque (640 Nm). Up to 25,000 of the new V8s will be produced annually.

Ford says it will announce vehicle applications for the new engine later this year.

Ford's Dagenham operation builds half of all Ford diesels worldwide.

[Source: Ford]

General Motors recently hosted a drag strip race against its Ford and Dodge rivals to demonstrate a new diesel and transmission powertrain. In an old airstrip up in Beiseker, Alberta, Canada, the world’s largest automaker showed off its new 6.6 litre turbodiesel V8 Duramax engine with 360 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque contained in a Chevrolet Silverado. The Ford truck was an F-250 with a 6.0-litre V8 pumping 325 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque, while the Dodge Ram had a 5.9 litre turbodiesel engine that produced 325 hp and 610 ft-lbs. of torque. All vehicles were automatics and each hooked to an equipment float holding a 3,200-kg (over three tons) tractor.

The Silverado won the race, followed by the F-250 and the Dodge Ram. While the Chevy's extra oomph no doubt played a part in its victory, the writer rightly attributes the win to the Silverado’s new six-speed Allison transmission that kept the pickup in its powerband's sweet spot more often that its rivals with traditional four-speed autos.

More details can be found at the link.

[Source: Toronto Star with picture by Howard J. Elmer]