Engineering Excellence

Ford engineers have announced to smallest engine ever made in Ford's history, a 1.0 liter Ecoboost engine.  Ford wants to place this 3 cylinder engine into the Fiesta and maybe someday in the Ford Focus.  The engine will be supercharged to give it that boost it needs for acceleration.  The 1.0 liter engine is expected to have about 120 horsepower and a good amount of torque for get up and go.  The 1.6 liter 2011 Fiesta now has 120 horsepower and gets and EPA estimated 40 mpg on the highway.  The 1.0 liter Ecoboost engine in the future Fiesta will get an estimated 40/50 city/highway mpg and that's not even a hybrid.

Chevy Volt's Voltec Drivetrain
The Chevy Volt did not win Motortrend Car of the Year for being the same as the competitors.  The Volt with its Voltec powertrain gives the vehicle a range from 25 to 50 miles on just pure gasoline alone and after that the 4 cylinder gasoline engine kicks in and charges the batteries giving it the extended range capabilities.  The Chevy Volt according to GM will not be the only vehicle in their company to use the Voltec technology.  Their hopes are to put this technology into several of the vehicles.  GM does not want to make different powertrains for each type of vehicle because the costs would not match the benefits.  Remember the Chevy Volt took 4 years and $1 billion to design and create.  You want to talk about a lot of money to be thrown into one car.  Wow  I am excite for GM to increase production in the Volt and sell it in mass quantities.