Ford Plug-In Participates in ‘Presidential’ Parade

A Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid took part in an all-plug-in parade in Santa Monica, Calif., Saturday, as part of the nation’s presidential inaugural festivities. The parade, which was organized by non-profit group Plug In America (PIA), aimed to energize public interest in the fuel-efficient vehicles and encourage President-Elect Barack Obama, congressional leaders and automakers to put more plug-ins on American roads.

Ford Motor Company’s plug-in vehicle research partner Southern California Edison (SCE) drove the parade vehicle. Ford and SCE, which has the nation’s largest and most advanced electric vehicle (EV) fleet, are exploring ways to make plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) more accessible and affordable to consumers, reduce petroleum-related emissions and explore standards needed for PHEVs to connect to the nation’s electricity grid.

Electrifying Development

The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid, a demonstration vehicle, uses high voltage, lithium-ion batteries, which could cut trips to the gas station by two thirds. The vehicle uses common household current (120 volts) for charging. Full charge of the battery takes six to eight hours.

When driven for the first 30 miles following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can achieve up to 120 mpg when driven on surface streets. The vehicle is not range limited by the amount of charge available in the high-voltage lithium-ion battery, because once the charge in the battery has been depleted, the vehicle continues to operate as a fuel efficient, standard Ford Escape Hybrid – the most fuel efficient sport utility vehicle on the market. The transition is automatic and unnoticeable to the driver.

Plug-In Parade

At Plug In America’s “Inaugural Parade West: Plug In, America!”, the group’s co-founder Paul Scott congratulated Obama, who has called for one million plug-in cars by 2015, and encouraged the new president to accelerate his plug-in plan and to increase the number of vehicles to 10 million by 2016.

Joining the Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid in the clean-car parade were more than 50 other all-electric vehicles, including demonstration models by Toyota, Tesla, Mitsubishi and several other vehicle makers.

Ford will introduce an advanced dual-clutch PowerShift six-speed transmission in North America in 2010 for the small-car segment.

Delivering the fuel efficiency of a manual gearbox with the convenience and ease of a premium automatic transmission, PowerShift can help reduce fuel consumption by up to 9 percent depending on the application, compared to traditional automatic four-speed transmissions.

Ford has committed that almost 100 percent of its transmissions will be advanced six-speed gearboxes by 2013. The dual-clutch technology uses two manual transmissions working in parallel, each with its own independent clutch unit.

Ford’s North American PowerShift is a dry clutch, which transmits power and torque through manual transmission clutch facings, while most automatic transmissions utilize wet clutch plates submerged in oil. As a result, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission does not require an oil pump or torque converter, providing superior mechanical efficiency and durability. Because there is no need for the weighty pumps, hydraulic fluids, cooling lines and external coolers, the dry-clutch PowerShift transmission can weigh nearly 30 pounds less than, for example, the four-speed automatic transmission featured on today’s Ford Focus.

In terms of customer appeal, PowerShift is differentiated even further in its shift quality, launch feel and overall drive dynamic, which are all facilitated by a mix of Ford-exclusive electro-mechanical systems, software features, calibrations and controls, including:

• Neutral coast down – The clutches will disengage when the brakes are applied, improving coasting downshifts and clutch robustness as well as reducing parasitic losses for increased fuel economy.
• Precise clutch control in the form of a clutch slip to provide torsional damping of the engine vibration – This function improves noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) at low engine speeds and enables lower lugging limits for improved fuel economy.
• Low-speed driving or creep mode with integrated brake pressure – This function simulates the low-speed control drivers are accustomed to from an automatic transmission. The amount of rolling torque in Drive and Reverse is precisely controlled, gradually building as brake pressure is released.
• Hill mode or launch assist – Prevents a vehicle from rolling back on a grade by maintaining brake pressure until the engine delivers enough torque to move the vehicle up the hill, providing improved driver confidence, comfort, safety and clutch robustness.

Quotes

“PowerShift represents a true competitive advantage for Ford and is one of the many technologies that will help our global small car platforms set a new world standard for efficiency and drive quality. This advanced six-speed is an improvement over today’s automatic transmissions in terms of fuel economy, while providing customers an even more fun-to-drive experience.”
- Barb Samardzich, Vice President, Global Powertrain Engineering

“A dry clutch is a real sweet spot for lighter vehicle applications. PowerShift is more efficient, it saves weight, is more durable, more efficient and the unit is sealed for life, requiring no regular maintenance.”
- Piero Aversa, Manager, Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering