Governor Granholm Takes a Ride in Ford Battery Electric Vehicle

When Michigan’s Gov. Jennifer Granholm arrived at Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center in Detroit for a tour of the 2009 North American International Auto Show it was in a battery electric Ford Focus demonstration vehicle driven by Nancy Gioia, director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs.

“At first, she was surprised that it wasn’t merely a concept car, but actually a road-ready demonstrator of battery electric vehicle technology,” Gioia says. “I think she was wowed by how it’s quiet, smooth and fun to drive – that it’s a no compromise driving experience.”

Gioia told the governor about Ford Motor Company’s aggressive plan to bring a family of electric vehicles to the North American market by 2012. Ford will introduce four new vehicles in four years including a new battery electric commercial van in 2010, a new battery electric small car in 2011 to be developed jointly with Magna International, a next-generation hybrid vehicle, and a plug-in hybrid by 2012.

Granholm was reportedly impressed that Ford’s battery-powered small car planned for 2011 has a targeted range of up to 100 miles on a single charge, without using a single drop of gasoline.

Gioia and Granholm also discussed what Ford’s plan could mean for Michigan in terms of technology development, engineering and potentially manufacturing both on the vehicle level and component level.

“She’s very excited that Ford is leading the way in the electrification of vehicles,” Gioia says. “She also kidded me that I drive too fast, but I wanted to be sure she knew how peppy this electric vehicle is.”

Twin turbochargers enable EcoBoost™ to punch above its size in terms of power and responsiveness.

The “boost” of Ford’s new EcoBoost engine technology comes from two small devices the size of an orange. Twin turbochargers harness exhaust gas to pump V-8 power out of the smaller-displacement EcoBoost™ V-6 engine. This technology – in conjunction with direct fuel injection – allows EcoBoost to punch above its size in terms of power and responsiveness.

The EcoBoost V-6 is the first application of smaller twin turbos in a Ford, rather than one larger one. This is to fight turbo lag, the tendency for previous generation turbocharged engines to have hesitation at low engine revs while the turbocharger spooled up to its operating speed.

Sophisticated electronic controls balance boost and torque levels to give the driver the feeling of continuous torque delivery, without turbo “whines” and “whooshes” that characterized some previous-generation turbo engines. As a result, the driver never notices the turbocharger operation.

The EcoBoost turbo system runs at very high temperature, up to 950 degrees Celsius (1,740 degrees Fahrenheit). An air-to-air intercooler is used to cool the compressed intake air before it enters the combustion chamber, and water cooling protects the internal turbo bearings in the high-temperature operating environment.

The EcoBoost has responded robustly in both engine dynamometer test labs and in real world environments ranging from high-temperature conditions to cold conditions down to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Drivability, cold starts, high-altitude running and trailer towing were validated, and the Ford EcoBoost V-6 performed effortlessly in the place a V-8 engine would once have been.

Quotes

“A turbo is basically a large air pump. Increasing the mass of air in the engine increases its power output, and that’s why it’s called ‘boost.’ ”
- Craig Stephens, EcoBoost Powertrain Control System Manager

“EcoBoost gives the driver a very linear torque response. You get peak torque across a very wide engine speed range – usable performance that’s available to you when you pull away from a stoplight or pass someone on a secondary road. You don’t need to wind the engine out to get performance out of it. It’s there all the time.”
- Corey Weaver, EcoBoost Project Leader

Direct fuel injection is one of the key enabling technologies behind Ford’s EcoBoost™.

Paired with turbocharging, direct injection gives the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine in the Lincoln MKS the power and torque of a 4.6-liter V-8 with the fuel economy of a V-6. The direct injection technology helps Ford’s EcoBoost deliver advancements of up to 20 percent better fuel economy.

As well, EcoBoost is more Earth-friendly, as it helps reduce CO2 emissions. Direct injection uses high-pressure fuel injectors to spray a fine mist of fuel directly into each cylinder. This precisely controlled fuel delivery improves the engine’s transient response and enables improved emissions, particularly at cold start. The EcoBoost engine cuts CO2 emissions by 15 percent.

Unlike port-fuel-injection (PFI) engines that spray fuel in the intake system, the direct injection system puts the fuel exactly where it needs to be for combustion, making it easier to ignite and burn completely, allowing for improved fuel efficiency. Much like a fine-mist atomizer bottle one might use to keep cool in the summer, the mist generated by the direct injection uses its cool to chill engine intake air, which, in addition to improving fuel economy, also reduces the potential for engine knock.

Quotes

“Direct injection is a significant player in Ford’s strategy to replace larger engines with smaller EcoBoost engines, improving fuel economy by up to 20 percent without sacrificing performance. We’re going to be deploying direct injection to bring a wave of EcoBoost engines into Ford Motor Company products. It starts with the Lincoln MKS and by 2013 more than 90 percent of our North American lineup will offer EcoBoost technology.”
- Brett Hinds, EcoBoost Design Manager

“Cool air is good for an engine because it minimizes the engine knocking phenomenon. Anything you can use to cool the air is good. Injecting the fuel into the cylinder, you cool it on the spot, where you’re going to burn it. Fuel vaporization during the intake stroke cools the air, improving the volumetric efficiency, the breathing of the engine and the knocking tendency.”
- Corey Weaver, EcoBoost Project Leader