Automotive News - Traverse City - August 7, 2019 - 8

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CAR MBS DAILY

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019

Ford Escape's new, high-tech
turbo three: A game changer?

the funds earmarked for
government has taxed
infrastructure
gasoline at 18.4 cents per
improvements. Michigan
gallon and diesel fuel at
is also considering raising
24.4 cents per gallon. One
fuel taxes. In fact, the
of the few issues the major
governor was elected in
political parties agree on in
COMMENT
part on her promise to "fix
principle is the need to fix
the damn roads."
Although car buyers aren't placing the nation's crumbling
fuel economy atop their priority lists roads, bridges, railroad
RICHARD
crossings and highways.
while gasoline is relatively cheap,
Launched in Europe
TRUETT
The Trump
that could change quickly if fuel
Also, since the beginning
STAFF REPORTER of the year, oil prices have
prices keep rising. A hike in gasoline administration is said to
favor a 25 cents per gallon
and diesel taxes also is a possibility.
risen sharply - about $12
For Ford's 2020 Escape arriving this fall, a thrifty downsized gasoline engine
tax hike on gasoline and diesel with
Since 1993, the federal
per barrel - which you are now
looks like the ticket to fuel economy improvements.
seeing at the pump. AAA says the
average price for a gallon of regular
unleaded gasoline is $2.75, up from
$2.66 a year ago.
And that brings us back to the
Escape. With passenger-car diesel
engines operating under a black
cloud these days (thanks,
Volkswagen), gasoline-electric
hybrids and thrifty downsized
gasoline engines look like the ticket
to fuel economy gains.
But most hybrids perform better in
city driving, where the electric motor
does much of the heavy lifting. On
the highway, most hybrids are less
efficient because the vehicle is
hauling around a heavy battery pack
Nobody wants to be in an autonomous vehicle unless they feel safe. Much like your brain allows you to
and electric motor that are not
contributing much propulsion.
see, think and act, our intelligent safety technologies enable autonomous vehicles to do the same - and
If I needed a compact utility
with the highest precision. We use environmental sensors, radar and lidar technologies to see; processing
vehicle that looks to be extremely
technology to think; and intelligent mechanical systems that provide the capability to act through
fuel efficient and didn't want the
vehicle motion control. So, give us your safety challenges for tomorrow and we'll give you potentially
hassle of worrying about a
life-saving solutions today.
degrading battery pack and all the
Explore more: Visit zf.com
complexity of having two drivetrains
in one vehicle, the 1.5-liter Escape
would have me seriously kicking its
tires. We won't know the vehicle's
EPA ratings until they are certified
this summer, but clues abound.
Ford launched the 1.5-liter engine
across Europe last year. In the Focus,
the engine is rated at 182 hp -
about the same state of tune as the
engine slated for the Escape - with
a fuel-economy rating of 51 mpg on
the European drive cycle. Some
caveats here. The British or imperial
gallon is 20 percent larger than the
U.S. gallon, and European fuel
economy tests differ from the EPA's
tests.
ord's plan to introduce the
1.5-liter three-cylinder
engine in the U.S. in the 2020
Escape arriving this fall is a
smart move.

ZF. Where vehicle safety
and autonomy intersect.

Cylinder deactivation
Still, the 1.5-liter engine, a turbo,
has a novel feature - cylinder
deactivation that cuts out one
cylinder - that is thrifty and able to
deliver decent performance. Ford
will also offer two models of the 2020
Escape with a hybrid powertrain.
But I think the 1.5-liter engine
could be the superstar in the
Escape's four-powertrain lineup that
delivers the best combination of
value, fuel economy and
performance. Ford's previous threecylinder engine, a 1.0-liter that was
optional here in the Fiesta and
Focus, didn't make much noise in
the marketplace. In fact, Ford did
little to promote it.
Hopefully, the 1.5-liter will not
suffer the same fate. A video showing
how the 1.5-liter engine works shows
the valvetrain on the first cylinder
and the sliding pin that deactivates
the valves. Pretty neat stuff.
You may email Richard Truett
at rtruett@crain.com.
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7/15/2019 12:34:02 PM

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Automotive News - Traverse City - August 7, 2019

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