Ford to shortly introduce a 3-cylinder engine

The 2.0L ecoboost is going into the Explorer, Flex, and Taurus in the next year. As Chuck pointed out, it can give the benefit of a hybrid without the cost in materials and design time. 'Tweaking' the ICE is the easiest way to improve the economy for multiple platforms. Then the hybrid offerings for larger vehicles haven't been exceptional in fuel economy to date. They are improved, but increasing costs in ratio to improvements limit their appeal.

After the C-max HV and PHV, we'll see a Focus hybrid introduced that I believe will finally be a true competitor to the Prius. Ford does have an ecoboost between the 1L and 2L in development though. I remember an article on the new Fusion being offered with a 4 cyl., V6, hybrid, and an ecoboost. It was before the hybrid release and existence of the ecoboost name. A direct comparison on the same platform would be interesting.

 

You think that is teeny? Maybe you're (fortunately) not old enough to remember the 1970's Honda 600cc coupe:


Air cooled motor cycle engine ... I had a yellow one.

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OK, Kiacars have never been big in the US, but 0-60 in ten seconds or less back then would be considered PERFORMANCE.

Last I checked, 0-60 in fifteen seconds in the 70's did not kill anybody - might have killed fewer people.

 

10 would be pretty good. My 1966 Mustang has the same performance 0-60 as the Prius but I gaurantee if you asked someone if the Mustang was quick they would say yeah and if you asked if the Prius was they would say hell no.

 

very cool for an historical perspective in a time before most environmental and safety regulation. They had the basic of a small car, front wheel drive trans-axle with uni-body construction. $1600 which I think is about $8500 adjusted for inflation. Its about 3/4 of the size of a honda fit but about half the cost. Engines have come a long way as have brakes. I don't think anyone would drive a 2 cylinder, and new small cars accelerate and brake much better. I wonder if we loosen safety regulations to European standards whether we can drop the size and cost of these cars.

 

It's worth keeping in mind that there are still lots of the original Fiat 500 and 600's (not the current version which have larger engines) trotting around Italian cities quite happily. Tiny people-movers, 500 and 600cc engines.

As for the Eco-boost concept, I'm skeptical. I suspect that tuning the engine for turbo may limit the efficiency of its operation at lower rpm's, not to mention likely issues with doing autostop on a turbo engine.

Honda's approach with the Insight was to use a small non-turbo ICE tuned for efficiency in two ranges - lean-burn and non-lean burn - with VTEC helping to "retune" between them. Neither is particularly high power output, so the IMA was used in lieu of a turbo to add power as needed. The unbelievable mpg obtainable from the Insight-I will be hard to beat.

I'd like to see an updated version of the Insight-I ICE with direct injection. Mazda has a system that enables direct injection engines to be restarted without cranking (by simply injecting fuel into the relevant cylinders and igniting it). This would eliminate the battery drain from restarting an autostopped motor. I'd also like to see an electric brake booster pump like the Prius has, to eliminate restarts simply to resupply booster vac.

It would also be interesting to see an updated Insight-I powerplant in a small, light 4-seater chassis.

One of the current problems is the insistence on driving at high speeds. Making a chassis crash-worthy at high speed requires crush zones, which means it must be bigger, which means more aero drag and additional weight. The bloat of present cars is especially apparent when we look at older cars - like the Honda 600.

 

I think that's where the direct injection and valve control comes into play. The engines can vary cylinder compression between boost and non-boost modes, and DI engines can operate at a higher ratio than traditional engines on the same octane.

Take a look at the 3.5 ecoboost in the F150. At a glance it isn't a poster child for fuel economy. It gets 18mpg combined. One worse than the base V6. Then you realize the 3.5 is meant as a V8 replacement, and the ecoboost F150 is as capable as the 6.2L, which is only 14mpg combined. Cleanmpg managed 32mpg with one on a roadtrip fully loaded with gear.

A compact with an ecoboost won't rival an Insight, but with a reasonable driver I think it'll compete with the Insight2. I'm hoping to get the ecoboost Fiesta for my next car.

 

Some guys are averaging 50mpg in their Fiestas already. I can't drive like that here and we average 31 in ours which is still pretty darn good.