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by Lesley Wimbush
Auto123.com
July 10, 2011
DEARBORN, Michigan ‚Äì There’s more than one way to fight the battle of rising fuel costs. Hot on the heels of its “Power of Choice” tour, where Ford showcased a traveling selection of its most fuel-efficient vehicles, from full-on electric, parallel and plug-in hybrids right up to the conventional yet ultra-efficient EcoBoost engines, comes Ford’s latest offering: a tiny one-litre, 3-cylinder engine delivering hybrid-like fuel numbers.
Technology’s come a long way in transforming such small powerplants from the noisy, thrashy unbalanced examples of the past to their current level of sophisticated efficiency. Weighing “about 200 lbs” (or 90.7 kg), Ford’s 1.0L EcoBoost eschews the typical aluminum block in favour of a tiny cast-iron piece, all in the name of compactness. This also aids in quicker warm-up time, which reduces gas consumption and emissions.
