Ford Built – The Smallest Engine Of Them All
For years the four cylinder engine has ruled the fuel efficient car market, but now Ford has plans to turn the industry on it’s head. The Ford econoboost is a teeny, tiny three cylinder engine that packs enough punch to make other car manufacturers blush. It rivals the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, but it requires just 75% of the gas that it would take to fuel a larger engine.
The econoboost has been seen in the Ford Start concept car, but it is still going to take Ford some time to get these vehicles out into production. Consumers are starving for more fuel efficient low priced cars, so the econoboost may be debuting at the right place and at exactly the right time. Even though there are a number of electric and hybrid cars on the market, for some strange reason US consumers are largely opposed to buying environmentally friendly green cars. Studies have been conducted to measure the way that the market responds to new cars, and most Americans just don’t seem to understand the electric and hybrid vehicles are better for the environment, even if they are a strain on their wallets.
There have been smaller engines manufactured by other auto companies. Italian car maker Fiat produced a fuel efficient two cylinder engine, but it was never introduced to the US market. Ford has spent nearly $150 million on the development of the econoboost, and if consumers respond positively the company will make back its investment and then some.