Friday, October 31, 2008

Ford's Newest Hybrid will Outperform Imports!!


Fighting the long-held perception that much of the technology in their company's first "full"-hybrid system for the Escape hybrid SUV was bought or licensed from Toyota, executives and engineers at Ford were crystal-clear during this week's media preview of the all-new hybrid architecture for the company's upcoming Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrid sedans: Everything, they said, was designed by Ford in North America.The new hybrid system is "100 percent Ford technology; 100 percent Ford design, invented right here in North America," said Nancy Gioia, Ford Motor Co.'s director of sustainable mobility technologies and hybrids. She and other engineers say every major component was developed under Ford engineering.In detailing the key components, engineers said they stressed an interdisciplinary approach that helped optimize all components for maximum system efficiency. The process developed several intriguing new components and advances, they said.