Ford Ramps Up Production of Lower Displacement Diesels
25 May 2007
Ford has added a new line to its wind-powered Dagenham Diesel Centre in the UK—the company’s global center for diesel engineering and manufacturing—to produce the new 1.4- and 1.6-liter Duratorq TDCi turbodiesels developed with PSA.
This was the intended outcome of the diesel cooperation with PSA: joint development and launch production, then assembly split on high-volume units between the two companies’s engine plants. The £130 million (US$258 million) Ford investment in the new line is increasing the facility’s total annual output to 1,000,000 engines per year.
Production of the larger engine is now underway, with the 1.4-liter unit to be added in June. These diesels power the most fuel-efficient versions of the Ford Fiesta, the Ford Fusion, the Ford Focus and the Ford C-MAX. In a Ford Fiesta, Dagenham’s new 1.6-liter engine produces only 116 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Within the wider Ford family, these engines are also used in Volvo and Mazda models.
This additional production capacity at Dagenham is needed to satisfy rising demand for the high technology diesel engines that are part of the ongoing cooperative agreement between Ford Motor Company and PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Total engine production output on the Ford Dagenham estate will rise to 1,000,000 units a year by 2009 with the addition of these engines. By then 1.4 and 1.6-liter production capacity will be 575,000. The balance will be accounted for by the estate’s existing 1.8-, 2.0-, 2.2- and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine ranges, plus the 2.7-liter V6 diesel engine for Jaguar, Land Rover and PSA Peugeot Citroën and the 3.6-liter V8 diesel engine produced for Land Rover.
Saving the planet 200cc at a time.
There is no big deal here, just a lot of common sense.
[ and common rails ]
The design and tooling of such hi-tech engines is expensive, so pool it with Peugeot, and fight them on styling etc.
You will note also, that these will be going into smaller cars, hence they can get 116gms CO2/km, which is very impressive.
Go Ford !
Posted by: mahonj | 26 May 2007 at 07:23 AM
Get the Euro Focus and C-Max here faster, and add hybrid drivetrains to them. Ford needs more hybrids. Granted the Escape/Mariner hybrids are competent, to say the least, but we need more choices, and better mpg.
Posted by: allen_xl_z | 26 May 2007 at 07:55 AM
Ford should use the new 1.4 and 1.6 PSA Turbo patrol engine and not the pollutive EURO IV or upcoming EURO V Diesels.
It´s a pity that the European governments allow car companies to sell pollutive Diesel cars. Or is it almost criminal?
Posted by: Michel | 26 May 2007 at 09:29 AM
The USA makes it easy for its citizens to buy guns.
Now that is criminal.
Posted by: mahonj | 26 May 2007 at 12:55 PM
Right mahoni, but do Americans use the guns on the way to work? (Maybe some?)
But the people in Europe play gas chamber operator with their Diesel cars! Promoted by their governments!
Posted by: Michel | 27 May 2007 at 05:03 PM
Europe is very remiss in enforcing clean diesel regulations. Euro-6 which roughly equates with the US T2B5 clean diesel specification, won't be required unit 2014. Whereas the US T2B5 spec became a requiremnt in 2007, probably a year too soon.
Nobody has met the T2B5 standard diesel yet, but many manufacturers are saying they will have 2008 models that do meet it. At that level the diesekl is would be as clean, as a relatively dirty gasoline engine. If they can do it in the US, there is no reason that the EU couldn't pull its Euro-6 forward to say 2009 or 2010.
There is no Euro-spec as far as I know to further clean diesels to now common gasoline standards such as T2B3 of SULEV levels. US auto makers are petitioning CARB tof create a ZEV or PZEV I spec that would toughen the standards to better than T2B1 levels, and get ZEV credits for these conventional powered cars that are essentially clean, as they probably should. I don't think the EU Greens have any concept of adopting such a spec.
Next time you hear how the socialized Europeans are so much more progressive, tell the gentleman he doesn't know of what he speaks...
Posted by: Stan Peterson | 27 May 2007 at 06:10 PM
Stan, the question is which is worse, a little bit of NOx or a lot of CO2?
Posted by: clett | 28 May 2007 at 07:53 AM
Re outlet: On American (110VAC) electrical systems such as those used in hospitals which is a problem for visiting electric wheelchair users who need to charge
Posted by: Electric Wheelchairs | 17 August 2008 at 02:20 PM