(April 21, 2012) DEARBORN, Mich. — For decades, size meant everything when it came to engines — bigger was better and there was no replacement for displacement. But volatile gasoline prices and growing consumer interest in clean technologies are turning that notion on its head.
 
Today, buyers are snapping up cars and trucks powered by smaller engines that offer better fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance.
 
When the EcoBoost-equipped 2013 Fusion, Escape and 2.0-liter Taurus arrive on dealer lots this spring and summer, Ford will offer an industry-leading seven vehicles with the smallest engines in their segments – more than any competitor.
 
Ford’s new global family of EcoBoost engines offer customers more affordable, high-efficiency powertrain choices, along with Ford’s growing lineup of hybrid and electric models. On average, an EcoBoost engine can improve fuel economy by as much as 20 percent, yet it costs around $1,000 on most vehicles.
 
Available now in displacements of 1.6, 2.0 and 3.5 liters, Ford’s EcoBoost engines are designed to offer drivers outstanding performance in everything from economy cars to trucks.
 
Most of the Ford vehicles with the smallest engines in their segments — 2013 Escape and 2013 Fusion (1.6 liters); Explorer, Edge and Taurus (2.0 liters); and Interceptor and F-150 (3.5 liters) — deliver the same or greater power than the larger, heavier engines in competitive vehicles, along with higher fuel economy.
 
Replacing large engines with smaller-displacement EcoBoost engines is one way Ford is delivering on its promise to lead or be among the leaders in fuel economy in every segment in which it competes.
 
As with cell phones, laptops and other consumer electronics, Ford’s engines will continue to shrink — yet become more powerful — in the coming years.
 
The next new EcoBoost engine scheduled for launch in North America, a 1.0-liter three-cylinder coming in 2013, will be Ford’s smallest yet. This compact, innovative engine, which is the same length as the average laptop computer, is rated at 125 horsepower, making it one of the highest output-per-liter regular production engines Ford has ever made.
 
This year, Ford Motor Company will offer EcoBoost engines in 12 Ford and Lincoln nameplates.

The 2013 Escape and Fusion models provide a graphic example of why Ford’s new generation of smaller, lighter and more powerful engines are better. In the 2012 Escape and Fusion, the 3.0-liter V6 engine is rated at 240 horsepower and 223 lb.-ft. of torque. That engine weighs 340 pounds.
 
The new 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine that is optional in the 2013 Escape and Fusion is rated at 240 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque and it weighs 295 pounds, 45 pounds less than the old 3.0-liter. The 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine available in both vehicles delivers 178 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft of torque and weighs just 223 pounds.
 
Since launching EcoBoost in summer 2009, Ford has sold more than 180,000 EcoBoost-equipped vehicles in North America, making it the most rapidly adopted fuel-saving technology in recent automotive history.