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2010 Ford Focus S-Max Sport Concept |
Last week, Ford held an event to announce their vehicle lineup for the 2010 model year. While a few of the 2010 vehicles, like the Mustang, are already on the streets, the other models held a few surprises, including two big pieces of technology that will be making their way through the Blue Oval's cars.
The first big announcement wasn't really all that new, but rather confirmation. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engines will be hitting U.S. streets in 2010. The engine is already being tested in the UK on the European model Ford Focus and will be making the jump across the pond next year. Ford was quiet on exactly which models will be getting the 2.0-liter EcoBoost, but there's one that's pretty obvious: the new Focus. In 2010, Ford will debut the third generation of the Focus which will be built on a global platform. The first generation of the Focus used similar platform architecture for both the North American and International models, but when the second generation was introduced, the NA models stuck with the older chassis while International models picked up a new C1 platform. The third generation, scheduled for next year, will have the same chassis worldwide.
The other big announcement was a six-speed DSG (Dual-clutch Sequential Gearbox) transmission. The transmission, dubbed Powershift, is based on a dry dual clutch design, which differs from the more industry regular wet dual clutch design (the Volkswagen auto family DSG being one of the most prominent). Ford engineers have claimed that the DSG will result in a 7-9% improvement in efficiency over the company's current automatic transmissions. The gearbox recently debuted on a few European Ford models and on some Volvo models, but there's no word what U.S. vehicles will be equipped with it. However, it's probably a safe bet that the new Focus will have an option for this gearbox, too.
So, to sum it all up, big news for fans of the Ford Focus in 2010, but eventually this tech will make its way around the brand. There have been a few rumors of a base-level Mustang being equipped with a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, but that'll probably have to wait until 2011 or 2012, if it happens at all.
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