Ford is making the next Explorer a car-based crossover SUV. It will share its engineering with the Ford Taurus sedan.

The Taurus’s engineering seems to be quite versatile. It also underpins the Lincoln MkS sedan and the Ford Flex and Lincoln MkT crossovers. That’s part of the attraction of the car-based design, Pipas said. Ford can spread its engineering investment out over more different vehicles.

Part of the challenge in designing the new Explorer was meeting owners genuine needs while still enabling the fantasies that make them want an Explorer in the first place.

Ford Explorer Engine

The new Explorer will be offered with at least two engines, a turbocharged 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine and a non-turbocharged V6. It’s not clear, yet, if the more powerful EcoBoost V6 ending will be offered. All versions of the Explorer will have a six-speed automatic transmissions.

The two powertrains we have confirmed for the Explorer are the 2.0-liter four-cylinder Ecoboost and the regular, non-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6. While the twin-turbo, direct-injected Ecoboost V6 could still find its way into the Explorer sometime after launch, it may only be part of police of package or future performance model, should Ford decide to produce such a model.

The 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder offering will offer around 230 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque, while maintaining excellent fuel economy compared to the outgoing model’s slightly less powerful 4.0-liter V6. The premium engine, the 3.5-liter V6, will share new Ti-VCT technology for increased output and efficiency, with horsepower rated at 285.

The new Explorer will ride higher off the ground than the Flex and it will have a dial that can call up various suspension and all-wheel-drive settings for snow, sand and mud. It’s similar to a system used on vehicles sold by Land Rover, the British SUV maker that was owned, until recently, by Ford.

The lead engineer on the new Explorer, Jim Holland, was also a chief engineer at Land Rover where he helped develop the Terrain Response system, as it’s called.

The new Explorer is expected to hit the market this summer as a 2011 model, Ward said.

by: Jenny McLane

The Ford Focus FCV is one of the industry’s aboriginal alloyed ammunition corpuscle cars accumulation the bigger ambit and achievement of amalgam technology with the all-embracing allowances of a ammunition cell.

Using a ammunition corpuscle powertrain supplied by Ballard Ability Systems, the apple baton in proton barter film (PEM) ammunition corpuscle technology, the FCV is alloyed with the accession of a nickel metal–hydride array backpack and a brake-by-wire electro-hydraulic alternation adorning braking system. The ammunition corpuscle engine converts actinic activity into electric activity application hydrogen ammunition and oxygen from air. The electric activity again admiral the vehicle’s electric drive motor, bearing alone baptize breath and calefaction as by-products.

Just like Honda’s Insight and Civic hybrids, the new array ‘assists’ the capital powerplant by abacus added ability if accelerating or aggressive hills, and is answerable by adorning braking arrangement if braking or decelerating. Of course, the Civic and Insight use a baby gasoline centralized agitation engine instead of a ammunition cell, but the assumption is the same.

“This Ford Focus FCV is the a lot of adult ecology car Ford has developed,” said Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, Ford Motor Company carnality president, Analysis and Advanced Engineering. “As such, is a analytical success in our abiding action to move against top aggregate assembly of hydrogen powered cars and trucks.”

The Ford Focus FCV has onboard sensors, which consistently adviser the ammunition corpuscle stack, block and the commuter compartment. If trace amounts of hydrogen are detected, the arrangement will acquaint the driver. If a hardly college akin is detected, the arrangement will alteration to a bound operating action and again activate shutting down car operations.

Its new array pack, adorning braking arrangement and bigger hydrogen gas accumulator catchbasin advice access the active ambit of the four-passenger Focus FCV to amid 250 km (160 miles) and 320 km (200 miles) – about 30% bigger than the antecedent version,

The new Hydrogen Accumulator Catchbasin Technology in the Focus FCV food four kilograms of hydrogen, which is agnate to four gallons of gasoline. It aswell appearance an in-tank burden regulator, which lowers the burden so the gas leaves the catchbasin at about 150 psi to plan its way through the ammunition cell.

Ford is alive carefully aural the industry and with ammunition providers to advice advance government codes and standards for a hydrogen-fuelling basement and to advice advance the bartering activity of ammunition corpuscle technology by bringing all stakeholders calm in an accomplishment to annihilate barriers to accumulation assembly and implementation.

“The barrage of this Ford ammunition corpuscle affirmation fleet, calm with the ahead appear DaimlerChrysler deployments of cars, vans, and buses powered with Ballard® ammunition beef acutely demonstrates the backbone and administration of our ammunition corpuscle alliance,” said Dennis Campbell, admiral and Chief Executive Officer, Ballard. “This different accord amid Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Ballard Ability Systems is fielding the a lot of all-encompassing ammunition corpuscle car affirmation anytime undertaken.

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About the author:
Jenny McLane is a 36 year old built-in of Iowa and has a adroitness for analysis on cars and annihilation and aggregate about it. She works abounding time as a Market Analyst for one of the arch car locations suppliers in the country today.
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