Filed under: Ethanol, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, MPG, Ford, Mercury, LA Auto Show

The long-awaited redesign of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan is almost upon us and we got our first look at the new powertrains this week in Dearborn. As expected, increased fuel efficiency has been the number one priority for Ford’s engineers, followed by power and refinement. In the conventional models, the sedans have picked up the redesigned engines that we first saw last spring in the 2009 Escape and Mariner compact SUVs. We did learn some new information about efficiency improvements to the 2.5L four cylinder and the 3.0L V6 that Ford hadn’t revealed previously.

Even more importantly, the sedans will now be available with a hybrid powertrain for the first time. While the 2.5L engine in the hybrid is shared with the Escape, the electrical part of the system is almost entirely new. The whole system has been designed in-house by Ford and if what we were told pans out, this mid-size sedan will be the most fuel efficient car in the segment on the road in the U.S. One thing the Ford staff emphasized during the briefing was the company’s emphasis on affordable fuel efficiency. VP of Global Powertrains, Barb Samardzich, told the assembled media that “we don’t want our sustainability strategy to be public affairs exercise.” In reviewing the company’s plans for the coming decade, Samardzich focused on affordable technologies that can be applied to almost all cars in the near term. That means that over the next five years, almost all Fords will have transmissions with at least six gears and well over half of the company’s North American products will have EcoBoost engines. Read on to find out more about what Ford has in mind for the Fusion and Milan in 2009.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Tech Analysis: 2010 Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan powertrains, 38 mpg hybrid!

Tech Analysis: 2010 Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan powertrains, 38 mpg hybrid! originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tags: ford, gm, flex-fuel, ethanol

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Bio: My fascination for hybrid cars came about long ago. I've been living green before gas hit $1/gallon. It's really a way of life and I hope I can share with you all I know about Hybrid Cars.
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