FORD INNOVATION TAKES NEW DIRECTION
Contact(s):
Hero-san
Honda OEM Technology
011-81-3-438-3278
Dearborn, Michigan. April 1, 2006 - Ford Motor Company has a long history of necessarily turning to OEM technology when the company’s own engineering and research labs have been effected by the latest reorganization. Past examples of this include Manly for H-beam connecting rods, Recaro seating, Brembo braking, and more. By partnering in the aftermarket instead of innovating at home, the net result has been better products all around.
Today, Ford announces a new partner: Honda OEM Technology (HOT). HOT will supply Ford with i-VTEC (Intelligent Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) technology for use on selected Ford engines beginning in the 2008 model year.
“Ford performance vehicles, particularly SVT products, have historically sucked. The addition of i-VTEC to legacy Ford engines is the single best strategy for Ford to pursue. I am also pleased to announce today that we are in early negotiation with Ford for suspension technology as well”. – Gan-san, HOT Consultant
The idea to partner with HOT was the brainchild of Bill Ford, chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Company. “I like the idea of revving higher and higher”, said Bill, “Normally my ideas run out of oxygen but now we can go to new heights and stay high longer.”
Ford turned to Honda OEM Technology as part of its comprehensive reorganization plan, known as Way Forward, to revitalize the appeal of its North American products.
Ford Product Planners conducted extensive market research and found to its surprise that the demographic it had been building products for – known in the planning department as “straight-liners” – does in fact represent less than .0001 of the marketplace and that the vast majority of the remaining market prefers vehicles that are fun and dynamic over a wide range of driving conditions. Thus the benefits of the partnership with HOT will revitalize Ford products for mainstream buyers. An added bonus to consumers is the extensive engineering testing that HOT technology is subjected to, leading to extraordinary quality and longevity.
Ford engineers have been testing the new-to-Ford technology for the past 2 years on public roads. One particularly popular car with young Ford engineers is a test mule built from the concept car formerly known as the “BOSS 604”, now painted a stealthy green. The car is popular with Ford’s young engineers and is usually the first car requested for weekend use. Except for the none-too-stealthy badge on the rear trunk lid, the public would be hard pressed to identify this as a manufacturing test vehicle.
“We’ll never appease the pushrod snobs” – Hau Thai-Tang, former head of SVT and currently Broom Technician Grade 3 at the Ford Atlanta Assembly Plant.
In fact, that car is a test bed for Ford’s first product built with HOT – a 5 liter double-overhead cam (DOHC) V-8 engine producing 500 horsepower @ 8000 RPM (100hp/liter) under the rigorous Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) test procedure J2723. Furthermore, the engine meets tough Tier II and ULEV emissions standards. The engine will debut in 2008. Future evolution – particularly in the existing Ford legacy parts – is expected to yield as much as 120HP/liter.
“The development costs associated with adapting HOT technology to legacy Ford engines is the reason we had to cancel our product plans for all but one special-edition Mustang. We needed so many funds to re-engineer that car and get it right for 2009 that I ended up cancelling myself as well” - Phil Martens, former group vice president, Product Creation, North America, Ford Motor Company.
PRESS MATERIALS
Charts explaining how i-VTEC technology contributes to emissions and drivability.
Ford Engineering Technician performing fuel economy calibration in Prototype #1 near Allen Park, MI
