Ford planning to develop three-cylinder engine

Ford is shifting gears in its push to wring out greater fuel savings with the development of its smallest engine ever.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it will introduce a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine within the next two years. The engine will have the same performance as the widely used four-cylinder engine, but would save more fuel and lower emissions, Ford said.

"We just keep trying to find fuel economy improvements," Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of product development, said Thursday. "The only way you keep doing that is by finding new technologies and attention to detail."

Engines of this size are seen in smaller cars and motorcycles. Kuzak said the engine is "clearly aimed for small cars."

Ford also said Thursday it would develop its own hybrid transmission and is planning an eight-speed transmission.

The move comes as automakers are developing more advanced powertrains and shaving weight from their vehicles to meet tightening U.S. standards regarding fuel economy.

By the 2016 model year, automakers' cars and trucks must get 35.5 miles per gallon on average, according to new U.S. fuel economy standards. Vehicles made by the top 14 automakers for the 2010 model year averaged 22.5 miles per gallon.

The three-cylinder engine will be used in Ford vehicles worldwide, although Ford did not specify which models.

Byline: Deepa Seetharaman
Calgary Herald

Could Your Vehicle Seat Predict a Heart Attack?

May 24th, 2011

When it comes to dangers on the road, we’re going to guess you immediately think of people who aren’t paying attention because they are texting while driving, distracted by who knows what or the like. What probably doesn’t come to mind at first is that the driver next to you could suddenly suffer a heart attack. You’re welcome for that ray of sunshine today.

But there is indeed a bright spot: Engineers at Ford have developed a prototype car seat that uses electrocardiograph (ECG) technology to monitor the heart’s electrical impulses and detect signs of irregularity, resulting in an early warning that a driver should seek medical assistance, such as for a heart attack, high blood pressure, electrolyte imbalances or other cardiovascular issue.

Now, don’t imagine having to add 15 minutes to your commute in order to attach metal electrodes all over your skin before you can start the engine. Rather, this ECG seat has six built-in sensors that can detect heart activity through clothing. The sensors pick up the electrical impulses generated by the heart, turning them into signals that can be analyzed by medical experts or computer software.

Yet you’re probably thinking, when you’ve seen people in a movie having a heart episode, they’re not exactly calm, cool or collected, so you figure in the real world, a driver wouldn’t put on a turn signal, check for traffic and maneuver gracefully to the side of the road. Here’s where things get even more interesting: Ford is also testing the prototype seat to understand how it could work with other advanced systems within Ford vehicles to warn a driver to pull over and seek medical attention, possibly mitigating the consequences of a driver losing control, or even send out an alert to emergency medical workers if necessary. Connected to a system such as Ford SYNC® with MyFord Touch™, the seat potentially could use the driver’s mobile phone to send a message to medical centers, alerting doctors to irregular heart activity. The seat also could be linked through SYNC to inform emergency response teams of the driver’s heart condition before, during and after an accident.

For more on this story please check out: http://www.thefordstory.com/our-articles/technologies/safety/could-your-vehicle-seat-predict-a-heart-attack/

Ford will offer start-stop in North America in 2012

Dearborn, Michigan – Ford will offer start-stop technology, which shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop, on conventional cars, crossovers and SUVs in North America in 2012. Start-stop systems, similar to those used on hybrids, are available on several vehicles in Europe, but currently only in Canada on the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne. 

Ford said that its new Auto Start-Stop for gasoline engines will improve fuel economy for most drivers by at least four per cent, and depending on vehicle size and usage, can be as high as ten per cent for some drivers. The technology will be showcased on a concept vehicle in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. 

“For the driver, Ford Auto Start-Stop provides extra fuel efficiency without inconvenience, as it works completely automatically,” said Barb Samardzich, Ford vice-president of powertrain engineering. “And just like in our hybrid vehicles, the heater and air conditioner work as normal so drivers will not sacrifice comfort.”

In Europe, the system is standard on the ECOnetic models of the Ford Ka and Mondeo and is launching now on the Focus, C-Max and Grand C-Max. The system will eventually be offered in all of Ford’s global markets. When it debuts in North America, it will be available on gasoline cars with either a manual or automatic transmission. The system uses an enhanced twelve-volt battery and upgraded starter motor.

Courtesy of Canadian Driver

Dandelions can do what?

Dandelions can do what?

The lowly dandelion, scourge of homeowners everywhere, is getting some love in a most unusual place: the auto industry, which could use the weed to make cup-holders and other interior bits.

Researchers at Ford and Ohio State University say a milky-white substance in the roots of an especially hardy strain of dandelion can be used to make synthetic rubber. It’s the latest example of nature showing us how to build cars more sustainably. Brazilian researchers, for example, are looking at bananas and pineapples as a source of more-ecofriendly plastic, while Toyota hopes to one day build a car out of seaweed.

“Synthetic rubber is not a sustainable resource, so we want to minimize its use in our vehicles when possible,” Ford research engineer Angela Harris said. “Dandelions have the potential to serve as a great natural alternative to synthetic rubber in our products.”

The dandelion in question is a Russian variety, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, being grown at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. A milky-white substance that seeps from the roots is used to produce the rubber.

In a nutshell, the plants are carefully harvested to ensure the roots remain intact. The roots are ground to extract the milky-white latex. The latex is vulcanized, a process Ellen Lee, a researcher in Ford’s plastics research group, said involves cross-linking the polymer chains.

“Basically, if you think of the rubber molecules as long strings, vulcanizing would tie them all together to add durability, creating that rubber substance from the milky white liquid,” she said.

Ford sees the substance as a potential plastics modifier that could improve the impact strength of plastics. Should the material prove durable enough for mass production, it could be used in things like cup-holders, floor mats and interior trim.

Crazy Antics of our Shop Cat!

Crazy Antics of our Shop Cat!

Quite recently our shop cat has created some excitement. Over the weekend she happened to give birth in our shuttle to some baby kittens.

On Monday morning a customer by the name of Jennifer O’Neill was getting a ride in our shuttle van when she hear a strange noise in the back of the shuttle. Quickly after asking the driver to pull over she found 3 brand new baby kittens. To Jennifer's dismay the mama cat was nowhere to be found (as it had escaped when the shuttle was first used on Monday); she gathered up the kittens and took them into her vet to make sure that they were healthy and find out what to do to keep them alive.

After spending the day at the vet, the babies were sent home with Jennifer. She was taught how to nurse the babies with formula and instructed to try to find the momma asap as this would give the babies a far better chance to survive. Later that evening she returned with the kittens in hopes of finding the momma cat. With the help of Jeremy Koch and Brad Burgeson they spotted the momma cat. After many failed attempts to catch her they decided to leave the babies in the shop over night where the momma could nurse them.

The next morning Jennifer came in and shop staff notified her that the momma had been spotted with the babies but would likely not be back until later that evening when the shop.  Jennifer took the kittens to the vet again to ensure their health and safety. She then proceeded to try and find a cat cage, after being told that only the representatives of the company could rent one from the humane society, she then drove around Edmonton trying to track one down finally finding one.  Jeremy Koch, Brad Burgeson and Jennifer set up the cage with an assortment of food (including some tuna). A short while later, SUCCESS!!  

Jennifer was gracious enough to lend her home to kittens and mother, once arriving she let out the cat in a private room so that they would be able to nurse, but alas the shop cat was absolutely distraught over the situation and the new location that she could not feed the kittens so the bottle feeding continued through the night. The next morning the vet advised that the babies and the mother should come in and that they would try to coax the mother to start feeding. Unfortunately momma cat had a different idea of how the day’s events would turn out. The momma cat escaped in a frenzy hiding herself in the floor joists of Jennifer’s basement ceiling. Crazy enough though, Jennifer caught her once again and brought her into the vet to be with her babies.

Mar 31st- The cat is now at the vets in order to be spayed-therefore avoiding this situation again. The vet is also hoping to coax her to feed her babies.

April 1st- The Momma kitty does not want anything to do with them but we did find out that she has a nasty infection in her mamory gland which is causing her alot of pain and a fever, they have been treating her with antibiotics for it. They were unable to go ahead with the spay yesterday because of the infection though. They are going to wait till next week and see if the infection has healed at all. One of the kittens has taken a bit of a turn to the worse. Let’s hope it makes it.

April 2nd- One of the babies passed away last night. Jennifer will update which one after she goes to visit the vet.

April 4th- Momma cat will be coming home today after being spayed. Also, the remaining kitten was given to a surrogate mother to nurse!

April 5th- Momma cat was released back into the shop. She is adjusting quite well

Stay tuned to hear all the latest updates and possibly some pictures!