If horsepower is becoming the new mantra, where are the higher numbers for the V8?
Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC
snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Patrick) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:
Ford V-6 engine to be built in Ohio
>
> New production gives automaker shot at lead in horsepower
>
> By Mark Truby / The Detroit News
>
> DEARBORN -- Ford Motor Co. will announce plans today to build a
> sophisticated new V-6 engine, a move that could give the company a
> fighting chance in the battle for horsepower supremacy.
>
> The all-aluminum 3.5-liter V-6 engine -- which has been delayed at
> least twice -- is set to go into production at Ford's engine plant in
> Lima, Ohio, in late 2005. The plant could produce up to 300,000 of the
> new engines a year.
>
> More details will be announced at a ceremony today at the Lima
plant,
company spokesman Joe Koenig said. Ford would not disclose how much it
> will invest to produce the new engine, but the total investment could
> reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
>
> The new production line is not expected to create a significant number
> of new jobs at the factory, which employs 1,600.
>
> The engine fills a glaring gap in Ford's product arsenal -- a
> high-powered V-6 engine for mid-size vehicles across the Ford,
Lincoln
and Mercury brands.
>
> "Horsepower is becoming the new mantra," said Michael Robinet, an
> analyst with CSM Worldwide who tracks automakers' production plans.
> "This move is all about keeping pace in horsepower wars."
>
> NoOp Comment: Got to love it when you hear the manufacturers say > this!!
>
> Japanese automakers, including Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Co.p.,
> and Honda Motor Co., are on the leading edge of a movement to
produce
engines that produce more horsepower without sacrificing fuel
economy.
> Nissan's 3.5-liter V-6 engine -- which powers the Altima and Maxima
> sedans, the 350Z sports coupe and the Murano sport wagon -- can
> generate up to 280 horsepower.
>
> NoOp comment: Okay, so if the normally-aspirated V6s are pumping out
> 280 HP, how much should the V8s be packing? I'd say at least 350,
> before they add some pressure. So that means _at least_ 450-475 HP > with a puffer.
>
> Honda's 3.5-liter engine, produced down the road from Lima in Anna,
> Ohio, also has struck a chord with American buyers of Accord sedans
> and Pilot sport utility vehicles.
>
> The new Ford engine, which will be named Duratec, will feature a
> double overhead cam and variable valve timing.
>
> NoOp Comment: That's what they call their current V6, don't they? I
> say a new engine needs a new name.
>
> Ford is likely to offer the engine in a number of sedans and
crossover
vehicles. The new Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle crossover, for
> example, will debut next year equipped with Ford's 3.0-liter V-6
> engine, which can produce 200 horsepower. In 2006, though, Ford is
> expected to offer the vehicles with the new 3.5-liter Duratec.
>
> NoOp comment: Why do the "domestics" always do this? Why can't they
> debut a new vehicle with a new engine. It seems the new platforms
> always use an older engine for the first year or so of production. >
> The new engine will also be integral to Ford's plans to build up to 10
> mid-size cars and crossovers, including the Ford Futura, off the basic
> chassis of the Mazda6 sedan.
>
> "A high-tech, high-horsepower engine is really becoming the price of
> entry for mid-size cars," said George Peterson, president of
> AutoPacific, an automotive marketing firm. "The Japanese have been > raising the bar."
>
> NoOp comment: I say the "domestics" need to be the ones raising the
> bar, instead of just trying to clear the bar.
>
> Ford's board of directors signed off on the new engine line last week
> during a regular meeting in Dearborn. The automaker received state and
> local tax breaks to invest in the Lima plant. Local officials passed a
> memorandum of understanding last month agreeing to forgo tax
> collections on the new engine line if Ford agreed to donate 40
percent
of the tax to the local school district, according to Ohio and Ford > officials.
>
> Patrick
> '93 Cobra
> '83 LTD