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Sep 2, 2008 12:45 PM
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According to our friends at PickupTrucks.com, Ford is developing an engine which might offer a powerful alternative to diesels at a lower price. Codenamed Bobcat, the gasoline-powered engine allegedly begins with Ford's EcoBoost architecture and then, with the help of ethanol injection, goes places turbocharged engines can't normally venture. By using a secondary set of injectors to shoot ethanol from a separate tank into the combustion chamber, compression ratios can be drastically raised without pre-ignition, thus boosting fuel economy another 10 percent and overall power output quite a bit — think 500 HP and 700 lb-ft of torque from a five-liter V8.
Jalopnik Snap Judgment: With diesel operating costs living in a world of pain these days and the price of entry for a diesel mill much higher to begin with, ethanol DI engines present an interesting alternative. Even though diesel is a perennial favorite with people who need to drag stuff around, it's quickly becoming a problem of economics. With the $700 premium for EcoBoost, and the projected cost for this system adding another $400, an $1100 gasoline option which is cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, and cleaner to operate may be a big draw — even if filling up the ethanol tank every couple months might get annoying. Test engines are set to run this year, but no word on a green light for production yet. [Pickuptrucks.com]
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