Ford to sell improved EcoBoost engine

DEARBORN, Mich. -- At a showcase of the company's 2010 model lineup, Barb Samardzich, Ford's vice president for global powertrain engineering, said the 2-liter, 4-cyclinder engine, called the I-4 EcoBoost, will help the vehicle perform like one with a 6-cyclinder engine.

Ford executives did not say which vehicles would carry the I-4 EcoBoost engine. Ford developed the EcoBoost engines as way to achieve 20% better fuel economy and began rolling it.

Ford currently offers a 6-cyclinder EcoBoost engine in some cars, such as the Ford Flex, which allows for 8-cyclinder performance. A vehicle with an EcoBoost costs a few thousand dollars more than the traditional engine vehicle, with prices varying based on the model.

The company plans to expand the number of vehicles with EcoBoost available to meet a goal of having the improved engines in 90% of its product lineup by 2013.

"Today we see it as a premium engine," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's vice president for global product development, regarding availability of EcoBoost. "As we expand it will be the volume engine."

Company CEO Alan Mulally said that Ford's "transformation" plan, which includes bringing the new engine to market, among other manufacturing and product improvements, is fully financed. He said the company has sufficient liquidity to bring other new vehicles to market in a challenging auto sales climate.

"We're following our plan exactly," he said.

Ford is scheduled to report second-quarter results Thursday.

Shares of Ford gained 1 cent to close at $6.20.