Ford Says EcoBoost With a Straight Face

Well, actually I wasn’t there, at the Detroit Auto Show, but it stands to reason that someone from Ford uttered those words, near a rotating platform, without breaking into a laugh.  I’m willing to go on record, though, with the prediction that Ford’s new engine, the EcoBoost, will bear a new nameplate within two years. In a world fixated on what is sustainable, that name is simply not.

The name of Ford’s new V6 engine seems to imply that power is somehow boosted by some naturally occurring and environmentally sustainable green technology, like tree leaves, or a river.  Cars are a long way from being environmentally friendly, regardless of the technology that’s been developed and put into hybrid and electric cars.  Electrical outlets don’t grow own trees, and in fact, much of the electricity we use is powered by coal, not exactly a clean or sustainable technology.

• » See also: EcoBoost: Ford’s Near-term Answer to Lowering Emissions Without Forfeiting Performance
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I’m not saying that technological developments such as the direct injection and turbocharging that Ford is taking advantage of in the EcoBoost are not welcome.  Every increase in efficiency - especially in an industry known for moving at a snail’s pace and preserving the status quo - is welcome.  But what Ford is doing is something different.

Calling a truck a Tahoe or a Sequoia is probably good marketing, because it softens the mental impact of buying a vehicle that most people don’t really need, by implying that it’s got something to do with the outdoors, but calling an automotive engine EcoBoost is simply absurd.  Consumers are smart enough to recognize the difference between what something actually is, and what is a label.

Ford seems to be labeling their new V6 twin-turbocharged direct injection engine as an eco-friendly product.  The increase in fuel efficiency is welcome.  Ford says that it’s the first such engine produced in North America. But an engine called EcoBoost that produces a fuel efficiency of twenty-two miles per gallon on the highway, and eighteen overall is not a green development.

Look for the EcoBoost medallion on those Ford vehicles in the next year or two, and then watch them disappear.  Ford, of all the American carmakers, seems to be on the right track, but touting a name apparently culled from what one can only assume was a very short and manufactured list, won’t do the company any favors in the long run.  Perhaps it’s best that Ford focus on what it does do well, which according to reports is the Fusion, because that’s the only way in the long term, it might do any EcoBoosting.

Source: Ford Motor Company

Image Credit: Ford Motor Company at Flickr under a Creative Commons License

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