CAR MANUFACTURERS around the world are under growing pressure
from consumers to prove their green credentials. How they respond -
not just what they say they are going to do, but what they actually
do - could make or break corporate images and reputations in the
years and decades ahead.
Petrol (and diesel) internal combustion engines are largely
based on 19th century thinking. But that hasn't stopped
manufacturers achieving impressive advances in performance and fuel
efficiency, and in reducing carbon dioxide and other polluting
emissions, in recent years.
However, sometimes it's not the 'eureka' moment that leads to
the biggest or most immediate gains, although such moments
certainly do not hurt the cause. Rather, more immediate advances
often can be achieved by applying creative thinking to bringing
together a range of different ideas and philosophies and moulding
them into a coherent and co-ordinated package.
Manufacturers therefore typically work on several fronts
simultaneously, developing shortterm measures (maximising the
performance and efficiency of existing technologies), medium-term
measures (such as developing alternative fuel sources, like
hydrogen fuel cells), and long-term measures (which may result in
technologies that look like nothing we're familiar with today).
For a company like Ford, the task is made trickier by a
misplaced but often widespread perception that some of its vehicles
- particularly the Falcon and Territory models - are large,
inefficient gas-guzzlers.
The irony is that Ford's Australian-built vehicles are gas
guzzlers - that is if by gas you mean LPG or liquid petroleum gas:
a quarter of all Falcons sold every year are powered by LPG, not
petrol.
But LPG is only the thin end of a green wedge. Along with LPG,
Ford already produces vehicles that will run on petrol with 10 per
cent ethanol, and diesel.
David Katic, general marketing manager for Ford Australia, says
the company is poised to make a concerted effort to prove its green
credentials to the Australian public.
The simple fact is that Australians like big cars, but they're
also demanding better fuel efficiency and lower emissions - and
there's a common perception that you can't have that in a big car.
Katic says Ford's strategy - product development as well as
marketing - is to convince the buying public they can have their
cake and eat it.
The company's global vice president of product development has
been quite vocal about Ford's fuel economy goal: to have a fuel
economy leader in every segment in which the company competes. That
means that Ford is aiming to have the most fuel-efficient small car
in its class but also to have the most fuel efficient large car,
SUV or truck. Customers might still need or want a larger vehicle,
but they also want to know they've made the smartest choice when it
comes to fuel economy.
However, Katic says Ford is not hanging its hat on any one
particular technology. He says the strategy is based on using
proven, robust, available and affordable technologies.
Later this year, Ford will introduce a new Fiesta model, the
first released in Australia to feature the company's so-called
ECOnetic technology. Katic says the ECOnetic technology is designed
to maximise fuel efficiency and produce very low carbon dioxide
emissions by harnessing a range of technologies and ideas, and
integrating them into a single package.
At its heart is a highly-efficient diesel engine, which Ford
says produces just 98 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre
travelled, and uses 3.7 litres of fuel to cover 100 kilometres.
(The petrol 1.6-litre five-speed manual Fiesta produces 143
grams of CO2 per kilometres, and uses 6.1 litres of fuel for every
100 kilometres covered, which is still extremely competitive in its
class.)
But an efficient engine on its own is only half the picture. The
ECOnetic package includes: • Specially-developed tyres: low rolling
resistance means less energy is required to keep the car moving; •
Reduced weight: less mass means less energy is required to
accelerate; • Improved aerodynamics - less drag means less energy
is needed to keep the car moving; • Low viscosity engine oils:
developed in conjunction with BP, which reduce friction within the
engine, meaning less energy is lost as heat; • Electronic driver
aids: help the driver find the optimum gear change point, so the
engine is working at its optimum power and torque outputs for as
long as possible; • Specially selected gear ratios: making sure the
engine is working at its optimum level while the car is cruising in
top gear.
"We're going through a process of reinventing our technological
approach and philosophy" Katic says.
Henry Ford's goal was to achieve "motoring for the masses", and
Katic says the company today adheres to the same philosophy.
"Affordable" and "available" are the keywords in the green
revolution.
"The problem with some of the upcoming 'green' technology is
that no one would buy it, or it would be very limited, partly
because of the very high cost," he says.
"We are pursuing a 'green' strategy that uses multiple
technologies and one of the important parts of that strategy is to
enhance [the technologies] and combine them to get a good
result."
Katic says there was "a lot of detailed work" that went into
getting the elements of the ECOnetic package just right. And he
says it's not the case that the company is using existing
technologies because it has not developed new ones. For example, it
considered a hybrid option as part of the ECOnetic package, but
rejected it. Katic says that the fuel efficiency will be better for
the upcoming Fiesta than for the hybrid Toyota Prius.
"Our strategy is multi-pronged," Katic says. It involves
existing technology; it involves "major engine advancements, like
EcoBoost"; and it involves emerging technologies. "[Such as]
Electric - we're exploring a range of options globally to get a
maximum result."
The thinking behind the company's recently developed EcoBoost
technology is that directinjection turbocharging produces more
power from a given amount of fuel, so smaller engines can be fitted
to vehicles without a loss of power or drivability.
In the US, Ford promotes EcoBoost as offering the power of a V8
engine with the fuel efficiency of a V6; in Australia it will
promote the benefits as being the power of a V6 engine with the
fuel economy of a four-cylinder engine. In 2011 Ford will release a
four-cylinder EcoBoost Falcon.
Katic says a lot of attention is understandably paid to engine
developments in the quest for better fuel efficiency and improved
CO2 emissions. But other issues are equally important - making
vehicles as aerodynamically efficient as possible is imperative;
likewise, introducing materials that reduce weight.
"It's introducing new materials, but it's also reviewing every
single part and saying, 'How can we do this lighter and better?',"
he says.
"Everything for us starts with product. We want to have
substance when we do it. When we're communicating to customers
about our green credentials, demonstratable technological progress
and innovation coupled with sound statistics is what counts, not
merely statements.
"Customers are demanding green solutions - and so the race is on
to deliver them." Ford's multi-year engineering plan places it well
to run the race.