News From the Auto Industry

Here’s a sampling of what they showed off.

Ford

A new group of Ford engineers is working on advanced diesel engines and emissions controls in hopes of offering a U.S. diesel Focus despite extremely tough future emissions requirements. And Ford techies are rightly proud of their PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) Focus, powered by a lively 145-hp variation of the Global 1-4, which was introduced this spring in California, New York and Massachusetts.

DaimlerChrysler

Ford’s fuel ceil car is “hybridized” with the addition of a 300V Sanyo battery pack (made up of 180 individual D-size NiMH cells) and brake-by-wire electrohydraulic regenerative braking. Both features–also found on the soon-to-come production Escape Hybrid–improve the FEV’s performance and range, which is a respectable 160-200 miles from its 5,000-psi (up from the previous 3,600-psi) hydrogen storage tank. The hydrogen ICE is seen as a potential “bridging” technology using conventional components to stimulate hydrogen infrastructure development.

Ford provided a technology tour and experimental vehicle drive opportunities as part of its ‘04 media preview. Among the latter were Ford’s third-generation Focus fuel cell electric vehicle (FEV) and a Focus wagon that Ford claims is the industry’s first driveable hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (ICE) hybrid vehicle. Both drove reasonably well but were not quite ready for “prime time” production.

Interestingly, included among the drive vehicles was a PT Cruiser powered by a strong and civilized 119-hp Euro-spec Mercedes 4-cylinder diesel with a 5-speed manual transaxle, reportedly capable of 35-plus mpg. A future U.S. diesel option?