Ford bringing back 3-cylinder engines (link)
 

Apparently via the Ford technical center in the U.K. They claim Ford will be putting them in the Fiesta.

50 mpg? Ford bringing three-cylinder engines to U.S. - Drive On: A conversation about the cars and trucks we drive - USATODAY.com

Awesome!!!

Since GM was so stupid in failing to promote, then intentionally dropping what could have been "the answer" to North America's commuting question (Metro/Firefly) they deserve to have a strong competitor pick up where they left off and slap them upside the head with it.

LOL not for me.

For me
 

I'll take one thank you.
Wonder if they'll consider this mated to a hybrid drive.

Why muck it up with hybrid? The whole idea is that lightness, simplicity, and a pretty much right-sized engine do practically as well as hybrid without all the complexity and expense.

GM already have a have decent 1.0 litre 3-potter here in euro that meets euro 5 (about as strict as LEVII)....

Glad to see ford joining the 3bang crowd

Truth.
I got excited at the thought of a 'store bought' 1 liter diesel, in a streamlined body, made with 2011 technology, and not rusted out (Geo <cough> Metro <cough>) - my current yard statuary/project.
Actually, farm yard statuary, but you get the idea.

Honda Insight. 1.0L 3-cyl hybrid, 70+ mpg.

So Ford's only a decade or so behind the curve.

Average U.S. miles/vehicle/year = 12,000m/year
@70mpg = 171 gallons; @50mpg = 240 gallons
= 69 gallons more; @ $3.79/g
= $262/yr more
= $21.84/month more
= <$0.73/day more for gas BUT...
how much less will purchase price be?
And will it get more than 50 mpg?
And how much is the benefit of not having a battery bank worth?
And how much is having 4 seats/or that cargo capacity worth?

I agree that Ford is a couple decades behind the curve. :mad: They had lots and lots of time to compete with Sprint and Metro.

The only problem I've got is this car will be expensive, it'll surely be a premium over the standart one.

The metro and swift were probably the cheapest car you could get on the road.

I would prefer that toyota bring the aygo in north america tough...

But still congrats to ford on bringing cool stuff to north america!

"40-mile-per-gallon models for the highway, and 50 mpg on the highway doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility"
proof reading? lol its cool still but doesn't the fiesta diesel get 65 mpg US? why not just sell those state side

closer to 70US :)

I don't think this will be a Metro / Swift clone - its got a turbo, so think more an equivalent to the VW TSI and the similar GM unit but made smaller - sort of an upsized FIAT TwinAIR.

If you want a new Swift / Metro then that is the Aygo / 106 / C1 or indeed the Suzuki Alto / Nissan Pixo as an alternative. Both are 1.0, ~70hp, 100mpg, 0-60 in 11-13 seconds and 50+ mpg.

And the Aygo has the same safety rating as the Yaris, but is ~150kg lighter (Yaris 1.0 = 1035kg, Aygo 890kg).

I've asked several times, e.g. see the 2012 Focus thread - but apparently nobody will buy them.

There are plenty of non-hybrids that cost more than hybrids.

If properly designed, yes. The Insight proves that it's possible, and there should be a decade of new technology that would let a car do even better.

Why is it a benefit? How much is the benefit of not having say an air conditioner worth? After all, the A/C system is heavy, complicated, prone to failure, and you only use it in the summer anyway, so why would anyone want one?

Well, for me four seats is a large negative :-)

Right on. Imagine how cheaply a really simple and efficient motor could be built with current technologies. The hybrid thing sometimes looks to me as if we are being sold little test vehicles, being recruited as test pilots who pay rather than get paid. A friend with a five or six year old Prius has just woken up to the $5,000 battery replacement costs coming at her soon. She's not happy. Meanwhile I'm getting 50mpg at 55/60 on the freeway in a 1998 Civic I have driven for a decade. Still, the first gen Insight was a gorgeous little car in terms of shape. I wish we could have cars completely tailored, on a website or something. But yay for 3 cyl Fords.

Your friend should really look into getting her pack repaired instead of replaced. The cost will likely be under or around $1k.

I'd start at Hybrid-Battery-Repair.

just like no one will buy electrics :thumbup:

I think it is more the experience in the US is with VW only, and some Diesel trucks and older cars.

Just like Europe has very very little experience with any engine over 3.0 litres - for ordinary folks. Even our biggest (pickup stylee) trucks max out at 3.0 Diesels.

Come on now, don't be like Thymeclock. :rolleyes:

Are hybrids a plot to control our choices by the government ?

Wow, I learn something every day.

Except why people like iPads - that remains a mystery...

wonder if they will make it a crate engine.

Oh, please! If I tried to be anything other than myself, it would be the diametric opposite :-)

But isn't this thinking a major factor in why US automakers haven't been able to make & sell small cars successfully? They think small car has to mean cheap car (because obviously everyone really wants as big a car as they can afford, no?), so they skimp on everything possible, including quality control, producing a cheap piece of junk that nobody wants, not because it's small, but because it's a cheap piece of junk.

Well, the test pilot thing was true of the Insight, which was sold for less than what it cost to build. But considering you could get an aluminum-bodied sports car for $20K new, and get over 70 mpg from it for (in my case, though I bought it used) 11 years and 150K miles since new with only minor repairs needed... Well, I'll gladly sign up to test pilot their next similar model :-)

She's still dreaming, or else being conned. It's highly unlikely that a Prius would need a new battery after only 5-6 years. If it did need one, it should still be under warranty (IIRC 10 years/150K miles in California, 8 years, 100K miles elsewhere). If it isn't under warranty, the cost of a salvage replacement is closer to $500 than $5000.

Sorry to repeat, the cheap and well made economy engine exists - the 3 cyl 1.0 Aygo / Yaris Toyota engine. It was, until the Tata Nano appeared and maybe even after that appeared, the lightest production car engine in the world.

They do 100k with no issues AFAIK.

The car itself is also pretty neat, has fewer issues than some costing 2-3x as much - clutches in earlier models for example - but they are also gigglingly cheap to fix :) - £180 all in for a new one fitted and the replacement one is larger and lasts much longer.

Never heard of them in North America.

I think those small car = cheap car big car = well built comments only goes for the USA's crappy auto selection

Because they won't get 65mpg over here. Maybe ~53mpg, but Ford probably can't get the volume to get them below the price of something like the larger/better equipped Prius, and most people would probably buy a larger Prius instead of a compact Ford diesel given similar pricing.

Well, this week I had to do research to find out who the hell Mitt Romney is and why he has a first name that sounds like a non-fingered glove that small children use on a snowy day :)

And when I did find out I wondered why I had wasted those 2 minutes used...

Some of us feel the same way :-(

If its any consolation, our politicians are just as pathetic.

that 65mpg is US gallons- it gets 75 imperial

I see a lot of fiesta's driving around already i'm sure if the option was there a lot of people would go for it

65 miles per tiny gallon EU combined is roughly 50+mpg U.S. EPA combined. Different tests so the results need to be adjusted to get a realistic U.S. EPA number. You may buy a diesel version, just like some other people may, but Ford would need to sell ~100k+ Fiesta diesels just to get prices down to where ~10k people would buy it. Considering VW's diesel sales are only ~60k a year, and Ford's Fiesta sales are about the same IIRC, I doubt they'll be able to sell enough diesels to compete with something like the Prius.

Ford already sell > 100K Fiesta Diesels in Europe at higher than US prices with the exchange rate between the Euro and the $ taken into account. The Fester also shares parts with other Ford models (the Focus) and some PSA (Peugeot / Citroen) models (engines for example) so the costs are reduced there.

I still believe Ford could do this if they chose to, as could GM with the Cruze Diesel. During the 70s Ford of Europe (FoE) profits kept Ford USA afloat for a good few years because they sold more cars at a higher profit.

VAG (VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT) sell far more Diesel cars outside the US - the US market is a tiny part of the overall total.

TBH I think VAG no longer target the US as their main market - they are after the real no.1 market in the world which is China, as are a lot of other makers. Skoda is a big seller in China (as is PSA) and Africa as well as parts of Asia such as Australia. As an example see the VW TDI Improving thread which was run by a site in Australia - that car is a Skoda, which is a VW really but not one sold in the US and with an engine not sold in the US either.

This depends on the market. In the US the Prius is priced to compete with those models. In Europe the Prius struggles because Diesels are more common so it is priced as a niche product - roughly 2x the US price.

Full discolsure - I have a foot in both camps here - Mrs A is about to get a Prius company car and I am keeping my TDI.

:turtle:

PS - VW also sell 3 cyl Petrols here in Europe - the 1.2 Polo / Fox/ Fabia / Ibiza is a 3 cyl car.

My elderly neighbour has one and loves it.

Wow it's even in one off my brands (ford and honda). Even though it is a metro ripoff it's nice to see ford working on mileage and I could see the turbo making it more drive-able for the average joe. Borrowing seems to be going around lately I saw a nissan with the exact same specs as my CX.

hmmm.....crate motor :D . That could be really sweet.

California98 there is a place where you can manufacture your own car I saw it in a Top Gear article. They fab the chassis and use off the shelf components from common vehicles. It's sort of like a kit car but not one. Now if only I could remember the name of it (read it like 6 months ago :( ).

If you have high speed check this out

Hulu - NOVA: Car of the Future - Watch the full episode now.

My favorite american car manufacturer quote from the show was "Americans will buy the most horsepower they can afford." Shows how they market and how most people buy. Personally I would love to see a 1.0 turbo diesel here I guess I'm not a typical american :) .

I was having a conversation at work with my boss. He brought up this engine and was talking about hybrids. I said to him "okay you go out and buy a brand new $30,000 hybrid. How long will it take you to save $27,000 with the reduced fuel costs?" His answer was "what do you mean?" "My CX with purchase price ($2250) and all repairs will be under $3000. Oh wait yours will be more then that I forgot about the interest on the loan. Of course yours will brand new and have no wear on it. Then again mine looks pretty damn good for it's age most people are surprised when I tell them it's a '97." :D -cheers GW

More info on the 3pot plus a look at the B-Max tiny MPV.

If this has not already been mention in the thread: Ford will be selling the 3 cylinder Fiesta to the USA:

Three-Cylinder Ford Fiesta Coming To U.S.: Report

It will be good, and with 120hp maybe even a Focus ?

Personally, that would be fine; especially if they trimmed a few hundred pounds from the Focus.