Motoryzacja

Ford's popular Escape compact SUV is to get significant increases in power and fuel economy for 2009, thanks to engine and transmission upgrades. The 2009 Escape will also be among the first Ford vehicles to offer a new navigation system that has several new features, including a service to direct you to the service station with the lowest fuel price.

CHICAGO -- Ford's all-new Explorer crossover SUV will offer a fuel-efficient turbocharged four-cylinder engine when it goes on sale late this year, Mark Fields, president of Ford of the Americas, said Wednesday at

Ford Motor Co. will try to get more publicity at the Detroit auto show for its EcoBoost engine technology, which essentially uses gasoline-injection and turbocharging to deliver up to 20% better fuel economy, 15% fewer CO{-2} emissions and superior driving performance versus larger displacement engines.

A picture is forming of how automakers will build vehicles with power and performance in the face of upcoming tough fuel economy rules. The first generation of fuel economy regulations in the 1970s ushered in a couple of decades of bad and boring cars, largely because Detroit-based automakers were unprepared for it.

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit alleging that Ford used an earlier model engine known to have problems in its 2004 F-250 Series Super Duty trucks. ALSO: Ford talks with British trade unions about Transit plant; GM to tout fuel economy; and Chrysler offers incentives on its 2008 Ram.