It looks Like Ford is working on bring back the "Boss"
Ford Intends to Be V-8 Boss
By Alisa Priddle
WardsAuto.com, Jan 26, 2007 9:42 AM
Ford Motor Co.s new V-8 Boss engine family, including a 6.2L mill, will be assembled at the Windsor Engine plant in Windsor, ON, Canada, Canadian Auto Workers union officials tells Wards.
Plans for a Hemi-fighter for Ford were derailed in recent years, but appear to be back on track.
We are doing a premium gas engine that will support our large trucks, and obviously Mustang will want it, Barb Samardzich, Ford vice president-powertrain product development, tells Wards in an interview.
The V-8 is being designed with trucks in mind, but no matter how big it is, the Mustang will always want it, Samardzich says.
The auto maker does not disclose displacements or timing, but the expectation is a version for the Mustang could start in the 5.0L range. Ford used the recent North American International Auto Show to showcase a Ford Racing 5.0L V-8 Cammer engine in its Interceptor concept sedan that rides on a stretched Mustang platform.
And Wards is told there will be a 6.2L OHC Boss engine at the high end, bowing as early as next year.
Officials have not confirmed Boss as the name of the new engine family, but Samardzich likes the name, and union officials know the project by that name.
In 2005, the auto maker was pursuing a Hemi-fighting 6.2L V-8, codenamed the Hurricane engine, slated to be built in Romeo, MI, until the project was shelved as too costly, especially as the auto maker was preparing to launch a new 3.5L DOHC V-6.
But the new program is under full steam now.
The way well set up this premium engine is therell be lots of derivatives that come off of that that are machined in the same exact CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines, Samardzich saysThe auto maker wants a premium V-8 with cylinder bore sizes larger than can be accommodated by the 100-mm centers in the current Triton family of modular V-8s, she says. The objective is a gasoline-engine alternative that provides the power and torque of a diesel engine and that can support gas turbo direct-injection (GTDI) technology.
The key, Samardzich says, is making sure the engine architecture being developed can support all the downstream technologies such as GTDI as an alternative to diesels.
Throwing a 6.2L in the new F-Series, due later this year, would trump the 5.7L and 6.1L Hemi V-8s offered by Chrysler Group; the 5.7L V-8 in the new Toyota Tundra; and General Motors Corp.s 5.3L and 6.0L V-8s.
While work is proceeding, we havent set the date yet, Samardzich says of the engines release.
The timing may not be pinned down, but the commitment to that engine is still there, CAW President Buzz Hargrove tells Wards. And it is additional product not a replacement for the Triton V-8 already assembled at Windsor Engine, he says.
In 2005 contract negotiations between Ford of Canada Ltd. and the CAW, the union was promised a new engine in 2008, a move that would employ about 450 at Essex Engine plant in Windsor. The new product was to be consolation for the phase out of V-6 production at Essex and the decision to close the Windsor Casting operation that makes crankshafts for the moribund Essex engine.
But, as part of its Way Forward North American restructuring plan, Ford has announced plans to shutter Essex Engine later this year.
The (new) engine will still be coming in, Hargrove says. The difference is initially it was scheduled for Essex Engine. It is now going to Windsor Engine.
Mike Vince, president of CAW Local 200 that represents Canadian Ford workers, says the status of the promised engine has caused angst for his membership, which still will lose jobs at the underutilized Windsor Engine plant, despite investment for the new V-8.
With the changing management at the top within Ford, one day that products on, one day its not, Vince says, adding there is a sense that, under new Ford CEO Alan Mulally, new vehicles will be approved.
The union leader says he is optimistic that plans for a 6.2L Boss engine built in Windsor will proceed. Timing awaits the green light for concept vehicles by Fords board of directors.
In the meantime, Vince says the Windsor workforce is focused on quality levels and working with Ford to warrant investment for the new engine and hopefully more new programs.
We feel weve got a long history of being able to help the corporation through difficult times in Windsor, and we think we can be part of the turnaround, he says, noting a recent internal audit found of 21 Ford North American powertrain facilities, only six meet minimum cost metrics. Windsor Casting, Windsor Engine and Essex Engine are among the six.
Despite the results, Ford will shut down Windsor Casting in two phases, with the first half ceasing production June 1 and the rest July 1.
Essex Engine has been building the 4.2L V-6 for the F-150 on a three weeks on, one week off schedule since the start of the new year and will continue to do so until the plant closes in October.
The two plants represent about 1,200 hourly jobs. Hargrove says buyout packages will be offered, but that has not yet begun.
Meanwhile, the union is receiving strong response to buyout offers at Fords St. Thomas, ON, Canada, plant that will drop its second shift building the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis in mid-April. Hargrove says workers have until Jan. 26 to take the buyout, and he is hopeful attrition will keep layoffs to a minimum.
A meeting with Ford officials Jan. 19 did not result in any promises beyond previously announced plans to move the Lincoln Town Car to St. Thomas, Hargrove says.
The auto maker appears to be operating in crisis mode that precludes pursuing, at this time, a CAW proposal for a second greenfield plant in St. Thomas, owned and operated by a contract assembler such as Magna International, Hargrove says.
Meanwhile, pending the arrival of the new Boss V-8, Fords engine strategy centers on the new 3.5L V-6, known as the Duratec 35, that powers a growing list of Ford vehicles.
A 3.7L version for Lincoln will help differentiate the more upscale brand, Samardzich says, offering increased power and torque. It will power the flagship MKS when it goes on sale in 2008.
The Duratec family may go down slightly in displacement, but has more flexibility on the upside, she says. I think 4L is about the max you probably want to stretch that architecture.
To differentiate engines for premium segments, there also is flexibility in north/south, east/west installations, and how technologies are applied, Samardzich says.
One example is TwinForce turbocharged derivatives of the Duratec 35 that use the same block, with modifications to the heads for direct injection.
Samardzich sees the TwinForce brand as a solution for consumers seeking V-8 performance and V-6 fuel economy.
Ford shows no interest in putting V-8 power in its sedans.
Nor will the auto maker adopt the Yamaha Motor Corp. V-8 in the Volvo S80. The Yamaha 4.4L is an extremely compact engine for Volvo applications, a characteristic not necessary for Ford cars in the U.S. that can accommodate the auto makers own larger V-8s.
We have a good fleet of V-8s already at Ford brands with our modular engines and some of the other engine derivatives we have, Samardzich says. We have the vehicle size and package space to be able to accommodate some different variants.
