Double-duty Duratec

Ford's new 2.5-L inline four for 2010 boasts advanced fuel and ignition control, and an Atkinson-cycle variant for HEVs.

The steady drop in U.S. retail gasoline prices does not phase Scott Makowski. As Manager of Ford's Global Large I-4 Engine programs, he knows it's only a matter of time before the fuel-price roller coaster races uphill again-sparking increased demand for his company's steadily evolving Duratec four-cylinder range.

“Keep in mind the rapid shift [in the marketplace] from last spring to summer,” Makowski noted. From March through August 2008, as gas prices skyrocketed to more than $4 per gallon, Ford's North American production volumes of V8 and four-cylinder engines virtually swapped places, in terms of percent of total output. V8 production swung from 44% of the total mix to 22%, while I-4s jumped from 25% of the total to nearly 40%.