Efficiency boosts Ford sales

Ford Motor Co. of Australia said it is pinning its hopes on improvements to its vehicles’ fuel efficiency to boost sales, particularly of its Falcon range. The company has made minor changes to the cars’ engines to boost fuel economy and efficiency, resulting in an improvement of 0.2 liters per 100 kilometers (km). According to the carmaker, a base-model Falcon XT fitted with an optional six-speed ZF automatic transmission uses only 9.9 liters per 100 km. Ford’s improvements to the Falcon is part of the company’s fuel economy program, designed to increase the range’s competitiveness in the international market. Its program, Ford said, has led it to improve efficiency more than 13% since the BA Falcon was first introduced. The company is proud of the Falcon XT’s performance. “Falcon XT continues to outclass its direct competitor on all the key performance measures, delivering 11% more engine power and 20% more torque, while at the same time using almost 7% less fuel,” company President Marin Burela said. (April 11, 2009)