Ford brings good news

[Mr. Clean]

to Cleveland and their Number 1 engine plant.

from AutoBlog.com - February 27, 2010

It's not often we get to report on an auto plant reopening, but this morning we bring you news that Ford is reopening its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 to produce the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 for the Lincoln MKS and MKT, Ford Flex and 2010 Taurus SHO. The plant has been idle since 2007, but Ford has invested $55 million in the 58-year-old facility to create a flexible manufacturing system for powertrains. No new jobs will be created by reopening the plant, as Ford will staff it with 250 workers from other facilities on the site, but the job security that comes with being the first in the world to build the automaker's most advanced engine is surely welcome. The plant's new flexible manufacturing capabilities also mean that it might produce other members of the EcoBoost family in the future. The Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 has a storied history of building famous Ford engines, including the 351 and 5.0-liter V8s. We'll have to wait for history to judge the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, but in the short term it will likely be more popular than LeBron James to many Clevelanders.

and more good news delivered March 1, 2010

FoMoCo announced last week that it will be investing $155 million at its Cleveland Engine Plant No.1 to build the new 3.7L DOHC Ti-VCT V6 engine for the 2011 Ford Mustang, a move that will add 60 jobs to the plant.

Ford said that the investment and jobs at Ford’s Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 brings the company’s investment in powertrain engineering and facility upgrades in North America to $1.8 billion to support its 2011 vehicle launches. The total number of jobs being added as part of these investments is 1,260.

True enough, maybe not a lot of direct jobs for Ford employees but in the larger picture that kind of investment has to be good news for an industry that must be craving the light of even a candle at the end of what has been a really long and dark tunnel. Let's hope that this light catches a fire.

[JaredPointer]

Good news indeed!

[jtford95]

Glad to hear that. Sound like a little hope. The feeling of hope I think can go a long way.

[black bart]

I hope they really did a lot of testing on that engine.

Putting a twin turbo engine in the hands of the general public is a gamble.
Some people could break rail road iron but if it works as planed you will have the performance of a V8 and the economy of a small V6 that would be a win win.

[itguy09]

They did a good bit of testing on the Ecoboost V6. There are a few writeups about the torture the engine went through during testing; don't have links handy but I guess Google could help.

And let me say this: it has the performance of a V8 with the fuel economy of a 3.5L V6. So it is a win-win!

[G.T.Subie]

Originally Posted by black bart

I hope they really did a lot of testing on that engine.

Putting a twin turbo engine in the hands of the general public is a gamble.
Some people could break rail road iron but if it works as planed you will have the performance of a V8 and the economy of a small V6 that would be a win win.

That has been done for years by Audi.

Good to hear some new jobs are being created by a company that had nothing to do with taking tax dollars from the government. Plus this could help my Ford stocks

[black bart]

Originally Posted by G.T.Subie

That has been done for years by Audi.

Good to hear some new jobs are being created by a company that had nothing to do with taking tax dollars from the government. Plus this could help my Ford stocks

I'm doing my share to help your stock, I bought a new Ford.

[itguy09]

So did I - it helped his and my stock!