Ford Set To Announce Future Of Geelong Engine Plant

[Guest]

Duratec 35

Main article: Ford Cyclone engine

The Duratec 35 (code-name Cyclone) is a new 3.5 L V6 that appeared in fall 2006. It is an all-aluminum engine based on the Duratec 30, and adds variable cam timing on the intake side, a feature already found on the Jaguar AJ30 and Mazda AJ versions of the 3.0.

The Duratec 35 was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 2007.

The new heads relocate all accessory drives to the front of the engine with a flush chain drive, saving space. The new combustion chambers are reshaped as well. A dual-stage variable length intake manifold, centrally-located sparkplugs, and a 10.3:1 compression ratio are other features. The Duratec 35 is ULEV-II compliant and is said to be capable of meeting the PZEV requirement as well. The dual-stage intake manifold was part of the Duratec 30.

Engine output will eventually exceed 300 hp (224 kW), but will be 265 hp (198 kW) and 250 ft·lbf (339 N·m) at launch, a substantial upgrade in power from the Duratec 30.

The engine is the same exterior size as the Duratec 30, and should be usable in all vehicles currently using that engine and its derivatives. The company expects the engine to be used in one fifth of all Ford products by the end of the decade.

The Duratec 35 will replace the Duratec 30 in some applications (notably the Ford Taurus) by the end of that year, but the Duratec 30 will continue in production.

The Duratec 35 is unique in that it will deliver its 265 hp (198 kW) rating on regular (87 octane) gasoline, giving it an advantage when compared against its Japanese competitors of similar displacement and power levels. There is a 3.7L version with 275hp/270tq, slated to go in a fwd passenger car around 2008-2009.

The Duratec 35 is expected to replace the Barra I6 engine in the Australian Ford Falcon and Ford Territory models, following the announcement that Ford Australia will close it's Geelong engine plant in 2010.

[renster]

you think they will do a turbo version.. or will we have the last T's

[iTec]

2010 will be my last 6 cylinder ford! I will be making ford aware of that

as a result 2010 in my oppinion is the last falcon to be built and I hope ford do the I6 the honour of renaming the next "falcon" something other then falcon because in my opinion it just aint juice if there is no I6

[AC's BA]

IMO Ford Australia management are screwing up. You dont **** off the australian public before the release of a new model car which Ford will be relying so heavily on

cost cutting has purely short term effects, and means little when trying to GROW a business. they get a $25million incentive grant in 2005 only to use it against the public and outsource.

[AC's BA]

BTW... I wonder what FPV division will have to say about all this... discontinuing an engine which has sooo much more potential? just look at some of the numbers us members have managed to pull from the I6 donk

[renster]

BTW... I wonder what FPV division will have to say about all this... discontinuing an engine which has sooo much more potential? just look at some of the numbers us members have managed to pull from the I6 donk

Most will grumble quietly, don't want to make too much noise when the axe is about and swinging

[AC's BA]

Most will grumble quietly, don't want to make too much noise when the axe is about and swinging

haha... true that! I guess there gonna have to make do with what they've got then

[f-wolf]

Engine driven on long past its use-by date

The Sydney Morning Herald, 19/07/07

Ford Australia extended the lifespan of its locally built in-line six-cylinder by a few more years.

Home grown problem: Local vehicle v import 1998 to '07. Source: VFacts

Ford's ageing six-cylinder engine has been living on borrowed time since 2005, when the Federal Government told car makers it was planning to introduce tighter emission laws for all new cars on January 1, 2008.

Faced with a rumoured bill of up to $40 million to upgrade the engine to meet the emission requirements, Ford - and other manufacturers - successfully lobbied the Government to delay the introduction of the laws until July 2008 so that the new Falcon could be launched in March, before the deadline.

That allowed the company to use its six-cylinder for the 2008 Falcon, effectively extending the life of the engine - and the employment of workers at its Geelong engine plant - by two years.

But the Government reprieve also means that Australia has slipped further behind the rest of the developed world in its emission regulations.

In Europe, any new model launched after September 2005 was required to comply with Euro IV emission rules and all cars had to comply by January 1, 2006 - four years before their Australian-made counterparts.

At present, Australian cars are only required to be Euro III compliant, although the majority of imported cars on the roads are Euro IV compliant.

All European cars launched after September 2009 will have to comply with the next standard, Euro V - nine months before Australia adopts the older Euro IV standard.

The regulations refer to tailpipe emissions of various noxious gases, including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter.

Compared with Euro IV, Euro III regulations allow roughly double the emissions of all four of these noxious gases.

Euro IV also requires cars to remain within the set emission limits for 100,000 kilometres, while Euro III says they have to meet the targets only for the first 80,000 kilometres of the car's life.

Of all the locally manufactured cars, only the four-cylinder Toyota Camry and six-cylinder Toyota Aurion comply with the Euro IV standard.

Expensive Daewoo declined to comment on when it will be compliant, but said it was aware of the new compliance date and was working on an update of its engine.

The chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry, Andrew McKellar, denied Australia's emission regulations were too lax.

"Certainly there's a lag versus the European timing. That's always been the case," he said.

But Mr McKellar said the deadlines had been set for introduction of the new standard and the local industry was working towards compliance.

He admitted that manufacturers had input into the setting of the deadlines.

"No doubt in the process to establish the timing for the introduction of Euro IV there would have been consideration given to the investment position and model cycle of all the relevant brands," Mr McKellar said. "It was discussed with the brands what the timing should be."

[Venom XR6]

My jobs gone in 2010. Thanks Ford US, your ability to slit the throats of anyone to save a dollar is f*cking unbelievable. Pricks. Shove your torqueless low quality piece of sh*t V6 up your arse. V6's are for poofs, ask Holden.

[ford268]

I say we protest