Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy

Filed under: Ford, Autoline on Autoblog

FORD REPORT: DIESEL VS. HCCI VS. STRATIFIED CHARGE

To hear Ford's CTO tell it, all these painful layoffs and budget cuts going on at the company can actually be beneficial. "It gets you really focused on what's really necessary," says Gerhard Schmidt, the Chief Technology Officer at Ford.

Ford now evaluates its R&D efforts by comparing the money it spends to the percentage of fuel economy improvements it gets. "This makes you structure your portfolio for what's really key, not just what's interesting to explore," he says.

So Ford is taking a very safe, but very sound approach to the technology it's developing. And its goal is to make that technology affordable for the masses. "Henry Ford didn't invent the combustion engine," says Schmidt, "but he made it available to everybody."

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit" and daily web video "Autoline Daily". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers.

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Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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