????在近期一項(xiàng)不太為人所知的研發(fā)中，福特汽車公司（Ford）宣布，它已獲得美國(guó)環(huán)保署（EPA）對(duì)其在其暢銷車型“探索者”（Explorer）上搭載的一款新引擎的認(rèn)證。

????新引擎是渦輪增壓四缸結(jié)構(gòu)，是福特汽車稱為“EcoBoost”的缸內(nèi)直噴內(nèi)燃機(jī)新家族的一員。憑借這臺(tái)引擎，兩輪驅(qū)動(dòng)的“探索者”登上了市場(chǎng)上最省油的七座SUV寶座。

????一般來(lái)說(shuō)，SUV行駛里程數(shù)排名就像上周泰格?伍茲的比分一樣具有新聞價(jià)值 。而“探索者”的高分證明福特公司縮小引擎尺寸這一飽受爭(zhēng)議的決定——尤其是針對(duì)其輕型卡車而言——是正確的。這種縮小是通過(guò)減少汽缸數(shù)，同時(shí)增加渦輪增壓器以彌補(bǔ)損失的馬力和扭矩實(shí)現(xiàn)的。

????汽車制造業(yè)正面臨著進(jìn)一步提高燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性的挑戰(zhàn)，“探索者”的這一成就強(qiáng)化了傳統(tǒng)汽油引擎在應(yīng)對(duì)這一挑戰(zhàn)中的作用。到2025年，美國(guó)汽車必須符合聯(lián)邦法律規(guī)定的每加侖燃油行駛54.5英里的燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。目前，豐田汽車（Toyota），日產(chǎn)汽車（Nissan）和通用汽車（General Motors）等汽車制造商正在爭(zhēng)相打造充滿異國(guó)情調(diào)的電池驅(qū)動(dòng)的汽車，福特汽車卻反其道而行之，成為傳統(tǒng)引擎的領(lǐng)跑者。自亨利?福特1932年推出福特V-8引擎以來(lái)，這可能是福特首次在這方面拔得頭籌。

????Ecoboost的成功在福特公司備受推崇的產(chǎn)品研發(fā)主管德里克?庫(kù)扎克的功勞簿上再添一筆?？淇淦湔劦钠嚇I(yè)大佬們一度引得各路媒體紛紛追捧，但溫和低調(diào)的庫(kù)扎克卻已在少有人關(guān)注的情況下取得了一系列重要的成就，正是這些成就在福特的復(fù)興中起到了關(guān)鍵作用。

????庫(kù)扎克對(duì)Ecoboost青睞有加，因?yàn)檫@臺(tái)引擎能在各類車型上廣泛運(yùn)用，從小型汽車到卡車，無(wú)一例外。同時(shí)，它經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)惠：他曾計(jì)算過(guò)，消費(fèi)者有望在約30個(gè)月內(nèi)收回其在四缸EcoBoost引擎上的初始投資。他說(shuō)，相比之下，一臺(tái)柴油機(jī)平均需要7年半收回投資，而混合動(dòng)力引擎則需要近12年才能收回投資。

????EcoBoost 的誕生并非一路坦途。研發(fā)之初，福特正處于在傳動(dòng)技術(shù)上落于人后的時(shí)期。當(dāng)時(shí)，汽車業(yè)正陷入低谷，艾倫?穆拉利剛剛走馬上任擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官，因此，這臺(tái)引擎的研發(fā)招致一片質(zhì)疑，認(rèn)為福特針對(duì)燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和溫室氣體排放問(wèn)題選擇了最廉價(jià)的解決方案，而當(dāng)時(shí)，眾多境況稍好的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手正通過(guò)研發(fā)燃料電池力求實(shí)現(xiàn)更大的抱負(fù)。

????2008年，福特公司對(duì)外宣布EcoBoost技術(shù)，其目標(biāo)顯得雄心勃勃。福特預(yù)計(jì)，四缸到六缸的渦輪增壓缸內(nèi)直噴引擎將帶來(lái)高達(dá)20%的燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性，減少15%的二氧化碳排放，以及相對(duì)于體積更大的活塞式引擎更出色的駕駛性能。更有甚者，公司宣稱在未來(lái)5年內(nèi)，新引擎將在50萬(wàn)輛新車上廣泛搭載。

????到了2009年，這些目標(biāo)逐漸變得清晰起來(lái)。福特宣布，其高性能車Taurus SHO將用一臺(tái)3.5排量的EcoBoost V-6引擎取代老款V-8引擎。新引擎能輸出強(qiáng)勁的365匹馬力和350磅英尺扭矩——對(duì)一臺(tái)V-6來(lái)說(shuō)這兩個(gè)數(shù)字是頗為可觀的。

????今年早些時(shí)候，這種轉(zhuǎn)變已經(jīng)形成席卷之勢(shì)。福特宣稱，其全尺寸F-150皮卡的買主，一個(gè)此前一直被認(rèn)為是固守胃口驚人的V-8引擎永不放手的群體，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)開(kāi)始紛紛轉(zhuǎn)而購(gòu)買EcoBoost V-6引擎。

????鑒于當(dāng)前經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)不振、油價(jià)穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地盤踞在每加侖4美元的高位，這臺(tái)引擎的吸引力是顯而易見(jiàn)的。搭載2.0排量EcoBoost四缸引擎的兩驅(qū)車“探索者”在高速公路上每加侖油可行駛28英里。與標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的V-6引擎相比，EcoBoost“探索者”在高速公路上每加侖可多行駛3英里，在市區(qū)每加侖也可多行駛3英里。根據(jù)福特公司的數(shù)據(jù)，這臺(tái)車每加侖行駛英里數(shù)比本田公司（Honda）的“飛行員”（Pilot）和“大切諾基”（Jeep Grand Cherokee）要多5英里，比雪佛蘭（Chevrolet）的Traverse要多4英里。它也比一些中型車有更好的高速公路燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性，比如斯巴魯（Subaru）的“翼豹”（Impreza）。

????沒(méi)人會(huì)把EcoBoost當(dāng)成終極科技成果大肆吹捧——這個(gè)榮譽(yù)要?dú)w屬于某種形式的電動(dòng)技術(shù)。但它無(wú)疑是極為成功的過(guò)渡性技術(shù)，同時(shí)它也表明，在解決提高燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性這樣重大、復(fù)雜的問(wèn)題上，聰明機(jī)智與機(jī)敏獨(dú)創(chuàng)同等重要。

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

????In a little-noticed development recently, Ford announced that it had received EPA certification for a new engine in its best-selling Explorer.

????The new engine is a turbocharged four-cylinder, part of a new family of internal-combustion power plants with direct injection that Ford calls EcoBoost. With the EcoBoost four-cylinder, the two-wheel drive Explorer now ranks as the most fuel-efficient seven-passenger SUV on the market.

????SUV mileage ratings would ordinarily be as newsworthy as last week's Tigers' scores. But Explorer's high numbers vindicates Ford's controversial decision to downsize its engines -- notably for its light trucks -- by reducing the number of cylinders and adding turbochargers to compensate for the lost horsepower and torque.

????The Explorer's achievement reinforces the role of conventional gasoline-powered engines in meeting the challenges of greater fuel economy. American automobiles must meet a federally mandated fuel-efficiency standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. While manufacturers like Toyota (TM), Nissan, and General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) are competing to build exotic battery-powered vehicles, Ford has become a leader in conventional engines for perhaps the first time since Henry Ford introduced the Ford V-8 in 1932.

????The success of EcoBoost is another win for Ford's highly-regarded product development chief Derrick Kuzak. At a time when more flamboyant car bosses are attracting scads of media attention, the mild-mannered Kuzak has built a solid string of successes with little notice that have played a key role in Ford's recovery.

????Kuzak likes EcoBoost because it can be deployed across a wide variety of vehicles, from small cars to large trucks. And it's affordable: He's calculated that customers can expect to recoup their initial investment in a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine with fuel in approximately 30 months. By comparison, he says a diesel would take an average of seven and a half years, while the cost of a hybrid will take nearly 12 years to recoup.

????The road to EcoBoost hasn't always been smooth. Its development came when Ford (F, Fortune 500) was a laggard in powertrain technology. It coincided with the automaker's dark days and the arrival of Alan Mulally as CEO, leading to skepticism that Ford had chosen the least-expensive solution to fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas emissions while better-heeled competitors were satisfying grander ambitions by researching fuel cells.

????Ford's claims for the technology when it was announced in 2008 were ambitious. It projected that turbocharged direct-injection engines in four- and six-cylinder sizes would produce up to 20% better fuel economy, 15% fewer CO2 emissions, and superior driving performance versus larger displacement engines. Moreover, it said it would install the new motors in half a million vehicles over the next five years.

????The claims began to gel in 2009 when Ford revealed that its high-performance Taurus SHO, would swap out its old V-8 with a 3.5 liter EcoBoost V-6 that produced a healthy 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque -- big numbers for a V-6.

????The shift became a landslide earlier this year when Ford revealed that customers of its full-size F-150 pickups, heretofore thought to be wedded to their thirsty V-8 engines for eternity, were now buying nearly as many EcoBoost V-6s instead.

????At a time when the economy is sagging and gasoline prices seem stuck at $4 per gallon, the attraction is easy to see. With its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, the two-wheel-drive Explorer gets 28 mpg on the highway. Compared with a standard V-6 version, the EcoBoost Explorer gets three more miles per gallon on the highway and three miles per gallon better mileage in the city. According to Ford, it beats Honda Pilot and Jeep Grand Cherokee by five mpg and Chevrolet Traverse by four mpg. It also delivers better highway fuel economy than some mid-size cars, such as the Subaru Impreza.

????Nobody is touting EcoBoost as the endgame -- that honor belongs to electricity in one form or another. But it has become a remarkably successful bridge technology -- and it demonstrates that cleverness is as important as ingenuity in solving big, complex problems like improving fuel economy.