Cleveland Engine Plant to be Upgraded for Next-Gen Ford 3.5L EcoBoost
$145 million investment will produce engines for 2017 Ford F-150, Raptor
Ford is investing $145 million to upgrade the Cleveland Engine Plant to make the next-generation twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine for the 2017 Ford F-150 family, including the high-output version for the Raptor pickup.
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The move retains 150 jobs at the plant where more than 1,500 workers make the current version of the 3.5-liter V-6 used in the 2016 F-150, Explorer, Expedition, Transit, Flex, and Taurus. The plant also builds the 2.0-lilter EcoBoost for the Ford Edge, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost for Explorer, Mustang, and Lincoln MKC, as well as the 3.7-liter V-6 for the Mustang.
More than 60 percent of F-150 customers choose an EcoBoost engine, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president of The Americas. "This second-generation 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine is another great example of Ford continuously improving and innovating to give these hardworking customers the best engines and trucks we can."
In the Raptor, the new high-output 3.5-liter engine puts out more power than the 6.2-liter V-8 it replaces and will be paired with Ford's new 10-speed automatic transmission. The 2017 Raptor switches to an aluminum body and drops 500 pounds. Assembled in Dearborn, the truck will go on sale this fall.
The Cleveland investment was applauded by Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president for the Ford division who was at the bargaining table last fall negotiating a new four-year contract that included the engine plant investment. "The team at Cleveland Engine is thrilled to begin building one of the most technologically advanced engines ever designed for the all-new F-150 Raptor," Settles said.
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
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