-This could be the future replacement for the Ford Edge.
It's called the Vertrek.
It's a concept car obviously; a compact SUV meant for the global market though, not just for America or North America.
This is part of two things going on at Ford: one is their C platform (the C-Max comes from that for example); also, their Kinetic Design look.
They're trying to get all their models into that look that is starting to have a new family face, a new family DNA.
Let's talk about this vehicle in particular.
They're envisioning it with a 1.6-liter EcoBoost, so, a very small displacement, turbo-charged, direct injection, in-line 4-cylinder gas engine.
There's a lot of headroom left in gas engines, folks, from all manufacturers.
Additional efficiency technologies include start-stop.
Here at the show, Ford announced they're gonna start rolling out automatic start-stop at a lot of different model levels, not even with hybrids, just regular gas cars.
That means, the car shuts down whenever you come to a stop, and when you lift of the brake, within about a third of a second, it refires the car.
Now, because that uses the
electrical current of the battery to restart a lot, how do you put that battery energy back in there?
They use what's called Smart Regenerative Braking.
When you're braking or decelerating, the car can add more bias load to the alternator, so, it really leans on the engine harder with its magnetic coupling to generate more current going back in the battery.
It's not done at the brake level like a car that has electric motors.
It's done at the belt-to-alternator level.
So, all these technologies combined make a car that's much more efficient, though there are no numbers yet, but without being a hybrid or an electric car.
Some other nice
touches here you can tell, you've got media controllers, first and second row, that are very similar to each other, that have contextual integrated functions.
Obviously, the ubiquitous video screen in the middle that replaces what used to be side view mirrors, or still are in the real world, but they become cameras in concept cars.
And for the first time I think ever in carbon fiber, I see a motorized side sill step right here, anything to save weight when you wanna get efficiency.
Now Vertrek's a concept.
There's no actual production date or production line for this, but it gives you some idea where Ford's going on the next day.
