Dispute Halts Production Of Power Stroke Diesel Engines

Anthony Fontanelle
February 27, 2007

In the effort to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by vehicles, various companies have undertaken research and development of alternative fuels. Another step that car manufacturers are taking is making their vehicles more fuel efficient. Such is the step has already been taken by the Ford Motor Company in their partnership with Navistar International Corporation. In the said partnership, Navistar supplies Ford with Power Stroke® diesel engines.

The engine is one of the most advanced diesel engines in the world today. Thanks to the research and design team of Navistar, they have succeeded in producing a diesel engine which has a significantly lower amount of greenhouse gases in its emission. Not only does the Power Stroke® engine decrease the amount of hazardous gases in its exhaust, it also offers a great performance. So good that trade editors have given the Power Stroke® equipped Ford F-250 great reviews. The design of the engine provides a huge amount of torque which diesel engines are widely known for. This torque gives vehicles great acceleration and enhances their off-road driving capabilities. This is, of course, important for trucks and SUVs.

It seems that with the partnership, Ford is on its way to maintain its leadership in the diesel engine powered vehicles market. But a recent development has shown that Ford is in danger of losing the Power Stroke® advantage for their vehicles. This is because Navistar International Corporation recently announced that they will halt the production of the said diesel engines because Ford has “stopped honoring the terms of agreement”. Navistar stated that they are paying their suppliers and employees under the terms of the contract and that they expect the Ford Motor Company to do the same.

This particular roadblock in Ford’s way must be resolved swiftly in order for them to continue their leadership in the diesel engine powered vehicles market. Since the company has been sliding down for the past years, they need to fix this problem immediately if they want to take advantage of the revolutionary Power Stroke® diesel engines. After all, these engines have already been making waves in the industry, and the public is eagerly waiting to get their hands on a Ford vehicle equipped with the said engine.

It can be remembered that Ford has posted low sales figures for January of this year and they are expected to perform not so well this month, and a problem such as this will only make matters worse for the Dearborn, Michigan based car maker. Since they are known for producing large trucks and SUVs tough and reliable as EBC rotor, the use of a diesel engine is a good step since the prices of gasoline has been unstable and can rise upward once again just like it did last summer. Aside from the increasing prices of gasoline, another problem that the Power Stroke® diesel engine addresses is the strict emission standards set by the government. Thanks to the design of the engine, the exhaust system traps most of the harmful gases rendering them harmless. This clean efficiency of the engine would no doubt increase the popularity of Ford trucks and SUVs.

The massive 6.4-liter Power Stroke® diesel engines are being produced by Navistar in their plants in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Huntsville, Alabama. Both these facilities will put a stop immediately in the production of the advanced diesel engine. They will not produce a single engine for Ford until the problem is resolved. And this will take negotiations between the two companies. While the problem is being resolved though, Navistar’s Huntsville plant will be producing engines for Navistar’s other customers.

Source:  Amazines.com