Ford Unveils New ‘Eco-Route’ Fuel-Saving Feature

Ford Motor Co. is adding a new fuel-saving feature to its MyFord Touch driver-connectivity technology.

The new technology, dubbed “Eco-Route,” works with the MyFord Touch navigation system to calculate the most fuel-efficient route to a destination.

The system works by accessing historical and real-time data, as well as posted speed information, to calculate three navigation options – fastest, shortest and Eco-Route.

The Eco-Route option is not necessarily the fastest or shortest route, but rather the most fuel efficient, Ford says. The system typically charts a course that avoids congested freeways, while maximizing the use of major roads where drivers can maintain an efficient rate of speed.

Ford says engineers during testing in Europe were able to achieve up to a 15% improvement in fuel economy using Eco-Route.

In addition to the Eco-Route feature, MyFord Touch enables drivers to monitor and track their vehicle’s real-time fuel economy and calculate averages for the last five, 10 and 30 minutes, displayed in the form of a bar chart.

MyFord Touch with Eco-Route will arrive later this year on the ’11 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX cross/utility vehicles, before appearing on the all-new global ’12 Ford Focus.