Ford Promises to Fit 70% of Its Models with Stop-Start Technology by 2017

American multinational automaker Ford has recently announced that, should things go as planned, 70% of its models in North America will be fitted with stop-start technology by the year 2017.

This technology boils down to the fact that, when a vehicle stops moving, the engine is turned off. Once the driver releases the brake pedal, the engine goes back online.

During the time when the engine is off, accessories and systems that a car is fitted with are kept up and running by a battery.

By the looks of it, the stop-start technology is both easy to implement and affordable.

In a press release on the matter at hand, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker details that the goal of making this technology available on as much as 70% of its range within said time frame is first and foremost intended to help drivers save fuel.

More precisely, Ford expects that stop-start technology will translate into an average increase of about 3.5% in fuel economy.

In the case of cars that are mostly driven in heavy traffic, the technology is estimated to lead to a 10% increase in fuel economy.

Although it is very much true that drivers will chiefly rejoice at the thought of spending less money on fuel, the fact remains that, with the help of this technology, car emissions will also be reduced. Thus, vehicles will stop releasing loads of air pollutants during so-called idle times.

Hence, the technology can be argued to also yield noteworthy benefits as far as environmental protection is concerned.

“Simply put, Auto Start-Stop helps customers use less fuel, which is an important component of Ford's Blueprint for Sustainability,” Bob Fascetti, vice president, Ford global powertrain, explains in a statement, as cited by AutoBlog Green.

Furthermore, “By making Auto Start-Stop available on more vehicles, we are working to be part of the solution to environmental sustainability with effective, fuel-saving technologies.”

According to the same source, the latest model to be fitted with the stop-start technology is the updated 2014 Ford Fiesta.