DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford will deliver cars and SUVs with more power using less fuel in 2009. More will be hybrids. They'll be quieter. More will have six-speed automatic transmissions. One model gets a special blind spot mirror built into the glass. Many will have environmentally friendly soy foam seat cushions. And more will have Ford's well-regarded Sync music-and-phone interface. Those were the highlights of a media day held here for editors and writers at Ford's Dearborn Development Center. They represent bright spots in Ford's dismal 2008, which includes a $9 billion loss last quarter, plans to produce 25% fewer vehicles this quarter, and a two-month delay on its F-150 pickup truck.

Slideshow: New Ford products, technologies

Technology highlights
Here's what's interesting from Ford:
-- Ford will double its hybrid lineup in 2009, from two to four: Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans are new, Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small SUVs continue on. The four-cylinder hybrid has been reworked for more power and so the engine-on and electric-motor-on modes sound more alike.

-- Fuel-saving technologies being added or significantly expanded include six-speed automatic transmissions, electric power steering, start-stop engines, direct (into the cylinders) gasoline fuel engine (GDI), independent variable cam timing (IVCT) engines, and (details below) EcoBoost (turbocharged) engines.

-- Increased use (albeit still small quantities) of alternative materials made from soy, hemp, corn-based plastic (polyactide), sugar cane residue (no wonder we're anxious to re-open relations with Cuba), even recycled water bottles.

-- More flex-fuel-capable vehicles, meaning they can run on E85 fuel composed of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline - if you can find it, and if you find it's less costly on a BTU-equivalent basis than gasoline.

-- A blind spot mirror that integrates into the glass a convex mirror on the upper outside corner.

-- New features for Sync: 911 Assist that calls for help in a crash and vehicle health reports (VHRs) that explain vehicle fault codes and recommend needed service.

-- Sirius satellite radio Travel Link services: real-time traffic data, weather reports (up to five days outlook), ski conditions, gas prices, sports scores, and movie listings. Some features require the car be parked, though.

-- Ford is developing a company DNA that will replicate, across the line, the sound of warning chimes; how doors sound when they close; and how four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engines sound under acceleration. One DNA goal: having the quietest cars possible.

EcoBoost engines
In 2009, Ford will launch its first EcoBoost engines. "EcoBoost" is Fordspeak for turbocharging. The "eco" part means that if you don't tromp on the gas pedal - and with turbo engines it's sometimes hard not to - you could get 20% better fuel economy and 15% few CO2 emissions with a turbocharged V6 than a V8 engine. They'll go into Lincoln MKS sedan and Ford Flex crossover in calendar 2009. Four-cylinder turbocharged EcoBoost engines arrive in 2010 and Ford says 80% of the North American vehicle lineup will offer EcoBoost by the end of 2012. (Which is not the same as saying four of all five Fords sold heading into 2013 with be EcoBoost.)

A day at the races? Not quite
Ford built the media day into four segments, two track sessions at is Dearborn Development Center providing grounds test tracks, two showing off technology in air-conditioned tents at the center. One track was nothing more than a 0.4-mile strip of cones laid in an amoeba shape along a billiard-table-flat asphalt surface and if it didn't show off the sporting nature of some Fords (no turn required more than a quarter turn of the wheel), it did show the cars are quiet and the air conditioning works well. The other, handling track, had plenty of twists and turns and a couple dips that allowed the more sporting journalists to get the cars partially airborne. (Note to self: Make sure car is pointed straight ahead before cresting hill at speed in Mustang Bullitt.) Inside the tents, Ford talked more about how it made its cars so quiet, but you couldn't hear the discussion on quietness because of the roar of portable air conditioners.