Speaking at the Management Briefing Seminars held in Traverse City, Michigan, Barb Samardzich, Ford's head of powertrain product development, described the company's move to reach beyond traditional lines of supply.

Currently Ford is collaborating with a Massachusetts Institute of Technology startup to test an engine designed to use an enthanol injection.

The design creates greater amounts of internal pressure allowing the engine to triple the available torque of a comparable gasoline unit.

Overall, the goal is to create an engine that is smaller and thus fuel efficient but still sufficiently powerful to be attractive to customers.

Additionally, Samardzich said Ford wants greater collaboration with auto suppliers to get innovative technology to market sooner.

"We need to speed up the introduction of the technology-leading features our customers crave," said Samardzich.

The engine currently under development sends ethanol into the cylinder during heavy loads, which keeps the fuel from burning too early and causing the engine to knock.

This arrangement would allow for the use of turbocharging at high pressure thus boosting power but keeping emissions low and fuel economy high.

Ford, which recently posted surprising second quarter earnings, is working to dig itself out of the performance hole in which it has long labored.

With its Jaguar and Land Rover units on the sale block and Volvo likely to follow, the company is concentrating on reallocating its resources.

These moves, coupled with successful negotiations with the United Auto Workers and enhanced technological offerings could position Ford to make significant advances in its recovery strategy.