First, thing's first. What the heck is start-stop technology? The term is used often enough. It sounds good, yet it's rarely explained. Hence, before we get into the meat of Ford's exciting news, we'd like to first offer you a brief, high-level overview.

Stop-start technologies first emerged across the pond in Europe about four years ago, when legislation for stricter carbon regulations was passed. Used alone it can improve vehicle's fuel economy by between five and 12 percent. Integrated with other fuel-saving technologies, it can improve vehicle's fuel economy by 18-25 percent.

The reason…