There was a time in the illustrious history of the Ford Mustang when having an engine from the Cleveland Engine Plant meant that you were sporting a 351 cubic-inch V8 underhood. Times have changed quite a bit over the past 35 years, as Ohio's newest Mustang engine contains but six cylinders yet produces an impressive 305 horsepower and an even more brow-raising 30 miles per gallon highway.

Ford expects the 3.7-liter-powered Stang to account for two thirds of Mustang sales, and The Blue Oval is so confident in customer demand for its six-cylinder offering that it's hiring 60 new workers to assist production. To prep the Cleveland plant for its newest engine, Ford is also investing an additional $155 million to bring the plant up to speed.

Ford Powertrain Manufacturing Director Bill Russo appears to be pretty high on the Cleveland facility, adding that it is "not only building fuel-efficient engines for some of our most popular Ford products, it's becoming a hub for the future of Ford powertrains." A hub with a Help Wanted poster on the front door, no less.

While the news at Cleveland appears to be very good, the state of powertrains at Ford is even better. The Oval reportedly pumped a staggering $1.8 billion into powertrains for the 2011 model year, and has nine total new engines on the way. Three of those new powertrains will find their way under the hood of the Mustang, as the 3.7-liter, 5.0-liter and supercharged aluminum 5.4-liter powerplants are all new for 2011. Pony car powertrain fans can revel in the fun by pouring over the horsepower-centric press release after the jump.


Gallery: LA 2009: 2011 Ford Mustang V6



Gallery: 2011 Ford Mustang 3.7-liter V6





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this is good news