Bill Pierre Ford

It was announced Friday afternoon that Bill Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., is a founding partner in a new venture capital firm, Fontinalis Partners L.L.C., which will be headquartered in the Penobscot Building in Detroit.

Joining Ford as founding partners are Ralph Booth, the former CEO and chairman of Booth American Co., a Detroit-based private investment firm, and Mark Schultz, the president of international operations at Ford from 2005-2007.

Fontinalis, which is not affiliated with Ford Motor, will concentrate on transportation-related companies.

The amount of money it has under management was not disclosed.

“We are delighted to introduce Fontinalis Partners to the world,” said Ford in a press release.

“We take our mission very seriously to invest in and assist firms currently providing transformational ideas and products devoted to solving the world’s most pressing environmental and mobility oriented problems.

“We believe we are well positioned to do tremendous things to accelerate growth for companies we choose to partner with, and all while doing positive this for both society and the environment.”

The firm will also have an office in Boston. Founding principals are Chris Cheever and Chris Thomas.

The Ford F-150 is getting a new six-cylinder engine in addition to the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 that’s slated to arrive by the end of this year, according to PickupTrucks.com sources. The new mill is the same Ti-VCT 3.7-liter V-6 that debuted recently in the 2010 Ford Mustang, the sources said.

The 3.5-liter V-6 twin-turbo gasoline direct-injection EcoBoost engine promises to deliver the performance of a V-8 with the fuel efficiency of a V-6, and is expected to cost more than previous V-6 engines in the F-150 lineup.

The V-6 shared with the Mustang is expected to be the base engine for the F-150 and will likely only be available for the XL and STX models, though it could make its way into the XLT. Fleet owners are most likely to be its customers, looking for a low-cost pickup. Ford Ranger buyers are another potential target for the 3.7-liter V-6 when production of Ford’s compact pickup ends in 2011. The 3.7-liter V-6 is rated at 30 mpg in the Mustang, and while fuel economy won’t be close to that in the F-150, it could give mid-size truck buyers the option of buying a fuel-efficient full-size truck.

Ford hasn’t offered a V-6 option for the F-150 since the 2009 model year. The 3.7-liter is expected to be available before 2012.