The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, March 31, edition that General Motors rival Ford Motor will establish a research and development centre in Ottawa as part of a $1.2-billion investment it will make in its Canadian operations over the next four years. The Globe's Greg Keenan writes that Ford made the announcement Thursday in Windsor, Ont., where its Essex engine plant will begin building a new V-8 engine, preserving 500 jobs. The new research centre in Ottawa will hire 295 engineers, who will work on developing autonomous and connected vehicles. Ford will establish satellite engineering centres in Waterloo, Ont., and Oakville, Ont., site of a Ford assembly plant. The Ontario and federal governments will contribute $102.4-million each to help finance the projects. Ontario Minister of Economic Development Brad Duguid says: "This is in a sense where our traditional auto sector meets our new economy auto sector in a really sweet spot for where you can see Ontario's auto sector heading. Ford is preserving its traditional manufacturing base here [in Windsor], which is great news considering it's a plant that a number of years ago was seen by many as dead and gone."