Exactly!
Although to be fair, the "DuraBuilt" Vega engine although an aluminum block, did not use a coating on the cylinder wall. Instead GM developed a "high silicon" aluminum alloy and the aluminum was etched away from the silicon nodules on the cylinder bore surface theorizing the iron rings would thus be contacting and riding on the now protruding silicon which has good wear properties.
It was dropped after a few years and GM had to give people a 100K mileage warranty on the engine to move the cars off the dealer lots.
But the Ford PWTA process is different and I really hope it works for Ford. They had some smart people working on the development of this technology.