Browse > Home /

Ford EcoBoost-powered Fusion GT delayed to 2012

There are reports that Ford is to delay the production of their EcoBoost-powered Fusion GT until 2012. The new sedan which was to produce 340 horsepower was all set to arrive at the end of the current Fusion’s product cycle.

Motor Trend report that, Ford has delayed the Fusion GT is because they are planning a big roll-out of their EcoBoost engine. They plan to use these new engines across the range means that there was no spare time for the Fusion GT.

The Ford Fusion GT will debut around 2012 which is when the sedan debuts on the European platform.

Ford Bobcat: next-gen, ethanol-boosted engines

Although Ford has not yet introduced their EcoBoost engines, the automaker is already hard at work developing the next phase of the technology. The new engine technology is rumored to be called Bobcat.

The next-gen engine will use small amounts of ethanol injection; this will not only improve power but also reduce emissions. As we know ethanol has a high octane rating, as a result an engine can be tuned to produce more power.

When an engine runs with ethanol injection, it can run at a much higher compression ratio as well as a small turbo charger. The ethanol would be injected directly into the engine’s combustion chamber; as a result precompression is eliminated.

Read the full article from Autoblog

More Ford news

Stephen Odell Appointed Volvo President, CEO by Ford

Ford has appointed Stephen Odell as President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Car Corporation; he replaces Fredrik Arp, who chose to part with the company. Odell will take charge of Volvo on October 1; he will then be responsible of the global operations of Volvo.

He will take charge from their headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ford hope that Stephen Odell is the man who can drive Volvo to a sustained profit, as well as restructuring and growth of the company.

Stephen Odell, has played a key part to the success that Ford is having in Europe, it seems that the oval badge is seeing a resurgence in Europe. Ford hope that Odell will be able to do the same for Volvo.

Read more on the story from Market Watch

Ford preview new hydrogen-powered shuttle service

When a new hydrogen fueling station is unveiled today in the “Show Me” state of Missouri, Ford Motor Company will preview a new hydrogen-powered shuttle service for military commuters between Fort Leonard Wood and Missouri University of Science and Technology. The two hydrogen-fueled buses will make a guest appearance at the station opening to shuttle local officials and visiting dignitaries to the event Read more

Ford Focus Fuel Cell vehicles perform better than expected

Ford Motor Company’s fleet of 30 fuel cell vehicles has exceeded expectations of the company’s hydrogen research engineers by accumulating more than 865,000 real world miles without significant maintenance issues since the fleet’s launch three years ago. The Ford Focus Fuel Cell test vehicles also have earned accolades from the company’s global fleet partners for outstanding durability, reliability and capability Read more

Ford Europe’s total sales rise by two per cent

Ford of Europe’s total sales in its main 51 markets rose by two per cent to 1,196,200 in the first seven months this year.

Strong sales in Russia and the company’s 30 Direct Markets helped to offset lower sales in some of the traditional 19 European markets.

As a result of softening market conditions, sales in the Euro 19 markets declined by 6.6 per cent. While the drop was in line with overall industry decline, Ford’s market share was stable at 8.4 per cent in July, and at 8.7 per cent in the first seven months Read more

2009 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner earn 5-star rating

The 2009 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner compact sport utility vehicles added to Ford’s leading number of top-safety-rated vehicles by earning five stars in each of the government’s crash-worthiness tests. The results top the Toyota RAV-4 and, with the 2009 Escape’s improved fuel efficiency, offer better combined safety and fuel efficiency ratings than the Honda CR-V Read more

Quantum of Solace to feature new Ford Ka

The highly-anticipated new James Bond adventure, ‘Quantum of Solace’, will feature a cameo appearance from Ford’s fresh-faced new model, the all-new Ford Ka.

Ford’s cheeky new small car will make its screen debut alongside the film’s beautiful but feisty leading lady, Olga Kurylenko. Kurylenko plays Camille, a woman with her own personal mission and who quickly becomes an unlikely ally for Bond.

The ‘Quantum of Solace’ Ka is unique with metallic gold paint and an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination. Read more

New Ford Fiesta starts Volume production

Volume production of the new Ford Fiesta, the first of a generation of new global small Ford cars, started at the company’s Cologne plant in Germany today.

This all-new model of the Ford Fiesta has been conceived and developed by the European arm of Ford’s global product development team to meet the demands and expectations of customers around the world.

It is also the blueprint for future Ford global product development, bringing together Europe, the Americas and Asia. The new Fiesta will be tailored for each region and go on sale progressively between now and 2010, starting now with Europe. Read more

Ford Mustang 2008 Motorist Choice Award Winner

The Ford Mustang is the winner of the 2008 Motorist Choice Award, Sporty Car segment. The awards are based on cost of ownership data from IntelliChoice.com and vehicle owner satisfaction information from AutoPacific.

The Mustang outranked the Volkswagon Eos, Hyundai Tiburon, Mitsubishi Eclipse and last year’s winner, the Scion tC, in 17 categories, including Image, Vehicle Reputation, Power & Acceleration, Reliability, and Fun to Drive. Read more

One Ford global product plan

Ford Motor Company expects the quality, fuel efficiency, smart technologies and shared global nature of its upcoming new Focus small car in North America and other derivatives built off a new global C-car platform to deliver a double-digit percentage profit improvement compared with today’s North American Focus Read more

Ford Flex options list loved by customers

The Ford Flex has an amazing list of available options –everything from SYNC to a fridge. So how have customers ordered their vehicles? Well-specified, as you might imagine.

In fact, Flex is better specified than any previous Ford-branded vehicle with order rates for the Vista Roof running at an incredible 66 percent – even higher than the Edge, which runs at approximately 50 percent. Read more

Ford targets best-in-class quality for small vehicles

After climbing to the upper ranks in vehicle quality in the past two years, Ford Motor Company said today it has set an aggressive new target — best-in-class initial quality for compact cars the company will launch in North America in 2010.

“We aim to launch our new compact vehicles at 800 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president, Global Quality. “That’s more than 500 TGWs less than the predicted industry average — and we believe these levels will ensure our upcoming small cars will achieve industry-best initial quality.” Read more

2008 - 2009 New Ford Ka: next-generation look

This is the new Ford Ka for 2008 / 2009; it’s been 12 years since the original Ford Ka was released in Paris. This new version has been designed with a next-generation design and looks completely different.

The new Ford Ka will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October, but these are the official pictures of the new car.

Ford wants this new car to be an affordable city option and have “’new levels of style and enjoyment”. The Ka has been a popular choice for small-car buyers and over its 12 year life it has sold more than 1.4 million vehicles.

This new design will be aimed at buyers wanting to save on the increasing expenses tied to owning a car. The new Ford Ka is also ideal for first time buyers.

Let us know what you think of the new Ford Ka in the comments. Will you downsize your car to save on running costs?

Source: Read | View more Ford news here.

Ford Focus sales rise in July

The temperatures are on the rise outside and so are sales of Ford Focus for Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. The dynamic and confident compact car registered a double-digit sales increase in July – 13.3 per cent – over the same month’s sales last year.

“Fuel efficiency is certainly on consumers’ minds today” said Barry Engle, president and CEO, Ford of Canada. “Along with our full lineup of crossover utility vehicles – including Ford Flex with segment-leading fuel economy – and compact truck Ford Ranger, Ford Focus provides a stylish and sporty solution to high prices at the pump.”

In July, Ford of Canada’s overall sales decreased 13.9 per cent to 18,171 units. Total truck sales were down 12.2 per cent at 13,554 units and total car sales of 4,617 units mark an 18.5 per cent decrease compared to last July.

Ford’s selling well in July - The Ford Focus sales rise 13%, Lincoln Town Car sales increase 266% over last July, Grand Marquis sales up 61% in July, Ford Escape Hybrid registered its best July sales on record with a 171% increase and the Ford Ranger sales are up 15%.

With the credit crunch in full swing, what’s happening with these sales?

Read other ford news.

Ford’s Ecoboost leading the way in Turbo sales

Honeywell Turbo Technologies, a technology leader in engine boosting and modern turbo technologies, estimates that the global turbocharger segment will grow from 30 percent of the overall automotive market to more than 38 percent by 2013 as automakers look to boost engines to help increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions without hampering the fun-to-drive factor.

Ford is at the forefront of this spiking trend with its EcoBoost engine strategy, applying modern turbocharging and direct injection technologies to smaller displacement engines that offer improved fuel economy and fewer emissions, yet deliver performance feel of larger displacement engines. Read more

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles to run on regular unleaded gas

With per-gallon prices hovering around $4, customers are sensitive to every penny spent at the pump, and Ford Motor Company is leveraging technologies to help consumers avoid an even further hit to their wallets. Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, including luxury models like the all-new 2009 Lincoln MKS, run - and run well - on regular unleaded gas, a true competitive advantage given today’s skyrocketing fuel costs.

By developing vehicles that deliver both fuel efficiency and performance using regular unleaded gasoline, customers can save as much as $200 annually at the pump filling up a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury product rather than using expensive premium unleaded fuel as some other automakers require. Read more

Fords $100-million profit turns to $8.7-billion shortfall

Ford are reporting an $8.7-billion shortfall, making it their largest quarterly loss ever. This is the result of falling sales of trucks and SUV’s, as more people look to purchase more fuel-efficient cars.

Just three months ago, Ford Motor Co. had reported a first-quarter profit of $100 million, it seems that reality has now come back to bite Ford. The automaker has also blamed this $8.7-billion shortfall in the soaring gasoline prices.

Chief Executive Alan Mulally, has said that Ford will aggressively move toward producing smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Mulally also added that Ford will have to reduce their costs as well as cutting their workforce. In the first since months of 2008, Ford sold 1.11 million cars; this is down by 14% on the same period last year.

Alan Mulally has said “We continue to take decisive action in response to the rapidly changing business environment,” he said. “The second half will continue to be challenging, but we have absolutely the right plan to . . . begin to grow again for the long term.”

For a full report on this, visit: ABC News

Read more news on Ford

Ford SYNC Recognized: National Multiple Sclerosis Society Da Vinci Award

Today the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, Michigan Chapter announced that Ford SYNC® is one its 2008 da Vinci Award winners. The National MS Society honors innovations annually that give people with disabilities the ability to participate and contribute in all aspects of society. SYNC is being honored because it features a voice-recognition interface that allows hands-free operation of a variety of Bluetooth enabled devices in a safe manner Read more

Aviation-themed Mustang to be auctioned off

The numbers tied to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh are impressive, if not overwhelming - but there’s one statistic especially worth eyeing.

Some 2,500 show aircraft and 650,000 visitors are expected at this year’s meet, which runs from Monday - Aug. 3. An estimated 10,000 airplanes are expected to fly in to the airport in east-central Wisconsin. And here’s the kicker: The event will feature one cool Ford Mustang.

A special one-of-a-kind AirVenture Mustang, the Mustang AV8R, will be unveiled on Sunday. The classic American car was named after the famous P-51 Mustang fighter, which played a key role in World War II as a bomber escort. Several P-51s are slated to be at Oshkosh, according to the show’s web site, www.airventure.org.

The team at Ford Racing helped develop the aviation-inspired Mustang AV8R. Special features on the 2009 Mustang GT include a glass roof, which is a new option on Mustangs this year; special front and rear fascias; integrated spoiler; and Shelby GT500 wheels. Ford Racing’s contributions include a handling pack (dampers, lowering springs, anti-roll bar kit and strut tower brace), supercharger and tuned exhaust that will generate 400 horsepower from the aluminum block 4.6-liter, 24-valve V-8 engine.

The Mustang AV8R is painted in Satin Silver matte paint with Black Gloss accents. The interior features distressed “bomber jacket” leather inserts and trim panels along with a “Bullitt” aluminum instrument panel appliqué and shift knob. It also has an appliqué autograph area for the aviation legends and notable enthusiasts scheduled to be in attendance, who include Edsel B. Ford II, Chuck Yeager, Jack Roush, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Morgan Freeman and Jim Lovell.

Douglas Gaffka, the chief designer for the Mustang, took a restrained, modern approach for the Mustang AV8R.

“We chose anodized silver for the body sides and high-gloss black for the hood, which flows through the glass roof - it was almost like having a canopy,” Gaffka said. “We also embedded the Air Force star in the glass.”

Collectors can bid on the car. Perspective owners should contact Matt Miller at 1-800-236-1025 for details about the July 31 auction. Auction proceeds will benefit the EAA’s Gathering of Eagles program, which helps provide scholarships for young people interested in aviation careers.

Donating the Mustang AV8R is the latest example of Ford’s continuing commitment to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Last year, Ford donated two tickets to the finals of “American Idol,” which sold for $16,500. Ford and Shelby Automobiles donated a Mustang Shelby GT-H in 2006, which sold for $250,000.

“The Mustang AV8R is the latest commitment from Ford in support of EAA’s effort to build the future of aviation,” said Tom Poberezny, EAA president. “This stunning, one-of-a-kind automobile will be a very special addition to our Gathering of Eagles fund-raiser, which supports EAA’s aviation education and preservation work throughout the year.”

Source - Press Release

Next Page »