This family hatchback has a three-cylinder engine which produces 123bhp, apparently the Dagenham and Dunton Ford plants have given this model a turbocharger and direct fuel injection to allow it to offer the performance of a 1.6-litre engine, whilst still managing to deliver the low fuel expenses associated with a smaller engine.

We are told that the 1.0-litre Ford Focus EcoBoost will give you 56.5mpg and produce just 114g/km of CO2, there’s also another model on the horizon which delivers 99bhp, 58.9mpg and 109g/km of CO2.

In terms of pricing we’re not too sure whether you will be won-over by the 1.0-litre Focus, prices will start at £16,245, which seems high, but if you take into consideration the savings in road tax and fuel it may be a worthy purchase – you can find out a little more about the money you will save over at Telegraph.co.uk.

If you like the sound of this efficient engine we can reveal that it is also coming to the Ford C-Max, Grand C-Max and new B-Max in the near future, so don’t feel like you have to rush out and buy the new Focus for all the gas-guzzling benefits.

On one hand the savings in fuel and road tax suggest that buying this 1.0-litre Focus will be a wise investment, however on the other hand we are a little put off by the relatively high starting price. Some comments we have read suggest that the low engine size could result in the vehicle being highly stressed in certain conditions, which will in turn affect reliability and longevity, whilst others believe it won’t deliver anything near the 56.5mpg in day-to-day life.

What are your feelings towards the 1.0-litre Ford Focus? Let us know in the comments section below…

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The second largest car maker in the US has announced plans to recall around 539,000 vehicles around the world. This recall will take place with two separate actions to fix faults that can lead to fires in certain SUVs, and a loss of power in some minivans according to a report.

Ford is to recall 286,000 Ford Escape SUVs that have the 2001 and 2002 model years. The car manufacturer is also recalling almost 253,000 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey mini vans that affect the 2004 and 2005 model years.

The majority of the affected models are from the US, and the Escape recall is similar to a fix that was needed on the antilock brake system in 2007. Ford has said that some models may not have been fixed properly or completely inspected.

Some of the vehicles were fitted with a sub-standard brake master cylinder reservoir cap, which could result in the leaking of fluid. This may cause an electrical short in the antilock brake system that may lead to a fire or smoking.

Ford said that there had been no reports of injuries because of the problem, but there had been some vehicle damage. The faulty part was manufactured between October 1999 and July 2002 in a now closed factory. Owners are advised to park their vehicle outside away from buildings until a recall repair is performed.

The company is also recalling the Ford and Mercury minivans because of a defective torque converter. If this fails the vehicle may lose ‘motive’ power, or move the vehicle forward or backwards without any warning.

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Ford have great confidence in their new Fusion and has led them to invest $555 million in retooling a plant in Flat Rock, and according to a report on the Detroit Free Press will add another shift of 1,200 workers in 2013.

The current model that was first introduced in 2006 is built in Hermosillo, Mexico. Ford thinks that plant won’t be able to cope with the demand for the new model. Ford has reached an agreement with the UAW, and will use its AutoAlliance International joint venture with Mazda to produce more Fusions with an expanded work force of 3,000.

The gasoline version of the new Fusion will be based at the Michigan plant, while the Fusion Hybrid along with the Fusion Energi hybrid will be manufactured in the Mexico plant. The Ford Mustang and Mazda 6 are produced by the AutoAlliance, but Mazda is transferring production of the Mazda 6 to Japan.

It is thought that production of the new Fusion will start in Flat Rock in June next year, and according to Michael Robinet of IHS Automotive Consulting, it takes a minimum of six months to build a new body shop.

The new Fusion is set to go on sale in North and South America later this year, and in Asia and Europe next year but sold as the Mondeo. The new model will have bolder styling and five engine choices that include three 4-cylinder gasoline engines. These come with the option of an automatic start-atop system that will switch the engine off at idle, which can reduce fuel consumption by 3.5 percent.

A new hybrid version will replace the current model that was first introduced in 2009, and will have smaller, lighter but more powerful lithium batteries. The current hybrid makes up fewer than five percent of total Fusion sales.

Ford is promising that the Fusion Energi plug-in will be the most fuel efficient model, and will offer more mileage than the Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius plug-in. Chief exterior designer Chris Hamilton, revealed that work on the new Fusion began in 2008 with 1,000 sketches from design studios in Dearborn, Australia, UK, and Germany.

These were scaled down to ten ideas that went on to become small scale models, which then left one each from the US and Europe. The best bits from both designs led to the final car seen today. Do you like the look of the new Ford Fusion?

More About: Detroit Auto Show 2012, Ford, Ford Fusion

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According to The New York Times Ford is recalling around 129,000 of its Fusion and Mercury Milan models from 2010 and 2011. The problem surrounds the wheel nuts that are found on vehicles with 17-inch steel wheels. They may break so could potentially lead to the wheel coming away from the car.

Ford has told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the issue, and any models with alloy wheels are not affected. Ford first became aware of the issue back in August of last year after some wheel nuts fractured during tightening at its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. The Milan has been phased out now along with the Mercury brand.

The car manufacturer stated that “an extensive investigation” had already begun in January 2011 as the NHTSA announced its own investigation into the issue. The agency said it had started looking into the matter after owners had complained about nuts breaking. There were even four reports of wheels actually coming off.

Ford has responded about the chances of wheels coming off by suggesting noise or vibration would lead to owners going to a dealership. It also stated that there isn’t much chance of all five wheel nuts breaking at the same time.

The NHTSA said that it upgraded its investigation back in July despite the assurances Ford were making. Ford has said it knows of one front wheel and five rear wheels coming away from vehicles that are believed to be caused by the faulty wheel nuts, but were not aware of any accidents.

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Let’s start things of with a quick overview of specs, we can confirm that there will be three models to choose from, one of which will boast a 2.5-liter engine and front-wheel drive, the other will offer a 1.6-liter engine with EcoBoost and front-wheel drive/4WD, finally the most impressive offering will pair a 2.0-liter engine with EcoBoost and the same front-wheel drive/4WD as the 1.6-liter offering – all of these models will feature a six-speed automatic transmission system and the choice of either 17 or 19-inch wheels. You can see the full spec sheet here.

The new Escape models are expected to outdo previous models in terms of fuel economy by at least 5 mile-per-gallon, the previous paragraph clearly states that two of the models will feature EcoBoost – you can find out a little more about this feature here, to summarize it is said to help vehicles deliver great fuel economy and equally good performance.

When compared to previous models you can expect a much higher level of craftmanship, it’s the small things that make a big difference so expect comfier armrests, softer materials and much more, we are also told that you can choose leather-trimmed sport seats with contrast stitching. You can find out more about the new look here, some people think last year’s model looked better, do you?

One neat feature which we must mention is its hands-free liftgate, this basically allows you to open the trunk without using your hands. The video below shows you how it works, basically if you have your hands full of shopping and your key in your pocket wave your foot (a kicking motion will do) under the rear bumper and it will automatically open, once you want it to close simply kick underneath the bumper again and it will close – now that’s cool!

Apparently the 2013 Ford Escape will show up in showrooms in Sprint, 2011, but we don’t yet know how much it will cost, therefore we will have to keep you posted as we hear more – are you impressed?

More About: 2013 Ford Escape, Ford, Ford Escape

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The Guardian are reporting that Ford have announced it will send out memory sticks to 250,000 customers in the US, which will provide a software upgrade for the system. They will be sent out early next year to consumers with MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch. Owners can update the system themselves or dealers will do it for free, and can be done in about 45 minutes.

Ford has yet to decide how it will provide the upgrade to the 200,000 users outside of the US, and says it doesn’t know of any other car manufacturer that has allowed owners to upgrade their own software on such a scale.

Issues with the system have seen Ford slip down in owner’s ratings, and recently we told you how the Consumer Reports rankings had seen Ford slip to 20th place. The system has been designed to allow owners to control a whole host of functions such as climate via a touchscreen. On lower specified models the system is a $750 option and can be found on models such as the Focus and the Explorer.

Trouble is there have been numerous complaints of the system shutting down without warning, not understanding voice commands, and not responding to touch commands. Ford had previously got dealers to take care of four software updates, but soon realized more needed doing.

The update will bring with it simpler screens with larger text and shading to define buttons, and also better voice recognition. There is also less chance of the system shutting down and it also responds to touch commands more quickly.

Ford is also thinking of bringing back volume controls and tuning knobs, as many owners don’t like using a touchscreen for these functions. Have you used the MyFord Touch system?

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The Detroit Free Press is reporting that there was some good news for Chrysler though after finishing bottom of the pile last year, it climbed to the middle of the pack. The publication did note though that many Chrysler models cannot be recommended to consumers though. Detroit models still suffered from reliability problems.

Ford suffered this year though by slipping ten places to number 20 out of 28, which is far below its Asian rivals. Meanwhile General Motors had mixed results in the survey with Chevrolet remained at number 17, but GMC and Buick slipped further down along with Cadillac that finished 25th.

Japanese car manufacturers made up 9 of the top 10 with Toyota’s Scion brand sitting top. This was followed by Lexus, Acura, Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Infiniti, Subaru, and Nissan. Germanys Volkswagen brand finished off the top ten.

The Consumers Report survey was based on the opinions of 1.3 million users of its website, and the results are used to predict reliability for new 2012 models. Fords slip down the rankings wasn’t helped by flaws in its MyFord Touch system. It was found to be distracting to drivers as they have to take their eyes off the road when driving.

Ford responded by saying it had already made changes to the system, and can also be used with voice commands. The company’s new PowerShift dual-clutch transmission found on the Fiesta and Focus also got some criticism. It was found not to perform well at low speeds and also makes a chattering noise.

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The first is the ever-popular Ford Focus, which has been doing well in Europe for years, but has now started to emulate that success across the pond. The model that you should choose has to be the 2012 Ford Focus ST. There is a sedan version, but we feel that it lacks something when compared to the hatchback. The 2.0-liter engine produces 246hp, but that’s thanks to the turbo that Ford has kindly supplied.

Next we have the 2012 Chevrolet Spark. The carmaker has been doing very well in the small car segment, and the Spark shows that they are not just committed to large sedans. There are a number of engine versions, but you are advised to go with the turbocharged version, as the standard engine will feel a little bit gutless.

The 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth is yet another small hatchback on this list, but choosing the right version is tough, as there have been so many. Again, if you want a little more power, then you should hold station, as a more powerful Abarth sports will soon be released to the market.

For those who want a hatchback for its looks, then you should go with the 2012 Hyundai Veloster. We have discussed this car on a number of occasions, and a recent test drive proved very positive. The design is audacious, which is just what we like, as we cannot stand things being too predictable.

What other 2012 hatchback cars should be on this list?

More About: Fiat, Ford, Hatchback, Hyundai

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What has caught our attention the most is the fact that this concept features cloud services, at the moment we are told that the EVOS will respond to a driver’s past behaviour, road types and a heart rate monitor which has been built into the driving seat – this means that if you’re stressed distractions on the dash will be taken away, if you like listening to certain music genres on bendy roads the car will learn this and play suitable tracks. Not only will the EVOS make changes to music and the dash but it will also adapt performance and handling to suit the route you are taking.

Lots of the functionality is currently being worked on, but we are told that the concept vehicle will be able to access the cloud while you are driving to reserve a parking space and then once reserved take you to that exact place – how neat is that! There is also talk of a more intelligent navigation system which can access the cloud and suggest traffic-free routes and access weather and pollution data to take you the cleanest route possible.

Two functions which we must mention are by no means necessities, but would definitely come under the “luxury” feature list, firstly if you are listening to music at home you will be able to get in your car and continue listening from where you left off, not only this but the EVOS will be able access your calendar to check the times of your appointments etc to pre-heat / cool the car’s interior so it is not cold / hot when you get in. You can find out more about how the Ford EVOS Concept will use cloud services over at GoodGearGuide.

We are told that the Ford EVOS Concept will make an appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011 which starts in 10 days time – below we have embedded some images to whet your appetite – feel free to leave a comment.

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The technology has been available in the US since 2009 and was seen as a way for business managers looking after their fleet drivers. Now according to Guardian.co.uk the technology will make its way to the Fiesta model range throughout Europe next year.

The car maker is marketing the technology as an ideal way for parents who worry about their children driving without a seatbelt, playing loud music while driving, or driving too fast. Parents will be able to program a master key that can be set for various limits on the vehicle. The top speeds the car can go up to can be limited, and warnings will sound at 70, 90, and 100kph.

If the seatbelts are not fastened a chime will be activated and the audio system silenced. According to Pim van der Jagt from Ford’s research centre, drivers under the age of 25 are three times more likely to have an accident. This system will help parents to aid their children to drive more carefully as well as be more fuel efficient.

The system will also remind younger drivers if their fuel levels are low earlier if the technology was not activated, as soon as there is only 125km left a warning sound is made. The idea is certainly a good one, and maybe one day it will be found on all new vehicles. As always education can be a great way of slowing down young drivers, but the trouble is you can’t account for them showing off to their friends.

Do you think Fords MyKey is a good idea?

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