Ford Explorer Production Goes Global
April 11, 2013 by anniabf246 · Leave a Comment
Surging sales for the Ford Explorer has led to another breakthrough for the Blue Oval’s award-winning SUV. To help satisfy increasing demand in the Russian market, production of the model has begun outside of the United States—in the Republic of Tartarstan—for the very first time. “Russia is on its way to being the largest market in Europe and presents an enormous opportunity for growth,” said Ted Cannis, president and CEO of Ford Sollers, the automaker’s Russian joint venture. “We anticipate SUV sales to continue to grow as Russian customers prefer the image and performance these utility vehicles provide in severe weather and challenging road conditions.” Because of the success of the cutting-edge Ford Production System, deployed last year to ensure world-class quality in its global manufacturing operations, Russian drivers can be confident the locally produced Explorer will live up to the high standards set in this country. “With our partner Sollers, we were able to take the best practices from the Chicago Assembly Plant as well as our other SUV plants around the world, and combine them with our latest advances in the Ford Production System to ensure we achieved world-class quality,” added John Fleming, Ford’s executive vice president for Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs. As for how good those practices are, consider: The impressive quality of the Explorer is a key reason its U.S. sales soared by 32.5 percent last month, when the vehicle entered the national top 20 bestsellers list. Further, with the Chicago plant also supplying the SUVs for more than 60 other international markets, the vehicle’s global sales increased by 65 percent last year, and will soon begin in China as well.
Fusion Energi Lands Ford Atop List with Highest Number of 2013 Vehicles Qualifying for Faster Lane Access in California
February 21, 2013 by Palareyweod23 · Leave a Comment
Californians now have another Ford vehicle option to get them where they’re going even faster with the all-new Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, as the vehicle has been approved for use in the state’s high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
C-MAX Energi: America’s Most Fuel-efficient Plug-in Hybrid
October 11, 2012 by z7w3guuv5 · Leave a Comment
Bolstered by best-in-class EPA ratings in both city and combined driving, the all-new 2013 Ford C-MAX Energi will be the most fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid in the country when it launches later this year. The bottom line: While providing drivers with an all-electric driving range of 20 miles, the C-MAX Energi will hit 108 MPGe in the city and 100 MPGe in combined driving; both are best-in-class marks. (Note: Ford has not yet released the vehicle’s highway grade.) And remember, if the C-MAX Energi’s high-efficiency battery pack ever runs out of juice, the vehicle can provide a total driving range of up to 500 miles by relying on its thrifty 2.0-liter I4 gasoline engine—the same powerplant that delivers fuel-economy grades of 47 mpg in city/highway/combined driving in the Ford C-MAX “regular” hybrid. Alternatively, drivers can fully recharge the car’s batteries in as little as four hours. What just might be most impressive, however, is that the Blue Oval’s new green entry adds to its segment-leading abilities with the segment’s lowest price. The MSRP for the C-MAX Energi is $32,950, but after a federal tax credit of $3,750, the net cost to consumers comes down to $29,200 (before a $795 destination charge). In addition, that price also brings standard features such as: Dual-zone climate control with rear-seat vents Leather seats, shift knob and steering wheel Steering-wheel-mounted audio controls A 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat Ford’s next-gen SmartGauge with EcoGuide reconfigurable gauge cluster SYNC with MyFord Touch Heated seats Ambient lighting Keyless entry and push-button start A six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with USB port and six-month trial subscription to Sirius/XM radio “The C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi are designed to meet the needs of customers looking to ‘plus-up’ and optimize their hybrid car experience,” said Amy Machesney, marketing manager for the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi. “These customers are living more environmentally responsible lives and may have bought a hybrid in the past. They are now ready for more hybrid choice, combined with style, better performance and additional versatility.”
All-New Ford Escape Provides More Towing Power Than Competition with Lean Yet Strong EcoBoost Engine
March 14, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Packing 237 horsepower and 250 lb.-ft. of torque, the optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost
2013 Escape Goes Green Thanks to New Ford Plant
January 27, 2012 by bizdyl · Leave a Comment
But that “new Ford plant” isn’t one of the automaker’s world-class manufacturing facilities—it’s the tropical kenaf plant, which is being used to save weight, oil and gasoline in the redesigned 2013 Escape. Related to cotton and okra, kenaf also can be found in cosmetics, and its fibers can be used to make paper and cardboard. In the Escape, Ford is relying on the plant to replace oil-based resins in the vehicle’s door bolsters, reducing their weight by about 25 percent. The lower curb weight for the Escape translates into higher EPA ratings for drivers, with the new Escape—when also boasting one of Ford’s 1.6-liter EcoBoost engines—expected to return a 5-mpg improvement over the 2012 model. In addition, using the kenaf plant will offset 300,000 lbs. of oil-based resins every year in North America. And that’s just one example of how Ford’s sustainable manufacturing processes will deliver a cleaner, greener new Escape. Other efforts include using: Soy foam in its seats and head restraints Plastic bottles and other post-consumer/post-industrial materials in the Escape’s carpeting Recycled tires for climate-control gaskets 10 lbs. of scrap cotton—in every Escape—as insulation materials Recycled plastics for powertrain shields Polished stainless steel as tailpipe trim instead of chromium plating, which is worse for the environment The 2013 Escape also introduces Ford’s industry-first application of microcellular technology for injection-molding its instrument panel, slicing more weight from the vehicle to help boost fuel efficiency. “Kenaf and the other renewable materials in the Escape have made the vehicle more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient,” confirmed Laura Sinclair, materials engineer for Escape.
2013 Escape Goes Green Thanks to New Ford Plant
January 27, 2012 by bizdyl · Leave a Comment
But that “new Ford plant” isn’t one of the automaker’s world-class manufacturing facilities—it’s the tropical kenaf plant, which is being used to save weight, oil and gasoline in the redesigned 2013 Escape. Related to cotton and okra, kenaf also can be found in cosmetics, and its fibers can be used to make paper and cardboard. In the Escape, Ford is relying on the plant to replace oil-based resins in the vehicle’s door bolsters, reducing their weight by about 25 percent. The lower curb weight for the Escape translates into higher EPA ratings for drivers, with the new Escape—when also boasting one of Ford’s 1.6-liter EcoBoost engines—expected to return a 5-mpg improvement over the 2012 model. In addition, using the kenaf plant will offset 300,000 lbs. of oil-based resins every year in North America. And that’s just one example of how Ford’s sustainable manufacturing processes will deliver a cleaner, greener new Escape. Other efforts include using: Soy foam in its seats and head restraints Plastic bottles and other post-consumer/post-industrial materials in the Escape’s carpeting Recycled tires for climate-control gaskets 10 lbs. of scrap cotton—in every Escape—as insulation materials Recycled plastics for powertrain shields Polished stainless steel as tailpipe trim instead of chromium plating, which is worse for the environment The 2013 Escape also introduces Ford’s industry-first application of microcellular technology for injection-molding its instrument panel, slicing more weight from the vehicle to help boost fuel efficiency. “Kenaf and the other renewable materials in the Escape have made the vehicle more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient,” confirmed Laura Sinclair, materials engineer for Escape.
Sound ‘Mirror’ Reflects Quest for Quiet in Escape
January 20, 2012 by domanjkoy · Leave a Comment
When the top European luxury automakers want to ensure a particularly quiet ride, they rely on what’s known as an “acoustic mirror”—which looks like a satellite dish with a microphone at its center—to pinpoint specific areas where unwanted noise can slip into a vehicle’s cabin. And now, so does Ford. In fact, the Blue Oval recently used the technology to ensure world-class levels of quiet in the new 2013 Ford Escape. Further, because the acoustic mirror can do its job early in the vehicle-development cycle—identifying potential noise “hot spots” even on clay models—Ford was able to save money by making adjustments to the exterior of the new Escape before building more expensive prototypes. “We previously didn’t have this tool available,” said Peter Kleesattel, an interior quietness development engineer for the automaker. “Essentially we were able to optimize the shape [of the Escape] earlier. In noise and vibration, the basic idea is you have noise sources outside the vehicle and you have the path. “The path could be through the glass, door or insulation. Now we’re able to optimize the shape early on, reduce the exterior source and create a quieter interior.” On the Escape, the acoustic mirror allowed engineers to detect possible noise issues from the vehicle’s side-view mirrors and A-pillars, modify the shapes of these features, and deliver what Ford expects to be one of the quietest interiors in the segment. That’s something drivers will be able to discover for themselves this summer, too, when the 2013 Ford Escape arrives in local dealerships across the country.
2013 Fusion: Life in the Safe Lane
December 30, 2011 by EtternaLight · Leave a Comment
Falling asleep at the wheel can quickly turn into a nightmare when travelling, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 1,500 people each year are killed, and 71,000 injured, due to crashes caused by drowsy drivers. But those kinds of numbers served as a wakeup call for Ford engineers, who designed the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion to be the first mainstream mid-size sedan in America to offer “lane keeping” technology to combat this problem. The Ford Lane Keeping System relies on a small digital camera that’s mounted on the windshield just in front of the rearview mirror. It allows the system to recognize lane markers on the road ahead of the Fusion to determine if the car is drifting, then can set off three different levels of driver alerts. First, an icon on the Fusion’s instrument cluster will turn yellow while the steering wheel—leveraging the latest Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) technology—will vibrate as if the car were driving over rumble strips. If the vehicle continues to drift, the icon turns red and EPAS will “nudge” the Fusion back toward the center of the lane. If the driver still doesn’t respond, the system will both nudge the vehicle and vibrate the steering wheel at the same time. Significantly, though, the system always remains under driver control: It must be activated by the driver for it to work in the first place, while turning the Fusion’s steering wheel, accelerating or braking will overcome the nudge/vibration functions. The automaker will add the Lane Keeping System to the Ford Explorer next year as well, and bring it to other members of the Ford lineup over the next several years. Stay tuned for more information on the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion, which will be revealed to the public at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.
Soundbites: 2013 Ford Escape
November 19, 2011 by AdrianBrendon · Leave a Comment
The Ford Escape, already America’s best-selling SUV, will raise the bar even higher with the debut of an all-new model that features eleven new exclusive features and fuel economy projected to top any vehicle of its kind on the market today. Eric Loeffler, Chief Engineer of the Ford Escape says they’re taking a bestselling product by upgrading all aspects of the vehicle starting with the engine.
Kickin’ It With The New Escape
November 3, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
This month, Ford will be introducing its all-new Escape SUV featuring a new hands-free power liftgate that opens with a simple kicking gesture under the rear bumper, eliminating the need to fumble for a key. The new Escape debuts at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 16. It will be the first SUV to use gesture-based technology to open the rear liftgate. A gentle kicking motion under the center of the rear bumper activates the system and raises the liftgate. The same motion closes the liftgate. “The hands-free power liftgate is yet another innovative Ford technology that makes customers’ lives easier,” said Jason Sprawka, Escape brand manager. “New Escape owners will be able to load their vehicle without ever having to set packages or gear down.” The hands-free liftgate uses two sensors in the rear bumper to detect a person’s shin and kicking motion. The system is programmed to open with leg motions, which prevents it from being activated accidentally by animals that may run under the car, or when the vehicle hits a bump on the road.
