Courtesy of Sound Ford, Renton
When customers take their new Ford Flex for its first spin this summer, they may be surprised by what’s missing; the noise.
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ALL-NEW FORD FLEX POISED TO DELIVER A QUIET RIDE
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ALL-NEW FORD FLEX POISED TO DELIVER A QUIET RIDE
Category: Flex, News - Events - Specials /
Tags: customers-take, family, first-spin, Flex, news & announcements, noise, summer, technology, their-new, trucks, vehicles
BOLD, EXCITING NEW-GENERATION FORD FIESTA REVEALED AT AUTO CHINA
Courtesy of Sound Ford, Renton
In a blast of Passion Orange, Ford proudly revealed its all-new global small car – the Ford Fiesta – today as a vibrant five-door hatch. The all-new Ford Fiesta has been reinvented for a new generation of customers.
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BOLD, EXCITING NEW-GENERATION FORD FIESTA REVEALED AT AUTO CHINA
Category: Fiesta, News - Events - Specials, Orange /
Tags: auto shows, events, Fiesta, ford, its-all-new, new-generation, news & announcements, orange, passion, passion-orange, proudly-revealed, vehicles, vibrant-five-door
Friends and Neighbors Program
Courtesy of Sound Ford, Renton
The X-Plan encourages our employees and retirees to promote our vehicles among their friends and neighbors.
U.S. News & World Report: Ford cars make family life easier
Three Ford vehicles are among U.S. News’ 2011 Best Cars for Families. Safety, reliability, comfort and affordability are paramount when shopping for cars, and the Best Cars for Families award winners are the vehicles that do best in their class on those attributes. Ford winners include the 2011 Ford Fusion as the midsize car, the 2011 Ford Taurus in the large car group and the 2011 Ford Explorer as the best off-road SUV. Click here for the full release.
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U.S. News & World Report: Ford cars make family life easier
Category: Events and Specials, Explorer, FORDBLOGGER, Fusion, Model, News - Events - Specials, Taurus /
Tags: award-winners, class, Explorer, families-safety, Fusion, midsize, taurus, the-midsize, their-class, three-ford, vehicles, winners-include
Five Fords Named Among MT’s “Most Wanted American Cars”
Although America’s 235th birthday has now come and gone, the vehicles on the recent list of 2011’s “Most Wanted American Cars,” put together to celebrate the occasion by the automotive experts at Motor Trend , are still setting off fireworks—especially for Ford. After all, fully half of the entries on the list (which only considered American-branded vehicles) were built by the Blue Oval, including: Fiesta —The top choice in the Subcompact category, the Fiesta, was a huge hit, with MT editors writing that: “You know that solid CRACK a baseball makes when it meets an oak bat, sweet spot to sweet spot? The Fiesta does that in two significant areas: styling and build quality. Everywhere we took the Fiesta, eyebrows rose and admiring glances caressed the car. This is clearly a good-looking automobile, a shot glass brimming with European taste.” Focus —In the Compact segment, the winning vehicle was the Focus, which “has vaulted from forgettable to formidable in one fell swoop. The improvements to the new car are night and day compared to what we had, and we’d expect no less from an all-new car. With both sedan and hatchback models available and an impressive-looking electric model on the way (and possibly a wagon as well, if the rumors are true), Ford has planted a very large flag on the compact sedan hill.” Mustang —Ford’s modern-day muscle car actually took home honors in two different classes, with the V6 model earning top ratings as “Coupe under $25,000” and the Boss 302 besting all rivals in the “Coupe over $25,000” group. The former was lauded as “nearly as quick as last year’s V8-powered GT,” while of the latter, MT said it was “hands-down the best Mustang [Ford] has ever produced. Edge —One of the best-selling crossovers in the country was the No. 1 choice in the segment for MT editors, who praised its extensive upgrades for the 2011 model year: “Pick nearly any aspect of the popular mid-sized SUV and the Blue Oval’s engineers probably tweaked, restyled, or replaced it. It looks and sounds like an all-new edition.” Which means that for customers who want the best American automakers have to offer, it looks and sounds like their local Ford dealership is the right place to start.
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Five Fords Named Among MT’s “Most Wanted American Cars”
Category: Blue, Crossover, Edge, Electric, Events and Specials, Fiesta, Focus, FORDBLOGGER, Model, Mustang, News - Events - Specials, Red, Sedan /
Tags: automotive, Blue, compact, Edge, european, Fiesta, Focus, nearly-as-quick, Red, Sedan, took-the-fiesta, vehicles
Ford, Toyota Collaborate On Hybrid Trucks
Ford and Toyota are teaming up as equal partners to accelerate consumer availability of a new advanced hybrid system for light trucks and SUVs. Both automakers have already developed hybrid systems independently, but their partnership will yield even greater fuel efficiency while still providing customers the capability they want and need. Although both companies have rear-wheel drive hybrid systems in development, the partnership will allow these systems to reach customers sooner and more affordably than either company could have accomplished alone. “This agreement brings together the capability of two global leaders in hybrid vehicles and hybrid technology to develop a better solution more quickly and affordably for our customers,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “Ford achieved a breakthrough with the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and we intend to do this again for a new group of truck and SUV buyers – customers we know very well.” After collaborating on common technology and components, Ford and Toyota will each integrate the system into their own vehicles. In addition to jointly developing hybrid components, the two automakers will also work together to develop next-generation telematics systems to make driving safer, more secure, and more convenient. “Ford has made tremendous progress in the area of telematics,” Kuzak said. “We have unique and very good solutions today with SYNC and MyFordTouch. Working together on in-vehicle standards can only enhance our customers’ experience with their vehicles.”
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Ford, Toyota Collaborate On Hybrid Trucks
Ford CNG Transit Connect Taxis Are Connecting With More Cities
With their ability to save on fuel costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 to 40 percent, Ford Transit Connect taxis that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) are being hailed as a breakthrough by cities across the country. And this includes major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and Chicago, both of which will be seeing more of these vehicles on the road this year than ever before. In the Los Angeles area, Yellow Cab of Anaheim and Cabco Yellow Inc. of Orange County have combined to order 119 CNG Transit Connect taxis , with 50 on their way in the next two months and the rest to be delivered by the end of the year. Plenty more of the vehicles should be hitting California streets in the near future, since the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has now officially approved the use of CNG Transit Connect taxis in that state. Meanwhile, in the Windy City, the Taxi Medallion Management company recently put 12 CNG Transit Connect taxis into service to help reach its goal of reducing emissions by 25 percent. And these are just some of the latest places where Ford’s CNG-powered people mover is making its mark. West Haven and Hartford, in Connecticut, will soon have a fleet of 70 CNG Transit Connect taxis in service, with cab companies in Las Vegas and St. Louis joining the club later this year as well. Of course, this increased interest in the high-efficiency Ford makes perfect sense, according to Gerald Koss, marketing manager for Ford Fleet Operations: “The Transit Connect Taxi was developed using market research we conducted with the taxi industry to better understand what customers wanted in a future vehicle. The more conversations we had, the more interest we saw in a taxi with the flexibility of offering a compressed natural gas version.”
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Ford CNG Transit Connect Taxis Are Connecting With More Cities
Category: Events and Specials, Flex, FORDBLOGGER, Green, Model, News - Events - Specials, Orange, Red, Yellow /
Tags: cabco-yellow, chicago, Flex, orange-county, Red, taxi, the-flexibility, transit, vehicles, windy
Ford Creates One-Of-A-Kind Mustang Inspired By The Blue Angels
The engineering and design teams at Ford have created a “Blue Angels” edition 2012 Ford Mustang GT to celebrate 100 years of U.S. Navy aviation. This one-of-a-kind vehicle will be auctioned offer at the Gathering of Eagles charity auction July 28 to benefit the EAA Young Eagles organization, which teaches young people the value of hard work, personal responsibility, and also supports math and science skills. “The precision, discipline and excitement that define the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight team are qualities we celebrate at Ford,” said Edsel B. Ford II, a member of Ford’s board of directors. “With this year’s beautiful ‘Blue Angels’ edition Mustang GT, we’ve captured those qualities and paired them with the innovation Ford design and engineering team members build into all of our vehicles. Through this project, we take great pride in continuing our support for EAA and the Young Eagles organization.” The Ford “Blue Angels” Mustang will be auctioned during the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) 2011 AirVenture Oshkosh, the world’s greatest aviation celebration. The car will be on display inside the Ford Hangar throughout the event. Exterior styling of the “Blue Angels” Mustang was directly inspired by the F-18 Hornet aircraft flown by the acclaimed naval aviation performance demonstration team . The car features a custom rear spoiler, “screaming yellow” gloss accents, and unique chrome blue paint. Inside, this unique muscle car has leather Recaro racing seats and offset stripes inspired by pilot flight suits. The interior is also adorned with a range of custom details on the gauge cluster, instrument panel appliqués, and safety belt fabric. Since the “Blue Angels” Mustang did take inspiration from a fighter jet, it’s only fitting that it’s powered by a Ford Racing supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine producing 624 horsepower. Other performance modifications include a handling pack, performance exhaust, and racetrack brakes. “Ford is a longtime supporter of EAA and our mission to showcase the finest innovation and technology in flight,” said Tom Poberezny, EAA chairman/president and AirVenture chairman. “The high interest among aviators in the U.S. Navy and the ‘Blue Angels’ Mustang team will make this a very sought-after item and ensure EAA’s ability to do some amazing things for our future aviation enthusiasts.”
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Ford Creates One-Of-A-Kind Mustang Inspired By The Blue Angels
Category: Blue, Events and Specials, FORDBLOGGER, Model, Mustang, Mustang GT, News - Events - Specials, Performance, Red, Yellow /
Tags: angels, inside-the-ford, Mustang, Performance, project, unique, vehicles
Ford Invests $100 Million In Advanced Quality Systems
Ford is continuing to drive vehicle-quality forward, with a recent $100 million investment that will be used to support the use of cutting-edge robotic laser-inspection technology at its manufacturing facilities around the world. And notably, this includes the automaker’s Chicago Assembly Plant , where the technology is already in place boosting the quality of the all-new Ford Explorer. “Ford’s robotic laser technology gives us a degree of precision like never before,” said Ron Ketelhut, chief engineer, Body Construction Engineering. “The vision technologies verify the dimensions of interfaces on the vehicle’s body in a highly accurate way, to a tenth of a millimeter.” This new tool was developed by Ford in a collaboration with Gonzalez Production Systems—one of the automaker’s minority business partners—and is used to increase the accuracy of the door-installation process. That makes for tighter gaps between door panels, which noticeably cuts down on one of the most common areas of concern that customers have with their vehicles: wind noise. It makes for a notably nicer exterior appearance, too. It’s all just another part of Ford’s dedication to leading the industry in customer satisfaction, a commitment that has seen the automaker consistently achieve high praise in top third-party quality studies. Consider: In the 2011 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards , the Ford Motor Company led all automakers with seven individual segment winners and Lincoln finished as the highest-rated luxury brand. Some 90 percent of the automaker’s products (including both Ford and Lincoln vehicles) were “recommended buys” in the most-recent Consumer Reports Annual Car Reliability. Ford achieved an 82 percent score in the RDA Global Quality Research Study, the highest score (in a tie with Volkswagen and Audi) in the survey. The award-winning Ford Explorer —both the North American Truck of the Year and the first U.S. vehicle to benefit from Ford’s new robotic laser-inspection technology—is on sale now.
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Ford Invests $100 Million In Advanced Quality Systems
Category: Edge, Events and Specials, Explorer, FORDBLOGGER, Model, News - Events - Specials, Truck /
Tags: construction, consumer, Explorer, global-quality, highly-accurate, industry, north, research, research-study, support-the-use, survey, the-automaker, Truck, vehicles
Ford Works To Make Plugging In Easier
As Ford stays on track to have five electric vehicles (EVs) on sale in the North American market by the end of 2012, the company is putting significant resources into making it easy for customers to find a place to recharge them—and not just by teaming with third parties to support the nation’s electric infrastructure. Ford engineers have worked just as hard to find the right place to locate the charging ports on the vehicles themselves. “After benchmarking multiple competitive vehicles, we found there wasn’t much consistency in charge port location ,” said Susan Curry, Ford Electrified Vehicle Technology Integration supervisor. “We wanted to give customers a location that made the most sense for them and would seem as simple as filling up at the gas station.” For Ford’s new electric vehicles, there was another consideration, too. While most people fill their gas tanks about once a week, or a little over 50 times a year, the company expects most EV drivers to plug in and disconnect their vehicles four times a day, which is some 1,500 times a year. That extra interaction meant it was extra important for Ford to get the placement of the charging ports just right, since drivers would be using them so often. After gaining input directly from potential customers, as well as studying those other vehicles, Ford was quick to rule out two seemingly obvious possibilities: The very front and rear of the vehicle. That’s because both locations could have caused problems if customers had to deal with things like packed snow, dead insects or other road debris, and even fender benders. The solution? Incorporating the port high on the quarter panel on the driver’s side of the vehicle, just aft of the wheel opening, in a place that “keeps the charge port in sight before the customer enters or exits the car, for an easy reminder to unplug or recharge,” according to Mary Smith, Ford Electrified Vehicle Technology Integration supervisor. “It creates an intuitive placement for owners that also has aesthetic appeal.” That appeal is designed to reach other drivers as well, because the charging port can be illuminated to indicate the vehicle’s charge state—and ensure that passers-by and other motorists know they’re looking at one of Ford’s breakthrough energy savers. And you can be sure they’ll be looking at more and more of them in the very near future, since the first Ford EV —the Ford Transit Connect Electric—went on sale to commercial customers in 2010, and the Ford Focus Electric is slated to debut later this year.
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Ford Works To Make Plugging In Easier
Category: Electric, Events and Specials, Focus, FORDBLOGGER, Model, News - Events - Specials /
Tags: charging, driver, electric, electrified, Focus, north, transit, transit-connect, vehicle, vehicles
