24hcar: Ford

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Ford UK Prices Mondeo with the New Turbo Gasoline and Diesel Engines

Posted by Mr Dung Sunday, June 13, 2010

Ford has announced 2 new engines for the Mondeo range, including a new 2.0 liter turbocharged EcoBoost power-plant with 203 PS (149 kW).

The new all-aluminum 2.0 liter petrol engine comes with a hefty 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque too and provides the Mondeo with a 7.9 second sprint time to the 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) mark. It also improves fuel economy by 19% compared to the previous 2.3 liter unit with a 36.6 mpg (imperial) rating (or 7.7 liters/100 km). CO2 emission for the new 2.0 liter turbocharged EcoBoost are 179g/km.

The Mondeo is also now available with Ford's PowerShift dual-clutch gearbox, which comes standard with the new 2.0 liter EcoBoost and is an option with the other new engine for the Mondeo range - the 163 PS (120 kW) 2.0 liter TDCi diesel. Fuel economy on that power plant is 53.2 mpg (imperial) or 5.3 liters/100 km with an average CO2 emission of 139g/km.

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Chevrolet Camaro Outsells Ford Mustang by Almost 20,000 Units at Year One, But Loses in May '10

Posted by Mr Dung Thursday, June 3, 2010

[Scoop]

Yesterday we learned that the refreshed and more powerful 2011 Ford Mustang sold 10,225 units in May 2010 beating GM's Chevrolet Camaro by almost 1,300 units (8,931 sales monthly total).
The General's reaction? Early this morning, the Detroit automaker came out with a press release stating that from May 2009 (the 2010 Camaro's first full month of sales) to May 2010, Chevy's pony car posted 99,872 total sales, outselling the Ford Mustang by nearly 20,000 vehicles (80,340 units total).
The company added that the Camaro has led the pony car sales race for 11 of the last 12 months/
Of course, now that the Mustang has been upgraded with a pair of more powerful and frugal V6 and V8 engines, the Camaro won't have it so easy as May sales proved. That is until GM introduces a revised version of the Camaro and the cycle begins again...
For the record, Detroit's third pony car, the un-updated Dodge Challenger, sold a total of 3,828 copies in May 2010 recording a 42 percent increase over the same month last year (2,695 units), setting a monthly sales record for the second month in a row.

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2011 Mustang GT 350 could be be Last Shelby full body build

Posted by Mr Dung

[Dallas News]

Mustang legend Carroll Shelby is thinking about hanging it up, and retiring from the car business. The 87 year-old has confirmed that the 2011 Mustang GT 350 may be his final project.

The departure has little to do with Shelby's age. He believes performance parts development and sales is more profitable than his Mustangs

"It's hard to make any money on a car," Shelby told the Dallas News. "But our parts business is growing 15 to 20% a year."

If he does go through with the plan, the automotive icon will continue production of the GT 350 for a few more years, with 500 units built annually. He may also franchise his name to a series of authorized shops nationwide to build Mustang tuners and Super Snake models.

Sales at the tuner outfit have dropped off substantially from the 6,000 Shelby models of the 2007-8 Mustang Shelby GT. Since then, the company has let go of nearly 40% of its staff.

His catalogue booming, it is no surprise that Shelby would want to push his 1,000-hp 5.4-liter V8 engines, and their parts, out the door. Still, it will be a big blow to the American muscle car industry if Shelby walks away.

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Designer Revives Ford Thunderbird with Hardtop Roadster Concept

Posted by Mr Dung Friday, May 28, 2010

[Irmaododecio]

The last time we saw the Thunderbird nameplate in Ford's lineup was in 2005, and from what we know, the Detroit automaker has no immediate plans to revive it. Nevertheless, this hasn't stopped Brazilian designer Eduardo Oliveira from coming up with a conceptual proposal for a new Ford Thunderbird model with a retractable hardtop.
Although a little rough on the edges, Eduardo's Thunderbird concept is interesting - we especially like the retro-futuristic take on the original 1954-1957 model's rear section. What do you think about the concept? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Ford Planning to Kill Mercury Division, Maybe as Soon as Year's End

Posted by Mr Dung

[Bloomberg]

Mercury, the maker of higher grade Ford models with waterfall grilles such as the Milan and Grande Marquis, will have the same fate of GM's Pontiac and Saturn brands, according to a report from Bloomberg citing two unnamed people familiar with the plan.
The news agency said that Ford Motor Co executives could ask the automaker's board of directors as early as July to green-lit the (eventual) axing of the Mercury brand.
Ford did not give a straight out answer when asked about the report. "Our plans regarding Mercury have not changed," said Ford spokesman, Mark Truby. "Like any good business, we constantly assess our business portfolio. If things change, we will let you know." Bill and Elena Ford declined to comment, Truby said.
People familiar with matter said that Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and other members of the founding family, who have an all-important 40% voting control of the automaker, clearly support the elimination of Mercury.
The Mercury brand was created in 1939 by Edsel Ford as a Buick-like, entry-level luxury marque slotted between mainstream Fords and premium Lincolns.
The brand's sales peaked in 1978 at 579,498 units, but have since plunged to just 92,299 vehicles last year. In the first quarter of 2010, Mercury's sales accounted for a mere 1.9% of FoMoCo's global sales.

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Detroit 3 Closing Worker Pay Gap with Foreign Competitors

Posted by Mr Dung Tuesday, May 11, 2010

[AN/AP]

Sean McAlinden, an economist working for the Center for Automotive Research, says that due to shifts in UAW retiree / health planning US auto manufacturers may end up with a labor-cost advantage in the next few years. GM is used as the prime example.

Here's a look at the timeline:

In 2007, per-vehicle labor costs for GM were $1,400 more than Toyota, its largest international competitor. $950 of that was for retiree benefits.

In 2008, Detroit's Big 3 manufacturers (Ford, GM and Chrysler LLC) were reportedly paying their hourly employees $69,368 per year on average versus $70,185 being earned by employees at foreign-owned plants. Salaried employees at the Detroit automakers were making $122,963 versus $81,506 earned by foreign-based counterparts.

Now, after all the re-negotiations, GM is working towards a new goal: "[hiring] more workers at the lower wage and it [hiring] fewer skilled-trades workers, who make more money than other factory workers".

With 2,300 new employees working under the revised wage/retirement plans, GM's employees are only $2 more costly than Toyota's. McAlinden predicts that over the next 5 years, GM may even undercut Toyota's pay by up to $10.

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Nissan, Ford, Chrysler lead U.S. sales gain of 20% in April

Posted by Mr Dung Tuesday, May 4, 2010

[Autonews]

Automobile sales in the U.S. market bounced back resoundingly last month with Ford, Nissan and Chrysler posting the biggest gains.

Vehicle retail sales were up 20 % in the United States for the month of April. Industry sales totaled 982,302 units for the month, up from 819,692 for April of last year. That figure means a seasonally adjusted rate of 11.5 million unit sales for the year - an encouraging indicator but still well below the more than 16 million unit highs seen in the middle of the last decade.

Ford saw its sales rise 25%, with a sharp increase (42%t) in its F-Series pickup truck range and a 41% jump for its Escape SUV. Chrysler also had a 25% increase in sales, the first time it has seen a double-digit gain in five years. Nissan had one of the highest gains in the industry with a 35% jump.

But the benefits of higher sales were had by almost all automakers - with Subaru boosting sales by a whopping 48% and VW Group (including Audi) experiencing a much needed bump of 39%.

Even Toyota, plagued recently by recall problems and a federal fine for not reporting them on time, saw a rise in sales of 24% - driven by incentives the automaker has had to provide customers in order to maintain its market share.

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Ford Confirms 2.0 Turbo for Explorer And Edge,3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost Turbo for F-150

Posted by Mr Dung Monday, April 12, 2010

The 0-liter EcoBoost unit will be launched along with a smaller displacement 6-liter EcoBoost unit, which will be used initially on the European C-Max people mover, by the end of the year.

Now, the Detroit automaker has officially confirmed that the 2011 F-150 pickup truck will be offered with its 5-liter turbocharged V6 upgraded for rear-wheel-drive applications, while a new 0-liter inline-four turbo will find its way under the hood of the next next-generation Ford Explorer SUV and Edge CUV.Ford said that over the next few years, it plans to equip as much as 80 percent of the firm's global nameplates and 90 percent of North American nameplates with EcoBoost.The company added that by the end of 2012, 98 percent of its North American market vehicles will be equipped with more fuel-efficient six-speed transmissions and that by 2014, as many as 20 percent of its global nameplates will be fitted with stop/start systems.Over the past few months we've heard several rumors regarding the models that will get FoMoCo's EcoBoost turbocharged engines.

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Mountune Has Released a New Kit For The Ford Focus RS

Posted by Mr Dung Sunday, April 11, 2010

The new kit is essentially aimed at making your older RS better than the up and coming RS500 — which happens to already be sold out.While the limited edition RS500 we are unveiling at the Leipzig Show today will remain the ultimate Focus RS, this upgrade provides existing customers with the attractive Ford-approved performance enhancement option that many RS owners have been asking for,” said Focus RS500 exec Matthias Tonn.

The MP350 package will be available for all RS owners, old or new.The tuner added a bigger air filter, a new intercooler and a new exhaust pipe.Following this, they modified the ECU and added a better fuel pump.There will be a new 0-100km/h time of 4 seconds, which is 2 seconds quicker than the upcoming RS500 model.The MP350 RS will reach 160km/h in 2 seconds, and 241km/h in 0 seconds.Mountune has said that this package is approved by Ford, and it will be sold through UK dealerships.Power is boosted by 15% for an overall of 257kW with 460Nm of torque.The Mountune kit will hit the market with a price of £1,995, plus £200 for labor.Mountune, a UK tuning company, has released a new kit for the Ford Focus RS.

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Ford agrees to sell Volvo to Geely for $1.8B

Posted by Mr Dung Monday, March 29, 2010

[Detnews]

Chinese car producer Geely has agreed to purchase Swedish automaker Volvo from Ford for $1.8 billion. The sum is a far cry from the $6.45 billion Ford spent to acquire Volvo in 1999.

The deal was signed on Sunday at the Gothenburg, Sweden, offices of Volvo. Because the two firms need regulatory approval in several countries, the agreement is not expected to be finalized until October.

Geely's binding deal requires them to pay $1.6 billion in cash up front, with the remaining $200 million to be paid in the future. It gives Ford the opportunity to focus on its core brand, as well as Lincoln and Mercury.

"For Ford, the completion of the sale of Volvo Cars will conclude the divestiture of our global premium brand portfolio, allowing us to concentrate further on integrating the Ford core brand globally as we continue to execute our One Ford plan," said Ford CFO Lewis Booth.

This is Ford's fourth brand sale in recent times. The company sold Aston Martin in 2007, and both Land Rover and Jaguar in 2008.

Geely will take over a brand that lost $934 million in 2009, and $1.7 billion a year earlier. The company believes they will be able to turn Volvo around by giving the luxury brand an immediate foothold in the Chinese market.

The new owners say they do not plan to move Volvo out of Sweden any time soon. Volvo employs 14,000 people in Sweden, and another 6,000 elsewhere.

“I see Volvo as a tiger. It belongs to the forest and shouldn’t be contained in the zoo,” said Geely chair Li Shufu in Mandarin. Referring to Volvo's main factories, Li said, “The heart of the tiger is in Sweden and Belgium. ... Its paws should extend all across the world.”

Volvo production is expected to hit 390,000 units in 2010, up from 330,000 in 2009.

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Roush and Barrett-Jackson Team Up to Create Special Mustang

Posted by Mr Dung Thursday, March 18, 2010

[Carscoop]

Roush Performance and Barrett-Jackson have joined forces to offer a special edition, high performance version of the Mustang that will be built in a limited run of 50 units, with 25 of those based on the 2010 model year 'Stang and the rest on the 2011 chassis.

The first example of this series, teased above, will be auctioned to the highest bidder on Saturday, April 3 at the Barrett-Jackson event in Palm Beach, Florida.

The limited run series represents the first time that Roush will completely re-paint a Mustang from front fascia to rear bumper with customers being able to order both the base coat and the side stripes in any combination from the 25 available Barrett-Jackson Collector Color Series paints.

Aside from the special paint jobs, the special edition Mustang will come fully loaded with Roush body components, interior enchantments and mechanical upgrades.

Among other things, the 2010 Barrett-Jackson Edition ROUSH 'Stang gets a new upper and lower billet grille along with 20-inch chrome wheels with high-performance Cooper RS3 tires.

Inside, buyers will find leather seats with an embroidered Barrett-Jackson logo, four-piece performance pedals, ROUSH illuminated sill plates, a short throw shifter with black or white ball and a new interior badge with the serial number engraved.

In what concerns the 2010MY Mustang-based models, the addition of a R2300 ROUSHcharger and several forged internal components such as the pistons and crankshaft, help the V8 churn out 540 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft. of torque.

Other performance upgrades for the 2010MY include a sport exhaust system, four-piston front brakes with 14-inch rotors and painted rear calipers with slotted rotors and a suspension package with ROUSH front struts, rear shocks, front and rear springs, front and rear stabilizer bars and jounce bumpers.

Roush said that the suggested retail for the 2010 Barrett-Jackson Edition ROUSH Mustang package is $41,495 plus the Mustang chassis.

Details and pricing on the 2011MY Mustang models will be released at a later date.

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All-New 2012 Ford Taurus Interceptor Police Car Revealed

Posted by Mr Dung Friday, March 12, 2010

[Autoblog]

The end of the line is coming soon for the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as Ford today released the first official images of its replacement based on the latest generation Taurus sedan.

We don't have all the details yet but it is assumed that the company will most likely offer the Taurus Interceptor in two guises, a front-wheel drive model with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 and top-spec model based on the SHO with all-wheel drive and the turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost.

Ford, which currently controls approximately 75 percent of the police pursuit vehicle business in the U.S selling approximately 45,000 vehicles to the boys in blue, said that the Taurus-based Police Interceptor will be offered without interruption when production of the Ford Crown Victoria ends in late 2011.

We remind you that last year General Motors revealed its Police Car proposal based on the Australian Holden Statesman, a more luxurious, long-wheelbase version of the Pontiac G8 / Holden Commodore.

Called the 2011 Chevy Caprice, GM's rear-wheel drive police car will be offered with with a 355HP 6.0-liter V8.