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Tag: Ford

  • Tesla is Not Really a Luxury Car, Says Lucid Motors CTO

    Tesla is Not Really a Luxury Car, Says Lucid Motors CTO

    Electric car startup Lucid Motors CTO says that their core competitor is an S-Class Mercedes, not a Model S Tesla. “We differ in that we are truly a luxury brand,” says Peter Rawlinson, Chief Technology Officer of Lucid Motors. “If you look at Tesla they’re high-tech, they’re beautifully engineered, they’re very disruptive, and they’re premium price, but you only have to get inside a Tesla to recognize it’s not a really a luxury car. It’s a premium car but not true luxury.”

    Peter Rawlinson, Chief Technology Officer of Lucid Motors Inc., discussed comparisons with Tesla, Saudi Arabia funding, and rumors of a Ford acquisition in an interview on CNBC:

    Tesla is Not Really a Luxury Car

    We’re on track and the start of production is slated for the end of next year in 2020. We’ll have a range of prices. The initial batch of cars that we sell will be highly specified so therefore they’ll average over a $100,000. But we’ll make progressively more affordable versions of the car available as we ramp up production. Our car is operating in a different sector of the market. It’s truly a luxurious car so we’re really you need to compare us with a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, not something like a C-Class Mercedes.

    An S-Class Mercedes is our core competitor, but a Model S Tesla would be a comparative electric model. But we differ in that we are truly a luxury brand. If you look at Tesla they’re high-tech, they’re beautifully engineered, they’re very disruptive, and they’re premium price, but you only have to get inside a Tesla to recognize it’s not a really a luxury car. It’s a premium car but not true luxury.

    We start in production in Casa Grande, Arizona in late 2020 and we gradually ramp up production throughout 2021 and 2022. We’ll ramp production up from just a few cars to 50,000 units a year within two or three years. New cars will hit the road very early 2021.

    Saudi Arabia is a Strong Strategic Partner

    We’re delighted to have the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia as strategic investors in Lucid Motors. They’ve invested in the management team in the vision for the product, and in the technology that we have at Lucid. All our powertrain is designed and created in-house. It’s world-class technology and that’s what attracted them to us. They’re a great partner because in return we can work with them in enabling their vision to transition the economy of Saudi Arabia away from one which is heavily dependent upon fossil fuels. Moreover, together, we can create hundreds of high-tech jobs both in the state of California and in Arizona.

    I really can’t speak for what moves they’ve made with Tesla. I can only speak for the relationship with Lucid and we’re very strong strategic partners. There’s a spiritual alignment. We both are very committed to really transition towards a more sustainable mobility model. We believe that the way to do that is first to make the very best car in the world, make it in the US, create a premium or luxury brand which is Lucid, and make that a global player. As a consequence, progressively make other models, other cars, which are progressively more affordable and then more people can benefit and we can actually have a meaningful impact on the environment and the impact that can have on global warming.

    Moving the Way That Mankind is Mobilized

    The key story is that we have an alignment, a partnership, to do something which is very meaningful and very good for many people, for this generation and for future generations, in moving the world of mobility, the way that mankind is mobilized, to a more sustainable model. I really believe that is our focus, that is my passion, and it’s something that we can do in partnership. The public investment fund of Saudi Arabia is enabling us to exercise that vision.

    We believe that with the partnership that we’ve gotten, the strength of that partnership, and the future we have with a ten-year plan, Lucid can be hugely valuable we’re not contemplating a sale (to Ford or others). What we would contemplate is potential partnerships in technology. We think we have world-class technology that all the world could benefit from. A lot of the incumbents, OE’s, the traditional automakers, haven’t got the technology that we’ve developed. I think they could benefit from that. So I think that model would work, but a sale no.


  • Vehicles of the Future – So Intelligent They Could Drive Themselves, Says Ford CEO

    Vehicles of the Future – So Intelligent They Could Drive Themselves, Says Ford CEO

    This is the year that many of the technological innovations that Ford has been working on will start to come out. That’s the message that Ford CEO Jim Hackett is telling the media at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit which started today. Hackett says that the vehicles of the future will be so intelligent that they could drive themselves.

    Hackett indicated that many of the innovations that will start to appear in Ford vehicles will related to the Internet of Things. IoT features would allow cars to be connected with other intelligent cars on the road which would ultimately make autonomous driving a much safer feature. They could also connect to intelligent cities of the future via the cloud to improve traffic flow.

    Jim Hackett, CEO of Ford, talks about technological innovations that Ford will be announcing in 2019 with Fox Business:

    Ford Working on Vehicles of the Future

    It’s my history to take some time, not too much time, to be very thoughtful about a very powerful way that Ford’s going to win. We are through that phase. This is the year that we start execution.

    A series of announcements are staged in time for when they need to come out. That together forms what we believe are the vehicles of the future. They will be ever more intelligent and ever more fun to drive. They are so intelligent that could drive themselves.

    They relate to a world that in itself has gotten even more intelligent. For the listeners, it’s called Edge Computing. For others, it’s called the Internet of Things. All it means is your vehicle and the things it has to interact with will suddenly be talking to each other through vehicle connectivity, the cloud, and the brains that are inside the vehicle itself.

    This is the Year of Intelligent Vehicles

    There’s a period where all this is evolving and people are going to wonder if we are getting out of the car business. Not at all. It’s just the adoption of all this kind of performance changes what the vehicles can do. We’ve been hard at work mapping all that out and thinking all that through. This year you are starting to see some pieces of that come forth.

    New Ford Investors Focused on New Technology

    The market has begun to see these new technologies as attracting outside investors. There’s news in the last three days of people buying into artificial intelligence drive systems and of people putting money inside other car companies. It’s all about them investing in this new technology.

    Ford is probably even more attractive to people like that because of how run the company is and how well architected the vehicles are. There’s not as much risk in that part.


  • Former Ford CEO: Elon has Really Pushed the Industry to Embrace Electrification

    Former Ford CEO: Elon has Really Pushed the Industry to Embrace Electrification

    “Elon Musk has really pushed the industry to embrace electrification,” says former Ford CEO Mark Fields. “The challenge here is how do you make money at it?”

    Fields says that there will continue to be a large portion of internal combustion engines and that the shift to electric is going to take a long time and it’s going to take longer than people expect.

    Mark Fields, former Ford CEO, recently discussed the impact of the shift to electric and autonomous vehicles on the big automakers:

    The Shift to Autonomous and Electric Vehicles

    We were moving in that direction and during that time period, the financial performance of the company was very good. What the team is dealing with now is trying to define that future and define what that transition is and it’s going to be. It’s going to be a challenge for the entire industry.

    You’re coming to the point now where the cycle is ending so volumes are starting to fall off, interest rates are up so you can’t use incentives, whether it’s extended loan maturities or higher incentives and higher leasing to keep volume going.

    The Challenge is that Electric Vehicles Are at a Lower Margin

    Then there are two new unique things that the industry has never had to face before going into a cycle. One is they have to keep investing in electrification and autonomy. Secondly, when they introduce these electrified vehicles they’re going to be at a lower margin than internal combustion engines.

    It’ll take probably five to seven years for cost competitiveness between a battery-powered car and an internal combustion engine car, so they’re going to have to deal with that environment. Every CEO across the globe is making sure that they’re working on their cost structure.

    Elon Musk has Really Pushed the Industry to Embrace Electrification

    What Elon has done is he has really pushed the industry to embrace electrification. When you drive an electrified vehicle it’s a fantastic experience, great power and torque. The challenge here is how do you make money at it? Elon’s challenge this next year is how do he and his team balance rolling out cheaper models of the Model 3 to boost sales but at the same time not sacrificing that commitment to attain sustainable profitability? That will be the challenge for him and his team.

    Going to be a Large Portion of Internal Combustion Engines

    I think at the end of the day Ford has down in the ranks a great team. They’ll figure it out. The market changes over time. When I was CEO the stock price was down. It was very clear the financials were terrific but the stock price was down.

    I think this is going to be a long game that every OEM is going to be playing as you make this transition to autonomous and electrified vehicles. At the same time, there’s still going to be a large portion of internal combustion engines. This is going to take a long time and it’s going to take longer than people expect.

  • Venture Capitalist Kyle Lui: Next Generation of E-Scooters are Coming

    Venture Capitalist Kyle Lui: Next Generation of E-Scooters are Coming

    Venture capitalist Kyle Lui says that there are a lot of exciting innovations coming to the world of e-scooters. Lui says that there will be larger batteries that will be swappable and where there will be ride-sharing style incentives for people to charge and relocate the scooters.

    Companies like Lime and SPIN, which was recently acquired by Ford Motor Company, are actively working on innovations that will improve the customer experience and e-scooter ecosystem.

    Kyle Lui, early-stage VC at DCM Ventures, recently discussed the evolution of e-scooters in an interview with Investor’s Business Daily:

    Exciting E-Scooter Innovations

    I think there are a lot of exciting things happening, both innovations that the scooter companies are creating themselves and then working with third-party manufacturers. On the battery side, it’s a combination of larger batteries, we know that in the most popular markets they don’t last through the day, so we’ll see batteries that have longer charges. I think you’ll start to see things like swappable batteries. You’ll start to see things where the charging of the battery is embedded into the scooters themselves that allow anyone to be able to charge them and not have special parts.

    I also think you’re going to see a lot of innovations beyond the battery to really improve the user experience. As people are riding this on a daily basis, there’s been a lot of feedback that’s been given on how to improve the consumer experience, how to make it safer, how to start to add autonomous features, how to have places for a helmet, and places to put a phone dock as you’re navigating. I think all of those will be coming in the next generation.

    Taking a Playbook Out of Traditional Ride-Share

    I think at the end of the day the business model is actually quite simple because the companies are very focused on driving revenue, driving number of rides, revenue per ride, and then the other side, the operational cost. So instead of having a large on the ground operations team, to be able to leverage third party, potentially even the riders themselves, to be able to charge them, make sure that they’re in the right place, and really take a playbook out of the traditional ride-sharing guys to make this an opportunity for people to make additional money.

  • Ford CEO: A New Cloud-Based System Being Developed to Control All Driverless Cars

    Ford CEO: A New Cloud-Based System Being Developed to Control All Driverless Cars

    The automobile business has become a technology business with the advent of driverless cars that learn on their own via artificial intelligence. Now we have learned that Ford is involved in working on a cloud-based central monitoring system that will revolutionize transportation. There are privacy implications too, where governments will know where your car is at 24 hours a day.

    From a technology standpoint, this cloud system will help prevent accidents, keep traffic moving, enable smart intersections and promote environmental advantages by bringing more efficiency to every transport mile.

    Ford Motor Company President and CEO James Hackett discussed this concept this morning at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York:

    Three Transformative Technologies

    Ford’s advantage in the future is that it’s got in its hand in three technologies that have been transformative. The first is the nature of propulsion which is moving from gas to electric. It might surprise you that less than 5 percent of the market right now is electric, but it’s estimated to be 30 percent in the near future.

    The second technology has to do with robotics. You’ve heard about AI where the vehicle is so smart that it can drive itself in the future. The third technology, which isn’t as public, is the notion of a cloud-based system over the vehicles. The confluence of the three of these technologies means that we can now design transportation systems differently and with a system that enables and empowers a better CO2 outcome.

    A New Cloud-Based System Being Developed to Control All Driverless Cars

    This cloud-based structure is something that hasn’t been here and what it allows is the vehicle and the city to now have a connection. I was in a discussion yesterday with Prime Minister Trudeau and he asked while we were sitting in a traffic light late in the evening when there is nobody in the intersection, why does the red light stay on. In the future, the vehicle will be mediated through intersections like that with this smart system.

    If you are an investor looking at this it will be over an $11 trillion industry. This is why the tech industry is so interested in our business because it’s a systems play of the smart technologies of the vehicle and the environment coming together. It’s talking about building bandwidth so the vehicles can communicate, 5G is really important. It’s also about making smart intersections so that the navigation of the vehicles are safe.

    Then a third idea is parking where we can have the vehicle communicate with parking spaces. You lose more fuel efficiency trying to find a parking space than you do being stuck in traffic.

    Combination of Vehicles and Technology Now Defines the Car Business

    I look at the car business as a combination of vehicles and technology which is what’s defining it in the future, versus just thinking about it as a pure vehicle. Think of it this way, the cars have a number of computers and software in them today but the way they are in the future is really rolling computers. You have to think of the business differently because of that.

    Ford Committed to be “In Market” with a Driverless Car by 2021

    Ford is committed by 2021 to be in market with a driverless electric car. But this is a marathon, the cars will be super smart and they learn. The way they learn is by being driven. When they hit the market they will be safe, probably have narrow assignments as to what they can do, but over time they will expand.

    The great thing is that when you hear about serving the world, this is going to allow us to do things because the vehicle is intelligent, like getting goods to people that couldn’t get it, helping people have jobs that don’t have transportation today or helping take older people to the doctor. This kind of assistance will be available with that technology.

    This aspect of the car business is one where there is no profit yet, the technology is new, the design of the systems is emerging, but it’s where all the future will be.

  • Ford Focus RS Doing Well With UK Pre-Orders

    Ford Focus RS Doing Well With UK Pre-Orders

    The 2016 Ford Focus RS is of to a great start with sales in the UK. The vehicle was unveiled last month, and according to CarScoops, UK buyers have already placed 1,500 orders for it.

    Not only is the car already selling well, many of the orders include optional extra features. The publication shares this quote from Ford:

    “We expected those first in the queue, many of whom are owners of previous RS models, to be exacting about their requirements, and so it has proved, with many opting for motorsport-style Recaro shell front seats, 19-inch black forged alloy wheels, luxury pack, electric tilt/side sunroof and Ford SYNC2 navigation and sound system,” said Andy Barratt, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director.

    Ford has an interactive infographic out featuring “everything you need to know” about the vehicle:

    “Complete with a roll-call of legendary Ford RS models, it’s the perfect complement to our ‘Rebirth of an icon’ series – the behind-the-scenes story of creating a new generation of the iconic hot-hatch,” Ford says.

    Here are the first three episodes of that series:

  • Large SUVs Gaining Global Popularity: Would Falling Gas Prices Make YOU Buy One?

    Large SUVs Gaining Global Popularity: Would Falling Gas Prices Make YOU Buy One?

    During the economic recession, large SUVs became something on an eyesore to Americans.

    Their sudden lack of popularity hurt companies like General Motors (GM), and made Americans who drove SUVs feel somewhat like pariahs.

    But the large SUVs that U.S. citizens have shied away from for so long may be making a comeback. This resurgence in popularity may be due to the one thing that sparked much of the backlash in the first place—gas prices.

    In recent months, gas prices have dropped significantly. The cost per gallon hit $3.00 or lower throughout the U.S.

    GM recently reported $400 million dollars in third quarter earnings thanks to the renewed popularity of SUVs in America. Ford said its company made nearly $281 million in North America during the same period.

    Americans aren’t the only ones falling in love with the spacious SUVs once more. These larger vehicles are also quickly finding popularity around the globe.

    Karl Brauer, a senior analyst for car-buying site Kelley Blue Book, compared large SUVs to a genie “out of the bottle”.

    “[SUVs have] been discovered by enough people that you’ll never put them back,” said Brauer.

    And it isn’t just the smaller SUVs created by companies to survive the economic recession; non-Americans are very much impressed with the larger SUVs.

    Brazilians love the spaciousness; Indians love their ability to navigate tough roads and conditions.

    The biggest fans of big SUVs? That would be the Chinese, who analysts expect to represent the largest market for the vehicles by 2018.

    In a surprise to everyone, the ordinarily environmentally conscious French is hot on their heels when it comes to purchasing large SUVs.

    With so many nations taking a second look at SUVs, one wonders whether or not this renewed interest in a once despised product is permanent.

    Though Americans believe that the drop in gas prices are to thank for SUVs popularity, we should remember that this fuel is typically more expensive abroad than we are used to. And so fuel prices wouldn’t be much of a factor in their popularity abroad.

    Perhaps large SUVs should thank the fact that for all the gas-guzzling they’re prone to, they’re also very useful in tough conditions.

    The good news is that should gas prices ever spike in the US again, American SUV makers already have markets abroad to rely on.

  • 2015 Ford F-150: It May Be Aluminum, But It’s Still A Truck

    2015 Ford F-150: It May Be Aluminum, But It’s Still A Truck

    The new 2015 Ford F-150s are set to start roll off dealers’ lots in December, and reviews are starting to come out.

    The consensus of the critics seems to come down to: yes, it’s still a truck.

    “Do not approach Ford’s all-new F-150 truck expecting a revolution,” wrote David Undercoffler of the Los Angeles Times, “For all the hype about the lightweight aluminum body, and the promises of groundbreaking efficiency and hauling capabilities, the 2015 model is still just a truck.” The new design embraces the truck essence of the F-150, with some differences from the old model.

    Chris Davies of Slash Gear called it “the big aluminum risk”. Even though the fundamental tuck design of the vehicle remains the same, Ford has switched up the steel body and bed for an aluminum one. This makes the truck lighter and stronger overall than its predecessors.

    “Thus far, the much-hyped 2015 Ford F-150 is living up to its lofty aspirations,” Ford stated in a press release, “One major concern skeptics of the aluminum F-150 voiced pertained to the strength and ability of the pickup truck. Those doubts have been quieted with the recent announcement that the 2015 F-150 is the most capable truck in its class when it comes to payload and towing ability.”

    To test out it’s capabilities, some journalists have taken the new F-150 off-road. “The truck’s plenty competent in the dirt,” wrote Andrew P. Collins of Truck Yeah! “Front and side visibility cameras, only the domain of Range Rovers not long ago, are hugely helpful in tight and technical spots. Hill decent control takes the thinking and foot-work out of tedious downhill driving. And Ford is still the only outfit who offers a beautiful digital tilt-and-roll gauge on the dash. The tech in the 2015 F-150 make it the easiest full-size truck to punt through a trail.”

  • Google Adds Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally To Board

    Google Adds Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally To Board

    Google announced on Tuesday that it has appointed former Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally to its Board of Directors.

    Mulally’s retirement from Ford was announced only a couple months ago, and took effect on July 1st. As a Board member at Google, he’ll serve on the company’s Audit Committee.

    CEO Larry Page said, “Alan brings a wealth of proven business and technology leadership experience. I am so pleased that Alan is now joining Google’s board!”

    Mulally added, “I am honored to serve on the board of a global iconic company that is dedicated to enhancing our lives. I look forward to working together with the Google board and management team to continue to deliver their compelling vision.”

    Mulally was once considered to be in the running for the Microsoft CEO position before Satya Nadella took the position.

    Here’s more biographical info about Mulally from Google’s announcement:

    Mr. Mulally served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive company, from September 2006 through June 2014. Mulally was previously a member of the board of directors of Ford and served on its finance committee from September 2006 through June 2014.

    From March 2001 to September 2006, Mr. Mulally served as Executive Vice President of the Boeing Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Inc. He also was a member of the Boeing Executive Council. Prior to that time, he served as President of Boeing’s space and defense business.

    Mr. Mulally served as co-chair of the Washington Competitiveness Council and sat on the advisory boards of NASA, the University of Washington, the University of Kansas, the Massachusetts Institute Technology, and the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of England’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

    Mr. Mulally holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Kansas, and a Master’s degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a 1982 Alfred P. Sloan fellow.

    Image via Ford

  • Ford Recall Announced For Airbag And Latch Issues

    Ford Recall Announced For Airbag And Latch Issues

    A series of Ford recalls now applies to nearly 700,000 of their vehicles as issues with airbags and latches have come to light.

    Two separate Ford recalls also were announced this past week when it was learned some Escapes harbored a sub-frame problem that could endanger steering control. Also, a second seat back error concerned both the Ford Escape as well as a few other models. There were no injuries although one related accident was reported to have occurred.

    Now, in a new set of recalls, Escape small SUVs and C-Max gas-electric hybrids sold in North America will require the two recently discovered glitches in airbags and door handle latches to be fixed for safety. While the recalls cover different vehicles from 2013 to 2014 model years, most of the Ford Escapes will require that both issues be addressed.

    The first of the two cases regards about 692,500 Escape and C-Max vehicles.

    Due to a software glitch, side curtain air bags might not inflate in some rollover crashes.

    It’s what the company dubs a “safety canopy”, where the bag normally deploys from the ceiling by the windows to shield a passenger’s head in the event of a side impact crash or rollover incident. Because the defect is in the computer delay of airbag deployment, Ford dealers will perform a free reprogramming of the air bag control for customers.

    As for the second recall regarding defective latches, it was found that roughly 692,700 Escape exterior door handles might bind and thus prevent proper door closing. The potential danger in this case is that the SUV doors could come open while driving. As the latch matter affects 692,700 Escapes in North America, dealers will be inspecting door handles for any necessary repositioning.

    Fortunately, these recent issues came to light before any reported crashes or injuries related to them transpired. In a statement, company spokeswoman Kelli Felker reassured consumers: “Ford is committed to providing our customers with top quality vehicles,” and added:

    “We are equally committed to addressing potential issues and responding quickly for our customers.”

    Image via Youtube

  • Small SUVs Are Leading Spring Auto Sales

    Small SUVs Are Leading Spring Auto Sales

    This year’s spring auto sales season is off to a good start, with new a Autodata Corp. report showing that nearly 1.4 million motor vehicles were sold in the U.S. during April. This represents an 8% increase in sales from the same period last year.

    According to an Associated Press report, car manufacturers are hoping that these increased sales will last well beyond the spring. The Autodata Corp report predicts that vehicle sales will remain robust throughout the year and that total-year sales will increase year-over-year to around 16 million, up slightly from last year’s 15.6 million U.S. vehicles sold.

    Nissan was the big winner during April, with sales up 18.3% over April 2012 sales. Chrysler and Toyota also saw big sales boosts last month, with 14% and 13% sales increases, respectively.

    “Sales momentum from March rolled into April pushing the industry to its best back-to-back monthly sales pace since fall of 2007,” said Bill Fay, VP and general manager at Toyota division group. “For Toyota, truck sales continue to soar. Tundra is a highlight with double-digit gains as comfort, safety and technology of the all-new model remain a strong draw for consumers.”

    Other manufacturers did not fare as well during April. Ford vehicle sales were down slightly year-over-year and Volkswagen saw a full 8.4% drop in sales from last April.

    The news comes just as Ford last week announced that CEO Alan Mullaly will be stepping down from company leadership in July. The company’s “One Ford” business plan will stay in place, with the company evolving to focus more on SUVs and other popular vehicles.

    The April sales numbers show that U.S. car buyers are looking for more crossover vehicles such as small SUVs. According to the AP report, small SUVs made up around 16% of all U.S. auto sales during April. This percentage is up 2% from April 2012.

    The April sales boost is also encouraging for the motor vehicle industry as a whole, which has seen stagnant sales through the early months of the year. According to the AP report, January auto sales were down 3% from 2012 levels.

    Image via Ford

  • Ford Cars: New CEO Mark Fields Faces Sales Challenges

    Ford Cars: New CEO Mark Fields Faces Sales Challenges

    Since the announcement that CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally, will step down, there has been much speculation as to what the changes new CEO Mark Fields will make and the challenges he will face.

    The announcement was made ceremoniously at Ford World Headquarters Thursday. Paul W. Smith of the Detroit News described the scene. “The architect, Bill Ford, sat in the middle; on his left, the always smiling, upbeat Alan Mulally; on his right, the always smiling, upbeat Mark Fields,” Smith wrote, “If you weren’t from around here, no one could blame you for thinking you were looking at three brothers with boyish good looks, ready to talk excitedly about the three beautiful brand new vehicles behind them, three “kids” in the family car business.”

    Mark Fields will officially take over as CEO on July 1st, when Alan Mulally is set to retire. Mulally first took over the company back in 2006 when it was nearly bankrupt. “In the past when we’ve had new CEOs, you have a new strategy and a new card with new behaviors on it,” Fields said according to Bloomberg News, “We’re not going to slip back into old ways.”

    One of the first challenges Feilds will face as CEO is a flat lining of car sales. This April, the Motley Fool reported car sales for the company went down 0.7%. Erich Merkle attributed the drop to lack of rental car sales and a shift away from cars towards crossovers and SUVs.

    The company sent out a press release that the Ford’s F-Series has had its best sales in the month of April since 2006, while the Explorer had its best U.S. April sales since 2005. The Ford Explorer made number 19 on USA Today’s list of top selling cars for April, while the Ford F-Series pickup made number one. This news comes in despite of the 435,000 Car And SUV recall Ford made in April, due to a lack of steering control.

    How will Fields take on these challenges? We’ll just have to wait and see.

    Image via WXYZ-TV Detroit / Channel 7, YouTube

  • Ford CEO Alan Mulally Retiring July 1

    Ford CEO Alan Mulally Retiring July 1

    Ford this week announced that CEO Alan Mulally will be retiring. Mulally will step aside starting July 1.

    “It has been an honor to serve and contribute to creating a viable, profitably growing company for the good of everyone associated with the Ford Motor Company,” said Mulally. “By working together with all of our stakeholders around the world, we now are accelerating Henry Ford’s original vision to open the highways to all mankind.”

    In his place, Ford COO Mark Fields has been named as Ford’s new president and CEO. Before becoming COO and leading weekly reviews of Ford’s “One Ford” business plan, Fields had worked for Ford since 1989. During his early years with the company Fields headed Ford’s Argentina division and then took over as head of Ford’s Mazda subsidiary. In 2002 Fields was named chairman of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group. Fields became Ford COO at the same time Mulally was announced as CEO.

    Mulally has led Ford as CEO since September 2006. Throughout his nearly 8 years at Ford Mulally steered Ford to profitability and a modernized lineup of vehicles.

    Under Mulally’s leadership Ford largely avoided the costs of the recent recession that led other American automakers to need a handout from the U.S. Government. Because of this Mulally was rumored to have been a top candidate to replace Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer late last year.

    Despite the rumors, Ford executives believed that Mulally would stick with Ford through at least the end of 2014. Ford this week stated that Mulally’s departure is coming 6 months early due to Mulally’s confidence in Ford’s “leadership team.”

    “Alan and I feel strongly that Mark and the entire leadership team are absolutely ready to lead Ford forward, and now is the time to begin the transition,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. “Alan deservedly will be long remembered for engineering one of the most successful business turnarounds in history. Under Alan’s leadership, Ford not only survived the global economic crisis, it emerged as one of the world’s strongest auto companies. We always will be grateful to Alan for his leadership, compelling vision and for fostering a culture of working together that will serve our company for decades to come.”

    Image via Ford

  • 2015 Mustang to Top the Empire State Building

    2015 Mustang to Top the Empire State Building

    The 2015 Ford Mustang will hit dealerships sometime this fall, but before it goes on sale the car will be making an impressive journey to the top of New York’s most famous skyscraper.

    Ford this week announced that it will be placing a 2015 Mustang on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. The stunt is one that commemorates an identical stunt that was performed with the 1965 Ford Mustang.

    To perform the engineering feat, Ford has enlisted the help of DST industries to create a special version of the 2015 Mustang that can be taken apart and fitted into the Empire State Building’s relatively small elevators. The team has worked for six weeks to get the Mustang convertible into shape for delivery to the top of the building.

    “When our engineers sat down with the DST team to start plotting this out in mid-February, everyone quickly realized that some old-school craftsmanship would be needed to successfully place this car more than 1,000 feet above the crowded streets of Manhattan,” said George Samulski, design fabrication manager at Ford North America. “The deck is too high to reach with a portable crane from the street, and the spire that towers more than 400 feet above that narrow deck makes helicopter delivery impossible.”

    DST engineers created a mock-up of an Empire State Building elevator in their workshop to ensure the pieces of the Mustang will fit. In addition to each of the pieces fitting into the elevator, each load had to be weighed to stay within the elevator’s weight tolerance.

    Once the vehicle pieces reach the observation deck a DST crew will begin assembling it back together. A subframe has been created to hold all the pieces together and the vehicle should look whole when completely assembled.

    This entire process will have to be done early in the morning within the six hours that the Empire State Building observation deck is closed to the public. The preparations and a time-lapsed run-through of the assembly are previewed in a video today released by Ford:

  • Ford Mustang Convertible Improved in 50th Year

    Ford Mustang Convertible Improved in 50th Year

    April 17 marks the 50 year anniversary of the first sale of a Ford Mustang. Over those fifty years, Ford has sold over 9 million models of the iconic sports car, many of those being convertibles. While the convertible Mustang has been a staple in the United States for half a century, many complaints have been made about its construction and engineering throughout the decades. Ford hopes to halt those complaints with its newly minted 2015 Ford Mustang convertible.

    The majority of the complaints surrounding the design of the Ford Mustang center around two issues – the Mustang’s “choppy” ride and its inefficient and noisy top. Both of those issues have been heavily improved upon in the 50th anniversary edition of the Mustang.

    In order to improve the ride of the 2015 Mustang, Ford increased the torsional rigidity of the chasis by 13 percent. (In layman’s term, Ford made the body of the car stiffer.) How does this smooth out the ride, you ask? By adding increased stability to the chasis, Ford is able to take advantage of its newly implemented independent suspension system. The increased overall strength of the chasis also means that less of the bump and grind of the road will be transmitted to the cabin of the car, resulting in a more pleasant drive both in terms of smoothness and road grip.

    Aside from simply improving upon the ride of the 2015 Mustang, Ford also sought to improve the most important aspect of the convertible – the top. For years, buyers of a Ford Mustang convertible have complained about the lack of noise insulation presented by the vinyl top. With new, state-of-the-art enhancements, Ford has settled those complaints.

    Instead of the flimsy vinyl top once featured on the Mustang convertible, every 2015 Mustang will see two layers of top fabric – a full outer layer along with a full inner liner. Sandwiched between these two layers of durable canvassing is a ten-millimeter thick layer of insulation, giving the 2015 convertible a cabin ride almost as quiet as its fellow fastback coupe.

    Along with improving the cabin acoustics of the 2015 Mustang, Ford also sought to improve the ability of its consumers to “drop the top”. A redesigned hatch lock moves the fixture to the center of the car, allowing the driver one-handed, easy access to either lock or unlock the convertible top. More importantly, though, Ford replaced the hydraulic top drive with a new electromechanical drive, one which raises or lowers the top in half the time as the previous model and is also quieter in its operation.

    “When you’re sitting in the driveway or at a traffic light and you decide you want to enjoy some sunshine, you shouldn’t have to wait around for the top to lower. Our team worked to engineer a retractable roof that gets out of the way or closes up quickly and quietly,” said Dave Pericak, Mustang chief engineer.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY_HIcadEcI

    Pericak would go on to add that “Convertible tops and iconic sports cars like Mustang have always been a great pairing. This is the best convertible we’ve ever built with a one-of-a-kind design that is instantly recognizable as Mustang and an outstanding all-around driving experience.”

    To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Ford is hosting several marquee events with the 2015 Mustang. Today, Ford will start allowing patrons to view the 2015 Mustang on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, a publicity stunt Ford has achieved once before.

    Ford will also be sponsoring multiple driving parties across the United States, and is also attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the most eCard signatures, hoping to garner 50,000 signatures wishing the Ford Mustang a happy birthday.

    Image via Twitter

  • 2015 Ford Mustang Fitted with Whipple Supercharger

    2015 Ford Mustang Fitted with Whipple Supercharger

    The sixth-generation 2015 Ford Mustang is set for sale in November, and Whipple Superchargers has already engineered a 700-horsepower engine upgrade for the iconic muscle car. The swift development of the new supercharger has likely been facilitated due to the 2015 Mustang GT sharing the same 5.0-liter V8 as the 2014 model.

    Ford has said its latest Mustang GT will have about 420 horsepower straight off the assembly line, meaning that Whipple’s supercharger will add around another 280. Whipple claims that its upgrade has a “discharge down” design, which allows for more power at lower boost levels and a comparatively flat torque curve. The modification was also designed to be quite efficient, consuming less horsepower while cruising.

    Whipple’s upgrade was designed to be relatively easy to install, requiring very little modification to the factory engine. It’s composed of a 2.9-liter twin-screw supercharger, and Whipple claims that it has 99 percent volumetric efficiency, coupled with an air-to-water intercooler, high-flow fuel injectors and a high flow intake and exhaust system.

    Here’s a fifth-generation Mustang GT fitted with a Whipple supercharger in action:

    Whipple has said that it’s working on further modifications to their new supercharger, and are also developing a new cold air intake and throttle body upgrades for the 2015 Mustang. It’s been rumored that Ford is also working on its own supercharged version its latest pony car.

    The 2015 Ford Mustang:

    Changes to the sixth-generation muscle car include a body that’s been widened by 1.5 inches and lowered by 1.4 inches, a trapezoidal grille and a 2.75-inch lower decklid. New color options will also be offered, along with three engine options – A 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, a 3.7-liter 305 hp V6 or a 5.0-liter Coyote V8, with the choice of either a Getrag six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.

    The 2015 Mustang will likewise feature a new independent rear suspension (IRS) system, designed specifically for the sixth-generation model.

    Image via YouTube

  • Wrongly Convicted Man Freed After 25 Years

    Wrongly Convicted Man Freed After 25 Years

    Tuesday was a good day for Glenn Ford, 64. After being wrongly convicted of a crime, and spending nearly 30 years on death row, a judge finally vacated the conviction, allowing Ford to walk free from prison.

    Ford was found guilty, in 1984, for the alleged murder of 56-year-old Isadore Rozeman, a jeweler that Ford worked for occasionally. Ford has always denied the accusations, and has been on death row since August 1988.

    As he was walking out of the gates of the maximum security prison at Angola, Ford was confronted by reporters, who asked him how it felt to be a free man after all of these years. “It feels good; my mind is going in all kind of directions. It feels good,” Ford said.

    New evidence, proving that Ford did not take part in the murder and wasn’t even present at the time, led State District Judge Ramona Emanuel to void his conviction.

    “We are very pleased to see Glenn Ford finally exonerated, and we are particularly grateful that the prosecution and the court moved ahead so decisively to set Mr. Ford free,” Gary Clements and Aaron Novod, the attorneys for Ford, said in a statement on Tuesday. They explained that Ford’s trial had been “compromised by inexperienced counsel and by the unconstitutional suppression of evidence, including information from an informant”.

    While Ford is thrilled to be a free man, he admits that he will always harbor resentment for those who took those years away from him. “Yeah, cause, I’ve been locked up almost 30 years for something I didn’t do,” Ford said. “Thirty years, 30 years of my life if not all of it. I can’t go back and do anything that I should’ve been doing when I was 35, 38 and 40 – stuff like that. My son when I left was a baby, now they’re grown men with babies.”

    Although no one can give him back the time he has lost with his family, a Louisiana law calls for compensation for those who were convicted and later exonerated. The law states that the person shall receive $25,000 per year of wrongful incarceration with up to a maximum of $250,000. It adds that the person will receive up to $80,000 for loss of “life opportunities.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ford 3D Printed A Chocolate Mustang For Valentine’s Day

    Ford 3D Printed A Chocolate Mustang For Valentine’s Day

    Ford is known for embracing new technologies before other automakers do. It’s already been working with 3D printers for a while to produce prototypes for testing. Now the company is having a little fun on Valentine’s Day by experimenting with 3D printed chocolate.

    Ford recently teamed up with 3D Systems and its Sugar Lab to produce a 3D printed Mustang out of chocolate. If you recall, Sugar Lab is the branch of 3D Systems that helped to produce the ChefJet and ChefJet Pro that were revealed at CES back in January. Now Ford is taking Sugar Lab’s new prototype 3D sugar printer for a test drive.

    The 3D printer shown in the video below takes a novel approach to printing sugar sculptures. Using an inkjet printer head, it sprays water on a layer of sugar. Another layer of sugar is then spread over the wet sugar to crystalize it and then the process begins anew until a full 3D model is created out of it.

    If you want to know more about the Sugar Lab and the work 3D Systems is doing in food printing, you should check out their talk at CES.

    Image via fordvideo1/YouTube

  • Chevrolet Silverado Wins With Upgraded Features

    Chevrolet Silverado Wins With Upgraded Features

    The battle between Ford and Chevy trucks rages on in 2014, with each competitor upgrading their vehicles even closer to perfection.

    The second-best-selling vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado, has upgraded its interior as well as minor changes to the exterior to possibly make it the victor this year. Chevrolet has listened to driver feedback and made some key changes.

    The most notable change is that the rugged truck now sports a remarkably quiet and comfortable cabin. Kelly Blue Book raves:

    “GM engineers put a great deal of effort into developing a remarkably quiet cabin for the 2014 Chevy Silverado, and the hard work paid off. Road and wind noise are nicely quelled at highway speeds, while the retuned suspension soaks up everything short of a sinkhole.”

    The Kelly Blue Book review also compliments the Silverado’s “light and precise” steering with a responsiveness unexpected of the heavy work-truck’s design.

    Not just depending on a smooth ride to up the ante, the truck also offers a strong V8 engine that uses a cylinder deactivation method to provide better fuel efficiency along with more power than Ford’s V6 engine.

    Although the V8 boasts an impressive fuel economy rating, Kelly Blue Book warns that you can receive similar power with a Ram 1500 that sports a V6 engine with much better fuel economy.

    The starting price for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Double Cab is $25,575 with the maximum price going into the $50,000s for the top-of-the-line Silverado High Country edition.

    US News ranks the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 as the best full-size pickup truck of 2014, with the Ram 1500 next, the GMC Sierra 1500 third and the Ford F-150 fourth. Truck brand loyalty likely serves a big part as to why the Chevrolet Silverado is only the second-best-selling truck under the Ford F150. Something tells us that Chevy will keep on trucking until they get that top spot.

    Image via NDN

  • Ford Says Alan Mulally Is Not Leaving For Microsoft

    Ford Says Alan Mulally Is Not Leaving For Microsoft

    Ever since talks began of who was going to replace outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Ford CEO Alan Mulally topped the list of potential candidates. His inclusion was rather exciting for some as he previously turned Ford around at the height of the automotive industry crisis and didn’t even need government stimulus money to do so. As you can imagine, that’s very appealing to a company like Microsoft that’s looking to turn itself around, but it looks like Mulally won’t be leaving Ford anytime soon.

    Bloomberg reports that Ford Board Director, Edsel Ford, recently stated that Mulally is staying with Ford through the end of 2014. That’s been the narrative Ford has given ever since it was first rumored that Mulally might be leaving for Microsoft. While Ford’s CEO is not tied down to the company through any contractual obligations, the man himself has also stated that he wishes to remain with the company through at least the end of next year.

    If that’s the case, that leaves Microsoft in somewhat of a bind as it needs to announce a replacement and fast. A report from October said that the company was looking to replace Ballmer by the end of 2013, but it’s looking more and more like that’s not possible. At best, we will see a replacement announcement at some point in January or February.

    If Mulally is truly out of the picture, where does that leave Microsoft? The company’s other two top candidates – Satya Nadella and Tony Bates – come from within with the former leading the company’s Cloud and Enterprise group while the latter leads the company’s Business Development and Strategy. With Microsoft’s focus on enterprise going forward, it would make sense for them to bring in Nadella as its CEO. Employees, however, are reportedly pushing for Bates as they see his experience at both Cisco and Skype would better serve Microsoft than any other candidate.

    In any case, we’re likely to find out who Ballmer’s replacement is within the next few months. Let’s just hope they don’t choose Stephen Elop.

    [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

  • Escape Recall: The Seventh Since July 2012

    Escape Recall: The Seventh Since July 2012

    It may be time to escape if you’re an Escape owner. And you may want to do it with another car.

    Ford is recalling the Escape again for the seventh time since July 2012. This time the SUV is being recalled to fix oil and fuel leaks that could lead to the engine catching fire. (They may need Katniss to solve this problem.)

    Only the redesigned 2013 model year Escape is being recalled for it’s potential risk of an engine fire. More than 161,000 of the hot-selling SUVs have been recalled and 12,000 of those have fuel lines that may have been incorrectly installed. Ford says the oil leaks can cause the cylinder heads of the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines to overheat and crack.

    The incorrectly installed fuel lines can leak gas after becoming chafed, though many of these were fixed during previous recalls.

    So far only 13 fires have been reported from the Escape, and thankfully there have been no injuries. Reports of engine fires were first recorded in late August, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ford then began an investigation, during which they were able to duplicate cracking of the cylinder heads. They also found leaks in the fuel line, which they were able to fix.

    Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said, “We’re committed to providing our customers with top-quality vehicles and are equally committed to addressing potential issues and responding quickly for our customers.”

    Auto safety advocates would disagree with Ms. Felker’s statement. They believe that seven recalls is quite a high number for a new vehicle model and may mean there are problems with the quality of the Escape.

    Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, thinks this is just more bad news for the Escape and Ford. Kane said, “Anytime you have more than a handful of recalls, it is troublesome. It’s another black eye for Ford on this vehicle.”

    None of these recalls seem to bother consumers though, the Escape has been purchased by more than 250,000 people in the U.S. alone this year.

    The 2013 Escape was first recalled in July 2012 because carpet padding was interfering with the brake pedals. It has also been recalled for fuel lines that can crack, coolant leaks, and child safety locks.

    So if you own an Escape, maybe leave it alone until you can take it to a dealer in January, when the recall will start. Then they can fix the problems for free.

    [Image via YouTube.]