Ford Car Talk

The 2011 Ford Edge made its debut at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show together with its sibling the Edge Sport variant. Ford made sure that the Edge will have its advantage against its competition in the crossover market with new engines installed and new technology used.

Ford uses 2.0L 4L engine with Ecoboost technology for the Edge. The company boasts that this powerplant can perform as good as the outgoing 3.5L engines of the current model. The new engine also has a 15% better fuel mileage. Other options include a V6 3.5L engine that ouputs 285hp and a 3.7L variant that has 305hp. All engines are coupled with automatic transmission with some coming with paddle shifters to give that manual-like control.

The designers of Ford kept the excellent driving quality and dramatic lines of the first generation Ford Edge. Engineers have also boosted the fuel economy of the car and focused on decreasing vibration levels and noise.

The carmaker also installed MyFord Touch technology which replaces the tradition control knobs, buttons, and gauges of the vehicle. You can now control the music and other stuff through sleek LCD screens.

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As sales reports come in this August, the auto industry is expected to report not more than 10 million sold units. Ford recently announced that its total sales are up by 2% and year-on-year jumped by as much as 9%. The improvement in the performance is partly attributed to the government’s Cash for Clunkers program.

The numbers of Ford looks solid and a lot of experts want to be as optimistic as possible to see a turnaround for the whole of the auto industry.

The 9% increase in retail sales from August 2008 to this year marks the first recovery of the figures since November 2007. Aside from citing the CARS, Ford also looks to the new and more fuel efficient members of their fleet.

What gives perspective to the jump up in sales figures is the projected 10 million units rolling out of dealerships. The volume prediction is about a 40% drop from the 2008 figures. The overall figure is seen to have risen 2% from the November 2007 sales reports.

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When Henry Ford founded the Form Motor Company in June 16 1903, few people might have guessed that this organization was going to provide the world, over the years, with some of the best automobiles that humankind has ever seen. There are no doubt other automobile manufacturing organizations, but few has been able to provide the public with so many different models of cars that have formed a special bond with the user.

As they say, `once a ford user, always a ford user’. This saying has not been coined for nothing. Check out any part of the world and you shall not be able to find a place where Ford cars are not available. Ask any auto enthusiast about the Ford model T and see the glimmer in their eyes. This is one car that ruled the world from 1908 to 1927 and was also affectionately called as Tin Lizzie and the Flivver.

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There has been talk that Ford’s 2010 Taurus SHO may just be the ultimate stealth automobile. Unveiled at the Chicago show, the sleek 2010 Taurus SHO—Super High Output—beams with an EcoBoost twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 that has 365 horsepower. This four-wheel-drive luxury car offers the capacities of a high performance sedan and still gets a 25 mpg on the highway.

When you compare the new Taurus SHO with the original SHO model, the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO does not only have a more powerful engine, but also a four-wheel drive system with torque-sensing capabilities, and also the six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission. The tranny can be increased manual system that can be controlled using the console or paddle shifters. A luxury car with a great engine!

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Amidst the deteriorating global economy, Ford is spending so much in order to promote and advertise their 2010 Fusion in the market.

Ford and other Detroit car makers in general are not really renowned with family cars. Matt VanDyke, US Communications director of Ford admitted that the company is recognized for its Mustang and truck models.

Ford now is doing means of getting the word out about their revamped 2010 Fusion and its sibling, the Mercury Milan, which will be released this month. The advertising expenses of the 2010 Fusion would be comparable to the Taurus models, and both cars will be called the “biggest initiative of the year”. This is the statement released by Chantel Lenard, the marketing manager of Ford for medium and small cars.

The Ford’s promotion will have the slogan “We Speak Car” and 2010 Fusion will be unleashed on American Idol, and on print and online advertisements. The Fusion will be released with the enhanced Taurus on this year, and will be pursued by Fiesta and Focus small cars in 2010.

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The 2010 Ford Ranger will give way this summer for the 2010 models equipped with the exclusive enhancements for safety technology known as the AdvanceTrac ® with RSC ® (Roll Stability Control). RSC will facilitate prevention of slipping and other hazardous and risky rollover conditions.

The new Ford Ranger is also developed with the new arrangement of side air bags, intended to provide protection for the head and upper body.

Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the 2010 Ranger can present 26 mpg fuel efficiency on the highway. The Ford also received a commendable 5-star rate for safety vehicles awarded by the US government.

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Ford Motors and Microsoft enhance their sync system with navigation and information features to keep pace with their rival’s telematics.

The third generation Sync comes with audio-based traffic updates, voice guide turn per turn navigation, and customizable news feeds that do not need the display screen.

These developments were unveiled by Microsoft when they showcased the new Sync during the International Consumer Electronics Show.

The voice prompting and instruction allows the drivers to concentrate their attention on the road and avoid eyes looking at the screen or hands leaving the steering wheel to press controls for navigation guides.

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The Ford Fiesta, a sub-compact from Ford motors, will be enjoying the benefits of social networking sites like Facebook to be known in the market.

The Fiesta is schedule to roll out of the showrooms in the United States during the early part of 2010 but the car manufacturer is inviting around 100 tech savvy consumers to test drive the vehicle as early as April this year.

The consumers who will get the first try behind the wheels of the Fiesta are expected to tell the world of their experience through sites like YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook.

The brand manager for the Fiesta is very confident about the specs of the new vehicle from Ford but they want to incorporate the real experience of people when driving the car into the marketing aspect.

The effect of the early hands on is expected to be two-fold: the test drives will stir excitement as the drivers will relate their experience and will also serve as feedback to the design team at Ford.

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In hot pursuit of electric car race, Ford announced its strategic alliance with Magna International, an automotive supplier in Canada, at the 2009North American International Show in Detroit. Together, they are creating a series of electrically propelled vehicles using lithium-ion battery packs.

By 2012, Ford plans to produce battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids and hybrid electrical vehicles. All the BEV electric traction motor, energy storage system, transmission, motor controller, battery charger and other related systems will come from Magna. Ford stressed that its decision to choose Magna as its partner is based on their presumption that they will be able to produce first-class products with Magna’s help.

While Magna has been building European cars for years, this will be the first time that it will be engaging in the final assembly for an American carmaker on a contract basis.

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Ford Motor Co. struggles in the fourth quarter of 2008 without any help from the federal government. The company burned through funds amounting to $5.5 billion in the last stretch of the previous year.

The car manufacturer finished 2008 with a $13.4 billion cash reserves. Ford will be drawing down available credit lines of $10.1 billion to address concerns on the rocky global economy.

Ford files a net loss amounting to $5.9 billion for the 4th quarter of 2008 compared to a year over year $2.5 billion. The car manufacturer closes 2008 as its third year of not earning any profits. Pretax operation loss was recorded on their books at $3.7 billion compared to $620 million in 2007.

The whole of the auto industry faced an unusual major slowdown in markets all over the globe recorded during the last three months.

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