Auto News Site

Ford – oh Ford, let’s have a little talk about you huh?  Let’s chat about how you have changed a lot of things that you are doing and how you are actually becoming one the lead competitors in the way of technology.  We all know that car technology is certainly the wave of the future and I think that Ford is leading the way.

By far, the MyFord Touch is definitely something that seems to be working.  It is actually a system that is built right into the wheel as well as the console and honestly, it is pretty awesome.  Not only can you control your stereo, but there are a slew of other things that you can control via MyFord Touch!

Ford is the cutting edge right now and while I might find that weird … it is still the truth and I need to accept that!

Ford is actually imploring some real skills here and they are using real humans in a video game simulator so that they can build better cars and trucks.  The technology that has already been used in films and also in some fantastic video games is now making its way into the automotive industry and it seems that Ford is the first automaker to actually use it.

Basically, HOPS is the name of it and that stands for Human Occupant Package Simulator.  In real life – this basically means that there are human test subjects that are using this particular simulator in order to produce better quality cars and trucks.

Ford – to me is really taking the next step and I personally think that is absolutely incredible.

The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA gave the new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrids a fuel rating of 36 mpg on the highway and an excellent 41 mpg on the city.

The figures make these Ford sedans the best of its class in terms of fuel economy. Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids best the hybrid variant of the Toyota Camry by a convincing 2 mpg on city highway driving and 8 mpg while cruising on city streets. According to company officials, the cars also edged the Honda Civic hybrid by 1 mpg on city driving.

The ratings were disclosed after the December testing of the vehicles in its grounds in Allen Park, Michigan.

The new hybrid cars from Ford can go as fast as 47 mph utilizing its pure electric power. It can travel as far as 700 miles if it will use up a single load of its gas tank.

(more…)

Ford Mustang and World War II-era fighter planes, two of America’s favorite icons, combined into one powerful sports car—the P-51B Mustang. Patterned after the 2009 Mustang GT bodywork, it is the second military-themed speed machine produced by Roush Performance. Rated at 510 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque, it is by far the most powerful Mustang ever manufactured.

A stock Ford 4.6 liter with a three-valve V8 powerplant received a major revamp by the Roush guys — replacing most of the internal parts with much stronger versions including the aluminum piston with increased dish, lowering the compression ratio. Steel fabricated crankshaft and connecting rods were added, with the output reinforced by a Roush supercharger. An improved high-capacity fuel-delivery system and an upgraded clutch were also added. Roush equipped it with its Stage 3T suspension for better cornering and handling. As for the external parts, it features a six-piece aero body kit that suggests the various metals used on the WWII fighter planes. The checkerboard design pays homage to the pilots of the 357th Fighters Group, Eighth Air Force.

(more…)

2006 was a good year for the Ford Fusion family sedan, bagging several awards for quality and beating the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry in the reliability index released by Consumer Reports. However, the Ford Fusion has yet to win the North American Car of the Year award, because it was previously given to the Saturn Aura in the same year that Ford launched the Fusion. Ford also needs to revamp Fusion if they want to be a worthy player in the market for mid-size sedan vehicles.

In 2009, the Ford Fusion is due to have its mid-term facelift, after which it will be re-launched into the market as a 2010 model. J.D. Shanahan, the one in charge of model production, knows that it’s going to take more than just minor sheet metal changes and hardware upgrades if Ford wants Fusion to get back on top of the game. Shanahan says that even though Fusion beat Accord and Camry in 2006, they stilll have a lot of model upgrading and redesigning to do because Toyota and Honda will also be coming out with mid-term updates on their own models.

(more…)