Posts Tagged ‘Ford Motor Co’
Ford Aims for Electric Options
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Last week’s SAE World Congress concluded with a speech by Bill Ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford and Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman. His focus: the future of electric vehicles.
“All the early cars were electric,” said Ford. “They’ve been around for the past century or so, but they haven’t really had mass-market appeal.”
But Ford, a dedicated environmentalist, hopes to change that. He claimed that the automotive industry is on the verge of a major shift, and wants his company to be ready.
“It appears that the biggest game-changer will be electric vehicles,” said Ford during his speech. “Our new plan includes the introduction of five new high-mileage vehicles.”
Citing diminishing oil reserves, climate change and consumers’ desire to save money on fuel, Ford said that the industry has no option but to embrace more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Ford plans to introduce its five new vehicles (the Transit Connect Electric commercial van, electric Ford Focus, two new gas-electric hybrids and a plug-in hybrid) over the next three years. Ford will also improve the fuel economy of its established vehicles in new model years.
“Nobody is getting cocky, or overconfident,” Ford said. “Because, frankly, we’ve only taken baby steps on the long journey to where we really need to go.”
Photo courtesy of exfordy under the Creative Commons License
Tags: automotive industry, Bill Ford, electric, Ford Focus, Ford Motor Co, hybrids, oil reserves, SAE World Congress
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Voice Controls Reduce Road Distraction
Friday, April 16th, 2010
A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study, commissioned by Ford Motor Co., has found that drivers using voice controls for electronics took their eyes off the road far less than drivers who fiddled with music players and cell phones.
Shane McLaughlin, a researcher with the Center for Automotive Safety Research at VTTI, says that as he picks apart accident reconstructions, he’s left with one message: “Don’t ever look down.”
Say McLaughlin, “What we’re finding across our studies is that if we can keep the eyes on the road, that’s a big piece of the puzzle.”
The study looked at 22 users of Ford’s Microsoft-based Sync voice-activated controls in real-world driving situations. That’s important, says McLaughlin, because many such tests done in labs fail to pick up on how drivers behave in the real world.
The study found drivers looked away from the road 2.5 times more often when using hand- rather than voice-activated controls for a phone call. It was 10 times more often for operating a music player.
McLaughlin says the technology is developing so fast that all carmakers should be able to get some kind of voice-control system into their vehicles soon. He says the study shows that if they’re not working on it now, “they should.”
If distracted driving s a concern for your fleet (and it should be), consider looking into some of these new technologies.
Photo courtesy of daleexeenko under the Creative Commons License
Tags: Ford Motor Co, Microsoft, road distraction, Shane McLaughlin, Virginia Tech Transportation Insitute, voice controls
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Ford Unveils New Super Duty Transmission
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Via Business Fleet:
The new transmission for Ford Motor Co.’s 2011 Super Duty pickup will be a significant improvement over the current five-speed automatic in the areas of performance and fuel economy, a Ford engineer said.
Dick Boerema, Ford engineering manager, said during a Web conference that the vehicle will be a “clean sheet” because it’s not an evolution of the current product. He added that the vehicle will be significantly improved over the current version.
Set to go on sale next spring, the vehicle is also notable in that it will be Ford’s first in-house designed diesel V-8 truck engine.
The truck will have a new body and a new six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy for the truck will be “very competitive,” Boerema added.
Although fuel economy estimates are not required on the window sticker because heavy-duty pickup trucks are in a different weight class and do not have to conform to passenger-car standards, Ford will announce more details on the fuel economy of the truck as it gets closer to launch.
Ford’s new transmission uses a one-piece case that saves 25 pounds compared with the GM Allison transmission used in heavy-duty versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. The GM Allison transmission uses a three-piece case.
Photo courtesy of joyoendho under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: 2011 Super Duty, Business Fleet, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford, Ford Motor Co, GM Allison transmission, GMC Sierra
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Crown Victoria Turns in its Badge
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Ford Motor Co. recently met with the heads of several of the nation’s largest police fleets in Dearborn, MI to talk about the future of police vehicles.
The Crown Victoria, an invaluable asset to police fleets for years, is being discontinued. Ford has not sold the Crown Vic to consumers since 2007, but will continue to produce the cars as fleet vehicles until 2011. Although the Crown Victoria is on its way out, Ford is committed to remaining an integral part of America’s police force.
Ford’s major offer to the nation’s police fleets has been the new Taurus sedan. While it may seem like an excellent opportunity for an upgrade, the Taurus and other newer cars lack some of the features that made the Crown Victoria so effective. The Crown Vic was a body-on-frame car, which made it extremely tough and easy to repair in the event of a collision. It has a column shifter, which frees up the center console area for guns and electronic equipment. It also boasts enough rear space for a spacious trunk while still accommodating two suspects in the back seat.
In addition to these major features, most aftermarket police equipment is built specifically to fit inside a Crown Victoria. When some fleets attempted to switch their fleets over to Chevrolet Impalas, they found that their communications equipment would not fit in the vehicles. The Crown Victoria also has rear-wheel drive, which allows for greater handling and more even weight distribution.
With these features missing from many of its current models, Ford has yet to decide on what vehicle will be chosen to replace the Crown Victoria when it finally retires.
“We’ve got some big decisions to make, and we’re making them,” said Jim Farley, head of global sales, marketing and service for Ford. “We have no intention of walking away from our share of that market.”
Other companies are anxious to take over Ford’s contract with police fleets; other big automakers are eyeing the prize, but the Canadian Auto Workers and some small start-ups are also looking to provide law enforcement agencies with the perfect police cruiser. Ford however, is determined to stay in the game, and not just for the money: Ford Americas President Mark Fields says “Every municipality has police, so you have Ford product everywhere across the country. It reinforces that Ford is part of the community.”
Photo courtesy of banspy under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: American police force, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Impala, Crown Victoria, fleet, fleet vehicles, Ford, Ford Motor Co, Impala, Taurus
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