Ford to shift Transit Connect production to the U.S. by 2012

Ford to shift Transit Connect production to the U.S. by 2012

Posted using ShareThis

NEW TAURUS SCULPTED FOR OPTIMAL FUEL ECONOMY

2010 Ford Taurus SHO: The new SHO adds a decklid-mounted spoiler, dual chrome-tipped exhausts and available 20-inch wheels and tires to the sculptured and athletic new Taurus shape.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 15, 2009 – To the untrained eye, it’s just another facet in the chiseled, muscular shape of the expressive new Ford Taurus.
As the sunlight glints off the rear decklid of Ford’s poised new driver’s sedan standing ready to hit the road, the slight but precise lip of the decklid reflects the rays. It is just one of many interesting visual details created by talented designers from Ford’s Dearborn, Mich., design studio for the new Taurus.
Yet they weren’t in the design studio when they shaped the car’s rear decklid lip. They were in the wind tunnel, searching for just the right design statement… and some miles per gallon while they were at it. That’s because the design of the new Taurus has to do more than look good.
“Even with the artistic license that comes with my job, I still need lots of help to outwit the laws of physics,” says Earl Lucas, chief designer of the new Ford Taurus.
With Ford’s commitment for each of its new models to be the best or among the best in its segment for fuel economy, every aspect of the new car’s shape was scrutinized for its contribution to fuel economy.
Because it had to cheat the wind as much as please the eye, Lucas got help from a skilled team of Ford aerodynamicists whose commitment to achieving excellent fuel economy for the new-generation Taurus matched his team’s zeal to create a new design full of attitude and appeal.
Enter Ilze Liepa, aerodynamic supervisor for the new model. Today, designers work hand in hand with aero specialists. Aerodynamic efficiency is so critical to fuel efficiency that aero engineers are consulted on every facet of a vehicle design.
“Yes, every facet,” says Liepa, “especially that decklid.”
Liepa and her team have sophisticated computational fluid dynamics tools to predict aerodynamic performance of various design alternatives created by the design team. And they have dedicated Ford wind tunnel facilities to prove out their findings. Designers like Lucas depend on aerodynamics experts like Liepa because sometimes what looks aerodynamically efficient is actually the opposite.
“Aerodynamics isn’t always intuitive,” says Liepa, “and a really great aerodynamic shape might not be pleasing to the eye. That’s why we work together so closely.”
It would be the almost unnoticeable decklid lip that would test the two teams’ collaboration skills. The decklid shape was one of the final strokes of the new car’s design.
“Collaboration doesn’t mean compromise,” says Lucas. “We had a very specific vision for the design language of the new Taurus. And that’s why we went the extra mile in the wind tunnel.”
Liepa and her team also had clear objectives to minimize fuel consumption.
“We wanted a defined lip on the decklid to shape air currents at the rear of the vehicle. The objective is to minimize the wake created by the car in motion – and to shape the wake. This makes a significant difference in miles per gallon.”
The collaboration between designers and aerodynamicists paid dividends. Its 0.33 coefficient of drag helps the base Taurus deliver EPA-estimated values of 18 miles per gallon city and 28 highway, front-wheel drive.
The high-performance Taurus SHO, with a 365-horsepower (using premium fuel) twin-turbo EcoBoost™ V-6, delivers EPA-estimated fuel economy of 17 mpg city and 25 highway, all-wheel drive. Aerodynamic fine-tuning and a 0.32 coefficient of drag help the Taurus SHO deliver the power of a normally aspirated V-8, without compromise to its V-6 fuel economy.
Outstanding fuel economy is often the sum of many small details like the Taurus decklid lip. Such details are sweated by experts behind the scenes whom Taurus customers are never likely to meet.
As Taurus neared its final shape, the creative tension between the two groups culminated in a team of designers invading the wind tunnel to make the final decisions on the decklid.
As various design iterations were tested in 70-mph blasts of air and telltale smoke traces at the hands of the aerodynamicists, Lucas and his team sculpted their final tweaks in clay right there.
“The fur didn’t fly, but I’m sure some bits of clay did that day,” Liepa remembers.
“I think both sides won that day,” says Lucas. “Looking at that lip, you’d be amazed at how much effort and attention to detail went into that decklid.”
The new Taurus can literally claim to have been sculpted in the wind tunnel to make it ready for the romance of the road, not the fuel station.
###
About Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 205,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

Article found at media.ford.com

For more information on the new Taurus or any other Ford product, call:
Nick Breese
Fleet Manager
Berglund Ford, Salem, VA
540-389-7291x2251
toll free 888-389-7921
cell 540-986-5679

I can deliver your new vehicle, or fleet of vehicles anywhere!

2011 Ford Fiesta and 2011 Ford Focus on schedule for North American launch in 2010

In 2010 Ford Motor Company is not planning in dipping its toes into the small car waters, it is planning to cannonball right in!

In 2011 Ford Fiesta will the first to hit the water and as you may have previously read, it is a very competitive car that should give the Honda Fit actual fits.

Later in the second half of 2010 Ford will pump out a new Focus that will once again sync the United States' edition with the European model. Currently if you were to hop in a 2009 Ford Focus here in the States and then jump in a 2009 European Ford Focus, you would think that some sort of cruel joke had been played up us Americans

"Right now, both of those programs remain on target," Derrick Kuzak, Group Vice President, Global Product Development for Ford, said in an interview with Automotive News. "And on the Fiesta side, launching in the U.S., we will be building on some very good momentum because the vehicle has already launched in other regions of the world."

America will be getting four door sedans and five door hatchback configurations for both the Focus and Fiesta. In a previous interview with Fiesta’s brand manager, Sam De La Garza, it was mentioned that Ford doesn't believe there would be enough market demand for a three door hatch model in the States.

For more info: This story was based in part on previous interviews conducted by this author and information from Automotive News.


For more information on the Fiesta, Focus or any other Ford product,
Call Nick Breese
Fleet Manager
Berglund Ford, Salem, VA
540-389-7291x2251
toll free 888-389-7921
cell 540-986-5679

I can deliver your new vehicle, or fleet of vehicles anywhere!

Ford Transit AWD Joins National Grid's Ford Fleet

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM – July 9, 2009: Ford has reached a new agreement to add Ford Transit all-wheel-drive models to the National Grid's fleet of over 3,000 Ford vehicles.

The deal confirms the continued supply of Ford commercial vehicles to the gas and electricity business over the next three years.

One of the world's biggest utilities, National Grid has been running Ford vehicles for nine years. It has around 900 long- and short-wheelbase Transit Connect models and, evenly split, 2,000 Transit 280s and 350s.

“The new Transit is more refined and car-like,” said National Grid fleet operations manager Gary Foster. “It’s a very diverse range that offers well-proven reliability, with improved ergonomics and driveability.”

A number of Ford Transit LWB 460s have recently been added to the fleet – along with five of the new all-wheel-drive Transit models, in chassis-cab dropside configuration.

“The AWD Transits have recently entered service,” said Gary. “I have tried them off-road in fairly tough conditions, and they performed very well. The AWD option in the line-up is a great addition for semi-off-road users like National Grid.”

National Grid’s renewed agreement with Ford follows a tendering process that included all European manufacturers covering the utility’s area. National Grid operates the Gas Distribution networks in the central region of England and the Electricity and Gas Transmission systems for the whole of the UK.

Each year its engineers attend 600,000 emergencies and 80,000 gas escapes. Ford Connects and Transit 280s provide a first-response service for gas-leak calls, and are also used for meter-maintenance. The bigger Transits are used for follow-up work involving excavations, mains replacement and electricity maintenance.

The National Grid vehicles, which are purchased outright, are expected to cover up to 18,000 miles a year.

Story from theautochannel.com

For more info on the Transit or for a test drive,
call me, Nick Breese, Fleet Mgr
Berglund Ford, Salem, VA
toll free 888-389-7921
540-389-7291x2251
540-986-5679

FORD 2010 TRANSIT CONNECT

—Royal Oak, Michigan

This wasn’t what we were expecting for a “first drive” experience. Instead of being let loose on Metro Detroit’s highways and byways, we were given a carefully planned route in and around the quaint town of Royal Oak and were told to make pit stops at three different businesses along the way. We talked with a catering company, kitchen and bath remodeling shop, and florist supply service about the ways in which the Transit Connect could be a useful tool for small companies who normally had to rely on large cargo vans (Dodge Sprinter, Ford E-Series) or light-duty trucks for their shipping and delivery services. The Transit Connect’s small size, low price point ($21,475 MSRP), and easy-to-maneuver qualities make it a great solution for businesses looking to affordably haul. And the icing on the cake? The little Ford van is pretty good to drive, too.

Aside from some minor U.S.-spec tweaks, the Transit Connect you see here is essentially the same vehicle that has been on sale in other markets since late 2002. In that time, the TC has garnered the praise of the Global automotive press, even winning the International Van of the Year award. And now the Transit Connect comes to North America, boasting 135.3 of usable cargo space, 1600 pounds of payload capacity, and not-too-shabby fuel economy numbers of 22 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg highway.

Powering the Transit Connect is Ford’s Duratec 2.0-liter inline-four from the Focus, mated solely to a four-speed automatic transmission. This engine only cranks out 136 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque, but even when driven with the maximum payload, the Connect still felt peppy and eager to run about town. It’s no rocketship, and the engine does sound rather coarse, but it’s still a pretty spirited little vehicle to scoot around in. Besides, if this van is supposed to be an attractive sell to businesses, it doesn’t need to have sports car performance, just point-A-to-point-B usability. In other markets, the Transit Connect is available with a turbo-diesel engine and a manual transmission, and when we asked Ford about the potential of oil-burning examples making their way Stateside, the executives simply shook their heads and changed the topic. The big powertrain news, however, is that the Transit Connect will be sold as a battery electric vehicle (BEV) starting late next year—Ford’s first all-electric product—capable of going up to 100 miles on a single charge and able to hit speeds up to 70 miles per hour.

In all other aspects of driving, there’s nothing terribly exciting about the Transit Connect, but it still moves down the road with decent poise. The steering feel is nicely weighted and the little van is quite easy to maneuver. Ford boasts that the TC has a 39-foot curb-to-curb turning circle, and after piloting our test car through a series of figure-eight exercises, we don’t think anyone will have trouble making their way through tight city streets and alleys. The braking feel is a bit soft, though this is probably a good thing for those hauling precious cargo. All in, the Transit Connect doesn’t offer any sort of unique driving feel, but we still enjoyed it immensely.

Obviously, the big story here is work-oriented utility, and that’s where the Transit Connect really shines. The optional Ford Work Solutions interface houses everything from an on-board computer with e-mail, a remote desktop interface, and even a wireless printer to the Crew Chief system which allows business fleet managers to track the statistics of each vehicle (tire pressure, oil life, etc.) in their pool. There’s even a Tool Link feature in which a driver can tag all of their work necessities and scan the vehicle when they’re done at a job site to make sure everything is accounted for. Try doing that with your Sprinter.

Customers will have their choice of three body styles. The panel van and cargo van are essentially the same—a cage behind the front seats with no side windows and a flat load floor, though the cargo van comes with windows on the rear doors. In either case, rear parking sensors are available to aid with the lack of visibility. In wagon configuration, a second-row bench is added, as well as side windows, perfect for consumers who don’t need the Transit Connect to be strictly business. The seats themselves are rather comfortable and supportive, and only available in cloth upholstery. The rest of the interior is made up of hard, gray plastics, but given the TC’s work-oriented focus, this doesn’t bother us at all. Everything inside feels well-built and really solid.

What Ford has done here is give America a compact, useful van which can be outfitted to meet the needs of nearly anyone looking for utility on the cheap. It looks good, drives quite well, and offers a host of technological gadgets that will be very useful to all sorts of businesses. We hope Ford sells billions of these things.

Story found at Next Autos.com

For more information or to take a test drive, call me:
Nick Breese
Fleet/Commercial Manager
Berglund Ford
Salem, VA
540-389-7291x2251
540-986-5679
or toll free:
888-389-7921

FORD 2010 TAURUS

By Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
The comfortable and roomy interior was designed with the driver in mind.
2010 Ford Taurus

Type: Five-passenger front-wheel or all-wheel drive large sedan.

Price: $25,995

Engine: 3.5-liter V-6

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Power: 263 horsepower, 249 pound-feet torque

EPA gas mileage: 18 mpg city / 28 mpg highway

Report Card

Overall: ****

Exterior: Good.

The Taurus's design flows nicely around its chunky body. The lines are crisp and the look denotes power. Interior: Excellent. Comfortable, roomy and filled with useful high-tech devices. While it can carry a family, it feels like the driver was considered the most important passenger.

Performance: Good.

The powerful V-6 gives the Taurus plenty of power while the suspension and tires provide a sure-footed performance.

Safety: Excellent.

Front, side and side-curtain air bags protect passengers, and the adaptive cruise control and collision warning systems may help prevent accidents.

Pros: Well-priced and nicely appointed large sedan.

Cons: Why buy the Lincoln MKS when the Taurus costs less and offers more?

Grading scale **** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor

The EPA estimates the Taurus, which tips the scales at slightly more than 4,000 pounds, gets 18 miles per gallon city and 28 mpg highway.

Nothing lasts forever.

Whether by bad luck, bad design or the stars just stop aligning; every good (and bad) thing passes. But that doesn't mean it can't come back: Cinderella may have cleaned a lot of fireplaces, but even she got hitched.
The Ford Taurus arrived three decades ago with a youthful vigor that would propel it to become the No. 1 sedan in America. It was a winner, a juggernaut, the San Francisco 49ers of the '80s with Joe Montana in the driver's seat.

But Montana split for the Kansas City Chiefs and the neglected Taurus became a regular rental. Neither ever really recovered. The malaise of this century hurt the Taurus so much it sputtered on life support. Ford Motor Co. finally pulled its plug, hoping to replace it with the Ford Five Hundred, which then needed more than 500 changes to it after the first model year. It was a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions.
Welcome to Act III: The 2010 Ford Taurus, a car worthy of the original Taurus name and deserving of the title "flagship."
There are a lot of boxes to check to truly become a brand's top-of-the-line vehicle. The Taurus doesn't miss any. It's the most technologically advanced, quietest, most comfortable, largest sedan in Ford's fleet.
It's the premium premiere vehicle Ford has -- and even SHOs off its capabilities with a performance 365-horsepower version.
But it's also attainable starting at $25,995, the same price as the outgoing model. While Ford may not care for this advice, I could not tell any consumer to buy the 2009 Taurus for the same price as a 2010 -- really, there is no comparison between the two.
The 2010 Taurus is so much better.
First, there are the features that come with this car. It has nearly everything but a refrigerator in the second row (which Ford will tell you the large crossover Ford Flex does).
Here's just a sampling:
• Adaptive cruise control: Radar mounted under the front bumper monitors the traffic in front of the car and maintains the speed of other vehicles. If they slow down, so does the Taurus.
• Blind spot detection: A little yellow light turns on in the outside mirror if a car is the blind spot. After using this feature twice, you will demand every car comes with it.
• Keyless entry: Finally a number pad on the door that doesn't look like an aftermarket remote control. Touch it with the car's key in your pocket and the door unlocks.
• Cross Traffic Alert: Very helpful when backing up because it looks both ways for oncoming traffic, so you don't have to.
There's more: Rain sensing wipers; navigation with Sirius Travel Link; third-generation Sync to control your phone, iPod, and Sony stereo; and a programmable key to limit a teen driver's overconfidence.
Then there's the class-exclusive derriere rubber. Ford calls its Multi-Contour Seats with Active Motion -- designed to keep the circulation rolling in your legs on long trips. Whatever name you use, it works fabulously with an embarrassingly awkward introduction.
The great indoors
But the interior is more than a collection of gadgets. There's a cohesive quality to the layout. There's flow, high-grade materials and a sense of purpose. Sure you can switch between seven different interior lighting colors, but it's the ambient lighting scheme that makes the Taurus feel more luxurious. The high sitting center stack makes the front feel more like a cockpit of a race car than a Sunday driver.
Additionally, Ford uses a few tricks to make you think it's even nicer. Check out the door inserts, how the material looks and feels like leather. It's not, but your friends don't need to know that little piece of information. It's also why the Taurus comes in a much more affordable price.
There's loads of space inside the cabin with more than 41 inches of legroom up front and 38 inches of legroom in the back. Three adults can easily fit in the back. The trunk is also massive, with 20.1 cubic feet of space.
There's more luxury than you'd expect.
And significantly more performance than you'd think. Ford says it focused on making the Taurus more fun to drive. It's not Mustang, but for a big sedan, it can get up and play. Here's how it did it.
Give the Taurus an independent suspension, a powerful V-6 and power rack-and-pinion steering. Include some big wheels (up to 20-inches) and stiffen up the ride slightly so the body doesn't roll like a boat at high seas. The Taurus manages to remain stately on the road while providing more than a few smiles.
The all-wheel drive models I tested felt more agile on the road than their front-wheel-drive-only brothers. But this car drives smaller than it looks.
The power steering feels a little numb in city driving but excellent on open highways.
Impressive power
The 3.5-liter V-6 pushes out an impressive 263 horsepower. The six-speed automatic transmission is very smooth, even during aggressive driving. It tends to want to get to sixth gear a little too quickly for my liking, but that's because it wants to stretch every drop of gas. The EPA estimate for the Taurus is 18 miles per gallon in the city and 28 mpg on the highway.
Ford includes paddle shifters on the Taurus for those who want to try and push the car a little. They seem natural on the performance Taurus SHO, but awkward on the regular sedan. Then again, you don't have to use them.
Another notable quality on the new Taurus is how quiet it rides. Consumers equate quiet rides to quality for a reason: Better built cars, using higher grade materials, tend to ride quieter. Sometimes perception and reality park in the same space.
Based on the Intercepter, a dark and powerful-looking concept car, the Taurus's exterior was drawn with a thick Sharpie. There's a heavy feel to it (perhaps because the Taurus weighs a touch over 4,000 pounds).
But the thick three bar grille looks right for this car. Its face squints as it moves toward you, and the lower front end makes the Taurus look like it's ready to jump. Instead of giving it very small windows and lower the car's profile, the greenhouse on the Taurus provides plenty of glass. The roof is flatter than curved, but that's why the car provides so much headroom (37.8 inches) in the back.
While the Taurus looks big and strong, there are no sharp edges. The corners are rounded, as if Ford tried to baby proof the parking lot. The looks help the design flow around the body. The exterior is not as dramatic as the original Taurus, but a vast improvement over the Five Hundred, which resembled a turtle.
The Taurus won't save the Blue Oval. But flagships rarely single handedly pull off a victory of those proportions. A flagship watches the fighting from a distance, moving its pieces around the board and summing up the competition. This Taurus provides the kind of ride any general would enjoy.
That's the difference between this generation Taurus and the original. This Taurus, with its stately manner, good performance and high-tech interior, finally shows what happens when a car grows up the right way.
It may have had a rough life, but things are finally looking up for the Taurus. Change is inevitable and the Taurus has changed for the better.

Give me a call for more information:

Nick Breese

Fleet Manager

Berglund Ford

540-389-7291 x2251

540-986-5679

FLEET DEMAND MAY BOOST US AUTO SALES

By Mike Ramsey
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. auto sales probably will rise to an annual rate of more than 10 million in this year’s second half as fleet operators finally replace their aging vehicles, helping to revive production, analysts said.
“There will be a more normal replacement cycle that is going to allow commercial fleets, government and rental-car companies to swap out existing fleets,” said Maryann Keller, an auto-industry consultant and a director of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., in a July 14 interview. “Purchases in the first half were abnormally low by historical standards.”
Fleet purchases, along with the federal government’s “cash for clunkers” program to encourage people to replace older, less fuel-efficient vehicles, may push the annual rate to more than 9.9 million, the highest in any month so far this year. Sales of cars and light trucks in 2008 totaled 13.2 million, and averaged more than 16 million a year during this decade.
General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LCC, which both exited bankruptcy in the past five weeks, need a 10 million annual pace to break even, according to the U.S. government.
Fleet sales can account for as many as 3 million vehicles annually, said Keller, who is based in Stamford, Connecticut. They probably won’t reach that level this year, as corporate buyers and rental-car companies keep vehicles longer, she said.
Automakers, shippers, metal producers and economists all anticipate vehicle production will rise in 2009’s second half, That would be the first time that more vehicles were built in the second half of a year than in the first six months since 1991, when the U.S. economy was in a recession, according to data from IHS Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Keeping Vehicles
Rental-car companies such as Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Dollar Thrifty have been keeping vehicles longer. Most of them shifted from “program” vehicles that they buy, keep for six months and resell to manufacturers to “risk” vehicles that are purchased outright, used for at least 15 months and sold to auto dealers, Keller said.
That contributed to a drop in fleet sales and now those cars and trucks need to be replaced, she said.
Hertz bought 16,000 new vehicles during the six weeks before June 25 as demand for car rentals rose, Chief Executive Officer Mark Frissora told analysts on a conference call that day. The company will keep acquiring new vehicles and shifting out older ones, he said.
Rising prices for used cars also are giving fleet operators an incentive to give up older vehicles and buy new ones, Keller said. Manheim Consulting said last week that U.S. used-vehicle prices rose in June for a sixth straight month. Manheim’s index, based on wholesale prices at auctions, reached 114.1 last month after ending 2008 at 98.
Spurring Production
Demand from rental-car companies and low inventory at some automakers will spur production, said Mike Robinet, an analyst at CSM Worldwide in Northville, Michigan. U.S. auto dealers have 1 million fewer vehicles on their lots now than they did in January, he said.
The cash for clunkers program, which provides incentives of as much as $4,500 to trade in an old vehicle, may motivate some buyers, Robinet said.
GM and Chrysler are bringing back production after idling output at many plants for several weeks as they reorganized in bankruptcy. Chrysler emerged June 10 after 42 days and GM on July 10 after 39 days.
Other automakers such as Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. also cut production.
Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. automaker to forgo emergency government aid, plans to boost third-quarter output in North America by 16 percent.
Ford fell 7 cents to $5.98 at 10 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Hertz declined 1 cent to $8.85, while Dollar Thrifty was unchanged at $16.05.
Increase Expected
U.S. auto production may rise to 3.26 million vehicles in the year’s second half from 2.2 million in the first six months, Global Insight said. The industry built 8.5 million vehicles in all of 2008 and 10.5 million the previous year.
Ford’s low-end estimate for U.S. industry sales for the year is 10.2 million, which would mean an annual pace of almost 11 million during the rest of 2009, said George Pipas, an analyst for the Dearborn, Michigan-based company.
CSX Corp., the third-largest U.S. railroad, said this week that automotive shipments would contribute to a second-half increase in freight. Alcoa Inc., the nation’s biggest aluminum producer, last week predicted that U.S. vehicle production would rise by 1 million in the final six months from the first half.
Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, is among those projecting that automakers will crank up production to meet demand spurred by the cash for clunkers program. A rebound in the industry’s output will help pull the economy out of the recession, leading to economic growth of 3 percent in the second half, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Ramsey in Southfield, Michigan, at mramsey6@bloomberg.net Last Updated: July 16, 2009 10:01 EDT
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
LinkedIn
Newsvine
Propeller
Yahoo! Buzz