Eideard

Ford Focus Electric

There’s a surprising amount of water in pretty much everything – first-gen biofuels, anyone? – and Ford thinks it makes sense to get some of that precious liquid out of the process of making vehicles. Thirty percent, to be exact.

That’s the target that Ford recently set for global water reduction, per vehicle, by 2015. It’s just the latest in a reduction effort that has been going on since 2000, when the company started its Global Water Management Initiative. Ford claims it’s already reduced the water used per vehicle by 49 percent between that year and 2010. The 30 percent reduction target is going to be compared to the company’s 2009 levels.

How does the water get cut? By using something called Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) machining (aka dry-machining) and by paying special attention to ways to treat and reuse “wastewater,” to cite two examples Ford offers. Dry-machining, “lubricates the cutting tool with a very small amount of oil sprayed directly on the tip in a finely atomized mist, instead of with a large quantity of coolant/water mixture.” The end result? Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water that don’t need to be sent through a Ford factory.

When looked at overall, Ford cut its water use by 62 percent between 2000 and 2010, which equals 10.5 billion gallons.

The amount of water used in conventional coolant/water mixtures is daunting. Though we all tremble over the task of diminishing our addiction to petroleum, our reliance upon water in industrial processes threatens individual and social water consumption at a truly scary rate.

Disclaimer: I own enough Ford shares to pay for a set of tyres – if I owned a Ford.

Derrick Kuzak, Takeshi Uchiyamada – today’s press conference

Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have decided to work together on a gas-electric hybrid engine to power pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Sorry. Produced by non-car-geeks at NPR. Should have said engine/transmission combination.

The companies signed a deal Monday to share development costs, saying they want to make the technology more affordable for customers and bring it to market faster. Both companies now sell hybrid cars, but trucks need a different system with power to tow and haul heavy loads.

Hybrid trucks would help automakers meet stricter government fuel economy and pollution standards in the U.S. and other countries. In the U.S., the fleet of new cars and trucks will have to average 56.5 miles per gallon by 2025, although trucks will have lower mileage targets. And CAFE standards don’t require mileage numbers as high as stated…

The system would power some of Ford’s F-Series pickup trucks, the top-selling vehicle in the U.S., and it would run the Tundra, Toyota’s full-sized pickup truck. It also would be used in rear-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles, the companies said…

Ford and Toyota also said they will work together to develop standards for the way electronic devices such as smartphones link to cars and trucks. Ford said it’s the first time it has worked with Toyota on any project. This should also piss off Mazda who has been a longtime partner of Ford.

Discussions between the two companies began in April.

The significant factor is recognition that Americans ain’t all going to be bright enough to realize that smaller is better and easier. Whether it’s houses or cars efficient use of comfortable space remains the quickest and simplest way to save energy and reduce your cost of living. Living in a nation that still fondles itself over populist blather, there’s little reason to hope for a nation locked in declining education to suddenly grow in understanding of transportation efficiencies.

The chuckle was that this actually started with Alan Mullaly bumping into Akio Toyoda in an airport concourse. From what I know of Mullaly, I’ll bet he started the conversation and moved it forward.

NOT on the way to deliver newspapers for Rupert

T-Mobile is considering joining Ford by pulling its advertising in News of the World following Monday’s allegations that the newspaper hacked Milly Dowler’s phone after she went missing.

A T-Mobile spokesman told the Telegraph: “We’re currently reviewing our advertising position with News of the World, following the recent allegations, and await the outcome of the ongoing police investigation.”

It is also understood that Currys and PC World are reviewing their options.

On Tuesday afternoon, it emerged that car manufacturer Ford has pulled its advertising in the News of the World. They…said in a statement: “Ford is a company which cares about the standards of behaviour of its own people and those it deals with externally. We are awaiting an outcome from the News of the World investigation and expect a speedy and decisive response. Pending this response we will be using alternative media within and outside News International Group instead of placing Ford advertising in the News of the World…”

A spokesperson from Halifax bank told the Telegraph on Tuesday they would be “reviewing and considering their options with regards to future advertising” in the News of the World, following Npower and Ford’s decision to consider places ads in the Sunday tabloid…

Twitter and Facebook were from Monday busy with users urging advertisers to boycott the News of the World. Many threatened specific companies that they would withdraw their custom unless those companies dissasociated themselves from the newspaper. There was also a Facebook page campaigning for a boycott.

Murdoch’s tradition of opportunism, sleaze and sensationalism — as a substitute for journalism — appears to be reaching a potential qualitative change among advertisers. Who do you want your brand to be associated with, after all? Reputable journalists, hard copy or online? Or creeps who hack into a kidnapped girl’s cellphone hoping for an extra special headline?

Face it. The only aspect of “ethics” that can impress a thug like Murdoch is a reduction in profits.

GM, Ford and Chrysler showed much faster sales growth rates in April than Toyota and most other Japanese brands, in a sign that supply disruptions as a result of Japan’s March 11 earthquake are hitting Japanese manufacturers hardest.

Detroit automakers were also helped by the spike in gasoline prices to near $4 a gallon which fed consumer hunger for more fuel-efficient cars… And trucks.

GM sales were driven by its fuel-efficient Chevrolet compact cars and compact crossovers: the Cruze, Equinox and Terrain.

In March, for only the second time since 1998, Ford Motor Co outsold the larger General Motors Co. But in April GM sold 18 percent more vehicles than Ford. Ford came in No. 2 after it showed a U.S. 16 percent sales gain compared with GM’s 26 percent rise…

It was the third straight month that U.S. auto sales topped 13 million on an annualized basis — which had not happened since mid-2008…

Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager with Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, said that a general U.S. economic recovery will allow consumers to continue buying cars at a rate that will also mean a gradual recovery in the auto industry…

Another beneficiary of the desire for cars that can go far on a gallon of gas was Hyundai Motor Co, which posted a 40 percent sales gain for its best showing ever for April. The cars it sold in April carried an average fuel efficiency of 36.2 miles per gallon, the company said.

In another sign of strength of the Detroit manufacturers, Chrysler Group LLC, managed by Italy’s Fiat SpA, increased April sales 22 percent, its 13th straight month of year-on-year U.S. sales growth…

Sales in Canada reported on Tuesday also showed gains linked to sales of fuel-efficient vehicles.

In my neck of the prairie, significant to the process of good sense overcoming habit, Ford’s best-selling F-150 pickup matched national numbers in that half of the sales were with the smaller Turbo V6 rather than the less efficient V8. Good news all-round, though I’d still prefer the small turbo-diesel they offer outside the US. RTFA for details on each manufacturer.

Long range, we’re still waiting and hoping for the Ford Focus EV to get its electric butt to New Mexico before my wife’s ancient Volvo gives up the ghost.

DISCLAIMER: I own enough shares in Ford to buy a breakfast burrito for each of us.

WRC is the closest of all world class motorsport competition to the genuine road environment, though conditions vary considerably across the 13 race, five continent series from last weekend’s first round in Sweden where blizzards and -28ºC temperatures necessitated tungsten-tipped studded Michelin tyres, through to the gravel and rocks and 40ºC temperatures the cars will encounter a fortnight from now in Mexico.

New “environmentally aware” regulations were introduced this year based around 1600cc turbocharged, 4WD cars, and Ford’s all-new Fiesta RS made a dream debut with a 1-2-3 finish…

RTTFA for all the details – and lots of photos. Most countries show at least delayed coverage of each event. VersusTV is the likely source here in the USA.

The Ford Focus Electric, like other EVs on the way to market, will give owners the ability to travel without ever visiting a gas station. That’s a very compelling reason to go green, and Ford tells us that its upcoming EV has a lot more going for it than just its lack of petrol. For example, when does an electric car need an oil change? Never, and you’ll also never have to give another thought to oil, fuel or air filters.

Another typical service expense is the tune up, but without spark plugs, plug wires, a radiator or power steering fluid, there won’t be a lot to replace, flush or fill. You’ll also never have to worry about a muffler, water pump, serpentine belt or starter.

Look over Ford’s list of the top 25 things you won’t have to service in a new Focus Electric. The list includes “battery” as one of the items you won’t have to service or replace during the first 150,000 miles of life. Talk about your low-cost service experience…

I admit I hadn’t thought about this aspect of owning an electric car.

The average range of most electric cars coming into the market would allow for forgetting to charge the battery for several days. The cost of an electric commute is tantalizing. Skipping 95% of the maintenance requirements of an infernal combustion engine adds significantly to the package.

Porsche has rolled out a race-bred version of the company’s 918 Spyder Concept at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. Packing the same drivetrain as the track-proven 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car, Porsche says that the 918 RSR will bring a whopping 767 combined horsepower to the party when it shows up in the paddock. A total of 563 of those ponies are provided by a 6.2-liter V8 that revs to an atmospheric 10,300 rpm. Porsche has partnered its beastly eight-pot with two electric motors capable of 75 kilowatts of juice positioned at each front wheel.

The 918 RSR stores braking energy in a flywheel accumulator stationed where the passenger seat would traditionally rest, and the tech allows the driver to summon up an extra bump in power for passing or acceleration. The pilot can command the boost in grunt for up to eight seconds.

Like the 918 Concept, the bones of the 918 RSR are built of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and the body was penned to pay respect the legendary racers like the 917 short-tail.

Phew! I don’t know. Maybe if I was as young as my brain thinks I am. And as wealthy as some Republicans think they are…

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That’s right. #1 seller in the U.S. is still the F-150

Toyota’s U.S. vehicle sales fell in 2010 while industrywide sales rose 11 percent and every other major automaker reported gains. Ford moved up to second place behind only General Motors…Deliveries in December accelerated to the fastest pace of the year…

“The black clouds from Toyota’s recalls just don’t seem to go away,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for Santa Monica, California-based auto pricing website Truecar.com. “We saw Ford, GM and Hyundai-Kia come on strong. Brand loyalty isn’t what it used to be.”

Industrywide sales in 2010 totaled 11.6 million, according to Autodata Corp., based in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. That’s up from 10.4 million the previous year for the first gain since 2005 and the largest percentage increase since 1984…

Like everything else associated with the Great Recession, you shouldn’t be surprised over dynamic percentage increases. Even the rate of jobs growth is larger than previous recessions – but, it doesn’t always feel like much since we’re starting back from the exceptional pit dug by neocon corruption and laissez-faire economics.

“This is a market that’s coming back significantly,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive, a researcher in Lexington, Massachusetts. “And with really strong products coming from GM, Ford and Chrysler, there’s a lot of opportunity for change in the marketplace…”

Ford was the best-selling make in the U.S. in 2010, displacing Toyota’s namesake brand, which fell to third behind GM’s Chevrolet. Ford sold 1.76 million Ford-brand vehicles last year, while GM sold 1.57 million Chevrolets and Toyota sold 1.49 million Toyota cars and trucks…

Rising consumer confidence and retail spending bode well for car sales and may help boost 2011 industrywide sales, including heavy-duty trucks, to 13 million to 13.5 million vehicles, Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales operations, said today on a conference call.

RTFA for details on each marque. They all bode well. Well enough, I guess, for partisanship to resume among those of us who were cheerleaders for TARP and keeping an entire national industry from going down the tubes to satisfy those who base their dollar politics on redemption tales and the Kool-Aid Party.

At the end of August, we reported that Audi would “more than double” its lineup of clean diesel models in the U.S. within the next year, or maybe two. Those words rolled from the lips of Audi U.S.A’s chief marketing officer, Scott Keogh, who adamantly claimed that the company’s highly efficient TDI engine was key to the company’s “growth and success in the [U.S.] marketplace.” Keogh’s admission that the automaker would unleash more TDI-equipped models on U.S. turf was the first time in which we recollect an Audi official uttering such words.

Now, here’s take number two. Audi of America spokesperson Brad Stertz attended a panel to discuss Green Car Journal’s 2010 Green Car of the Year tour. Stertz reinforced Keogh’s statement and added that Audi’s successful TDI-powered A3 model has encouraged the automaker to quickly move forward with plans to bring additional clean diesel vehicles to the U.S. According to Stertz, six out of ten A3 hatchbacks sold in the U.S. are of the oil-burning variety. Stertz added, “We thought we’d be lucky if (A3 sales in the U.S.) would be 18 percent TDI. We’re only limited by the fact that we can’t import any more.”

Stertz reconfirmed that no less than a pair of new diesel models bearing the four-ringed emblem will hit American showrooms by the end of 2012 and additional reports suggest that an oil-burning option will be available on every Audi model by 2015. Clearly, Audi, and even partner Volkswagen, have made tremendous strides in eliminating the American belief that diesels are smoky, stench-filled vehicles of the past. In doing so, both automakers discovered the key to oil-burning success.

I can understand someone like Ford sticking with their turbo-ized small-displacement gasoline engines. They’ve made a commitment to that solution for that part of the potential market. Just as Toyota did with hybrids. Like Toyota, sticking with the drill for significant period of time is required.

So far, the result seems to be sales increasing faster than available product. Not exactly a bad problem.

My kind of Mercury

This was bound to happen sooner or later. Over the last ten years, Mercury’s sales numbers have plummeted, and currently, the brand only accounts for 0.8 percent of Ford Motor Company’s overall market share. In a press conference this afternoon…the automaker has officially announced that Mercury will be discontinued in the fourth quarter of this year.

With all of the forward momentum that Ford has been experiencing over the past few years, no brand-specific models were introduced to the Mercury lineup. What’s more, the vast majority of recent Mercury purchases were made through discounts offered to retirees, friends and family. Mercury’s dealer network (coupled with the Lincoln brand) is currently in the process of being notified about Ford’s decision, and owners are reassured that existing Mercury products can still be serviced at any Ford or (newly standalone) Lincoln dealer.

But it isn’t all bad news down in Dearborn – Ford is using Mercury’s demise as a better reason to seriously beef up the Lincoln brand. Including the 2011 MKZ Hybrid and refreshed 2011 MKX, Ford is expanding the Lincoln lineup with the addition of seven all-new or wholly refreshed vehicles, including the brand’s first-ever C-segment vehicle, possibly related to the C Concept that we saw at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Furthermore, Lincoln will be offering EcoBoost powertrains across the entire lineup, including the next-generation Navigator full-size SUV. Ford is committed to making Lincoln substantially more prosperous in America, saying that the brand will house more useful features and technology than any other competitor, as well as offering the most fuel-efficient lineup of luxury vehicles.

Alan Mulally is the closest thing to Steve Jobs currently in the U.S. automobile industry. What I mean by that is the ability to see far enough ahead of consumers’ needs and requirements to get the next best thing ready in time for that market.

Disclaimer: I own enough Ford shares to buy a fraction of a Fiesta. But, I admit I bought ‘em cheap.