Ford made a profit. Yes, you read that right, a car company, and not just that, but an American car company, actually made money in the past quarter. After all the doom, gloom, buy-outs, shotgun marriages, bankruptcies and the like, this is the last thing you’d expect to read, but it sure looks like it’s true.

And add to that that this is Ford Motor Company that we’re talking about. The only car company of “The Big Three” that walked away from the government bailout cash. They took a look at the terms of the deal, and said, ‘No thanks, we think we can make it on our own.’ And damn if they weren’t right.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Alex Kramer

Pros:

• Responsive 240 hp V6 engine
• Capable chassis and suspension
• Roomy and comfortable interior
• Good value

Cons:

• Some chintzy interior plastics
• Exterior design still needs work
• Disappointing fuel efficiency

Introduction

Trivia question: Which manufacturer produced the best-selling car in America 15 years ago? If you’re thinking Honda or Toyota, guess again. Although it seems hard to believe, given the recent collapse of the US auto industry, in 1994 the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable reigned supreme, proving that America could beat the foreign competition and build a top-rated, best-selling family sedan.

Unfortunately for Ford, the Taurus/Sable lineup gradually lost its edge and by the late 1990’s Honda and Toyota had firmly re-established their dominance in the market for mid-sized sedans, and it’s been a Camry and Accord love fest every since. Fast forward 10 years and it looks like Ford is finally ready to reclaim its title as the go-to manufacturer for quality family transportation. With the refreshed 2010 Fusion, Ford has an appealing mid-sized sedan that should make the competition more than a little nervous.

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

It looks like Ford will be moving the production of its Kuga small (-ish) SUV to a plant in Kentucky. Yes, this will be good news for those needing jobs in Kentucky (which would seem to be a lot of people), but it also has some interesting ramifications in a larger sense.

For starters, a lot of you might be asking, “What’s a Kuga?” Good question. The Kuga is an SUV primarily sold in the European market. So how can making a car in Kentucky, which is sold in Europe, make sense? And also, if they’re going to build it here, will they sell it here?

Read the rest of this entry »

Even in the current tough economic climate, Ford seems to be moving from strength to strength, and also being able to innovate along the way. The most recent evidence of all this is in the news that various versions of the company’s new for 2011 pickups will be able to run up to 20% bio-diesel or as flex fuel rides. Recently, Ford announced the alternative fuel capacity of vehicles in their 2011 F-series lineup, which is constantly either the best selling, or second best selling vehicles sold in the U.S. Ford is not only adding a new E85 capable engine, but they will also will offer a diesel engine that is compatible with a B20 biodiesel blend right from the factory.

Until now, many diesel car manufacturers have been hesitant to say the least about letting any bio-d into their tanks. Lots and lots of warranty concerns, and some refiners and bio-diesel providers have been rumored refusing to pump the French fry juice into new VWs and Mercedes.

Looks like Ford won’t be sharing similar concerns … or at least they won’t by the time the 2011 F-Series hit the showrooms.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ford Motor Co. will unveil the first of many models that will be built on its new, compact-car underpinnings this month at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Ford’s on a roll, with a ton of Cash for Clunkers money in its pockets while receiving great reviews on all its new vehicles, especially their 2010 Taurus. This is a good time for Ford, and positive responses on the new C-Max will only strengthen the carmaker’s position moving into 2010.

Based on the Ford iosis Max concept displayed earlier this year at the Geneva car show, the all-new C-Max is roomier and more stylish than the vehicle it replaces. The car will debut in Frankfurt Sept. 15, and is scheduled to roll into Ford of Europe showrooms in the second half of 2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ford Motor Co.’s Chinese joint venture with Changan Motors reported a 111 percent sales increase in August compared to the same period last year — the company’s seventh straight month of year-over-year growth.

At this point, Ford is the Biggest One of the Big Three, by making strategic moves that all seem to work. The venture with Changan Motors is paying off. Cash for Clunkers paid off for them in a huge way. And with their newest models and an upcoming whole slew of new ones coming in 2011, Ford’s management is pleased. While the others limp along using money from Uncle Sam, Ford is not government-sponsored in any way, which must make them very happy indeed.

Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that not only is ExxonMobil putting a ton of money into algae as a fuel source (as I mentioned yesterday) but so is the Department of Energy. In this case, it’s “only” $85 million, much less than ExxonMobil’s $600M, that’s still a significant amount of cash. Does this mean that there’s more to the idea of using algae to make fuel than we first thought?

Before we get into that, let’s just have a brief review of what using algae-as-fuel hope to accomplish. As I understand it, you can grow algae at a ferocious rate and the right strains of algae produce a lot of ethanol (or ethanol-like) compounds that can then be refined into fuel that can then be poured into our gas tanks. Will it work? Well, in the last two days, ExxonMobil and the DoE are betting almost 700 million dollars that it will.

Read the rest of this entry »

Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, recently commented on the future of his car company and made a statement that most motorheads would have thought inconceivable a matter of months ago. Mulally said that a key portion of Ford’s future plans center on “more and more electrification, both hybrids and battery electric vehicles.” In addition to that, he also made some predictions as to when the Blue Oval would be in the black.

The Ford CEO said that the automaker is on path to be profitable by 2011. If he was talking about the first quarter, that’s a scant 18 months away. And for a company that posted record losses of $14.7 billion in 2008, and forecast continued losses through the rest of 2009 and through 2010, that’s a pretty amazing thing to say. And something to keep in mind is that Ford is the only American manufacturer to turn down bailout money from the feds. Of course, they were also in much better shape, product-wise than either GM or Chrysler.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• Luxo interior and ride quality
• Microsoft Sync - the only endearing Microsoft product in existence
• Gutsy and fuel efficient Triton V8

Dings:

• Mundane exterior styling…
• …except for the obnoxiously large faux chrome grille
• Cargo loops in bed smaller than a needle hole

Ruling: Although you might not notice at first glance, Ford’s F-150 really is new and improved.

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

>> Review by Alex Kramer >> Photographs by Derek Mau

Pros:

• High-output V6 engine
• Well-balanced suspension
• Solid build quality
• User-friendly SYNC system
• Head-turning 22” wheels

Cons:

• Hefty 4,300 pound curb weight hampers handling, acceleration, and fuel efficiency
• Huge wheels = lots of unsprung weight and road noise
• Transmission lacks manual shift option
• Edgy exterior styling

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2

Ford, perhaps the healthiest of the big three automakers in this very unhealthy time, seems to be pulling another smart move if the rumors about its Euro-only city car, the Ka, coming to the U.S.

Again, this seems like a no-brainer to me. Not only has the precedent been set with the success of the Smart Car (as far as small and urban vehicles are concerned), but this is another off the rack solution to raising CAFE and emission standards. All Ford (or GM or Chrysler for that matter) has to do in a lot of instances is sell cars over here that they’ve already been selling in Europe. And if not whole cars, there’s lots of efficient power plants than could be dropped into the engine bays of North American models.

So bringing the Ka to the North American market (there’s no reason not to sell it in Canada) seems like a good idea. And Ford already has a performance variant rolling along the roads of Europe, so there could also be some fun out there as well. If Ford is smart and this rumor proves to be true.

There’s been no official word from Ford yet concerning the Ka’s potential future here in America, but the recent Chrysler/Fiat deal could give the Ka an in for the U.S. market. Fiat’s 500 and the Ka share the same platform, which could present an interesting cost-cutting scheme for Chrysler, Fiat and Ford.

Source: LeftLaneNews

Photo from Flickr user Panoramas

Flipping channels, I stopped on a cop show rerun - a police pursuit of a young couple running lights, hopping curbs and then screeching to a stop in front of an ER. The wife spilled onto the sidewalk…and delivered a baby. Awwww. Ok, they were drug dealers, but it got me thinking about Moms and the cars that drove them to give birth. Since it is Mother’s Day, I decided to poke around for stories of Moms, newborns and the cars they rode in on.

Cadillac
In a Boston suburb in 1962, Mrs. Castignetti went into labor with child number five, and she knew she had to act fast.  A four-time Mom’s labor can be short, so the Castignettis jumped into their 1959 silver Cadillac Sedan Deville and took off. With HP and weight comparable to, say, today’s Nissan Titan, the 1959 Sedan Deville was part of an elite club of GM luxury cars from an era where a spectacular bottle of Bordeaux would be called “the cadillac of wines”.  But it wasn’t just glamorous, it was wild. How Stuff Works wrote, “What can’t be disputed is that the 1959 Cadillacs, defined by those saber-edged fins and projectile taillamps, are among the most evocative objects of the 20th Century. What precisely they evoke is open to interpretation, and that’s part of the magic.” So it should surprise no one that of the 16 newborns at the hospital, the youngest Castignetti really stood out. Through the maternity window, amidst a sea of only pink blankets, Albert Castignetti slept right in the middle, wrapped in blue. An early standout, Albert Castignetti eventually became Vice President and General Manager of the Nissan Division, maker of, among other vehicles, the Titan.

Read the rest of this entry »

General Motors announced last week that it is looking at ways to reduce energy and water use, by turning to renewable energy at all of its manufacturing plants. The company also said it plans to make fifty percent of its 160 manufacturing operations landfill-free by the end of 2010.

With Earth Day happening this week, this announcement by GM is a wise move at exactly the right time. With GM struggling to rebound after getting hit hard by the economy and unpredictable fluctuations in the prices of gas, the carmaker is taking a proactive approach to being green.

GM is already a very solar-power friendly company– it’s plant in Zaragoza, Spain, has the world’s largest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation. It covers about 2 million square feet of roof at the plant with about 85,000 solar panels. The company has two of the largest solar power installations in the United States–in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, California.

GM’s plants did metal scrap sales of more than $1 billion last year, and recycled 17,000 tons of wood, 20,000 tons of cardboard, and 4,000 tons of plastics

Ford Motor Co. announced that it has successfully completed the debt restructuring initiatives it announced last month, reducing its automotive division’s debt by $9.9 billion — a move that the car manufacturer said will save the company approximately $500 million per year.

The automaker and its credit subsidiary are using $2.4 billion in cash and 468 million shares of stock to retire that amount.

If the bookmakers in Vegas were taking bets on which member of the Big 3 will finish in first place when everything is said and done, my whole bankroll would be riding on Ford. They’re making all the right moves, with great cars coming out and a very proactive approach to becoming a leaner, meaner operation.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kurt Gensheimer

Blings:

• Dramatic interior quality improvements
• More attractive, stylish and aggressive exterior improvements
• Hoot-hollerin’ V8

Dings:

• Intrusive arm rest
• Annoying IP illumination reflection in windshield
• Rear seats fit for a double leg amputee

Ruling: The first Mustang which might actually attract people who’ve never liked Mustangs.

Read the rest of this entry »

page 1 page 2