Random Acts of Fusion

Celebrity personalities Joel McHale and Kate Micucci join Ryan Seacrest as the latest talent to guide consumers through the entertaining and interactive journey of Random Acts of Fusion. Random Acts of Fusion is aimed at introducing the new Fusion to millions before it hits showrooms this fall, consumers around the country can get involved at www.RandomActsofFusion.com.

2013 Mustang Lineup

Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walk you through the entire 2013 Ford Mustang lineup.

Ford Provides $50,000 to Help Western Wildfire and Other Disaster Victims

• Ford Motor Company Fund is contributing $50,000 to the American Red Cross and its local chapters for areas in Colorado hit by wildfires; flood-impacted areas in Florida also given support
• Matching donations by Ford employees will increase total contributionsAmerican Red Cross and Ford have been active partners for more than 30 years

DEARBORN, Mich., July 6, 2012 – Ford Motor Company Fund is donating $50,000 to the American Red Cross and its chapters to assist with disaster relief in the wake of severe summer weather. In Colorado, the funds will be used by Red Cross chapters in Denver and Colorado Springs to assist with relief efforts associated with the wildfires. Matching employee donations will increase total contributions.

 

“Severe weather has hit many areas of the country this summer,” noted Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “We know that the need is great in Colorado specifically, and we are pleased to add our resources to assist with American Red Cross relief efforts there and elsewhere.”

 

The Phil Long Ford Lincoln dealership in Colorado Springs is an example of a local business providing critical support for those affected by the Waldo Canyon Fire. Besides donating money for the relief efforts, the dealership has provided vehicles to agencies assisting with the recovery, including for the delivery of food and water to firefighters.  Phil Long Ford Lincoln is keeping its service department open 24 hours a day, and technicians are working around the clock, to ensure that emergency and support vehicles are operational. 

 

Ford Fund donations also are supporting relief efforts for areas impacted by tropical storms including Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando in Florida. These donations all are part of Ford’s involvement in the 2012 Red Cross Disaster Responder Program. 

 

The American Red Cross and Ford Motor Company have been active partners for more than 30 years. 

2013 Ford Fusion Auto Start-Stop

The 2013 Fusion is the first non-hybrid Ford available in America with Auto Start-Stop. Auto Start-Stop automatically shuts down the engine when the car comes to a stop to avoid wasting fuel while idling. Ford engineers have devised numerous patent-pending control strategies to make the system smoother and more seamless while keeping the driver and passenger comfortable on both cold and hot days.

Ford Traffic Jam Assist Technology

Traffic Jam Assist is a next-generation driving technology that enables cars to automatically keep pace with traffic flow. It uses existing Ford technologies to monitor and interact with the vehicle's surroundings, and guide the vehicle in slow moving traffic independently.

Ford C-MAX Hybrid Aims for 47 MPG to Beat Prius v as Most Fuel-Efficient, Affordable Hybrid Utility Vehicle in America

• Ford C-MAX Hybrid projected to achieve 47 mpg city, at least 3 mpg better than Toyota Prius v with more performance and technology – all at a $1,300-lower base price

• C-MAX Hybrid is Ford’s first entry in the largest hybrid segment and is expected to attract a large percentage of conquest and mainstream buyers with the segment’s lowest payback period of two years compared with leading small crossovers

• C-MAX Hybrid will launch this fall as part of Ford’s power of choice strategy to deliver leading fuel economy across its lineup while tripling electrified vehicle production capacity by 2013

 

DEARBORN, Mich., July 5, 2012 – Ford’s new C-MAX Hybrid soon will make a big statement in the largest hybrid segment with projected leading fuel economy of 47 mpg city – beating the Toyota Prius v by 3 mpg, plus a $1,300-lower base price.

 

The segment for small hybrids such as the C-MAX Hybrid and Prius accounts for 65 percent of all hybrid sales. Ford expects about half of C-MAX buyers to be conquest customers trading in competitive models.

 

Ford has simultaneously increased hybrid efficiency and performance while reducing cost. The result is an expected payback period of two years for the hybrid technology premium compared with leading small crossovers. This is about half of the four-year period Ford research shows could trigger more mainstream hybrid sales.

 

“The C-MAX Hybrid builds on Ford’s 20 years of hybrid innovation and fuel-efficient offerings to take on Prius v with better city fuel economy at 47 mpg and at better value – a great chance for us to shake up the hybrid market,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development. “C-MAX Hybrid delivers 3 mpg more than Prius v with 50 more horsepower and exclusive technologies such as our hands-free liftgate – and the $1,300-lower base price means the payback period will be the smallest in the segment.”

 

Ford research highlights other ways in which hybrids could become more mainstream. The gap in average income between hybrid and conventional vehicle buyers has decreased by half – from about $30,000 to $15,000 – in the past few years.

 

Maximum efficiency, technology and value

The C-MAX Hybrid is expected to be America’s most affordable hybrid utility vehicle with a base price of $25,995, including destination and delivery, which is $1,300 lower than Toyota Prius v. C-MAX Hybrid is part of Ford’s first dedicated line of hybrid vehicles and currently available for order at select dealerships. 

 

The projected 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway ratings to be delivered by C-MAX Hybrid beat the fuel economy of Toyota Prius v with its 44 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.

 

The vehicle also can be driven 500-plus miles with total system horsepower of 188 compared with total system horsepower of 134 from Toyota Prius v and Prius.

 

The power of C-MAX Hybrid stems from the combination of a gasoline engine and a battery-driven electric motor. When powered by gasoline, the C-MAX Hybrid uses the all-new 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine – powerful and fuel efficient and among the most advanced non-turbocharged four-cylinder powertrains Ford has ever offered. More details about the C-MAX powertrain can be found in this press release.

 

C-MAX Hybrid also offers class-exclusive technologies such as the available hands-free liftgate, optional active park assist and SmartGauge^® with EcoGuide, along with the ability to deliver higher speeds in electric mode than Toyota Prius v.

 

The latest-generation SmartGauge with EcoGuide is designed to help drivers get the most from the C-MAX Hybrid, providing information such as instantaneous fuel economy to help them more closely monitor how their driving behavior affects the vehicle’s efficiency.

 

A new Brake Coach feature helps drivers optimize their use of the braking system so that driving range can be enhanced through proper braking techniques. Redesigned imagery of green leaves shows overall driving efficiency – as drivers improve their efficient driving, they are rewarded with more leaves.

 

Active lifestyle

The C-MAX Hybrid offers room for five people and plenty of cargo – making it perfect for the owner with an active lifestyle.

 

The vehicle has a high roofline (63.9 inches) offering ample interior space and flexibility. C-MAX Hybrid offers 99.7 cubic feet of passenger space compared with 97 cubic feet in Prius v. The spacious C-MAX Hybrid also provides greater headroom in both front and rear seats than Prius v (41/39.4 inches vs. 39.6/38.6 inches).

 

For cargo, C-MAX Hybrid has 60/40 split-fold rear seats. The seats easily fold flat with 52.6 cubic feet of space behind the first row and 24.5 cubic feet behind the second row.

 

Quality choices

C-MAX Hybrid benefits from 20 years of research and innovation behind the software and hardware technology it offers and has helped Ford develop a portfolio of nearly 500 patents in the area of hybrid technology.

 

Also, Ford’s hybrid taxi fleet logged more than 80 million miles in California during the past decade – more than quadruple the number of miles logged by Toyota’s Prius lineup. Yet, among the nearly 43 million battery cells Ford has tested or seen put to work in customer vehicles, only five issues have been documented.

 

C-MAX Hybrid is being produced at Ford’s Wayne, Mich.-based Michigan Assembly Plant alongside Focus, Focus Electric and Focus ST. More information about MAP can be found online here.

 

C-MAX Hybrid is part of Ford’s strategy to give customers the power of choice for vehicles with leading fuel efficiency across all powertrain technologies. C-MAX Hybrid is one of five electrified vehicles Ford plans to produce in North America in 2012. The other vehicles include:

 

• Focus Electric: Production began late 2011; America’s most fuel-efficient compact with 110 MPGe; charge time in four hours with the available 240-volt charging station, nearly half the time as Nissan Leaf
• C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid: Coming this fall; better electric-mode MPGe than Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid and better overall range than any plug-in hybrid
• All-new Fusion Hybrid: Coming this fall; 47 mpg expected to beat Toyota Camry Hybrid by 5 mpg highway
• Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid: Will begin production by the end of 2012; aiming to be the most fuel-efficient midsize car in the world

Unique Strategies for Smoother Auto Start-Stop Control Yield More Than 25 Patent Applications for Ford

•  Available Auto Start-Stop on the 2013 Ford Fusion improves real-world fuel efficiency by 3.5 percent; costs just $295
• Unique control strategies help to ensure smooth and robust restarts
• Instrument panel messages coach drivers to be more efficient by switching off power-drawing accessories

 

 

DEARBORN, Mich., July 5, 2012 – In the quest to deliver better fuel efficiency for millions of drivers, Ford engineers have more than 25 patents pending for the $295 Auto Start-Stop on the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion. The best technology improves your life by doing its job effectively and then getting out of the way.

 

“We set out to make Auto Start-Stop in the 2013 Fusion as seamless to drivers as possible,” said Birgit Sorgenfrei, Ford’s Auto Start-Stop program manager. “We wanted the system to improve fuel efficiency but otherwise remain transparent, so we developed a number of unique control strategies to smooth out the performance.”

 

The ability to shut down the engine when the car isn’t moving has always been one of the most popular features of hybrid vehicles and it will be available on the new Fusion with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost^® four-cylinder engine.

 

At its most basic level, Auto Start-Stop switches off the engine when the car stops and instantly restarts it when the driver releases the brake pedal. Scratch below the surface though and there is actually a lot more going on. Auto Start-Stop engineering supervisor Kirk Pebley and his team have filed more than 25 patent applications for innovations developed in the electronic control strategy.

 

Until now, most non-hybrid vehicles with Auto Start-Stop have only been available with manual transmissions, but American drivers overwhelmingly opt for automatic transmissions. The new Fusion is the first Ford vehicle to offer Auto Start-Stop with a self-shifting gearbox. Since an automatic transmission needs to maintain internal hydraulic pressure even with the engine off, Ford added an electrically driven pump to the transmission along with the upgraded starter motor and the absorbed glass mat battery.

 

The challenge of combining Auto Start-Stop technology with an automatic transmission went beyond just adding the electric pump. In order to minimize launch delays after a restart, the engineers wanted to keep the transmission in gear even with the engine off as opposed to shifting it into neutral.

 

“We had to develop some unique control algorithms for the engine and transmission to overcome this obstacle and still ensure an extremely quick, smooth and quiet restart,” said Sorgenfrei.

 

“As the vehicle slows down, the brains of Auto Start-Stop are already hard at work even before the Fusion comes to a standstill,” said Pebley. “One of many keys to getting a robust engine restart is to make sure the battery has enough power to spin it back up.”

 

The control software includes a simulation model of the electrical system that constantly monitors the accessory loads. The model factors in the current draw from features like headlights, climate control, audio system and window defoggers to predict how much power will be available with the engine off and how fast the battery will drain. If the electrical load is demanding too much from the battery, Auto Start-Stop may be disabled to prevent a rough restart or being stuck with a flat battery.

 

Voltage blending is another feature the United States Patent and Trademark Office is now evaluating. While the engine is running, the alternator produces about 14 to 15 volts, but the battery only produces 12 volts with a full charge. When the Fusion is slowing down with Auto Start-Stop enabled, the load model tracks the vehicle speed and deceleration and then calculates when to ramp down the voltage from the alternator to the battery-only level before the Fusion stops. This blending helps to ensure the driver doesn’t experience any light dimming or sudden fluctuations in ventilation fan speed.

 

The Auto Start-Stop team has filed several patent applications related to the sophisticated signal monitoring and controls for the climate control system. On hot summer days, the sun’s energy can heat up a car interior within minutes, quickly making things uncomfortable for the driver and passengers. In addition to the cabin temperature and humidity, Auto Start-Stop monitors the temperature of the evaporator core that starts to rise before the occupants even feel a change inside the car. When this happens, the engine will restart sooner, enabling cooler heads to prevail.

 

No matter what type of propulsion system moves a vehicle, driver behavior plays a big part in determining ultimate efficiency. A better-informed driver can make smarter choices that help save dollars at the gas pump. When the current-generation Fusion Hybrid debuted in 2009, the innovative SmartGauge instrument cluster provided drivers with an unprecedented degree of information about energy use in the vehicle.

 

“When Auto Start-Stop is disabled because of a high accessory load, we wanted drivers to understand why so that they could opt to switch some things off if it’s appropriate,” said Pebley. “If the rear defrost is still on but the window is clear, they can switch it off to gain the efficiency benefit of shutting down the engine when the car stops.”

 

The 2013 Fusion with Auto Start-Stop is unique in providing this sort of coaching on non-hybrid vehicles.

 

“Smart decisions are born from having more complete information,” said Sorgenfrei. “Whether it’s the messages we provide to drivers or the dozens of signals that help the control system look ahead in time, the 2013 Fusion Auto Start-Stop helps drivers save on gas without getting in the way.”

 

Ford is bringing this capability found on German luxury cars costing tens of thousands of dollars more to the Fusion for just $295. Best of all, even though drivers might not feel it working, the fuel savings of up to 10 percent can save up to $1,100 compared to other midsize sedans over five years of driving.

 

Happy 4th Of July

Geweke Commercial Truck Would Like to Wish You and Your Family a Very Safe and Happy 4th of July!!

Ford Motor Company June and Year-to-Date Sales Up 7%; Escape Sales Best Ever, While Fusion Posts June Record

• Ford Motor Company’s year-to-date U.S. sales through June increase 7 percent, totaling 1.14 million vehicles; June sales increase 7 percent from last year at 207,759 vehicles sold
• Ford Escape sales increase 28 percent – the vehicle’s best month ever; the all-new 2013 Escape is selling on dealer lots in less than five days
• Ford Fusion sales in June increase 17 percent – the best June sales performance ever
• Ford Explorer sales up 35 percent in June and 15 percent year to date
• Ford F-Series sales top 50,000 – the best June sales performance in five years, with 55,025 pickups sold

DEARBORN, Mich., July 3, 2012 – Ford Motor Company’s U.S. sales are up 7 percent so far this year, with 1.14 million vehicles sold. June sales also increased 7 percent from last year, with 207,759 vehicles sold.

Ford sales are increasing across the company’s lineup – with cars up 3 percent, utilities up 9 percent and trucks up 9 percent year to date.

In June, the Ford Escape set an any-month record – with sales up 28 percent – while the Ford Fusion set a record for June. Ford Explorer sales were up 35 percent from last year, and F-Series sales are up 11 percent and topped 50,000 for the first June in five years.

“June was a good month for Ford and a particularly strong month for vehicles like Escape, Fusion, Explorer and F-Series,” said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. “The new 2013 Escape also is off to a very strong start, with vehicles selling on dealer lots in less than five days – even topping the strong start of the new Explorer in 2010.”

Fusion has posted four months in a row of sales records, including its best June result ever with 24,433 vehicles sold – a 17 percent increase from last year. In the first half of this year, Fusion sales are up over last year’s record first half by 4 percent, with 136,849 vehicles sold.

Other sales milestones in June: Explorer sales are up 35 percent; Edge sales are up 6 percent; and America’s top-selling vehicle for 30 years, the F-Series, sold 55,025 pickups. F-Series remains America’s number one selling vehicle in the first half of 2012.

2013 Ford Escape Travel

Here are a few ways to reduce your stress while you take you all-new Ford Escape on a weekend getaway.