3/27/12
2011 Daytona 500 winning Ford Fusion
2011 Daytona 500 winning Ford Fusion becomes permanent artifact at Henry Ford Museum. March 22, 2011.
3/26/12
Ford, Fashion Meet in Miami As Designers Compare All-New Fusion Sedan and Iconic Guayabera
- Ford is hosting “Guayaberas y Fusion,” an event held in conjunction with Fashion Week in Miami, that showcases how the vehicle design process incorporates elements of fashion
- The all-new Ford Fusion sedan and the guayabera, an iconic shirt worn across many Hispanic cultures, both feature sustainable materials along with high-quality detailing and impeccable craftsmanship
- Similarities between the two products offer a glimpse into the convergence of global design
MIAMI, March 22, 2012 – They’re both created from high-end materials, with intricate detailing and an elegant form. They’re both sleek and stylish, designed to turn heads on the streets.
But here’s the unusual part: One you wear. The other you drive. And yet the comparisons between the next-generation Ford Fusion design and the guayabera, an iconic shirt worn across many Hispanic cultures, are unmistakable.
That’s one reason why Ford is hosting “Guayaberas y Fusion,” an event held in conjunction with Fashion Week in Miami that highlights fashion and culture and showcases how the vehicle design process incorporates many elements of fashion.
“The thought that goes into designing a new vehicle is extensive,” says Ford designer Anthony Prozzi, who was formerly a fashion designer for Donna Karan. “And it’s very similar in many ways to the creative process fashion designers follow when they’re creating clothing.”
Comparing quality products
The guayabera is a common sight at many high-end cultural events in places like Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico, and it’s been popular for generations.
The shirt is recognizable for its visible detailing – like the two lines of stitching that run down its front – and its intricate pleating. Its high-quality, lightweight material and festive array of colors make it instantly recognizable to many.
Likewise, the next-generation Ford Fusion caught the eye of many auto enthusiasts when it debuted in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where it showed off its refined, unmistakable silhouette. At NAIAS, the Fusion earned a variety of accolades, including the prestigious Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology Eyes On Design award and the Best in Show award from Autoweek.
Detail and craftsmanship are key inside the new Ford Fusion, as well. Dynamic structural elements throughout, like the real metal grilles over the speakers, show that every detail of the car has been aesthetically enhanced. Surfaces are softer to the touch, and nothing has been left to chance – even the audio volume knob is shaped to better fit the customer’s fingers.
At Guayaberas y Fusion, Miami fashion designers and auto designers from Ford are meeting to discuss the similarities and challenges of creating such high-quality products, and comparing and contrasting the processes that bring their respective products to life.
“The most alluring part for me is that each piece is as personal as the individual wearing it,” said Miamiguayaberadesigner Maria Ofelia Gravier Armas. “I combine textures, hues, contrasts, prints, lace and trims into a unique ‘fusion’ that leads to a beautifully distinctive and elegant piece.”
Sustainability is another likely topic for discussion, and something else the two products have in common. Guayaberas are created primarily from natural linen. The Fusion interior offers thinner, lighter seats trimmed with fabric that uses recycled, sustainable yarns. The Fusion also offers some unexpected green touches, like recycled post-industrial cotton from blue jeans used as sound-absorbing material, and seat cushions made from soy-based foam.
The all-new Fusion also is the first sedan to offer gasoline, hybrid and plug-in hybrid editions, each with expected top fuel economy.
“The public has an interest in design and designers like never before,” said Prozzi. “And like many creative fields, we face the challenge of how to be not just exciting but also meaningful – we must design with a conscience.”
The similarities between Ford and the fashion world only emphasize today’s global design convergence, he said.
“Good taste resonates across the globe,” Prozzi said. “It’s true with fashion, and it’s true with the Fusion.”
3/25/12
2011 Ford Community Green Grant Los Angeles -- Homegirl Café
Learn how Los Angeles recipient, Homegirl Café, plans to use their 2011 Ford Community Green Grant!
3/24/12
3/23/12
Eclectic Mix Helps Engineers Perfect the Sound Stage Inside the All-New Ford Escape
- Ford audio engineers listened to snippets of music – from classical piano to rock to rap – to tune the audio system in the all-new Ford Escape
- The acoustics inside the vehicle strive for concert-hall quality
- Rihanna, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, PJ Harvey and Eminem make the playlist for Escape
DEARBORN, Mich., March 21, 2012 – What do Stevie Ray Vaughn’s tube amp, Suzanne Vega’s lip smack and Rihanna’s voice have in common? Recordings of these sounds were all used to help audio engineers set the sound stage inside the all-new Ford Escape.
The “buzz” in Stevie Ray Vaughn’s cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic “Little Wing” is from a single-coil pickup amplified by tubes. Ford audio engineers used this recording to evaluate tonal balance, ensure quality in the bass region, and to make sure there is a wide sound stage in the new Escape’s audio system. The lip smack in Suzanne Vega’s a cappella hit “Tom’s Diner” is used to check the center staging of the sound system, while Rihanna’s “S.O.S.” helps evaluate clean bass mixed with vocals and ensure there is nothing shrill in the tweeters.
“We tuned the audio system so that it sounds natural – as if you’re listening to music inside a theater rather than in your vehicle,” said Christine Templin, one of the audio engineers who tuned the Escape’s sound system.
Templin, who enjoys attending concerts in her free time, said the audio engineering team listens to everything from “rap to classical” to bring concert-like sound into Ford vehicles.
The audio engineers’ work is twofold: the objective portion, monitoring sound wave files on laptop computers hooked up to speakers within the vehicle; and the subjective portion, relying on human ears to fine-tune the quality of the system.
Templin explained how Jennifer Warnes’ recording of Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat” should give the listener a specific feeling.
“You should feel like you have been transported to a gloomy environment,” she said.
PJ Harvey’s “Electric Light” was used to make sure the instruments don’t modulate the vocals and the bass doesn’t shake the doors, Templin noted.
The Escape, which will be available to customers this spring, has three available audio systems: the standard six-speaker system, a nine-speaker system and a SONY®-branded 10-speaker system.
A ‘Best of’ Escape playlist
1. ZZ Top “La Grange” – Listen for the clean snare drum clicks, left and right rhythm guitars and strong bass guitar
2. Yello “The Race–Listen for a sensation of the car racing from right to left, and left to right. “It should sound spacious with transients of doors slamming,” Templin says”
3. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” – Listen for backup singers to move from far to near, testing image depth. Check for tonal balance and loud dynamics
4. Kenny Chesney “Summertime” – Listen for clean vocals, instruments should be clearly defined
5. Eminem “Remember Me” – Listen for loud dynamics, bass extension
6. Rihanna “S.O.S.” – Listen for tonal balance, clean bass, nothing shrill in the tweeters
7. Beyonce featuring Jay Z “Déjà Vu” – Listen for bass to be clean and even. Vocals should not break up or sound overly bright
8. Peter, Paul and Mary “I Have a Song to Sing O” – This is an old recording with vocals panned left-center-right in order to test staging and imaging. Voices should retain a natural timbre
9. Johnny Cash “Bird on a Wire” – This intimate recording (as if Cash were in his living room) tests tonal balance and spatial qualities. Vocals show a close-mike effect
10. Bruno Giuranna Mozart Piano Quartets 1 & 2,“Allegretto– Listen for a natural piano tone. Strings should be forward”
3/22/12
2011 Ford Community Green Grant San Francisco -- Collective Roots
Learn how San Francisco recipient, Collective Roots, plans to use their 2011 Ford Community Green Grant!
3/21/12
3/20/12
3/19/12
Ford Mustang Track Apps
Track Apps delivers performance metrics to drivers that want to put their Mustang to the test at a track.
3/18/12
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