The fast, fun and affordable legacy that has defined America’s favorite muscle car for nearly a half century lives on in the new 2010 Ford Mustang, which incorporates an expert blend of design leadership, performance and technology at an exceptional value. (more…)
Tag: Ford
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New 2010 Ford Mustang is Fast, Fun, Affordable; Price Starts Under $21,000
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Beefed-Up Six-Speed Transmission Meets High-Torque Demands of 3.5-Liter Ecoboost Engine
Ford’s 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine debuts this spring with the perfect running mate for maximum performance and fuel efficiency – a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission that’s specifically designed for the higher torque demands of the all-new twin-turbocharged, direct injection engine. (more…) -
New Ranger makes its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show
The new Ford Ranger makes its European debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, combining sleek and modern exterior design with genuine toughness and durability. (more…) -
Ford Taurus SHO Returns With 365hp Ecoboost V-6
One of America’s favorite “sleeper” performance cars returns to the Ford lineup, powered by a Super High Output (SHO) EcoBoost twin turbocharged engine. (more…) -
New 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150: Tough Truck With Cool Attitude
The 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson™ F-150 delivers a new standard of “custom cool,” combining the smooth handling and legendary durability of America’s best-selling truck with the authentic styling of Harley-Davidson, the industry leader in motorcycles.
This marks the 14th Harley-Davidson edition of an F-Series truck and latest in a line of Ford Harley-Davidson F-Series models dating back to 2000, which aim to appeal to customers who appreciate quality and unique details only this kind of collaboration can bring.
“Our successful co-branding, unmatched in the industry, offers customers true specialized truck luxury,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development. “Just like with our other associations, we’ve linked with an industry leader to offer the best
of the best.”The successful collaboration between these two icons of the open road has produced eight F-150 models, as well as six Super Duty F-250, F-350, and in 2009, the first Harley-Davidson F-450 edition truck. The 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 is the first Harley-Davidson edition vehicle built off the award-winning new 2009 Ford F-150.
“This truck builds on the legacy of toughness that’s been the hallmark of the Ford F-Series brand,” said Matt O’Leary, chief engineer. “Now we’re giving customers more of everything they love with the best F-150 and the boldest Harley-Davidson F-150 ever – featuring a fully differentiated design, all-wheel-drive capability, 22-inch wheels and a knock-out interior.”
The exterior of the 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 offers a bold front fascia and six-bar shaped billet style grille and boasts specialized forged aluminum and Harley-Davidson® chrome badging. The truck will have a lowered appearance because of a fully integrated deployable running board.
Also standard are 22-inch low-profile performance tires – the largest in the F-Series lineup – and Euroflange forged wheels with a polished and painted center wheel cap. The paint selection is classic Harley-Davidson – Tuxedo Black and the first Ford application of Lava, a deep maroon with three-color metal flake.
The interior is customized to appeal to the truck buyer who appreciates the attention to detail for which both Ford and Harley-Davidson are renowned.
“There’s a real tie-in between the truck’s interior and exterior designs,” said Patrick Schiavone, Design director. “It’s very much like how some customized Harley-Davidson motorcycles have a prominent theme that runs through them. That’s how we tie it in with custom bikes.”
Also impressive are the seats and console lid, which features hand-made cloisonné badges; the console has a limited-edition serialization plate.
“These handmade badges continue our theme of premium Harley-Davidson offerings,” said Schiavone. “Probably the only place that most people have seen hand-made cloisonné is on premium Harley-Davidson motorcycles. It’s really high craftsmanship, and people will recognize it as another connection between the two brands.”
Linkage is apparent even in the smallest details, such as adornments on the seats.
“The theme of the seat was designed to resemble a Harley® biker jacket,” Schiavone said. “We even used authentic materials you’d find on Harley-Davidson MotorClothes® brand apparel.”
The seat backs feature ribbed leather treatments, engraved Harley-Davidson button snaps and even zippered map pockets featuring zippers from Harley jackets.
It is important to the Ford Design team that the truck remain genuine to enthusiasts of Harley-Davidson, customers who traditionally are as loyal to their motorcycles as F-150 owners are to their trucks.
That’s why the team meets regularly with Harley-Davidson designers and travels to motorcycle events throughout the year – including Daytona Bike Week, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Harley-Davidson dealer meetings – to talk to current and potential customers. The team wants to be sure that when Harley-Davidson owners or enthusiasts need a truck, this is the truck they choose.
“We talk to everyone we can; we find out what the customer values,” O’Leary said. “We look at what they like, what they want, and what they wish they had, and we go from there.”
“No one understands their customers better than Harley-Davidson and Ford,” said Joanne Bischmann, vice president – Licensing, Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “We’re proud to share the spirit of Harley-Davidson authenticity in a unique interpretation of America’s favorite truck, the F-Series.”
About the F-150
On the new F-150, there’s a wealth of content complementing its unique appearance. The 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 is equipped with a 5.4-liter three-valve engine, which is rated up to 320 horsepower and 390 ft.-lbs. of torque and mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with a sport-tuned exhaust and a top speed of 115 mph.The truck is available with 4×2 or an optional all-wheel drive, which features settings of 4×2, AWD and 4×4 high, unique to the Harley-Davidson edition on the F-150 platform. All 2010 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 models will be SuperCrews.
The F-150 is new inside and out. The Ford truck team adopted a holistic, 360-degree approach to revamping the vehicle – from its segment-first features to the tough new exterior, a more spacious, flexible and refined interior and an unparalleled choice of cab styles and trim levels.
The improvements are just as dramatic beneath the sheet metal. They include a new high-strength, lighter-weight chassis that delivers even more horsepower, unsurpassed fuel economy and class-leading towing and payload capacity.
The new design has garnered an impressive array of awards:
* F-Series is the best selling vehicle in America for 27 consecutive years; best-selling truck for 32 consecutive years
* Motor Trend 2009 Truck of the Year Award™
* Top honors as “Truck of Texas” as well as “Best Luxury Pickup” for the 2009 F-150 King Ranch from Texas Auto Writers Association
* 2009 North American Truck of the Year
* “Best Overall Half-Ton Pickup” from PickupTrucks.com
* 2009 Best Redesigned Vehicle from Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com
* “Automotive Excellence” award in the Workhorse Category from Popular Mechanics
* Motor Trend’s Truck Trend Top 5 Trucks from Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) for 2009 Ford F-150 Heavy Duty DeWalt Contractor Concept
* Detroit Free Press Truck of the Year
* Detroit News Truck of the Year
* Best Truck by Florida Monthly
* Playboy’s 2009 Best Pickup
* “Accessory-Friendly Truck” Design Award from SEMA
* America’s Safest Full-size Pickup with 5-star frontal and 5-star side-impact crash-test ratings, the highest possible scores, in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tests.
* “Top Safety Pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for its standard safety technology: Safety Canopy side curtain air bags and AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control
* “Residual Value” award from Automotive Leasing Guide (ALG) for retaining the highest percentage of its original price among 2009 full-size light duty pickups at the end of a conventional three-year lease, based on ALG projections
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Ford F-150 SVT Raptor R to Run “Best in the Desert” Series in 2009, Proving Durability and Reliability
Ford Racing and Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) announced today that the F-150 SVT Raptor R, the same truck that finished third in class at the 41st SCORE Tecate Baja 1000, will run in the 2009 “Best In The Desert” race series. (more…) -
Ford Focus RS
In the 40-year story of Ford RS, the marque has been applied sparingly, merited by only the most high-performance Ford machines of the time.
Six years have passed since the last Ford RS – the Mk1 Focus RS – finished its strictly limited production run. Now the famous badge has returned for its league of devoted fans and a new generation of performance car enthusiasts.
RS – A Significant Event
This new Focus RS is the product of Ford Team RS, headed by Jost Capito, a committed car enthusiast and racer. Alongside Capito is a small team of dedicated performance car and motorsport engineering specialists, led by Chief Programme Engineer, John Wheeler, whose own expertise stretches over 20 years of Ford performance and motorsport vehicles.
Team RS works hand-in-hand with Ford of Europe experts from across the engineering spectrum to create Ford’s performance road car range. More than 100 engineers have been involved in Focus RS and every one understood the weight of expectation that greets a new Ford RS model.
States Capito: “A new Ford RS is a significant event; the badge is not applied to a new car very often and when it is, it has to be a great car. I know this Focus RS will be thoroughly deserving of the name.”
From early in its development programme, the team set a target to create a car with the poise, power, performance and precision to trade lap times with far more exotic vehicles and be a benchmark for performance and value for money.
Their result is a car capable of lapping the legendary 20.8km (12.3 mile) Nuerburgring Nordschleife repeatedly at speed and equally adept at cruising home afterwards; blending Ford Focus practicality with bespoke engineering, dynamics and a turbocharged, 305PS (300 bhp) 2.5-litre Duratec engine.
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New Ford Fiesta ECOnetic Is Uk’S Greenest Family Car
The all-new Ford Fiesta – December’s top-selling car – is the latest to benefit from the ECOnetic package of extra fuel efficiency refinements already available on Focus and Mondeo.For the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, modifications include lowered suspension, aerodynamic body styling and a gear change alert. Together these help to lower fuel consumption to 76.3mpg and CO2 emissions to 98g/km. (more…)
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New Ford Focus RS Production Starts
The first production example of the exciting new Ford Focus RS rolled off the production line today at Ford of Europe’s Saarlouis plant in Germany. (more…) -
Fuel-Efficient New V-6 Engine Gives Flagship Lincoln Mks The Power Of A V-8
Launched last summer, the Lincoln MKS upholds the luxury and comfort standards unique to Lincoln. Now, with the addition of all-new EcoBoost engines, the Lincoln MKS also will deliver a compelling combination of V-8 power and V-6 fuel economy.The Lincoln MKS is among the first Ford Motor Company vehicle to introduce a premium twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine for the 2010 model year and is expected to deliver best-in-class highway fuel economy of 25 mpg. By 2013, more than 90 percent of Ford Motor Company’s North American lineup will be available with EcoBoost technology. (more…)
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Ecoboost Technology: Direct Injection Is Cool
Direct injection is one of the cool technologies that makes Ford’s new EcoBoost engine possible.The all-new engine delivers better fuel economy and reduced emissions as well as improved performance and engine refinement gives it a cool all its own. With an estimated, class-leading 355 horsepower, the 2010 Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost is expected to deliver best-in-class highway fuel economy of 25 mpg. (more…)
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Introduction Of 3.5-Liter Ecoboost V-6 Engine Adds Even More Versatility To Distinctive Ford Flex
Ford Flex turns heads with its distinctive design – and in 2009, the unique full-size crossover becomes even more noteworthy, thanks to an available twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine.This all-new engine gives Flex V-8 power and performance feel with the fuel economy of a V-6.
The twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 produces an estimated 355 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 350 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500 rpm. In addition to the power upgrade, the 2010 EcoBoost Flex boasts segment-leading fuel economy among full-size performance crossover vehicles with 22 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined. (more…)
