2009 January « Fiesta Ford Lincoln Mercury eNews Flash

Archive for January, 2009

Jan

Ford hybrid owners to get tax credit up to $3,400

Categories: Enviromental, Fusion, Future Vehicles, Green, Hybrids, Mariner, Mercury, Milan and fuel efficiency

By KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON

DETROIT

Consumers who order or purchase a new 2010 hybrid vehicle from Ford Motor Co. by the end of March are eligible for a tax credit, the company said Wednesday.

Purchases or orders of new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids made by March 31 will qualify for a $3,400 credit on their 2009 tax returns.

The company unveiled its hybrid version of the Ford Fusion last November that can go up to 47 miles per hour on battery power alone. The Fusion gets 41 miles per gallon in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.

The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids are still eligible for a $3,000 tax credit. The credits vary due to the performance of the vehicle. The Escape and Mariner get 34 mpg in the city, and 31 mpg on highways.

Ford said its Fusion hybrid would be in showrooms by March 31, but did not offer pricing details. Consumers have shied away from the electric-gas combo cars as gas prices have fallen rapidly since last summer, as the cost savings deteriorated.

According to the auto Web site Edmunds.com, hybrid sales plunged 43 percent in December and 50 percent in November, surpassing the industry’s overall sales decline of 36 percent in December and 37 percent the month before.

Fusion and Milan hybrids purchased between April 1 and Sept. 31 are eligible for a $1,700 credit. The tax credit drops to $850 for purchases between Oct. 1 and March 31, 2010. The credit drops over time because Ford has more than 60,000 hybrid vehicles on the road, and tax regulations state that the credit must be phased out after that threshold is met.

“The whole idea is to encourage early adopters,” said Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore.

New Ford hybrids purchased on or after April 1, 2010 will not be eligible for a tax credit.

Jan

2010 Ford Taurus: More Hot, Less Bull

By Ron Olson Leave a Comment

Categories: general

After almost 20 years of the Taurus moniker applied off-and-on to models which have increasingly lost their way, Ford’s engineers have said “enough.” Make no mistake, the new Taurus is a battle cry from a more lean, more mean and more hungry Ford Motor Company. With even the most passing review of the new Taurus you can’t help but take notice. Ford isn’t aiming at best in class here, they’re aiming at “best in world.” Their words, not ours.

The Taurus shares chassis architecture with the upscale Lincoln MKS but shares none of the body work or interior. Gone is the milquetoast styling of the Five Hundred-cum-Taurus in favor of a more aggressive, confident design, borrowing elements of the European Kinetic styling language as well as elements from the Ford Interceptor concept. The resulting combination provides the presence of the Chrysler 300 with the sporty, stylish look of a European Ford Mondeo. Plus maybe a little freight train brawn mixed in for good measure.

The Taurus is being aimed at brand flagship status, and as such, delivers equipment levels not normally seen in the sub-luxury segments. In high-end trim, the car gets the recently announced Ford Park Assist system and a new system called Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert, capable of warning of cars in your blind spot and of parking lot traffic approaching as you back out of a space. The interior gets the equipment overkill treatment packaged into a stylish cabin, split down the middle with a swooping center console, keyless start button included. Passengers are treated to available nicely trimmed heated and cooled perforated leather seats and heated seats at the rear. The rear seat folks even get a power rear sun shade. It’s bristling with techno-gadgetry, voice activated nav-system complete with the Sync software platform and optional Sirius Travelink, rear-view backup camera and a Sony-branded audio system Ford President for the Americas Mark Fields is claiming will rival the best home-based systems. The Taurus also gets a new radar-based speed sensitive cruise control system which also pre-charges the brake system when it senses an impending collision.

Continue reading ’2010 Ford Taurus: More Hot, Less Bull’

Jan

Ford shows newest Sync in-car technology features

By Ron Olson Leave a Comment

Categories: Future Vehicles, Quality, Sync and technology

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In the shadow of the U.S. auto industry’s troubles, Ford Motor Co. on Thursday showed off the latest version of its voice-activated in-car entertainment and communication service, which it hopes will lure more car buyers.

Speaking at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Ford executives said that starting this spring the Ford Sync service will use GPS technology built into cars to include features like traffic, news, sports and weather information, turn-by-turn directions and local business information.

Currently, Ford Sync — which was developed by Microsoft Corp. and rolled out in 2007 — lets drivers do things like play tunes from a portable music player and make phone calls handsfree with a Bluetooth-enabled phone.

The automaker also said that in 2010 Ford Sync will be made available in other countries, starting in Europe, where the service will be rolled out in 10 languages. After that, Ford will make the service available in Asia. Eventually, it will be available in other areas, such as Australia.

“Yes, we are a car company, but we are learning to think and act like an electronics company when it comes to bringing fresh, new and innovative technology and products to market,” Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a keynote speech at the industry conference.

With auto sales slumping and the economy in a recession, U.S. auto makers are under pressure to innovate to attract buyers — Ford included, even though it has said it does not plan to use federal loans as competitors General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will to help their struggling businesses. Ford has said it may need government money if sales don’t recover in 2009.

In an interview, Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said Ford is seeing the Sync attract new customers. And Mulally said that by fall the company expects to have sold more than 1 million vehicles that feature the Sync service.

The service is free for the first three years, and Ford said it will be included with almost all 2010 Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles.

Mulally also said Thursday that Ford is partnering with electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc., which will help build awareness for Sync and, through its Geek Squad computer support service, provide technical support.

Jan

Ford’s next-Gen SYNC System to offer News, Traffic, and Navigation

By Ron Olson Leave a Comment

Categories: F-Series, Flex, Focus, Fusion, Future Vehicles, Lincoln Mercury, MKZ, Mariner, Mercury, Milan, Quality, Sync, Taurus, Trucks, mustang, technology and van

Ford seeks to turn its vehicles into Blackberries by expanding the functionality of its popular SYNC system with new real-time information features. The new features will allow users to receive personalized news and sports info, traffic updates, and turn-by-turn navigation.

The features use the latest voice-recognition software and integrated GPS technology along with a customer’s Bluetooth-capable mobile phone. To take advantage of the latest version-SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information-customers must activate the service at www.syncmyride.com. From there they need only pair the phone with an equipped vehicle’s SYNC system via Bluetooth.

The traffic feature will provide personalized traffic reports sent via text message to the user’s device. In the report, drivers will get the position and severity of accidents or new road construction causing gridlock on their daily commute. Users can select the time at which the reports are sent so they can be aware of conditions before they leave home or have SYNC read the report en route.

Drivers in need of direction can search over 14 million different business listings to find their destination. Users control the system through a set of “conversational” voice commands. The turn-by-turn directions consider real time traffic information to provide the driver with the best route. The directions are downloaded to the vehicle and displayed on the radio as well as spoken though the vehicle’s audio system. Drivers can also opt to call the business or receive a text message with the business’ listing and map

SYNC’s information feature allows the user to receive the latest sports, weather and news updates. Drivers can request the information via voice commands or receive personalized updates through the website. There are also new shortcut commands. Now users can simply tell SYNC to provide “traffic to work,” or “directions to home.” Customers can establish locations such as “home” or “work” on the website as well.

The new services will be available on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models. There will be no subscription fee for the first three years, and because of the system’s ability to relay data over voice, there will be no pricey data plan needed for the user’s cell phone (although text messaging fees may apply).

While the new features increase convenience of receiving information on the go, Ford isn’t pioneering any new frontiers with this technology. Instead the latest SYNC system merely adds the hands-free vehicle integration element to today’s cell phones. If the new features result in less drivers sitting stationary at green lights obliviously checking the latest scores, I’m all in favor.

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