Ford has added a new feature to its marquee GPS system with the 911 Assist mode which automatically dials 911 in case of an accident. The 911 Assist mode automatically dispatches a distress call and provides emergency dispatchers an approximate on the location of the said emergency.
Tags: 911, accuracy, cellular phone, dispatches, distress call, emergency dispatchers, Ford, Ford Sync, ford vehicle, ford vehicles, gps module, gps system, lincoln, lincoln models, new feature, sync systemFord Motor Company, building on its success in measuring and reducing its own carbon footprint, today announced plans to survey 35 top global suppliers on their energy use and estimated greenhouse gas emissions.
Ford’s goal is to better understand the carbon footprint of its supply chain and use the data to eventually create a broad-based carbon management approach for its supply chain. The 35 suppliers represent close to 30 percent of Ford’s $65 billion in annual procurement spending.
The suppliers in the initial request include companies that make commodities such as seats, steering systems, tires and metal components, which require more energy to produce and thus have a larger carbon footprint. While many of these suppliers already measure their greenhouse gas emissions, the project would facilitate collaboration and sharing of processes and practices that can drive significant emissions reductions and help meet future regulatory requirements.
No tags for this post.Increased fuel economy continues to be an important factor in choosing a car. And as fuel standards continue to change, car companies, like General Motors, are looking towards smaller cars and engines to power more, using less energy. But despite the push toward compact cars, America’s love affair with big cars continues.
Now General Motors has rolled out its new technology, allowing drivers to not compromise size for efficiency. With engine management systems like Direct Injection, automakers are getting a jumpstart on the new rules and designing smaller engines that are able to power larger cars like the Buick LaCrosse. Using high-tech computing power, engineers are able to inject precise amounts of gas into the cylinders to reduce fuel waste and vary valve timing to increase horsepower.
If you’re looking for a strong yet safe vehicle then look no further than the 2010 Ford Taurus. This car was just earned the illustrious five star rating for both driver and passenger side crash tests. It also just won the “Top Safety Pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
So what makes this car safer than the others?
The new Taurus features crash-avoidance technologies, such as a segment-first, radar-based forward collision warning system that helps drivers avoid accidents. The system, enabled by Adaptive Cruise Control, uses a radar sensor to detect moving vehicles ahead and provides a visual “heads-up” warning signal and an audible warning when slower-moving traffic is detected ahead.
Instead of the car reacting to accidents, it actually helps you avoid them in the first place. Now that’s what I call safety!
But what about when the accident does occur?
The new 2010 Taurus earned the five-star and “Top Safety Pick” ratings based in part on advanced features such as the Personal Safety System(TM) – a suite of protection technologies, including dual-stage front air bags and front-passenger weight classification, which work together to help protect occupants in moderate to severe crashes. The Ford-exclusive Safety Canopy® features side curtain air bags that help protect front and rear outboard passengers in both rollover and side-impact crashes.
It used to be that only the front driver and passenger had bags, now the Ford Taurus has them also at the sides and back passenger side.
The 2010 Ford Taurus should be on the list of anyone who wants to buy a car.
Tags: car buyers, Ford, safety feature
If you remember, we last reported that the Ford Flex was so good it could still be considered as a great car in the year 2030, well, it seems to have won another award for the present day: it and the Ford Fusion Hybrid are named 2010 All-Stars by Automobile Magazine.
Reasons for why the Flex won:
Jason Mase, Ford crossover marketing manager, says it is the design and features available with the Ford Flex that make the vehicle stand out.
“We’re delighted that AUTOMOBILE Magazine has named Flex an All-Star two years running,” he said. “The AUTOMOBILE editors recognize Flex stands apart from the rest of the crossover crowd with unmatched style, tremendous passenger comfort and space, and leading technology features like the available EcoBoost engine, Active Park Assist, Ford SYNC® and a refrigerated second-row console.”
It seems that the Flex is good on its own even if it wasn’t considered as a Green vehicle, granted, its EcoBoost engine is enough.
As for the Ford Fusion Hybrid:
Jennings says what makes the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid special is that it doesn’t drive like a hybrid.
“Its very ordinariness is what makes the Fusion Hybrid an AUTOMOBILE Magazine All-Star,” said Jennings. “The Fusion Hybrid is not a performance machine, but neither does it feel hobbled or inadequate for daily driving. Perhaps the best thing about it is that, apart from the LCD color screens, you might never know you’re driving a hybrid.”
Eventhough it’s not as strong as the other cars, being green was enough to win the award. Hopefully, more high performing green cars will be rolling out the production line soon.
Tags: Ford, fuel economy, fuel efficient vehicles, hybrid car, hybrid cars, hybrid engine, hybrid engines, more fuel efficient vehicles, quality styleAfter a couple of best cars awards list, I think it would be fair to look at the other extreme: the worst ones. Although it may not seem nice at first, it’s a way for the auto industry to look back and learn for their past mistakes to ensure that they don’t name a particular vehicle the wrong way. A good way to start would be Cars.com’s Worst Named Cars of All Time List.
After 30 years of looking back at the automobile industry, Cars.com presents the Worst Car Names of All Time!
10. The Entire Lincoln Lineup
Lincoln is a brand with a considerable history, and we know they know how to give cars strong iconic names such as Continental or Navigator. Somewhere around 2007, many of those easy-to-remember names went out the window, leaving consumers with a hodgepodge of names starting with “MK.” That’s a shame because Lincoln has a strong lineup right now. What’s the difference between the MKZ, MKX and MKS? Gimme a second to look it up because I honestly can’t remember which is which.
9. Hyundai Equus
The inclusion of the Equus might be premature considering it’s not even on sale yet, but this could be the push Hyundai needs to give the car a proper name before it’s released. Companies occasionally give Latin names to products to make them sound sophisticated or fancy, but Equus just makes us think of the Broadway play of the same name — most recently starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame — where a young man loves horses a little too much.
8. Toyota Yaris
There was a girl in my dorm freshman year who organized her shoes alphabetically by mood. She majored in dead languages and responded to every single question with “no worries.” She once set the dorm microwave on fire by overcooking a ham-and-cheese Hot Pocket. Yes, that story is ridiculous and nonsensical … sort of like naming a car Yaris.
7. Kia Forte Koup
As writers, we’re particularly offended when companies take liberties with the English language in an effort to be cutesy — and this is no exception. We actually like this car! But Kia is asking us to overlook years of schooling and experience to accept their quirky spelling of coupe. It might require a few sessions with a therapist before we can get to that happy place.
6. Subaru B9 Tribeca
Here we’ve got a family crossover named after a fashionable neighborhood in lower Manhattan and … a World War II bomber? Consumers didn’t understand the B9 moniker either; that part of the name got the ax when Subaru redesigned the SUV for the 2008 model year.
5. Volkswagen Touareg
A few Volkswagens could’ve made this list, but the Touareg was easily the name that tripped up our American mouths the most. Early Touareg commercials in the U.S. even depicted people struggling to say the name. When an automaker has to spend precious time and ad dollars helping consumers learn to pronounce the car’s name — something is wrong.
4. Ford Probe
There are many borderline inappropriate jokes you could make about a 1990s sport compact named Probe, but we’re far too classy for that. Even if you don’t take into account the tasteless jokes, this is just a bad car name. There is nothing cool about a probe (the word, not the car). What thesaurus was Ford using where probe was synonymous with sleek and sporty?
3. Subaru Brat
Although Brat is technically an acronym — it stands for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter — it’s a particularly unfortunate one. “Brat” is almost never used to describe something positively. A brat is not a calm, confident driver who knows what he wants and how to get it. A brat is busy throwing a hissy fit in the corner because his mom won’t let him borrow the car to go buy the new Styx album.
2. Isuzu VehiCROSS
Isuzu deserves a little credit for creating an attention-grabbing crossover before it was even a recognized vehicle segment, but the name practically beats consumers over the head with the idea (think SUV plus a cross-training sneaker). Add to that the unnecessary capitalization and the fact that VehiCROSS is a mouthful, and you have one bad name.
1. Ford Aspire
It’s pretty safe to say that many drivers’ dream cars fall under the category of sports car or luxury auto; few children hope to one day spend their commuting hours behind the wheel of a 63-horsepower subcompact hatchback. When Ford slapped the Aspire name on the back of this car, they were basically saying: “Yeah, even our car knows you wish you were driving something cooler.”
Well, there they are, hopefully this list won’t grow longer…
Tags: car owners, cars, Ford, kia motors america, quality style, Toyota, Volkswagen
If you remember we were looking towards 2030 to see which cars would suit those times, well there’s a curious kind of futuristic award from the Friends of the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC): Collectible Vehicle of the Future! Well, more specifically 2034.
“The NAHC is the world’s largest public archive of automotive lore and a treasure for automotive historians, journalists and collectors. Its collection of books, manuals, photos, company histories and historic documents is open to the public.”
This year, they pinned the award as the Collectible Vehicle of the Future 2009 on the Ford Flex. The reason?
“We are delighted that the Ford Flex has been recognized by the NAHC as having a design that will become a collectible of the future,” said Kate Pearce, Flex marketing manager at Ford.
“We knew from the start that we had a vehicle with stand-out design that looks like nothing else on the road, but that also meets the needs of our customers looking for passenger space with innovative technology and great fuel economy,” she said. “Reaction from our customers has been fantastic and we hope they will enjoy their cars long into the future.”
Previous winners were:
It’s great that the judging body has taken into its criteria the vehicle’s fuel economy features. It looks like the future’s going to be more green come the year 2034.
Tags: Ford, fuel economy, fuel efficient vehicles, more fuel efficient vehicles, motoristsEnough with the car awards of the year, it’s time to look under the hood and check out which engines made it as the 10 Best for 2010. According to Ward’s 10 Best Engines, the winners are as follows:
This year’s winners and the applications tested:
2.0L TFSI Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A4)
3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi S4)
3.0L DOHC I-6 Turbodiesel (BMW 335d)
2.5L DOHC I-4 Hybrid (Ford Fusion Hybrid)
3.5L EcoBoost Turbocharged DOHC V-6 (Ford Taurus SHO)
2.4L Ecotec DOHC I-4 (Chevrolet Equinox)
4.6L Tau DOHC V-8 (Hyundai Genesis)
2.5L Turbocharged DOHC H-4 (Subaru Legacy 2.5GT)
1.8L DOHC I-4 Hybrid (Toyota Prius)
2.0L SOHC I-4 Turbodiesel (Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI)
“This year’s list embodies how the industry is responding to demands for higher fuel economy and lower emissions without shortchanging performance,” Ward’s AutoWorld Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter said. “Auto makers are using innovative designs and advanced technology to boost horsepower and torque while downsizing engines and increasing efficiency.”
It’s a good thing that one of the criterias involved was the lower gas emissions. It just shows that engine makers do care about saving the environment. Now if they can only make engines this good that runs on ethanol. In the meantime, since the US economy’s going down the slippery slope, it’s great that they’ve also included the criteria regarding fuel economy. The last thing we need are engines that guzzle gas like there’s no tomorrow.
Here’s to hoping that next year’s best engine’s list will have engines that help save more on gas and produce lower (or better no) carbon emissions.
Tags: Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, fuel economy, fuel efficient vehicles, hybrid engine, hybrid engines, Hyundai, more fuel efficient vehicles, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen
Reliable Auto Transport received the heavy contested prize of shipping the first 2010 Hurst Camaro from its 2009 SEMA debut to its home in New Jersey. The Camaro was on display at the SEMA show from November 3rd through the 6th and Reliable Auto Transport was contracted to move the Hurst Camaro from the SEMA show is Las Vegas, NV back to NJ, once the show ended. Reliable Auto Transport provides nationwide auto transport services, industry information, and industry news to dealers, corporations, and individuals moving cars across the United States.
Sure to be a hit with collectors worldwide, Hurst Performance has done it again with the 2010 Hurst Camaro. The modifications included: custom paint scheme, Hurst 20 inch wheels, BF Goodwrench tires, custom floor mats, Hurst Competition aluminum shift stick, Hurst Air-Speed rear spoiler, and Hurst graphics. Although the productions number is unknown, it is undoubtedly going to be a highly sought after ride.
(Source) Press
No tags for this post.Ford Motor Company is intensifying its efforts to educate teen drivers about the dangers of distracted driving – such as texting while driving – through a new initiative under its nationwide Ford Driving Skills for Life (FDSFL) program.
On the eve of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Distracted Driving Summit, Ford Motor Company Fund will host a special FDSFL event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, demonstrating specialized training methods designed to help teens recognize and avoid driving distractions such as manually dialing a phone or texting. Ford recently became the first automaker to endorse a federal ban on manually sending text messages on hand-held devices while driving.
(Source) Press
Tags: automaker, department of transportation, driving distractions, eve, federal ban, Ford, ford motor, ford motor company, ford motor company fund, initiative, sending text messages, specialized training, summit ford, teen drivers, teenage drivers, texting, u s department, washington d cCheck out SortPrice.com to find thousands of online stores that sell auto parts! You can browse and find all types of parts such as tires, brake pads, mufflers and even auto tools. Search all your favorite stores to find the lowest prices and read reviews on auto accessories. |
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