CHICAGO – Leading U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. reported on Friday that it notched a profit of 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 45 percent compared to the same period of last year, as higher tax expenses and a heavy loss in the European market affected its overall performance.

Ford said in a Friday statement that its first-quarter revenue of 32.4 billion dollars was also 700 million dollars down from a year ago.

Higher tax expenses, lower wholesale volumes, and the difficult economic situation in Europe were cited by Ford as main reasons for the earnings decline, although the automaker still posted a pre-tax operating profit for the 11th consecutive quarter.

Before taxes, total net income for Ford was 2.3 billion dollars. However, that was also down 19 percent, or 544 million dollars, from the 2011 first quarter.

Ford’s profit appeared somewhat dragged down by its global divisions in the first quarter, as the automaker actually saw improved performance in North America.

The company’s North America pre-tax profit was 2.1 billion dollars, up 289 million from the first quarter of 2011. Ford noted that this was the highest quarterly profit for the region since at least 2000.

In Europe, however, Ford suffered a quarterly pre-tax operating loss of 149 million dollars, sharply down from a profit of 293 million it achieved in the same period of last year. The company’s European revenue was down 1.5 billion dollars from the year before.

Ford also suffered a loss in Asia Pacific Africa, which it said was largely due to capital investments for future growth in the region. The company lost a total of 95 million dollars in the region in the first quarter, down from a profit of 33 million a year ago.

Due in part to the company’s diverse growth across continents, Ford said its 2012 outlook remains mixed, but it has strong hopes for the future and plans to continue to grow internationally.

“We continue to expect 2012 to be a solid year marked by ongoing progress on our commitment to deliver great products, invest for global growth, build a strong business, and provide profitable growth for all,” Ford CEO Alan Mulally said.

Ford forecasts that its European unit will suffer a full-year loss anywhere from 500 million to 600 million dollars, while its Asia Pacific Africa division is expected to return to profitability by the end of the year.

In the United States, Ford expects its 2012 market share to be lower than the 2011 level of 16.5 percent, and forecasts sales of 14.5 million to 15 million vehicles for the year. (Xinhua)

BEIJING (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co plans to introduce vehicles in China that will be priced below its current low-price Fiesta model, the company’s chief of Asia operations said on Monday.

”We do believe that the Ford brand has even more potential to offer value products for these markets like the tier-3, 4, 5 cities, so we have some plans in place to do that,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford Asia chief, told reporters at the Beijing auto show.

”We believe the Ford brand has the capability to go a price point lower than Fiesta,” he said. He didn’t provide specific details.

Ford makes the Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and other vehicles in China in a three-way tie-up with Chongqing Automobile Co Ltd
and Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp.

Hinrichs’ reply came in response to a question about whether Ford would make a joint venture brand with Changan.

The Fiesta model in China sells in a range equivalent to $12,300 to $17,500.

The same lower pricing could be applied to other emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, Africa and elsewhere by taking advantage of single model platforms for global sale, he said.

Ford Motor Company offered on Thursday a taste of some advanced technology that will be featured in the all-new Fusion, which is scheduled to be introduced at the Detroit auto show in January. The technical tidbit is a tracking system that can help prevent drowsy or inattentive drivers from wandering out of their lane. While similar technology has previously been offered on some automobiles, Octavio Navarro, a Ford spokesman, said in a telephone interview that the Fusion will be the first affordable nonluxury vehicle to offer this type of system.

Fusion’s Lane Keeping System monitors the vehicle’s position by a windshield-mounted digital camera that can track lane markings. If the car drifts close to the edge of the lane without the turn signal on, the driver will be notified by a vibration in the steering wheel that feels much like the pulsing caused by rumble strips in the road. A system that Ford calls Lane Keeping Aid can steer the car back toward the center of the lane if the driver doesn’t respond to the warning.

If the Lane Keeping System calculates that the driving pattern over a period of time suggests that the driver is drowsy, a chime sounds and a coffee cup icon warning appears on the instrument panel. If the driver continues to nap, a second chime is issued.

According to a Ford news release, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 reported accidents are caused annually by drowsy drivers, resulting in 1,500 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary loses.

The system must be turned on by the driver, who can choose to employ just the alert function without the steering assist. The intensity of the warnings is also driver selectable. The switched-on system becomes active at speeds over 40 m.p.h. when lane markings are visible.

“Fusion’s Lane Keeping System combines a digital imaging sensor with our own state-of-the-art control software to process images and determine what level of warning or assistance to provide to the driver,” Michale Kane, Ford development engineer, said in a media release.

The all-new Fusion is a very important car for Ford, because it will determine how big a role the automaker plays in the large and lucrative midsize marketplace. Few will be surprised if more details are disseminated before the big reveal at Detroit’s Cobo Hall.

Brussels (dpa) – The new Ford Ranger pick-up truck has surprised experts by scoring top marks in the latest Euro-NCAP crash test, competing with other new off-roaders like the Mercedes M-Class, Audi Q3 and Fiat Freemont.

The Ford Ranger is the first pick-up to achieve a five-star rating in the test, and marks a significant improvement on the two-star adult occupant rating achieved by the previous Ranger in 2008, the Euro-NCAP said in its report.
In particular, the Ranger’s 81-per-cent pedestrian protection score is the highest score recorded for pick-ups tested by Euro-NCAP so far.

“With such pedestrian protection the Ford Ranger is undoubtedly raising the bar of safety in the category of pick-up trucks, which had until now not proven to be the safest,” said Euro-NCAP secretary general Michiel van Ratingen.

Other vehicles that obtained good scores for pedestrian protection include the BMW 1 Series, the Mercedes M-Class and the Toyota Yaris, all of which scored more than 60 per cent of available points – the lower limit that Euro-NCAP will set for a five-star rating from 2012 onwards. The BMW 1 Series is fitted with an automatic emergency call system.

“Although it is encouraging that some manufacturers invest in high-tech measures to protect pedestrians, there still is room for further improvement,” the organization said.

(PRWEB) – Veteran sweeper Susan Curran won a 2012 Ford Focus in the CW TV Network Showroom Sweepstakes which she found through SweepstakesToday.com. (http://www.sweepstakestoday.com)

Far from her first big prize, Curran said she’d been entering sweepstakes for at least twenty years. Asked what she likes best about the contests she said, “I enjoy seeing what the sponsors are giving away and what everyone is winning.” She considers entering sweepstakes her hobby.

Curran talked about some of her previous winnings, saying, “I’ve won gift cards to major retailers in various amounts, movie passes, cash; and much more; too numerous to mention”

“When my son was a child we/he won a trip to Universal Studios for 4 sponsored by Pizza Hut and Pepsi (via snail mail) we had a blast and that’s when I got hooked on entering,” she continued remembering her very first big win.

Curran joined Sweepstakes Today when she became a always-free member some ten years ago. Since the total Ford Focus package was valued at almost $28,000 the win put her easily into the exclusive 10K Winners club at the site.

“I was very excited,” she said about being notified of the win by phone. “(At first) I was told I was a potential winner and that I could only tell immediate family, so I chose only to tell my husband until I was a verified winner.”

Like many, Curran often enters on behalf of friends and family. “I have given them the prizes, such as gift cards, movie passes, and merchandise as well as gifts for holidays and special occasions.

CHICAGO (Xinhua) — A tentative agreement between U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers (UAW) was approved by UAW members on Tuesday, the union announced on Wednesday.

The Ford agreement, which comes three weeks after General Motors’, would add 5,750 new UAW jobs, bringing the total to 12, 000. Chrysler Group LLC has just begun voting on its proposed deal, which is expected to conclude on Oct. 25.

As a result of these negotiations, a total of 20,000 direct manufacturing jobs will be added to the economy, including the creation of 6,400 jobs at GM, said UAW President Bob King.

The Ford agreement also includes 16 billion dollars of investment in new vehicles, including 6.2 billion to upgrade plants in Michigan Assembly, AutoAlliance International in Flat Rock, Romeo Engine and some transmission plants.

Besides, according to the agreement, Ford workers with a year of seniority will get a 6,000-dollar signing bonus and receive 7, 000 dollars of “inflation protection” and other lump-sum payments.

Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, said the agreement is a proof that the company could significantly create new jobs, invest in plants and people, and make a very positive impact on the U.S. economy.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says its Transit Connect small van has begun work as a New York City taxi.

The company says the first of the vans began hauling passengers late Tuesday. New York taxi companies have ordered more than 400 of the vans.

The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission approved the van for taxi use for the next two years as it phases out the familiar Ford Crown Victoria sedan and switches to more efficient vehicles.

The Nissan NV200 van will be the New York’s official taxi starting in the fall of 2013. Most of the city’s 13,200 taxis are Crown Victorias. But Ford is scheduled to stop making the car on Sept. 15.

Two big car companies have agreed to work in hand to possibly come up with a new hybrid system made for light trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Aside from that, other intents include coming up with next-generation standards for in-car telematics which means car lovers are in for new technologies to vehicles thanks to this joint effort.

Everything was made official after Ford and Toyota signed a Memorandum of Understanding with formalities expected within the year. The joint development is aimed at delivering greater fuel efficiency while still providing customers the performance they need. The companies believe that by working together, they can bring these hybrid technologies to customers more quickly and affordably than they would separately.

Aside from that, both Ford and Toyota have agreed that they will establish new standards and technologies which will surely work to the benefit of consumers looking forward to more convenient in-car experiences while delivering new mobile ecosystems.

Via

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.

Among the Ford vehicles that come with the safety up level include the 2011 Ford and Lincoln models. The new 911 Assist mode comes with approved accuracy, thanks mainly to the dedicated on-board GPS module. Ford vehicle owners simply need a Bluetooth equipped cellular phone to put the whole thing to work. The whole Sync system is subscription free.

Ford 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.

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