Ford

True to their word Ford Motor Company has become the first of the big three to announce plans to market a pure battery electric-powered light commercial vehicle in North America. Based on the all-new Transit Connect global commercial vehicle platform, the Transit EV will be available in U.S. Ford dealerships in 2010. Read More

Mr. Fusion it ain't, but in what is believed to be a world first, a small town in the UK has debuted an electric municipal garbage truck that's powered by the garbage it collects. Kirklees council has deployed a modified Ford Transit with a 40kWh lithium-ion battery pack as its first silent garbage truck - and the trash it collects is burned back at the Energy from Waste center, generating enough energy to recharge the truck's batteries and pump another ten megawatts back into the power grid. Read More

The 2008 oil price bonanza seems to have given the U.S. auto industry a much-needed kick in the pants - pity it was closely followed by a crippling recession. While last year's petrol prices in America still seemed outrageously cheap to many Europeans, the spike was enough to finally put fuel economy and smaller cars on Big Auto's agenda. Take this concept from Lincoln, Ford's luxury brand, better known for its enormous presidential limousines. The 'C' Concept is Lincoln's vision of a luxury compact. Its 4cl, 1.6l, 180-horsepower Ecoboost engine gets 43mpg on the highway, 25% better than the Ford Focus manages - and its reconfigurable dash, hubless steering wheel and spooky KITT-style omnipotent conversational computer ("Eva, I need the most fuel efficient route to Luciano's") combine to make it one of the most unabashedly "futuristic" concepts shown at this year's Detroit Auto Show. Read More

January 12, 2009 Ford has thrown its hat into the Electric Vehicle ring at the Detroit international motor show by announcing plans to bring a new family of electrified vehicles to market over the next four years. The strategy calls for the introduction of new hybrids, a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) based on two new global product platforms. The plan calls for the introduction in 2011 of a pure Battery Electric Vehicle as a passenger car in North America. Read More

Ford is introducing a new Active Park Assist technology on its 2010 Lincoln MKS flagship sedan and new Lincoln MKT seven-passenger luxury crossover. Available in mid-2009 as an option, Active Park Assist uses an ultrasonic-based sensing system and Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) to position the vehicle for parallel parking, calculate the optimal steering angle and quickly steer the vehicle into a parking spot. As described in the technical review of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, the EPAS system utilizes a steering column mounted electric motor that provides steering power assistance on demand and typically consumes less than 7% of the energy of a conventional hydraulic rack and pinion power steering system. Read More

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid includes some significant advances in mass production hybrid automotive technology. Although details released by Ford are technically incomplete many of the features announced to date point to the Fusion being the first to market with a second-generation parallel hybrid. Read More

British lightweight sportscar manufacturer Caterham has released details of a new addition to its ‘Superlight’ family. The new Superlight R300 is an update the previous R300, which was originally launched in 2002 and fitted with a Rover engine. The new model offers chassis developments and increased engine performance that see the R300 go from 0-to-60mph in 4.5 seconds courtesy of a new 2.0-litre Ford Duratec engine, tuned by Caterham Powertrain (CPT) to deliver 175bhp. The latest 515kg interpretation of Colin Chapman’s ‘lightweight minimalist’ philosophy balances power and chassis to deliver an impressive 339bhp-per-tonne. Read More

If hot-rod screen-savers just aren't enough to satisfy your automotive-obsession while perched in front of the computer, it might be time to branch out into peripherals. The new Road Mice series from Four Door Media is range of a wireless car-shaped computer mice (complete with working headlights) officially licensed by some well-known auto manufacturers, including Corvette, Chevrolet and Ford. Read More

November 4, 2008 One of the hurdles of cleaning up vehicle emissions is the need for drivers to buy a completely new environmentally friendly vehicle - not exactly a feasible option for most people. Systems like the latest bi-fuel Internal Combustion Engine conversion from Roush Technologies could provide that vital stepping stone between petrol and hydrogen fueled vehicles. To demonstrate the technology, the company has modified the engine of a Ford Transit-based vehicle to operate using compressed hydrogen gas fuel – but it can also operate from its existing petrol fueled system without any adverse effects. Read More