| Ford pitches new vision | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:46:09 AM by Blog57 Team | | A Ford Motor Co. executive blamed some of the automaker's problems on the U.S. health care system during a swing through Vermont Monday. "The system we have now is broke," Ford's Vice President of Labor Affairs Martin Mulloy said in an interview at The Burlington Free Press, later adding, "There needs to be some cooperation between private industry and government to address the health care crisis in America." Ford provides health coverage for some 600,000 current and retired employees, he said. U.S.-style, employer-based health care makes competing in a global economy difficult, he said. Each of Ford's 3.2 million vehicles built annually includes $1,400 in health care costs -- $1,000 more than vehicles produced by foreign automakers in U.S. plants, he said. Vermont receives part of the $90 billion a year that Ford spends on parts and service, said Paul Wood, Ford's global purchasing and manufacturing spokesman.... | |
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| | | Ford official kills Taurus after 21 years of service | | Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 10:45:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | It was an interesting run, to say the least. After 21 years of production, the Ford Taurus has finally reached the end of the line, with the last car scheduled for assembly some time next week. They haven't been producing these for Joe Consumer for the past year or so, only making the car for fleet sales and as rental vehicles. When it was first unveiled way back in 1985, it seemed like everyone fell in love with the people-moving sedan. It was fresh and new, selling 263,000 units that year. This figure continued to rise, right up to 1992 when 410,000 Tauruses (Taurii?) were sold. That year, the Taurus knocked the Honda Accord off its pedestal, going on to become the best selling passenger car in the U.S. for five straight years. Then, its fall from grace began, and Ford never really tried to give it a second go.... | |
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| | | Spied: Ford Focus ZX2 Rebirth And New Sedan | | Posted Saturday, September 30, 2006 2:46:06 AM by Blog57 Team | | It looks like Ford is planning to add a new coupe configuration to the Focus lineup when the redesigned model comes online, and our spy shooter, Glenn Paulina, has the shots and details. Looking for all the world like a resurrected Escort ZX2, the new Focus two-door- with-a-trunk is promising to add some life to the current model's familiar lineup. Prior prototypes for the next Focus were simply rough mules with a Fusion-style nose tacked onto an existing Focus body, but these latest prototypes are now fully complete. Both the new coupe and sedan (also captured here) get some interesting detailing to the side panels, with a bold character line that sweeps up from the front wheel well to the cars' beltlines, and on to the rear deck. Another chiseled line runs along their lower midsections, adding some more surface development.... | |
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| | | Quiet Kenseth Making Some Noise In Cup Series | | Posted Wednesday, August 30, 2006 8:46:14 AM by Blog57 Team | | When it was obvious late in the 2003 season that Matt Kenseth was going to win the NASCAR Cup championship, newspaper columnists and racing Web sites took all-in-fun jabs at the quiet, nondescript kid from Cambridge, Wis. One writer joked that instead of Kenseth painting the town "red" during the series' annual championship celebration in New York, that Kenseth would paint it "plaid" at best. More "regular guy" in the vast spectrum between Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s NASCAR machismo and Jeff Gordon's ready-for-prime-time images, Kenseth may soon share something more important than image with the two NASCAR icons. He is primed to be a multiple Cup Series champion. And Kenseth's season has been anything but bland as he positions himself as a championship favorite with two races remaining before the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship begins.... | |
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| | | Job 1: Reinvent Ford | | Posted Monday, August 28, 2006 10:46:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | T he Ford Motor Co. of generations past and present is poised to disappear. What may emerge from the unprecedented corporate soul-searching, scenario planning and discussions about potential alliances now under way at Dearborn's Glass House is far from certain. More certain is that the old Ford business model is hopelessly broken, and management, Ford's directors and the Ford family all know it. Led by a great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, the 103-year-old automaker is exploring the most far-reaching changes the company has seen since at least the end of World War II. The options, none of them certain at this point, include chopping brands, taking the company private in a bid to restructure away from the glare of Wall Street and partnering with rivals, a move likely to require the Ford family to reduce its 40 percent voting stake in the company.... | |
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| | | Buy Froot Loops, get a Ford Fusion | | Posted Monday, August 07, 2006 12:45:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Ford Motor Co., in an effort to keep promoting its Fusion mid-sized car, plans to put 600,000 toy cars into Kellogg Co. cereal boxes starting Sunday. The boxes, each containing a Fusion Hot Wheels car, will be distributed out of discount retailer Target Corp.'s stores nationwide. Fusion photos will appear on each box, the nation's second-largest automaker said. The Fusion toys will be inserted in boxes of Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes and Cocoa Krispies. Ford said one red model with the Target logo will be among them, and whoever gets that box will win a real Fusion. Continued promotion of the Fusion, one of Ford's better-selling models, is a priority for Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. In a recent interview, he said Ford used to roll out a vehicle, then stop promoting it.... | |
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| | | "Cereal" Marketing: Buy Froot Loops, Get a Ford Fusion...Toy | | Posted Saturday, August 05, 2006 10:51:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — In an unusual effort to promote its midsize Fusion sedan, Ford has teamed up with Kellogg and plans to put 600,000 toy cars into cereal boxes starting this week. The cereal boxes, each containing a Fusion Hot Wheels car, will be sold at Target stores nationwide. One of the models, painted red and carrying the Target logo, will win its owner a real Fusion. Ford told the Associated Press that the Kellogg campaign is designed to build brand awareness. Ford sold 71,089 Fusions during the first half of 2006, far short of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. At the same time, BMW is busy marketing a miniature edition of its M6 coupe for $65. The toy BMW is available in Interlagos blue from selected BMW dealers and on the Internet. For more information, go to the BMW Web site.... | |
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| | | Edwards findsDIRT bit bumpy | | Posted Saturday, July 15, 2006 12:46:07 PM by Blog57 Team | | Middletown - Carl Edwards certainly enjoys more success on the asphalt than he does on the dirt track but he enjoys both all the same. Edwards thrilled the largest audience of the season at Orange County Fair Speedway with his guest appearance in a big-block modified car in last night's Super DIRT Series tour event. Driving the No. 99, Edwards finished near the tail end of time trials and failed to get out of the consolation heats for the 100-lap feature. "I haven't quite figured it out,'' said Edwards following his heat race, where he finished ninth, forcing him into a consolation, where he finished seventh. "I am a little bit slow but I am having fun.'' Edwards was offered a provisional starting position in the feature but he turned down the offer.... | |
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| | | Ford Cuts Its Own Path With Best Warranty, Roadside Assistance Package of Any Full-Line Auto Company | | Posted Friday, July 14, 2006 2:46:08 AM by Blog57 Team | | * Ford cuts its own path with bold designs, more standard safety features, straightforward pricing and now the best warranty and roadside assistance packages of any full-line manufacturer. * No-deductible, fully transferable powertrain limited warranty on 2007 Ford and Mercury vehicles is now five years or 60,000 miles - 66 percent better than all Chrysler Group and most GM nameplates. * Lincoln's 2007 powertrain limited warranty is now six years or 70,000 miles - up to 20,000 miles and two years longer than Cadillac's. * Ford to offer complimentary roadside assistance, including towing, fuel and lock-out service for the entire warranty period - services not offered by Toyota and Honda. * New for the 2007 model year, Ford has made side air curtains or its advanced Safety Canopy system with rollover sensor standard equipment on 13 vehicles.... | |
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