ford

With the 2012 Ford Edge, the Ecoboost engine is like having your cake and ice cream, too.

The Edge is a tank of a car, big and chunky, weighing close to 4,000 pounds. The Ecoboost engine only has four cylinders, with displacement at 2 liters. That's the size of a soda bottle.

Yet with a turbocharger and direct injection, that engine makes 240 horsepower, enough to move the Edge easily. At the same time, our fuel economy averaged in the mid-20s, which is about 5 mpg better than we would expect to get in the V-6 Edge.

The … Read more

Vehicles play a big part in the last century of United States history, with such icons as the presidential limousine in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated to the bus where Rosa Parks was arrested.

These vehicles and more are on display at a new exhibit from the Henry Ford Museum called Driving America. CNET Australia took a tour of the exhibit just prior to the opening.

Click here to see the photo gallery.

Although there are some significant vehicles from Ford in the exhibit, such as the 1962 concept car on which the Mustang was based, vehicles from a … Read more

Green Car Journal dubbed the Ford C-MAX Energi winner of the 2012 Green Car Vision Award yesterday at the Washington Auto Show. This is the second consecutive year Ford has won top honors; the Ford Focus Electric garnered the award last year.

The Ford C-MAX Energi, which will be available in late 2012, is built on the same global C-car platform as the Ford Focus and future Ford models, the automaker said.

The C-MAX Energi bested four other finalists, including the BMW i3, the Cadillac ELR, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell, and the Tesla Model S.

"The C-MAX Energi delivers … Read more

Carmakers' pursuit of fuel efficiency and sustainability is moving to auto interiors.

Ford said today that its upcoming Escape SUV will sport door bolsters made of kenaf, a flowering tropical plant. The company estimates using a plant-based material will offset 300,000 pounds of oil-based resins this year.

The door bolsters will be 25 percent lighter and so help improve fuel efficiency as well. They will be a 50-50 mix of kenaf and polypropylene and be made by Indiana-based supplier International Automotive Components.

Kenaf plants grow long stems like bamboo. The fiber can be processed into different materials, such as … Read more

Ford engineers looking for ways to create a quieter cabin in the new Escape have turned to an elliptical acoustic mirror for results.

According to Ford, this is a new approach to reduce wind noise and deliver a quieter interior in a sport utility vehicle. The technology has been used by European luxury vehicle car makers, but is considered a breakthrough among U.S. manufacturers.

The mirror, which resembles a satellite dish with a microphone, measures noises on the surface of the vehicle and in the airflow. "The mirror identifies 'hot spots' where noise penetrates the interior of the … Read more

Taking a page out of its other vehicles, Ford shows off its new design for the 2013 Ford Fusion at the 2012 Detroit auto show.

LAS VEGAS--Sporting booths and displays suitable for a full-fledged car show, major automakers showed off their varying connected car strategies at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show.

But the automaker displays at CES only held a smattering of cars, the space primarily being taken up by standalone dashboards and kiosks showing in-car navigation, audio, phone, and app screens. I never doubted the benefits of data feeds in cars, as integrating Google search with a navigation system is far better than relying on some static, outdated points-of-interest database.

Knowing the glacial pace of automotive development, what surprised me was how quickly automakers … Read more

Green Car Journal announced five finalists for the publication's annual Green Car Vision Award. The award recognizes innovations in fuel efficiency, low emissions, alternative fuels, or electric power.

To be considered for the Green Car Vision Award, vehicles must be in demonstration on public highways today or nearing commercialization but not yet widely available to consumers, Green Car Journal said in a press release.

The five finalists include the BMW i3, the Cadillac ELR, the Ford's C-MAX Energi, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell, and the Tesla Model S.

The 2012 Green Car Vision Award winner will be announced at … Read more

Ford is recalling more than 450,000 SUVs and minivans back to the shop to replace a faulty torque converter.

The defective part affects Ford Freestar minivans and Mercury Monterey SUVs built in 2004-2005. If the torque converter fails, it causes loss of motive power and will bring the vehicle to an inevitable stop. Steering, parking, emergency lights, turn signals, and brakes will continue to work, and the vehicle remains controllable as it coasts to a halt. But the loss of power can be dangerous for people driving behind these recalled vehicles.

An investigation into this parts defect was launched … Read more