ford

93: Fighting back against yellow traffic lights

Hyundai is said to be sniffing around Chrysler, a new Web site blows whistle on short yellow lights, Porsche is more bank than car company, and a ride in the polarizing Ford Flex.

Listen now: Download today's podcast SHOW NOTES

• Cooley's 2009 Ford Flex video

• Short yellow lights Web site

• Pioneer retail stores

• Green Car of the Year nominees

• How Porsche REALLY makes money!

Review: 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid

Just a year after it got an update, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid gets yet another update for 2009, but this one counts for a lot. Ford fits it with the best cabin tech available, which includes the excellent Sync system for integrating MP3 players and cell phones, along with Sirius Travel Link, giving you traffic information and gas prices right in the car. The Mariner Hybrid also gets a bigger gas engine than the previous model, but it doesn't bring the EPA mileage numbers down. During our testing, it didn't seem to make much difference either way.

Read the review. … Read more

Video: Ford's SmartGauge in motion

Ford's SmartGauge system is set to debut on the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. We've seen what it looks like and what it can do. I have to say that the SmartGauge looks great in pictures, but it looks so much better in motion.

I wonder how much of this will translate directly into production. The interface is slick, but the "efficiency leaves" feature seems sort of gimmicky, where a simple mpg readout would suffice.

Ford gives hybrids green gauges

Earlier we reported on the 2010 Ford Fusion, with photos of the model update. Today we have news of the hybrid version of the Fusion and the 2010 Mercury Milan, due to hit dealers in the first quarter of 2009. Both cars get a new generation of the full hybrid system currently used in the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. Ford isn't giving out many details about this new hybrid system beyond the fact that it will get 5 mpg more than the Toyota Camry Hybrid. However, Ford has shown off the instrument cluster for the cars, a new concept in helping driver's learn about their cars and achieve maximum fuel economy.

We've long been fascinated by the power flow animations in current hybrid cars, which show when power is coming from the electric motor of gas engine. Ford takes this idea a step further, placing LCDs on either side of the speedometer. Similar to concept cars we've seen at many car shows, the LCDs can be configured to show different kinds of information. Ford breaks the different standard displays down like this:

Inform: Fuel level and battery charge status Enlighten: Adds electric vehicle mode indicator and tachometer Engage: Adds engine output power and battery output power Empower: Adds power to wheels, engine pull-up threshold and accessory power consumption… Read more

2010 Ford Fusion still looks like a multiblade razor

The new Ford Fusion has been revealed and guess what, it still looks like a multiblade razor.

The three-bar grill has expanded beyond the frame of the headlamps and now dominates the front end of the vehicle. While the headlamps themselves shrink in size and become more aggressive and horizontal in orientation. The lower grill loses its horizontal bars to become a gaping maw.

Under the hood, the Fusion (and by association, the Mercury Milan) receives three powerplant options. The first is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that features fuel saving feature called Aggressive Deceleration Fuel Shut-off. Essentially, the system … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 840: A box of evil

Hey, this sounds like a good idea! Create an artificial intelligence that's the incarnation of pure evil and immorality. You know, just to "study" it. It'll never get out. (Ugh.) So, that's happening today, along with Microsoft's announcement of its cloud OS, Azure; Chevy determines that hybrid SUVs won't make money no matter how you build them, and Wired tries to say the DMCA has been a good thing. Oh, and in addition to Oprah, Molly likes Martha.

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EPISODE 840

Microsoft's Azure cloud platform: A guide … Read more

Ford Flex Photo Lab iPhone app

It seems that more and more automakers are jumping on this iPhone app bandwagon. First it was Audi, with its driving game. Then Mercedes-Benz launched an iPhone optimized Web site featuring video. Now, it's Ford's turn to throw its hat into the iPhone arena. Where the previous two examples were directly related to the cars and car culture, Ford has chosen to release a free photo editor. What?

The Ford Flex Photo Lab--try saying that five times fast--is essentially a collection of six photo filters that allow iPhone users to fix up or trick out their pictures. What … Read more

Driving the Ford hydrogen fuel cell Focus

Last week I had the opportunity to drive Ford's latest hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Based on a Focus sedan, it was remarkable for being unremarkable in operation during my maybe 5-mile test drive on city streets. The interior was devoid of the obviously added-in cables, specialized instrumentation, and switches of an engineering prototype, and the car was exceptionally smooth in operation--not surprising, considering that with an electric motor, a transmission is not required. It wasn't completely quiet, as the compressor for the fuel cell's hydrogen system made a whine like a jet engine on the taxiway, but … Read more

Photos: Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles

We were recently given the opportunity to kick the tires of a wide variety of hybrid electric and alternative fuel vehicles.

There were a few clean diesels, including a CR-V with a 2.2-liter four cylinder that we should see reach production in a diesel variant of the 2010 Acura TSX. Ford brought out its hydrogen fuel cell, Focus, and a pair of hybrids, one of which was a plug-in model.

According to Ed Kjaer, a representative from Southern California Edison, plugging in electric hybrid vehicles on an overnight cycle is better for the electric grid, because it evens out … Read more