ford

The Ford Verve concept car was unveiled at a press conference in Hanau, Germany, on Thursday.

As goes the automakers' dance with the media, come car season, Ford distributed photos and a bland release to the press, while saving for the official unveiling at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show any possibly juicy details of how this thing might actually run.

The car is an example of how the company now has an eye toward small cars, and it will be the first of three cars that Ford plans to reveal this season in Europe, Asia and North America. The "… Read more

A big fuel cell from UTC Power was in the news here in Silicon Valley this week when Fujitsu installed it as a backup power source for its local campus. CNET's Michael Kanellos wrote a good story about the event here, and took pictures ("Photos: Fujitsu unveils king-size fuel cell").

Although the fuel cell itself runs on hydrogen, there's no convenient source of pure hydrogen in Silicon Valley, so UTC Power also provided a steam methane reformer that yields hydrogen from natural gas.

One place where pure hydrogen is readily available is NASA's Cape Canaveral … Read more

Here's something you can brag about to your family the next time you get back from Las Vegas.

The city has added two hydrogen fuel buses from Ford Motor to its downtown bus routes. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman hosted an inaugural launch for the press on Monday.

The city of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Valley Water District's Springs Preserve have already been participating in municipal hydrogen pilot programs. The Springs Preserve hydrogen filling station makes its own hydrogen from water and electricity generated by the station's solar panels.

Now tourists and citizens interested in … Read more

CNET readers were so impressed with Sync, the in-car media application developed by Microsoft for Ford, that they voted it the winner of the People's Voice award for Best of CES 2007. Today Ford released details on how much the people are going to have to fork over to choose Sync on select 2008 Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln models: a pretty reasonable $395.

Those who do option up will get one of the most sophisticated media and communications systems available. As we found in our hands-on test, the Sync application, which runs on a Microsoft Auto platform, enables drivers … Read more

Cargo space and performance are the most important car traits among those who post to CarGurus.com, a site that rates cars like TripAdvisor rates hotels.

The No. 1 rated car is the 2007 Jeep Wrangler, according to CarGurus.com's community ratings of the top 10 2007 models, with the 2007 Ford Mustang coming in at No. 2.

The 2007 Toyota Camry, which is known for its gas mileage of 31 mpg on the highway, was No. 3 followed by the also sensible 2007 Honda Accord. The 2007 Ford Focus was also on the list. Except for those three, … Read more

The "Twin Force" engine that Ford's been hinting about these past months will deliver the power-performance of a V8 with the fuel economy of a V6, Ford confirmed to CNET News.com.

The engine will have direct injection plus a turbocharger, according to a Ford representative.

The company would not confirm when or in which production models consumers can expect to see the new technology.

Many of the recent announcements concerning fuel injection and turbocharging technology have been related to diesel engines. Ford's claim is an interesting one that, if true, could put its "Twin … Read more

The Paulin Motor Company just launched a new concept car called the VR Concept.

Paulin is a Swedish design company founded in 2005 by Daniel Paulin, the designer who worked on the Fab 1 Thunderbird and the Focus C-MAX concepts for Ford. The company has also done work for Hyundai and Kia.

While it was sketchy on details, the VR Concept two-seater sports car is the beginning of a lineup of vehicles the company has planned, according to its announcement. The VR is "versioned for 2012." Car Body Design's comments from Daniel Paulin suggest that the designer … Read more

Ford Motor plans to announce a test program for hybrid plug-in vehicles on Monday.

The automaker is partnering with electric utility company Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally is expected to make the announcement with Edison CEO John Bryson at Edison's headquarters in Rosemead, Calif., at 2:30 p.m.

Ford would not provide further details on the program prior to the press conference, though some reports indicate that it will be a small pilot program of about 20 plug-in hybrid vehicles.

SCE on average provides electricity to 13 million people covering about … Read more

The second-annual Hybridfest takes place in Madison, Wisc., on July 21 and 22, so if you love your hybrid and need a summer vacation idea, consider sharing the love with a bunch of other hybrid owners. The organizers want to get 200 hybrid owners to bring their cars and put them on display. Last year, they had more than 160 from 21 states and Canada show up, plus 2,000 people interested in seeing hybrids in action. Toyota, GM, and Ford are sponsors of the event, and should have some of their latest hybrids on hand for test-drives. This year … Read more