President George Bush had a recent meeting with Ford’s execs, tackling gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emission issues. The conference composed of the President, Chrysler Group president and CEO Tom LaSorda, Ford Motor Company president and CEO Alan Mulally and General Motors chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner.

All three automotive companies along with the President had a beneficial discussion regarding the utilization of alternative fuels on most vehicles. The companies all expressed their commitment and support for minimizing gasoline consumption in the United States. Such reductions will be attributed to the continued development and production of biofuels. The companies emphasized with the President the need for increased inducements to create and distribute biofuels.

More than six million FFVs are on the road, adding over a hefty million FFV cars and trucks this year alone. These vehicles were all running on ethanol and the companies would displace more than 3.6 billion gallons of gasoline annually. What’s even more gripping is that if all E85 capable vehicles today, along with those that GM, Ford and Daimler/Chrysler have already engaged to produce over the next ten years were to run on E85, the three companies could displace 22 billion gallons of gasoline a year. Manufacturers should make commit to make their half annual production capable of running on biofuels since the advantage of it could boost the savings to 37 billion gallons of gasoline annually in 2017.

Discussions flow as they partake on an overall national policy to tap the potential of biofuels to dislodge petroleum. These automakers know what they have grounded into since they conferred about the wide assortment of advanced vehicle technologies that run on alternative fuels such as E85, biodiesel, electricity and hydrogen. Also, plug-in hybrid vehicles play an integral part in the future of automobile transportation. There would be no more harmful gusts belching out of your vehicle’s emission parts.

Of course, automakers will definitely solicit funding for these kinds of production. The three companies have asked the President to help in providing citizens with reasonable access to these fuels at a price that’s competitive with gasoline.

Ford was delighted to be exchanging ideas with two big automotive players like GM and Daimler/Chrysler and with President Bush. Ford welcomes the chance of working continuously with both said companies and the President to make a leap forward on solutions to environmental concerns that’s been plaguing the world. And with the start of accentuating vehicles with biofuels, the world would be a much better place to live in.

Do you buy cars every year? Well if you do, you might be filling up your car garage with your old cars, wouldn’t you?

Buying new car every year is okay. If you have plenty of the green money to buy, why not? However, it is just but practical to sell your old Ford car so you won’t have difficulties in buying a new one. How are you going to sell your old Ford car effortlessly?

Internet is just the best venue for you. You can just sit there and do the selling online. The net has been making our lives easier since it was discovered. And selling cars online is just one of its fortes. Be it used or brand new cars, these are all sold on the net. Just like selling Ford parts online which, I believe, at present, is the one more preferred rather than purchasing such products via the local stores downtown.

Selling your old Ford car online means you are exposing your car to many potential buyers, and I mean almost all kinds. So here is what you need to do to effectively sell you old Ford car online.

1. You need to evaluate the quality of your old Ford car, and then compare it to the cars sold online. This will make you decide about the price of the car you are going to sell.

2. Digital cameras can really help you out take good pictures of your vehicle. Take pictures of your car then put all the images on the websites where you are advertising your old car.

3. Write down all the relevant information about your car specially the available car parts and other specifications. Also include your contact numbers, email address and other relevant information so that interested parties can simply contact you when they think that your car is a good buy.

4. Then finally look for the websites where you can sell your old Ford car. Choose the reputable site. Avoid the infamous ones. Then wait for many takers.

5. While waiting, make your old Ford car more attractive by taking care of it. Maybe you can spruce it up like you can apply wax on it to make it look good and shinier than before.

There you go guys. Imagine how much you will save from selling it on a dealer. Aside from the money it saves up, it also cut off the hassle of selling your old Ford car off the line. So hurry, follow the simple steps and sell your old Ford car effectively.

A fuel cell car hybrid that can be recharged by simply plugging it into your normal household socket. That is what the Ford Motor Company is boasting of. After all, it is the very first of its kind in the auto industry.

What is even more interesting is that this vehicle can be used by any driver and it also uses a hydrogen fuel cell generator that is found onboard the vehicle. The latter uses lithium-ion batteries. Together, they can make the vehicle soar to achieve more than 41 miles per gallon. And there are no emissions at that.

Gerhard Schmidt is the vice president for Ford’s research and advanced engineering team and he asserts, “This vehicle offers Ford the ultimate in flexibility in researching advanced propulsion technology.” He even does further boast, “We could take the fuel cell power system out and replace it with a down-sized diesel, gasoline engine or any other powertrain connected to a small electric generator to make electricity like the fuel cell does now.”

The powertrain used in this vehicle is that they call the HySeries Drive. If you remember, this was first used in the concept vehicle Ford Airstream. But it looks like Ford was keeping something up its sleeve for it has now taken the curtains off the drivable version of this exciting new vehicle.

Schmidt does continue to say, “We wanted to take what was in a ‘gee whiz’ vehicle like the Airstream and connect it with something people are driving on the road today, something that wasn’t just a futuristic concept vehicle.”

What do people have to say about the new Ford Edge? Here are some which have been posted at Yahoo! Autos.

James From Los Angeles says:
“Took the Edge out for a ride and ‘wow wow wow’. And all at a price for less than the imports. Now that is value AND quality. I cannot stress the quality and craftsmanship enough. And that engine and six speed transmission are soooo perfect, always peppy and always in the right gear.”

A. Knewfordman from Ann Arbor, Michigan shares:
“This vehicle really surprised me, it is a very comfortable car, you feel very safe in the car, it really turns heads, people ask me at the gas station ‘What car is that’ and they are all surprised it is a Ford.”

Southern Gentleman from Virginia expressed:
“The Edge is a real winner and can go head-to-head with any manufacturer. My recommendation is to go out and test drive one. You will be surprised by this vehicle and will be asking yourself, ‘Is this really built by Ford?’ I would not hesitate to recommend the vehicle to anyone who was in the market for a crossover vehicle.”

Shannon from Wisconsin is also happy to relate:
“I absolutely LOVE my 2007 Ford Edge. Unlike the other crossover wallflowers, the Ford Edge makes a BOLD statement, with its 3-bar chrome grille and intriguing shape.”

Now how about you? What’s your take on the Ford Edge?

BONUSES WILL BE GIVEN TO ALL THE FULL-TIME HOURLY WORKERS OF FORD.

You read that right, all in caps for you to read it clearly. The cash-craving domestic auto maker is giving away bonuses to its workers.

This also does include all employees who work in the company’s Hegewisch and Chicago Heights plants. They will all receive $500 bonuses this day despite the financial crisis happening on the company.

Some salaried workers will also receiving a special one time performance award plus cash price of ranging between $300 and $800. The company did not mention the specific amount of the bonus that they will be giving away.

According to the world’s 2nd best seller of cars and vehicles, the awards were given specifically to 2,200 workers at the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant at 12000 S. Torrence because for three weeks, the workers have been on downtime. Meaning, all the majority of workers are on a lay-off. The plant is said to be producing the Ford 500, the 2008 Ford Taurus and the Mercury Sable as well as the Montego in its two previous model years.

If you remember last week, Ford CEO and President Alan Mullaly announced a plan that costs the company to spend $40 million when he wanted to recognize his company workers by giving them rewards and bonuses for their accomplishments and contributions to Ford.

"You significantly reduced costs. You continued to close the quality gap with our competitors. And you courageously began the job of restructuring Ford as a smaller company," the chief executive officer stated in a letter to Ford workers. The CEO hopes that the worker will still continue to do their work after the awards and the bonuses are received.

The company will be giving the bonuses to all the full-time employees on Dec. 31, 2006, and those who voluntarily accepted a buyout. These are the makers of quality Ford parts and performance parts for the Ford car you are driving now.

Ford Motors’ Credit Corporation, Ford’s finance subsidiary, recently announced its reconstructing plan amounting to a huge $290 million. This amount already includes $200 million to fund job cuts. The financial subsidiary reported that Ford booked a $33 million of the costs in 2006 and the balance will be expensed this year.

If you remember last year of September, almost 2,000 job cuts took place and along with that, some 59 branches scattered across the entire US were closed. That’s, of course, minus a quarter of its staff in the North America.

Now, it is the first time that Ford had announced its budget for their rebadging. Ford credit announced last September that they are not yet able to estimate the cost of the reconstruction.

The company reached the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday after the domestic car company estimated the full charges connected to its cost-cutting plans. Ford finally filed with the commission.

There are huge $200 million charges for job cuts for Ford last year and that includes a $29 million accrue last year. It said "substantially all of the balance" would be accrued in the first quarter of this year.

Ford had a job cut on its 14,000 salaried jobs last year. The company had to do the job cut in order to compensate with the great need of the company. Ford was noted to experience a decline on sales as well as its sales on both cars and trucks. Ford also had a decline on sales of its Ford parts this year because of the counterfeit parts existing in the market. The Centerforce clutch is just one among its parts which are counterfeited.

Last year, a very disappointing record breaking $12.7 billion was taken away from the 2nd largest auto maker of the US. Also, 37,000 factory workers without the buyout and early retirement offers were accepted.

Numerous honors have granted the S-Max along with its imposing title as "Car of the Year 2007". It also has taken over fifteen national or individual magazine awards including AutoBild’s "Design Award". The one who accepted the prized award was John Fleming, President and CEO of Ford of Europe and Bernhard Mattes, Chairman of the Management Board at Ford Werke GmbH. Dr. Andreas Wiele presented the award during the Auto 1 Gala celebration at Espace Secheron in Geneva (he's the Chairman of the magazine segment at Axel Springe AG).

Over 40 million readers throughout Europe participated in choosing their favorite cars and performance parts. The top choices underwent a round of tests and analysis judged by a special jury. These tests were conducted at the test facility of the tire manufacturer Bridgestone in Aprilia near Rome, Italy. Participating in the professional jury are managing editors, technology specialist and racing drivers.

As John Fleming said proudly in a statement, "This is fantastic news and these awards fill us with pride. Together with the other awards that have been won by the Ford S-Max this latest accolade shows this car has touched a nerve with the public and the specialist media."

Well, it's proof enough that the S-Max has prevailed over its vehicle competitions.

For all of you Jaguar fans, the Jaguar group beholds its special edition XKR Portfoilio. It offers tech-heavy innovations that will guarantee instant appeal and drive. This luxury car is the ultimate in coupe modernism.

This 4.2-liter supercharged sports car will be available with a V8 engine, six-speed jaguar sequential shift transmission and paddleshift gears. Each feature will have notable attractions and will be capable of hitting an electronically controlled top speed of 155 mph and can rocket to 60 mph in just a mere 4.9 seconds.

The XKR guns a dynamic sporting design cues which gives way to an enhanced front bumper, bonnet louvers, aluminum-finish grilles and side power vents. Hanging about is the exclusive Celestial Black interior paint and accentuated with a 20-inch polished Cremona five-spoke alloy wheels matched by a lightweight chassis that rides exceptionally well and caters to most stops with handled reassurance.

The XKR’s interior style meander a classy and elegant driver-focused environment much credit to its ergonomics, user-friendly in-car technology and simple information displays in the instrument panel and main dashboard area. An additional Engine-Spun aluminum veneer is standard on the Portfolio while there’s also the sophisticated Satin American Walnut veneer as an option. Plus: Bower and Wilkins have crafted a signature speaker system – exclusively for the XKR Premium Sound System.

Added to its auto body parts are all-new braking system fitted with 400mm front brake discs while at the rear four-piston calipers operate on 350mm discs. Surrounding the XKR Portfolio’s brakes are polished 20-inch five-spoke Cremona wheels. Behind the front wheels docks new aluminum Power Vents incorporating an indicator side repeater.

The new Jaguar Portfolio special edition will be sold worldwide at the end of March 2007.

Do you remember the marketing strategy that the Ford Motor Company has? Yes, you got that right. Bold Moves. That’s the name.

But it sure does look like the company is going to change its strategy so as to sell more vehicles. This time around, experts in the industry are saying that this new campaign that Ford has is sure going to be even more powerful and would have a great amount of promise.

Challenging the competition. That is what the company is going to do. They are going to let consumers be the judge as per which vehicles are going to be better. Ford says that they would be letting the consumers test all other cars in the market especially those that are in direct competition to Ford products. So if Ford would like to tell people just how good their parts are against, say, Honda body parts, Ford would then let consumers check the products out themselves.

Such a challenge has already started and it begun in Washington, DC. Consumers were given the chance to drive the Ford Fusion and then also drive around the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Both of these vehicles are strong competition for the previously mentioned Ford product. This challenge was named the Fusion Challenge and it became a success. At least, that’s what Ford honchoes are saying.

Now if you are looking for sure proof that the Fusion Challenge really did pay off, experts in the industry are saying that if you would just go ahead and take a look at the sales for the month of February for the Ford Fusion, you would be able that it was more than okay. The Fusion was able to take a 47% increase and it is quite high compared to other increases for the same period.

And because the mentioned Fusion Challenge has sure brought about a positive response in terms of sales, the company has then went ahead and used the same kind of principle to market their other products. They now call the new marketing strategy the Ford Challenge.

“Ford products offer some of the best quality, the most ad-vanced technology and sophisticated designs available today, and that’s the fo-cus of the Ford Challenge,” says Cisco Codina. Codina is the group VP for the company’s North American marketing, sales, and service team.

Labels: Ford, Ford Challenge, Ford Fusion, Fusion Challenge