Earlier today, Ford announced that it’s going to be the first car manufacturer to employ Microsoft’s Hohm energy management system when it begins rolling out its line of electric and hybrid electric vehicles over the next two years. [More]
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Ford Agrees To Sell Volvo For $1.8 Billion To Zhejiang Geely
By 3.29.10
They always say that cars are the worst investment, since they almost always depreciate in value. But Ford Motor Co. learned the hard way that this holds true for car companies as well. They bought Volvo for $6.45 billion in 1999, only to sell it 11 years later for $1.8 billion. [More]
Court Overturns $18 Million Verdict Against Ford
By 3.16.10
Yesterday, a court in South Carolina overturned an $18 million verdict against Ford stemming from a fatal 1999 incident involving a Ford Explorer. Their reasoning behind the reversal — an expert who testified about the vehicle’s cruise control system apparently knew nothing about cruise control systems. [More]
Data Shows Toyota Might Be Crashiest Cars On The Road
By 3.2.10
Toyota might be getting a pity party at home in Japan for the skewering the car company is receiving over their recall of 8 million vehicles, so this latest report will probably turn them into saints. A new look at almost 13,000 speed-related complaints over the last decade shows that Toyota led the pack in with the most complaints involving a crash. [More]
Consumer Reports Gets Patriotic, Names Best American Cars For 2010
By 2.26.10
While the Congress frets about the millions of Toyotas on the road that probably shouldn’t be, our grease-monkey brothers at Consumer Reports were busy getting domestic. They just released the list of their Top Picks for vehicles put out by American car companies. [More]
Ford Doing Well. Chrysler… Yeah, Not So Much.
By 1.5.10
So after sucking for quite a while, Ford ended the year with higher sales, says the NYT. Meanwhile, Chrysler still sucks. [More]
Ford To Sell Volvo To China's Zhejiang Geely
By 12.23.09
Ford has reached a deal to sell Volvo to Zhejiang Geely, a Chinese company that first started making cars just 11 years ago. The terms of the deal weren’t announced, but Ford’s take is estimated to be about $2 billion, a far cry from the $6 billion the company paid to buy Volvo in 1999. [More]
Ford Announces Solution To America's Car Woes: The 1993 Taurus
By 11.5.09
Here’s a video from The Onion that pretty much sums up our nation’s automobile situation. The added incentive of a free Primus tape is really what sold me.
Some Ford Cars Are Reliable, Actually Worth Buying
By 10.27.09
Several Ford cars are among the world’s most reliable vehicles, according to the latest annual car reliability survey from Consumer Reports.
4.5 Million Flammable Fords Recalled
By 10.14.09
Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced a recall of 4.5 million vehicles spanning back to 1992. A mixup in the manufacture resulted in the “self-immolation” button being labeled “cruise control.” In all seriousness, though, a vehicle fire could occur on these models, so be sure to check this out.
Honda, Toyota, Ford Top Cash For Clunkers Sellers
By 8.5.09
Some initial statistics are in on the vehicles traded in and purchased in the “Cash for Clunkers” program. Unsurprisingly, 80% of the vehicles traded in are trucks or SUVs, and the top sellers among car-buyers come from Honda, Toyota, and Ford.
Ford Factory Dumping SUVs For Small "Green" Cars
By 5.6.09
Demand for bigass SUVs just isn’t what it used to be. Ford says it is spending “550 million to convert a plant, which previously produced trucks and SUVs, into a “green” manufacturing complex building small fuel-efficient and electric cars,” says CNN.
General Motors' Greatest Innovation? Not Cars, Credit
By 4.20.09
Sorry to disappoint all of you who think that the two-person Segway is the most innovative thing GM has produced in its long history — it seems that the company’s most important new idea was consumer credit. More specifically, convincing a nation of thrifty debt-averse tightwads that taking on debt was socially acceptable. Yes, it’s true. We weren’t always a bunch of debt junkies.
Hyundai Vs Ford Vs GM: Who's Got The Best Car Payment Protection Plan?
By 4.6.09
Now that a bunch of people have a finger in the “If you lose your job, we’ll help you out with payments” punch bowl, which is the best deal? Hyundai, Ford or GM? Jalopnik broke it down and says the original is the best, giving the award to Hyundai Assurance Plus. “Hyundai is the only one offering negative equity coverage with real teeth and payment assistance,” they wrote. Caveats apply depending on your situation. and, “in the end, if you are fairly certain you’re going to be losing your job soon you shouldn’t buy a new car.”
Lose Your Job? Ford Makes Your Payments For A Year
By 3.31.09
Not to be outdone by Hyundai, if you buy a Ford and lose your job, the car-maker announced they’ll make your payments for up to a year, up to $700 per month. President Mark Fields released a video about the “Ford Advantage Plan” on YouTube. Take a shot every time he says “confidence.” GM is supposed to announce their own version this morning, says Kicking Tires. UPDATE: And here it is.
By 3.25.09
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$2 Billion For Volvo? Ford Motor Co. may get $1 billion to $2 billion for its Volvo Cars unit, less than a third of what it paid 10 years ago. Yeowch. [Bloomberg]
Whoops: Ford Might Need A Bailout After All
By 1.12.09
Ford has been busy marketing itself as America’s Healthiest Automaker — but Bloomberg says that the company may need a bailout after all.
