The Auto Car Lover's

Saturday, March 12, 2011

2013 Ford Edge EcoBoost

2013 Ford Edge offers a four-cylinder EcoBoost as an optional premium machine. Fuel economy is expected to increase anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. The front-wheel-drive V6-powered Edge rated at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. With EcoBoost, the numbers have increased by 20-23 mpg city and 30-32 mpg highway. Ford Edge will market the entire family of EcoBoost engines, and in 2013, will offer a variation of this turbocharged, direct-inject engines in 90 percent of the line model in North America. In addition, 2.0-liter V6 3.5-liter and 1.6-liter four-cylinder, and the results mirror one another. Edge 2013 is equipped with new engines Ford EcoBoost 2.0-liter four-cylinder. This looks like a fresh 2011 Ford Edge Limite.

The only difference is the badge EcoBoost outside the rear hatch. It’s essentially the same as motivational tools CUV very different under the hood: a, turbocharged direct-injected 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine. Ford’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engines, such as 3.5-liter V6 and the upcoming 1.6-liter four-cylinder, offers a variety of technologies that help drive power and fuel economy numbers up while allowing for a lower displacement and weight loss. Ford with Honeywell to create a low inertia turbo that spools quicker and help eliminate lag. Direct fuel injection allows a higher compression ratio and burn more efficiently and reduce emissions.

2013 Ford Fusion

2013 Ford Fusion / Ford Mondeo. by 2013, Ford is planning to have all of their midsize sedans on one platform (Ford EUCD), and this new Ford Fusion– which currently is based on the old Mazda 6 platform– will have a lot more in common with the Ford Mondeo than it does today. Hence, using a Mondeo as a development mule. There are mules running around Michigan with various exhaust set ups and we're even seeing ones with modified fuel filler caps, signaling that they're planning to switch the access side from the right to the left side of the car.

No further details are available, but we have to assume Ford will continue where they started with the Fiesta, offering more dual-clutch automatics and that Ecoboost and Hybrid models will be available.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

2014 Ford Start

The 2014 Ford Start has been unveiled, as a concept, back in April at the Beijing auto show in China.Recent reports say that the replacement model for the Ka will be based on the Ford Start concept and that it will go on sale in 2014.

The Blue Oval previews that the 2014 Ford Start will have a voice activation system that will control the air conditioning, vehicle diagnostics and other features of the car.There are quite a few years between now and 2014, so expect the Ford Ka replacement to offer various new technologies that are just in a development phase right now.

The 2014 Ford Start will be powered by a new 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine equipped with a turbocharging and spark-ignited, direct-injection fuel management system.The engine of the 2014 Ford Start will be coupled with a six-speed manual transmission.

Just as the concept, the 2014 Ford Start will have a low CO2 emissions level of around 100 g/km of CO2.The 2014 Ford Start will be built on an aluminum and steel chassis, with a lightweight aluminum safety cell.

Autocar.co.uk reports that Ford could be working on a production vrsion of the Start, with the vehicle being scheduled to enter the market in 2014 and come with a price of around $13,000.

2013 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ

Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize sedans. Both will use the new “CD4” platform, a chassis that looks set to become the backbone of Ford’s global lineup of vehicles. The Euro-look of these test mules is nothing but a clever disguise.

The Fusion, MKZ and Mondeo will be the first to share this chassis. Powertrains are rumored to consist of 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter inline-4 engines, both featuring Ford’s EcoBoost turbocharging system. A hybrid is also a certainty, although it’s too early to know if Ford will stick with the 2.5-liter Duratec 4-cylinder and nickel-metal hydride batteries of the current model. We think this is highly unlikely, given that the new Fusion’s engines are being downsized.

The styling of the next-generation Fusion is said to borrow heavily from the new Focus and the Taurus sedan. This means a more dynamic look—or “Kinetic” to use Ford’s lingo—with a bold and elegant front end (like that of the Focus) mixed with the solid-looking profile and rear-end treatment found on the Taurus. The Fusion’s current chrome grille is also likely to be significantly revised—a Ford designer recently told us the grille with three chrome bars had served the company well, but it’s time for a change.

Look for the next Fusion and MKZ sedans to arrive in early 2012, for the 2013 model year. Soon thereafter, the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles will jump to the CD4 platform, followed by the Taurus, MKS and several other Ford products around the world.

2013 Ford Mondeo

The first 2013 Ford Mondeo info has surfaced the web today, revealing some of the technical details of the next generation model. The 2013 Ford Mondeo will be powered by a range of petrol and diesel engines, including a 1.6-liter and a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engines. The diesel range of the 2013 Ford Mondeo will include three 2.0 TDCi versions, with 112 hp, 137 hp and 163 hp.

The equipment list of the next generation 2013 Ford Mondeo will include new safety systems, such as a blind spot warning system, a rear view camera, and a driver alert to alarm the driver if it detects he's tired.The 2013 Ford Mondeo will also feature a torque vectoring system and a new generation electric power steering with dynamic cornering control.

Apart from the new technology, the Blue Oval will also try to go to the next step on the luxury ladder with the 2013 Ford Mondeo. The 2013 Ford Mondeo will try to mode more up-market with the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi. If this is the case, Ford will have to make some serious adjustments in the quality of the materials they use and the build process.The 2013 Ford Mondeo will have a fresh exterior and interior design and will also try to become more fuel efficient while reducing its CO2 emissions level.

2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid

At this point, we're not quite sure what's so special about the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. According to Ford, it will get better mileage than the Ford Fusion Hybrid that already exists, but how it will do that is still a bit of a mystery.

You see, the specification sheet that accompanied the announcement of the C-Max Hybrid was exactly five lines long, and all the information contained in those five lines concerned the vehicle's size. If you must know, the C-Max Hybrid is smaller than the standard C-Max that arrives later this year, mainly because it's the five-passenger version instead of the stretched seven-passenger model.

Information about its powertrain was largely left out. Ford did say it will use an advanced lithium-ion battery system. The new batteries are smaller and lighter than nickel-metal hydride batteries and can be tuned to deliver more power or extended range.

Like the rest of the C-Max lineup, the C-Max Hybrid will be built on Ford's compact sedan architecture that underpins the Focus and upcoming Escape crossover. The C-Max Hybrid will be assembled in Wayne, Michigan, alongside the rest of the C-Max variants starting sometime in 2012.

2013 Ford Focus Electric

Electric vehicles are the hottest and smallest niche market at the moment, and the 2013 Ford Focus Electric intends to join the fray. Its features begin with an electric motor and extend all the way to your smartphone.

Focus Electric, Ford is aiming at a global market for its first in-house–engineered EV, so it makes sense to base it on the Ford Focus C chassis. Motivation begins with a permanent-magnet electric traction motor delivering 123 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque and a single-speed transmission. The motor draws electricity from two liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery packs mounted under and behind the rear seats with a total of 24 kilowatt-hours of power. The combination tops out just above freeway speeds at 84 mph and should be peppy off the line owing to the torquey nature of electric motors.

The official range has yet to be announced, but preliminary figures indicate frugal drivers should see around 100 miles before the car has to hit the charger. Speaking of charging, that's where things start to get interesting with the Focus Electric. Ford has partnered with Best Buy, whose Geek Squad will provide in-home installation of an optional Leviton-sourced 240-volt–outlet charger, which will be able to charge the batteries in just 3 hours, currently best in a rather nebulous and small class. Without that high-voltage charger, it's a painful 16 to 20 hours for a full charge. This makes the charge-station finder delivered to the navigation system through MapQuest a very important feature.

The Focus Electric also works to address one of the biggest problems with EVs: range anxiety, the concern that the car won't be able to make it to a destination. Each key stores the driver's unique style of driving—what Ford terms as Zippy to Zen. The zippier the driver, the lower the total range will be. The car takes this into account when predicting how far it will go with its current state of charge. If you're on the edge of reaching a destination or charge station, the SmartGauge LCD screens flanking the speedometer will encourage smoother driving, maximized regenerative braking and lower speeds. Amusingly, the green leaves from the Fusion Hybrid's SmartGauge have been replaced with blue butterflies—an homage to the butterfly effect the driver might cause by piloting an electric vehicle.

The Focus Electric is still pretty far from production, with an intended sale date sometime in 2012, but it will be the flagship in Ford's push for vehicle electrification. What we see in this effort is a holistic approach to an electric car that will pay dividends as the number of charging stations increases and battery technology improves. For now, the electric car is still limited to a position as secondary, around-town city car, but as charging times continue to diminish, that problem will begin to disappear.