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Ford is to replace the XR2i and XR3i with respective Si models. The Fiesta replacement has a smaller engine, offering 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in 10.4 seconds, and a maximum speed of 110 mph, compared to the XR2i's 116 mph. The changes have been made to reduce the insurance rating, which ranked the XR2i alongside the BMW 325i. The new cars fail to offer a satisfactory successor to the XR series, however, both are expected to excel in the showroom.

'Working on the Mustang was challenging,' says Lee Davidson, manager of automotive products for Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, CA. Intel supplies the 16-bit custom chip set and memory for […]

Ford believes the sub-compact car it is developing, currently known as the Ka, will help the company's European operations return to profit when the car is launched in 1996. Ford plans to extensively remodel its product range, including Escorts, Granadas and Fiestas. The new baby car, a sub-B class model, will head this new image for the company. Ford will also launch an all-new MPV and further models in the Mondeo range. The company believes that sub-B cars will be very popular in the future, following on the success of the Fiat Cinquecento and the Renault Twingo.

There are few more important icons of affordable high performance than the Ford Mustang GT. Other cars are faster, handle better, and look as dangerous as the new '94 pony-car […]

U.S. AUTOMAKERS STRENGTHEN SAFETY STANCE In far less time than it took you to read the first word of this sentence, an air bag can deploy on impact to prevent [...]

After an ambitious model year in 1993, a year which saw a number of major introductions including redesigned Probe and Ranger pick-up models, and the launch of two brand new […]

The product development strategies of the three US automakers, Ford, GM and Chrysler, are analyzed. All three companies are attempting to shorten product development times and lower costs. GM, for example, has reduced its 6,000 different fastener parts to just 300, and both Ford and GM are working towards 36-37 month product cycle times. Chrysler Corp has reorganized its product development structure into 'platform teams,' one of which developed the Chrysler LH-series cars., The structure of the U.S. Big Three automakers' product development processes, with teams replacing entrenched bureaucracies, has changed drastically in the 1990s. Although each automaker has adopted a distinctly different [...]

If you saw the film "Blade Runner" some years back, you'll recall Harrison Ford as a tired hunter of escaped human replicants in a dismal and far-future Los Angeles, California. […]

Have you ever wondered why so many cars look so much alike when the very nature of the car business may be to reinvent its products every year? Well, reinvention […]

Forget what you've heard, the aluminum-intensive vehicle isn't quite ready for volume production. Read the newspaper. Read the press releases. Heck, read the National Research Council's (NRC) fuel economy report. [...]

Someone once described the state of contemporary technology as the ability to produce a car that falls apart in ten years, while making a beer can that lasts forever. As [...]

Takahiro Hachigo The surprise choice as CEO of Honda Motor leapfrogged a level of management to succeed Takanobu Ito, bringing with him broad international experience and insights into the critical [...]

The 2015 F-150 has 3 basic cab configurations. 1. SuperCrew: 4 doors, hinged at the front, and full-size rear seating. This 'crew cab' configuration makes up the majority of the [...]

Safety features and equipment continue to be emphasized in 1993 models of automobiles and light-trucks. The specific safety features to consider are car size, structure, interior paddings, head restraints, safety belts, air bags, anti-lock braking systems, traction control and visibility. Information on new product specifications for Chrysler, General Motors, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Toyota vehicles are presented., Small changes abound in 1993, but the emphasis on safety is greater than ever Safety factors continue to garner much of the attention from manufacturers in their 1993 models. Driver's [...]

The quest for improved quality and manufacturing efficiency is a continuous process. This is especially true in the automotive industry, where incremental improvement of a component manufacturing process can add [...]

As we wrestle with the dilemma of controlling auto emissions, some are looking to the alternative-fuel vehicle as a silver-bullet solution. But that's a tall order for any technology- Still, […]

Concept cars in the "good old days" of the '50s and '60s were more a Buck Rogers daydream than a peek into a crystal ball. Remember twin bubbles of Perspex […]

The Ford Focus is a brilliant car to drive and has radical styling. Taru Lahti has designed the fluid exterior which surrounds the Escort RS Cosworth platform. The car drives extremely well with perfect steering and a rigid feel to the carbon-fibre body. The cockpit is designed in natural materials with an F1 feel and can be protected with a soft top more like a sunshade or a steel roof which folds behind the front seats.

The Ford Probe is a fast refined sports coupe which is designed to compete in the coupe market worldwide. Based in the Mazda MX-6, the Probe is expected to beat its rivals, with deceptive performance from its quiet engine. Wide Goodyear tyres make impressive handling although the steering lacks response. The body is more sculpted than its predecessor and it is a little roomier in the cabin although it is still not designed for four adults. It will appear on the market in 1994.

The radical design of the new Ford concept car shows the optimistic mood of the company. The car's designer, Taru Lahti describes it as an organic form with no straight edges or visible front and rear. Designed for the 1992 Turin show, the car is built on a shortened Escort RS Cosworth platform with an exterior which defies definition as the form changes at each viewpoint. There are interesting details such as 14 small round rear indicator and stop lights, and an interior in all natural finishes. If the car goes into production Ford could build 1-5,000 a year.

CLEAN AIR FUELS ENGINE EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION The world's automakers, faced with a renewal of tough government regulations in the United States and an environmental blitz in Europe and Japan, [...]

Despite their up-to-date styling, today's cars are constructed pretty much the same way they have been for years--stampted steel bodies on stamped steel frames. Are there other practical and economical [...]

THE CASE FOR CONTOUR Beneath the skin of Ford's latest concept vehicle could lay the future of automaking. Is Ford bold enough to do it? While half a million people [...]

ELECTRIC CARS THE YEAR: 1896. THE location: Narragansett Park, RI. As we race back through the tunnel of time to witness one of America's first track races, what do we […]

A growing demand exists for the use of glassfiber-reinforced composites for high-performance structural applications. Composites have been successful in replacing major load carrying steel components such as leaf springs and [...]

The development of an energy-efficient fuel cell demonstration vehicle, HySeries Edge, by Ford Motor Co. in partnership with the United States Department of Energy is described.

Russell Christophers, vehicle line director at Ford, discusses how he conceived the idea of Territory, an award-winning car from the company. Before coming up with the proposal, Christophers did considerable market research to identify the needs of customers. Based on these needs, the car 'Territory' was developed.

Traditionally, ultra-low volume vehicles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars are the preserve of Italian of German exotic sports car manufacturers. But a series of 30 cars being completed in [...]

There's something strangely fitting about using Sony Pictures Studios' Stage 9 to hold the technical portion of the first Hybrid Ford Escape ride-and-drive. Phil Martens, group vice president, Product Creation, [...]

Ford Motor Co and Concurrent Computer Corp are developing a simulation system to test and validate new powertrain control systems.

Ford is developing the five-seat midi-MPV, Focus C-Max. The car will launch in September 2003, priced around 12,500 pounds sterling. Two diesels and a petroleum engine will be available.

Byline: Richard Truett Ford is considering giving the continuously variable transmission another spin. 'We've had some experience with CVTs and it wasn't all good,' said Raj Nair, Ford's global product [...]

Byline: Bradford Wernle Ford Motor Co. will make a version of the Ford Edge with three rows of seats for China, Jim Farley, Ford executive vice president of global marketing, [...]

Byline: Richard Truett Ford Motor Co. says it will sell body repair parts for the 2015 F-150 to all body shops, even ones that have not been certified to fix [...]

Byline: Bradford Wernle Ford is touting the 2015 Edge crossover as a showcase for its latest technologies. It will be the first Ford-branded vehicle offered with such features as adaptive [...]

Byline: Hans Greimel Ford's revived Escort compact sedan, developed especially for Chinese consumers, could be sold in the United States, CEO Alan Mulally said. The car, developed by Ford's Asia-Pacific [...]