Land Rover Wins Auto Express Honor

Here is another great success for Ford Motor Company.

While the Ford Mondeo bagged the Car of the Year, Best Family Car, and Best Estate Car, Ford's Land Rover division also received two awards from Auto Express New Car Honours 2007.

Auto Express honored the all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 as the Best 4x4 Recreational beating other strong competitors in the 4x4 SUV segment including the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Santa Fe. Meanwhile in the Best 4x4 Off Roader category, Land Rover's Discovery 3 successfully won the honor leaving other aspirant behind like the luxurious Mercedes M-class and BMW X5.

"We are absolutely delighted to win these awards from Auto Express for both the Freelander 2 and the Discovery 3, in a year where we will have a third successive sales record." said Phil Pophamm, managing director of Land Rover.

"Achieving the Best 4x4 Off Roader award for the Discovery 3 - a car that continues to be an outstanding success, consistently beating new entrants from other manufacturers - is a testament to its class-leading diesel engine, its versatility and its all-round package."

Auto Express' road test editor, Ollie Marriage also commented: "The off-road king is back. The Freelander 2 has returned to the top of its class with a neatly designed and beautifully executed second-generation car."

Well, I guess Ford currently dominates the auto awards scene.

Ford Mondeo Wins Auto Express Award

Auto Express, one of the leading automotive publications in the UK has awarded Ford Motor Company's new Mondeo as the 2007 Car of the Year. In addition the Mondeo also other prestigious awards including the Best Family Car and the Best Estate Car.

According to David Johns, Editor in Chief of Auto Express: "The Mondeo delivers effortlessly, performing with aplomb everywhere. It steers beautifully, rides with a composure and smoothness that's absent from even the best German executive cars, handles tautly and has a great range of engines. It's also vast inside, beats its rivals for quality, is clearly laid out with great refinement and comfort levels to take the sting out of everyday driving."

Both the Ford Mondeo hatchback and estate wagon models impressed the road test crew of Auto Express. The testers recognized the Mondeo's striking exterior design, interior features, and vehicle functionality (including cabin and luggage spaces).

Johns added: "Combining the sheer amount of room on board with its trademark hatchback, the Mondeo is more flexible than booted rivals. Every passenger gets increased space and greater seat comfort and no rival cruises as comfortably at high speed or deals with coarser surfaces so well. It even delivers a cosseting ride around town and thanks to its stiffer body it handles beautifully too. The incredible 75-car range completed the credentials that made Mondeo a worthy winner of the family car crown."

John continued:: "Although Ford made public its intentions to make the Mondeo an object of desire, its designers didn't fall into the trap of putting form ahead of function. Quite simply, the new Mondeo estate is what all good load-luggers should be – big, practical and superb at carrying stuff. From its hangar-like luggage bay to clever options such as the sliding floor, the Ford feels like a car which is designed to work for a living."

So this only means that the Ford Mondeo not just rock the UK market, but it also kicks other vehicle models' asses. (if they have one. LOL!)

Coming Soon: Aussie-Built Ford Focus

Ford Motor Company is planning to expand its manufacturing operations in the Land Down Under. A recent press release from Ford Australia reports that the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker plans to manufacture small cars in Australia due to the increasing demands of smaller vehicles in the country.

The Ford Focus will be added to the production lineup of Ford Australia in the Campbellfield manufacturing assembly plant. Focus will join other small car models currently being produced in Australia like the Falcon and Territory. Production starts in 2011, and Ford Australia said they are targeting 40,000 units of Ford Focus to be produced every year.

Tom Gorman, Ford Australia President said:
"Manufacturing the Ford Focus in Australia will allow us to deliver key business requirements of improving our capacity utilisation and strengthening Ford Australia's integration into the global Ford Motor Company. It also reflects the contemporary market demands for smaller vehicles and opens up significant additional export opportunities within the region."

Mr. Gorman added: "With the support of the Federal Government and Victorian State Government, Ford Australia will be the first local car manufacturer to respond to these changing market dynamics in this manner. We look forward to offering Australians their first locally produced small car in more than a decade."

So to all of the Aussie auto freaks out there, you better watch out for the Ford Focus to roll out in you area. While waiting for that, why not try to upgrade or replace your Ford or Saab fuel pump?

Aston Martin’s Historic Newport Pagnell Factory Closed

Finally after the last Vanquish rolled off at Aston Martin’s historic Newport Pagnell factory the site will now be sold and converted into offices and homes.

Aston Martin has been using the Newport Pagnell factory in making cars since 1958 starting with the DB4. It has built 13,000 cars at the site and now just a year short of celebrating its golden anniversary, the plant was closed.

Aston Martin was officially handed over to its new owner last June 1 although it was last March that Ford has announced its split from the parent automaker.

Aston’s new bosses have decided to sell the prime land where the former historic Newport Pagnell factory stands.

Officials refrain from divulging the exact value of the land however the factory is situated in affluent Buckinghamshire which gives us a clear idea on how much it will cost---not lower a million that’s for sure.

There is already a plan submitted to the local council for the development of residential and commercial structures on the site with the intention of retaining some of the famous buildings that would include the boardroom with portraits of the Queen and the clubby leather seats.

The workers and employees of closed down Newport Pagnell factory have shift to Works Service site over the road where they provide car services like repairs, restoration, and customization based on what their customers’ whims.

A former staff member has told Car Online, "It's a sad day. Aston Martin is so much a part of Newport Pagnell and it's a jerk to see the factory close. We are worried that the Works Service could be next; the company's new owners are bound to want us all under one roof in the long term."

The new owner of Aston Martin is preparing to launch its DBS at the Frankfurt Motor Show while the Rapide four-door is schedule for launch in 2009.

Europe to get Ford Kuga in 2008

Now here’s more reason to think that Ford loves European fellows than they do us Americans.

News is that Europe is about to get a much better-looking crossover than our Escape here. According to a press release by the company released today, Ford of Europe is about to have an all-new addition to its model range early in 2008 – a sporty looking ride that they are calling the Ford Kuga. The name’s a bit weird I know, but if you look at the photo above, you’d certainly pick that one up to a Ford Escape, I bet.

A preview model of the production vehicle will reportedly be presented to the press and public at the 2007 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens on September 13.

Based on the stunning Ford Iosis X concept car introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 2006, the forthcoming Ford Kuga uses the automaker’s exciting 'kinetic design' form language which, the company press release says, is meant to introduce a compact and distinctive new 4x4 crossover to the Ford portfolio.

"We recognised that image-conscious customers for this kind of vehicle want a very individual car in which impressive on-road capability blends seamlessly with substantial off-road ability," said Martin Smith, Executive Design Director for Ford of Europe.

Okay. But we are image-conscious here too, aren’t we? Sure we have our veritable Mustangs and kickass trucks, but hey, that Kuga is a catch. Just like the Mondeo (not sold here) and the European Focus (also not here).

The Ford design team is releasing its first official styling sketch of the new model.

"Kuga is adventurous and distinctive, and we wanted to highlight this in our first official image," Stefan Lamm, Ford's Chief Designer for Exteriors, commented. "We believe that there is a role for a more athletic and charismatic vehicle that marks a departure from the norm, in the same way that the award-winning Ford S-MAX carved out new territory for an MPV."

Lucky U.K. folks.

The all-new Ford Kuga will go into production early in 2008 at Ford's Saarlouis plant in Germany. It will be launched across Europe from Spring 2008.

Premium Hatchback Ford Fusion launched in Indian Market

Last Tuesday Ford India has launched a diesel variant of its premium hatchback Ford Fusion with a price tag of Rs 6.69 lakh. The introduction of the hatchback Ford is an indication that the local market is now considering the idea of compact cars.

Ford’s new diesel variant hatchback is powered with a 1.4 liter Duratorq engine which is eligible for a six percent rebate in excise duty on small cars.

According to company Managing Director and President, Arvind Mathew in an interview with reporters during the launching of the new Ford Fusion, “Our customers were demanding a diesel variant of Fusion. Based on their feedback, we are launching the new product."

Ford India is presently selling a petrol variant of Fusion wit a price tag of Rs 6.41 lakh in Delhi.

Mr. Mathew further said that the company intends to further enhance its share in the mid-size segment with the launching of the new Fusion. And when asked about plans for small cars he said, “At the moment, we are not looking at that price point; we are just looking at a small car. Ford does not have any product in that price range."

He also added that the company might consider such low cost car costing around $3,000 just like the ones offered by Renault-Nissan if and only if “customers demanded for it. We are always focused on what our consumers want... if our consumer comes back and says here are the trade-offs, I am willing to make ($3,000 car) and this is what I will accept and live with."

Tata Motors is also planning to introduce a compact car at Rs 1 lakh by the middle of next year. But Mr. Mathew preferred to stay non-committal to the company’s plans if such scenario will really push through. He said, “At the moment, I am not being categorical, I am very curious to see how this car looks like."

Ford’s Aussie Unit Hoping for Export to Increase its Profit

Ford’s money-losing Australian unit has announced last Friday its plan of boosting exports in order to become more profitable.

Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary has told media, "Essentially, we are looking for a new manufacturing strategy that is going to set us up for the future. The alternatives include an export program."

Ford is currently Australia’s third ranking automaker by sales as of June 2007 but unfortunately its main plant in Melbourne is operating below capacity and according to reports from local media the possibility of closing an engine plant in Geelong, outside Melbourne that has started operation in 1926 is high.

McAlary also said, "There are a number of studies underway and I can't be specific about any of them. We have to become more efficient and we have to change our business." At present the buying trend of Aussies in terms of cars is shifting to smaller vehicles. Ford has already incurred a net loss of A$40.3 million for its 2006 fiscal year from a net profit of A$148.2 million in 2005.

Ford has currently a minimal export program of 7,000 vehicles destined for New Zealand, South Africa, and Thailand that is out of the total 81,500 locally made cars. But unluckily for Ford it was not been able to make inroads as fast as its rival Toyota Motor’s Australian unit which by the way has a very strong export program to the Middle East. As expected the three big automakers that are sharing in the Aussie market are Toyota with 22.2 percent, followed by General Motor with 14.5 percent and then Ford with 10.4 percent.

Ford Sales: US and Canada

Although the US sales of Ford Motor Company for the month of June 2007 were down by 8.1% overall, the combined sales for Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) models were up by about 83% over the same period last year. This is due to increasing consumer demands for crossover SUV models, according to the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker.

Mark Fields, Ford’s President of the Americas commented: "These new crossovers are proof we are building more products people want to buy. "The Edge and Lincoln MKX and other new and redesigned products are helping us to stabilize our retail market share, a key goal in our plan to return to profitability in North America."

Sales highlights of Ford branded crossover SUVs for the month of June 2007 include:
2008 Ford Escape – posted a 19,147 units sold, up by 33%
Mercury Mariner – posted sales totaling 3,788, up by 97%
Lincoln MKX – increased sales by 15% compared to June 2006

Meanwhile, for the month of June 2007, Ford's Canadian division set all time sales results for its truck and SUV models. Ford of Canada posted strong sales record with an increase of 13% compared to last year's results. Bill Osborne, president and CEO of Ford of Canada also commented: "Outstanding is the word that comes to mind when talking about customer response to the newly re-designed Ford Escape and our hot crossovers, the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. And that's what we're here to do – build vehicles that inspire."

Check out the all time sales highlights of Ford Canada for the months of June 2007

Ford Edge – posted sales up in 6 consecutive months
Ford Escape – posted increased sales up by 61%, the best month since its launch
Ford Escape Hybrid - sales up by 86%, the best June sales since its launch
Ford Escape - the best selling small SUV Canada
Ford Ranger - posted sales increase by 46%, best ever June sales record since 1988
Ford F-Series - recorded total sales up by 8%, the best sales for the month of June since 2000
Ford Fusion - best June sales, up by 9%
Lincoln MKX - best month since its launch
Lincoln Navigator - posted an impressive 57% sales
Lincoln MKZ - recorded sales up by 6%

Wait until next month and see if Ford Motor Company can boost their sales this July. How will they do it? Of course, it's up to the company's sales and marketing division. D'oh!

Ford Racing at Loudon

Ford Racing teams and drivers were quite unlucky during the recent Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon. Why? It is because no Ford Racing driver made it into the podium or even in the top 5. Only Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion for the Roush Fenway Racing team obtained a top 10 spot when he finished 9th in the race.

Here is an interview with Matt Kenseth after the race:

"We ended up passing some cars on pit road and making some adjustments and got it better, but we're not good enough to beat these guys. With these cars it's all about being in the front. It's really hard to come from behind and do much with them."

DID YOU MAKE THE CAR BETTER? "Yeah, we definitely made it better. We were still off, but it was a lot better. It was a top-10 car and we finished ninth, so we definitely made some improvement."

WILL THE CHANGES BE SOMETHING YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE NEXT COT RACE? "I hope so. We've got a long way to go with these things to compete for wins. They're so sensitive to little things. There are only so many areas you can work, so the areas we can work we're just missing it a little bit. We've got to work on the front suspension and figure out how to make the front ends turn better and then, hopefully, we'll be more competitive."

YOUR PIT CREW WAS STRONG AGAIN. "Yeah, they always do really good. They always keep us in the races."

THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TOUGH TRACK TO PASS ON, BUT WAS IT EVEN HARDER WITH THIS NEW CAR? "Yeah, way tougher. They're just so tight. You're just kind of at the mercy of the front tires in the middle of the corner, but I thought it was a lot harder to pass than the other car, but my car wasn't right either. The fastest car didn't win. The guy who got two tires got out front and won, so I think it's probably more about track position with these cars than even the old ones."

Meanwhile, other Ford Racing drivers including Carl Edwards, series rookie David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, and Robby Gordon drove their Ford Fusions to the finished and obtained the 13th, 15th, 16th, and 17th place, respectively.

Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Boston Red Sox Ford Fusion commented:
"We had an awesome car. The good news is we had an awesome car. The bad news was it fell off the jack when we were leading the thing pitting under green, but everybody kept their composure. The car was still good enough. We finished 13th, but this is a race winner right here. It's a huge step forward for us with the car of tomorrow. It's just terrible. This is the same thing that happened to us at Pocono last year. We had a plan. We got the car back up and we only lost a lap, so it wasn't the end of the world."

As a Ford Racing fan, I hope that these drivers can perform better during the upcoming race Daytona International Speedway.

Another Ford Production Plant Closes in Norfolk

Ford Motor Company has a share of both good and bad news over the net. But unfortunately, Ford is now known to be one among the three famous cash-craving car companies in the US. General Motors Corporation as well as the Chrysler Group is also part of the domestic auto makers that is experiencing hardships at present.

However, in fairness to Ford, most of the car models they made this year have received a lot of quality recognition. Ford Taurus X and Jaguar X-type are just few among the cars on their line-up that received positive news this week. It was impressive that no matter how they are suffering from the present economical situation, they still manage to create quality and heavy-duty car models for the customers. But things are not going well still. Ford had to cut another production plant operation in order to compensate for their budget-cutting situation.

Ford already had the last batch of pickup truck rolled off its production plant in Norfolk this morning. And sadly, this was the last vehicle that was produced on this plant. Ford was reported seeing the factory workers going out of the plant wearing memorial shirts. At 8 am these employees were noted to file out of the assembly plant wearing royal blue shirt that has no prints on front. However, the back of their shirt says “R-I-P Ford Norfolk Assembly Plant April 20, 1925 - June 28, 2007”. The news was taken from the Virginian-Pilot.

Last year, Ford Motor Company announced that they have plans of closing the Norfolk Assembly plant. The plant is where the F-150 pick up trucks are made. Before, there are more than 23,000 factory workers that worked on the assembly plant but the number of employees decreased as the years passed.

The plant managers purchased the truck and it went through chances to Portsmouth’s Corey Bauswell. The truck was seen driven out of the plant at around 8:20 a.m.

United Auto Workers Local 919’s President Chris Kimmons said, he did not plan to be on the plant’s last day of operation. However, he was spotted on the union hall together with the guys. It was like attending a funeral he said. He even uttered, "You don’t want to go, but you know you’ve got to be there."

This was the last day of the Norfolk Ford’s assembly plant operation. I hope this is the last. Toyota was right when they decided to slow down on making local assembly plants in the US. I guess Ford should have done it before.

The Jaguar X-Type and Taurus X both Gained Awards this Week

Ford was recently awarded with quality picks award. The award will definitely help boost the reputation of Ford’s vehicles plus the company itself which is currently in dire need of inspiration and good publicity. It is no secret that Ford sales have been declining starting last year. It is also true that Ford is cash-hungry right now. However if there is one thing that can be admired of Ford its in terms of its commitment in making quality cars which is part of the things they would never give up. And this is the reason why Ford has recently been garnering awards pertaining to quality.

And now, two awards were again received by two of Ford’s famous brands; the Ford Taurus X and Jaguar X-Type. Amazing, both of the car models are wearing X on their names. Does this bring more appeal o the new vehicles? Well, am not really sure but one thing is clear that these cars won because of quality.

When the Ford Taurus X was subjected on a car test done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) it was able to pass with flying colors and this is because Ford has made the new Taurus X much tougher than the previous model. The Taurus X was given the highest Five-Star rating by NHTSA.

The Taurus X also obtained a “Good” rating on the recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) car crash test. Maybe this is the first time that the two testing centers jived on their ratings. And because Taurus gets the top ratings, it was regarded as the organization's Top Safety Pick label.

Another Ford car model was awarded by the firm AutoPacific's Vehicle Survey Award. It was the Ford Jaguar X-Type, which was awarded as the 2007 Aspirational Luxury Car segment. Well, the award giving body might not be as famous as the J.D. Powers and Associates but hey this award has undergone several tests as well.

Before the AutoPacific's Vehicle Survey Award was able to proclaim the Jaguar as the most inspirational car of 2007, they have asked almost 24,000 US new car buyers to answer the survey and it all turned out to be the fortune of the X-type. The respondents were asked to score the cars they bought after 60-90 days of buying it. And the President of AutoPacific George Peterson has a better explanation of how they got the result. He said,”Often times, the most satisfying vehicle is the one with the most personality, not the one that is screwed together the best."

The cars which were found to have minimum car defects where all included on list. These cars were proven to function effectively even after the allotted three months. And luckily, the Jaguar X-Type was the one on the top of the list.