The End of Ford’s 30 Year Truck Streak

Ford Motor Co. has long started its Truck of the Year Streak, in 1977. It was the Year Star Wars Premiered in Theaters and AJ Foyt won his record 4th Indy 500. Now, in the 30th year, the streak has ended, frozen by Toyota Tundra as it took the Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year award.

In the 1990, Ford’s Motto at One Time was “The Best Never Rest”. But now, it is “Bold Moves”, which is barely enough to keep the Streak alive.

An author in sportingnews.com wrote, “Even though I am a Toyota Guy, a lot of this shift has to do with Toyota ‘Moving Forward’ on their NASCAR Program, which NASCAR drives a lot of Auto Purchases not only here, but all over the World, and in the near future, I’d love what Ford has done since Mark Martin was sold off to the highest bidder at Ginn/DEI was not worth having to take pride in Driving a Ford Lately because I’d hate to break the news to all the true truck purists, but sadly, this would be no longer Built Ford Tough as history’s greatest streak comes to an end just like why there ain’t no new episodes on TV because of the Strike and the true color of society has shown its color in this country because ‘The Truck Streak’ has ended.”

Some of you might not believe it, but Toyota Tundra is indeed the 2008 Truck of the Year – a sad fact for Ford.

The 2009 Ford Focus RS

Ford of Europe confirms its plan to launch an exciting all-new, high performance version of Focus RS in 2009.

The new Focus RS will be based on the dynamic new Focus ST. The Ford Team RS - a specialist team led by Jost Capito who will be the Vehicle Line Director for Ford of Europe Performance Vehicles starting January 1, 2008 – will be responsible for the development.

According to John Fleming, Ford of Europe’s President and CEO, “With two consecutive Manufacturer’s World Rally Championship titles under our belt, the time is right to create a new Focus RS.” He said, “With the Fiesta and Focus ST models, Jost and his team have proved already that they can deliver exciting and practical performance road cars. The success of these models, combined with Jost’s experience in motorsport and Ford of Europe’s positive business results, mean that we now have a credible business case for a no-compromise Focus RS roadcar for more enthusiastic drivers.”

Under Capito’s leadership, the basic concept for a new Focus RS has already been under development for quite some time. Now that the programme has been approved, Capito along with his team will give fully concentration on the project.

Capito said, “We have reviewed our technical options and worked closely with the Design team on how the car might look, and I’m very excited by the results … Now with the programme going ahead, the hard work really starts as the small team working on the project takes the car from prototype to production.”

Unfortunately, Ford of Europe will not disclose any of the technical details regarding the new Focus RS, until near the launch in 2009. For now, Ford is planning to show a concept version of the car, for the first time, in the mid of 2008.

Fleming, said, “We’re not ready to confirm any of the technical details of the new Focus RS yet – Jost and his team have a lot to do to finalize the exact specification and styling … But make no mistake, I can assure you that ultimately, the car we plan to launch will be worthy of weating the coveted Ford RS badge.”

Capito, on the other hand, said, “We will use the redesigned 2008 Focus St as the base for a no-compromise RX model that will become the ultimate road-going Focus … Just as the Focus RS WRC owns the rally circuit, we want the new Focus RS to own the road, so we have the major competitors in our sights as we develop the car’s performance, design, handling and braking.”

That sound’s great. The company is really working on the development carefully. It is right for them to think that the new Focus RS should be seen with no flaws in all aspects by the time it is showcased publicly.

Workers goes back to work at Russian Ford Plant

Ford Motor Co. is really going through some tough times and challenges, among which was the strike in one of its assembly plants. Now, let us discuss about how things are going with the company.

After almost a month-long strike, Monday, Russian employees went back to work at the Ford Motor. Co. assembly plant near St. Petersburg. The strike ended after the union and the company, last week, agreed to continue negotiations on wage and hours demands.

However, according to Alexei Etmanov, head of the union that is seeking wage increases of over 30 percent and a reduction of the night shift to 6.5 hours, “It’s neither a failure nor a victory for either side. It’s just a new stage in the struggle for our interests.

Currently, the assembly line workers are making approximately 19,000 rubles ($800) a month. The American automaker has offered them an 11 percent raise, but would start on March 2008.

Last year, the plant in Vsevolozhsk has produced around 60,000 cars, majority was the Focus model.

Plant director Theo Streit said, “We are very pleased with the decision by the trade union that will allow all employees to get back to work.”

Ford’s New-Model Quality Center

Ford Motor Company has invested $208 million to build a New-Model Quality Center in the Dearborn Glass Plant at the Rouge site which was just recently opened. The center was specifically designed to help support the introduction of the 2009 F-150 pickup and eventually ensure its top quality.

According to Mark Fields, president of The Americas, Ford Motor Company, “Our recent launches have shown that we are among the best in the industry in quality … The New-Model Quality Center at the Rouge will ensure the same top quality for the new F-150 when it goes on sale next fall.”

In the center, Ford will be testing the vehicles and training the employees for the next-generation F-150.

Fields said, “In our design studios, in our product development laboratories and in our manufacturing plants, quality is our top priority … Our teams are showing incredible discipline in following the processes and adhering to the highest standards.”

The center will help provide training on key assembly processes for a third of Dearborn Truck’s 3,200 employees. Employees are expected to be trained on workstations, designed to replicate those in the chasses and final assembly areas. There will be two workstations that will allow in-depth study of the F-150’s new frame. Other workstations will be provided with platforms that can be raised and lowered depending on the employee’s height and job requirements. Within it, employees will have the chance to learn installation procedures of new parts and components.

In a news release, Bennie Fowler, vice president for Ford Quality, said, “Our vehicle quality has shown dramatic improvement this year because we’ve standardized a set of rigid processes throughout the design, development and manufacturing of our vehicles … The New-Model Quality Center at Dearborn Truck represents an important part of the quality process in manufacturing.”

Ford currently has a quality center at each assembly plant in North America.

McRae Enduro rally car gets a Ford-built engine

The McRae Enduro rally car has been powered with a Ford-built engine, which is a 2.7 L V6 turbo. The diesel engine, assembled at the Ford Dagenham Diesel Centre in Essex, generates 220 horsepower.

Recently, the rally car won the prestigious ‘Idea of the Year’ at the 2007 Autocar Awards. Chas Hallett, Autocar’s editor, announced the award to an audience of 480 global motor industry leaders and celebrities.

Upon receiving the award, Christopher Bibb, commercial director for the McRae Enduro operation based at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex, said, “Rally driver Alister McRae, the younger brother of Colin, is our chief test driver.” “As soon as testing started, Colin was keen to drive the Enduro, but for many reasons that never quite happened, and sadly now never will. We therefore dedicate our award to Colin McRae – one of Britain’s greatest sportsmen,” he added.

On the other hand, Chris Harrison, director of Ford Component Sales, said, “As the supplier of the engine and other Ford components, we are proud to be associated with the Enduro … With an extensive portfolio of more than 100,000 components in Europe alone, Ford Component Sales offers an extremely attractive package to smaller companies … It makes sense for low-volume manufacturers to use the resources of a global giant by dipping into its extensive parts bin. Design and development costs are kept to a minimum, and reliability and quality at competitive prices are assured.”

The MCRae Enduro team is credited for the design of the car. Ford supplied the engine that comes with a six-speed manual ZF gearbox, helping in the transfer of 220 horsepower to the full-time four-wheel-drive system.

The rally car will be competing in races, including the 6,000 km cross-Saharan Dakar Rally. It will compete in its first event – the Saudi Arabia Baja – in February next year.

For Sale: Jaguar and Land Rover

Ford Motor Corp, the world’s third largest automaker, has been planning to have its iconic British brands – Jaguar and Land Rover – sold. The company hired investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to have the sale arranged.

Land Rover is hoped to make a profit, but Jaguar has been losing for years. That urges the company to give it up. Speculations persist, saying that the US automobile company is in early-stage talks with several potential buyers. Fiat and Renault dismissed the speculation that they are considering the purchase of the British marques.

Last year, Jaguar and Land Rover lost $12.6bn (£6.3bn), making a huge financial drain on Ford. That would be a big reason for Ford to get them offloaded.

Previously, Ford was even reported briefing with British politicians regarding its plan to sell the brands.

Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) is partly made up of the two brands along with Volvo. Volvo, however, is not though to be sold at this point. And, since Jaguar and Land Rover share production facilities, it would hard for Ford to dispose the brands separately.

Considering that the company wants a quick sale, Ford named it “Project Swift”. The company has already sold another PAG marque – the popular Aston Martin – to two Kuwait investment companies.

In 1989, Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion. And, in 2000, it has taken Land Rover for $2.7 billion.