Ford Faqs

It was five years ago that Ford first brought up the concept of using Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA) in some of the heavy duty trucks that they were looking to create. While we have seen some of those heavy duty trucks come to life we have yet to see Ford use HLA, until now.

The system uses a hydraulic pump/motor and high pressure accumulator to recapture kinetic energy when braking, which can then be released when the truck is accelerating to assist the engine. It’s a type of mild hybrid system really, though its effect is promised to be substantial.

As the Ford Edge glids along the George Washington Memorial Parkway you’ll notice that it doesn’t have spinning rims or a booming sound system. The bling in this SUV is the technology. The vehicle runs almost silently. It needs no gas and releases no polluting exhaust like most vehicles.

The HySeries Edge, which is to be revealed at the Washington Auto Show today, is a plug-in hybrid with an electric drive powered by a battery and a hydrogen fuel cell. Its arrival intensifies the competition to manufacture a mass-market electric hybrid that reduces reliance on gasoline and curbs the emission of greenhouse gases.

Ford stated that its 2008 Escape and Escape Hybrid crossovers will grow a little closer to their Explorer and Expedition cousins for the 2008 model year. A revamped version of the popular crossover vehicle was debuted at the 2006 Los Angeles auto show and goes on sale in 2007 as a 2008 model.

The new Escapes get chunkier styling outside and a completely revamped interior. The exterior lines were drawn sharper; Ford stylists raised the beltline to better balance the profile of the Escape. Blacked-out B-pillars and a larger grille give the crossover a more masculine appearance than the first-generation ute, which appeared in 2001.