Ford is taking a different but no less effective low-tech route with the introduction of its Blind Spot Mirror on the 2009 Edge. The technology behind the Blind Spot Mirror is simple; it’s little more than a secondary convex mirror in the top right corner of the traditional side mirror that gives a clear view of what before was only visible by craning your neck left and right. We’ve seen this type of tech used before on aftermarket mirrors for towing applications, but it makes just as much sense on an unencumbered passenger vehicle.

Ford came up with the mirror in response to its own customer research that showed drivers were 76% more confident behind the wheel when using the mirror. The overwhelmingly positive feedback has led the Blue Oval to introduce the Blind Spot Mirror across its lineup as quickly as possible, starting with the 2009 Edge.

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Not only does a missing cat let more pollution into the air, it also disables operation of the car in some cases. In an effort to combat this growing problem, Ford has partnered with Retainagroup to place individual serial numbers on converters.

These IDs are intended to give law enforcement the ability to track down and prove whether individual converters were stolen or not. Visit your local U.K. Ford dealer with £11.87 in hand and you’re all set.

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The reason for this new engine is because of the rising cost in gasoline and the restrictions set up by CAFÉ. According to new regulations light trucks must average 28.6 mpg by the year 2015. In order to comply with these regulations Ford has dropped the V6 4.2 liter just in time for the 2009 model year. They will only be offering the V8 4.6 liter engine that offers better fuel economy and boosts power and torque.

The EcoBoost range of engines are likely to find their way into several different models across Ford’s line up, and according to Ford’s director of powertrain research, Dan Kapp, EcoBoost engines could allow the automaker to reduce engine sizes by between 40- and 50-percent, so 3.0-liter V6s could be replaced by two-liter fours and a 2.5-liter four cylinder could be reduced to 1.5-liters.

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Sources say that Mr. Mulally has already made the decision to convert at least three truck/SUV production facilities in North America as soon as possible to produce Ford models currently sold in Europe…. The timeline Mulally prefers, according to insiders, is ‘yesterday’.”

The reasoning is ostensibly that with the American market going to more frugal cars, it’s time for Ford to start spending the money to provide them – even though cash is tight right now. What might make the leap across the water? The Euro Focus, the Focus Coupe, and the C-Max are candidates.

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Automakers like Honda, never went the way of body-on-frame trucks and SUVs, preferring instead to continually improve its range of cars and crossover utility vehicles. That strategy is paying dividends in these days of high fuel prices, and Ford has taken notice. Asked whether he would prefer a more car-oriented model-mix, like that of Honda or Toyota, CEO Alan Mullaly recently answered, “Absolutely. We just don’t have enough of those small or medium-sized vehicles yet, and that’s what we need to concentrate on.”

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Ford’s exclusive contract to the Windows CE 6.0 Auto technology will be up later in the year – which means that other automakers can get their chance to climb on board and introduce it to their customers. Microsoft sees the potential and the way that the SYNC helps to sell cars for automakers. After all consumers want the latest technology. It looks like Ford will have to expect some competition when this happens.

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This ingenious ad was created by two American composers who have taken the concept of car sounds to the extreme. Hollywood film composer Craig Richey and New York sound designer Bill Milbrodt turned 21 parts from the new Ford Focus into musical instruments and arranged them to be played by an orchestra.

Milbrodt’s team took apart a Ford Focus five-door hatchback that had just come off the production line. “When we got it to the mechanics shop, it had less than a mile on the clock. We took the doors and fenders off, but we had the body shell intact and we later cut out of that the parts we wanted,” said Bill Milbrodt.

By the time the orchestra had been assembled for the photo shoot at Universal Studios in California, Milbrodt’s team had constructed 31 instruments. Each has a name that instantly identified its origins, such as the Transmission Case Cello-Dulcimer, Clutch Guitar, Rear Suspension Spike Fiddle, Fender Bass, Hatchback Kick Drum, Handheld Gear Tambourine and Door Harp. The commercial airs February 4th in the UK.

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The 911 Assist feature was unveiled as part of Bill Gates’ keynote speech at CES 2008 – provides the technology underpinnings for Sync, which is available free on the top trim levels of a dozen Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models such as Ford Focus and for $395 on the mid-trim levels. It’s a free firmware upgrade done at the dealership when it ships later in the year.

With people spending more time in cars, “We like to think of the car as your second home on wheels,” said Ford’s VP for Global Product Development Derrick Kuzak. For times when your home on wheels hits the moving house next door, 911 Assist should be helpful. Kuzak said consumers expect to see new CE devices every six to 12 months and Ford hopes to have a similar timetable for adding new features to Sync.

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“The real key is: How do we keep the Ford business? If we don’t have it, there’s no plant there,” said Dan Ustian, Navistar chairman, in a conference call with reporters and industry analysts. “We’re going to do everything possible to keep that business.”

The Eastside engine plant has only one customer, Ford, and is Ford’s only supplier of diesels for F-series pickup trucks. Looming larger than the strike is a price dispute. Ford and Navistar squared off in court last year over the appropriate price for the diesels being made at the Indianapolis plant. The matter is still unresolved.

Until the dispute came up, Navistar seemed to have a secure future compared with the city’s other big automotive plants. Navistar in Indianapolis rode through the downsizing of the Detroit auto industry relatively untouched. A Ford supplier since 1982, the diesel plant benefitted from the nation’s truck craze and steadily shipped diesels to Ford’s Kentucky F-series pickup truck line.

Now Ford, Navistar’s biggest customer, is struggling to stay out of bankruptcy. It relies on sales of high-profit pickups powered by the Indianapolis diesels, which it markets as Power Strokes. In recent months, Navistar landed a $1.6 billion federal order for MRAPs, military vehicles assembled in Illinois. And only 2,400 of its U.S. production workers are in the UAW, compared with 6,600 in 2000, the company reported.

Because of the price dispute, industry analysts say Ford has explored replacing the Navistar 6.4-liter model with a Ford diesel. Keeping the Ford business, Ustian said, could depend on clearing up the price dispute with Ford while maintaining diesel quality and on-time delivery, and reducing costs in Indianapolis by improving production efficiencies. He lauded the Indianapolis work force.

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“Everything we do is driven by our customers,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “Our TwinForce engine technology is a key element of how we’re going after fuel economy gains without asking anyone to give up performance.” TwinForce’s direct-injection fuel system is different than conventional port fuel-injected gasoline engines. Instead of squirting gasoline into the engine cylinder head, it directly injects gasoline into the engine’s cylinders at high pressures.

Direct-injection fuel systems can more precisely control when and how much fuel is injected into the engine cylinders, allowing for more efficient burn and improved combustion control that delivers optimal performance and fuel economy. Ford’s new Duratec 35 all-aluminum V-6, named a 10 Best Engine by Ward’s, is the foundation for the TwinForce technology found in the Lincoln MKR concept.

The Lincoln MKR’s engine is flex-fuel capable, providing the driver with the flexibility to switch back and forth between gasoline and E-85 ethanol. At Ford, flexible fuel is an important step toward development of more efficient, renewable biofuels that can provide energy security as well as environmental benefits. Combining the high octane found in E-85 or premium gasoline with TwinForce technology allows the Lincoln MKR’s V-6 to deliver 415 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque an impressive 118 horsepower per liter.

To achieve this type of performance from a V-8 would require an engine displacement of 6.0-liters or larger. As a result of the smaller V-6, the Lincoln MKR concept delivers 15 percent better fuel economy than a V-8 with similar performance.

In North America, the market is growing for the new TwinForce technology. Ford Motor Company already has several direct-injection equipped 4-cylinder engines in production, including a 1.8-liter launched in the 2003 Ford Mondeo and the 2.3-liter turbocharged engine developed by Mazda for the 2006 MazdaSpeed6.

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