truth about domestics

Ford Motor Company has been making huge strides the last few years to improve everything from quality and safety, to technology and fuel economy.  On the last front, Ford has been pushing its EcoBoost technology.  EcoBoost is the combination of direct gas injection and turbocharging.  I know what you’re thinking, doesn’t turbocharging increase power and performance, thus decreasing fuel economy?  Well the direct injection allows a cooler charge, allowing for higher compression ratios, which helps enable more power and reduced emissions.  On top of that, the extra power generated will allow downsizing of the engine.  Once you take weight out of the engine, you can take weight out of the car, and the cycle repeats itself.

The first applications of EcoBoost are on the Ford Flex and Taurus SHO, and Lincoln MKS and MKT.  They feature a 3.5L V6 that produces the power of a V8 but the fuel economy of a V6.  Soon Ford will be installing the 3.5L into the F-150 and a new 2.0L inline-four cylinder EcoBoost into the 2011 Edge and upcoming Explorer.

Why am I telling you all this mostly well-known information?  Simple.  To give you background into an independent survey of EcoBoost owners.  You see, the RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan has conducted a survey of the 10,000 or so EcoBoost owners and the results are nothing short of amazing.  Ford scored nearly 100% customer satisfaction on EcoBoost equipped vehicles.  Those vehicles are also exceeding market projections.  Having driven all of the EcoBoost vehicles myself I can tell you that this is no fluke.  These powertrains are the real deal; they deliver improved performance and fuel economy.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

Hennessey has turned its attention to the Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost and really turned the power up on this luxo-sedan.  The stock EcoBoost 3.5L V6 from Ford produces 355 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque.  The mods added by the Hennessey crew push output to 435 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque.  Check out the video above to see what the car is made of!

According to an article in The Detroit News, some Lincoln dealers are a bit upset about how long the Lincoln transformation is taking.  They are also upset about the fact that an MKS costs $10,000 more than its sibling D-car, the Ford Taurus.  Many dealers complain that the cross shopping isn’t happening between Lincoln and Audi/Mercedes/BMW/Lexus, but instead people are cross shopping Lincoln with Ford.  I for one am glad that vehicles like the MKS/Taurus and MKT/Flex have different top hats completely, but I think the other vehicles in Lincoln’s lineup need to follow suit.  The 2011 Ford Edge and MKX didn’t go far enough in my book to separate the two models from each other.  Customers want to feel like they got a car that is more special than a fancy Ford since they paid a good deal more for it.  For the full story, head on over to The Detroit News.

(Image source: Lincoln)

The Chicago Assembly plant current builds the new Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS sedans, and employs around 1,400 people.  Ford’s Chicago Heights stamping plant current employs around 750 people.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Simply to point out the impact of Ford’s announcement that they will be adding 1,200 more jobs to the area to build the all-new next generation Explorer.  The new Explorer is expected to be based off a unibody car platfrom and should be on sale late this year.  The styling should be based off the Explorer America concept you see above.

In addition to the new jobs, Ford is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the area to make improvements to its plants to handle the new vehicle.  For more details, head on over to Chicago Business.

(Image source: Ford)

The vehicle above is the new 2011 Lincoln MKX.  This 5-passenger crossover has been given the new corporate grille that has been seen on the Lincoln MKS, MKZ and MKT.  New to any vehicle in Ford’s lineup is MyLincoln Touch.  MyLincoln Touch is the name for the new SYNC and signature Human Machine Interface that allows just about every function of the vehicle to be controlled by simple voice commands.  There are also no buttons on the center stack, that’s right folks, none!  For more details, head on over to Jalopnik.

(Image source: Ford)

That’s right folks!  Of all the navigation systems on the market, Ford Motor Company has taken 5 of the top 10 spots on J.D. Power’s 2009 navigation system survey!  The number one system on the market was the one found in the Lincoln MKS, followed in the number two spot by the Ford Flex navigation system.  The F-150 came in fourth place, with the Escape taking seventh and the Edge taking eighth!

What makes this story even better is that the Domestic automakers took 6 of the top 10 spots and Ford was the only non-luxury maker to make the list!  On top of that, SEVEN of the BOTTOM TEN were made by TOYOTA, including their top of the line Avalon, which finished dead LAST.  Guess the Japanese car makers aren’t the best at everything anymore…  For more details, including the full list, head on over to J.D. Power.

(Image source: Ford)

For the first few months, it appears that EcoBoost is a hit with consumers.  The take rate on vehicles with available EcoBoost has been higher than originally predicted.  This is great news, but there is more!  The transaction prices on the EcoBoost equipped cars is some $5,000 to $10,000 higher than their non-EcoBoost counterparts!  Not only that but the EcoBoost models are seeing a higher conquest rate than their similar non-EcoBoost models.  This sounds to me like nothing but good news for Ford, and the U.S., seeing as the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost is built in Ohio, along with the Ford Taurus SHO and Lincoln MKS with EcoBoost.  For more details (and quite a detailed write-up) head on over to The Detroit News.

(Image source: Ford)

So there aren’t many details on this story, but the guys over at Autoblog have found in a Ford press release another confirmation from the automaker that the F-150 will indeed get Ecoboost.  The best guess is that the 3.5L V6 Ecoboost unit similar to the unit found in the Taurus, MKS, MKT and Flex will be the engine of choice, but power output remains speculation.  The engine will supposedly offer a 20% increase in fuel efficiency over a naturally aspirated engine of similar output.  For (slightly) more information, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford Motor Company)

The Mercury Sable, basically a slightly fancier version of the Ford Taurus, will officially end production (again) this Thursday at the Chicago Assembly Plant where they’re both built, alongside the Lincoln MKS.  The Sable has been a fairly slow seller, so it’s really not a surprise that Ford has decided to kill it off.  In another bit of news that no one will really be too hurt about, there is currently no replacement scheduled for the Sable, as Ford chose to spend that money on making the Taurus a truly world class vehicle.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

Ford EcoBoost data (Ford)

In a recent release from Ford, they claim that the 2010 Lincoln MKS with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 will be best in class in terms of highway fuel economy, and also very near best in class in terms of power.  The EcoBoost V6 features gasoline direct injection and twin-turbochargers to achieve V8 power from a V6 package, with V6 fuel efficiency.  In the graphs provided by Ford at Autoblog, they show how the MKS stacks up to it’s competition, besting them all with an estimated 25 mpg highway.

Ford also mentions plans for 4-cylinder versions of EcoBoost, and the fact that by 2013, 90% of Ford vehicles will be offered with EcoBoost.  This technology is designed to reach out to more people, in a more affordable manner than say a hybrid or diesel power train.