Archive for September, 2009
Chantel Lenard – a Live Chat About Ford’s New Small and Medium Vehicles
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Chantel Lenard has a hot job: she is the group marketing manager for Ford’s small and medium vehicles in the U.S.
These two segments are seeing lots of activity from automakers, and Ford will soon offer 10 unique models created from the company’s all-new global C-Car platform, developed under its “One Ford” strategy. The rapid expansion of the company’s B- and C-sized line-up is an exciting and challenging opportunity for Lenard and her team.
Join the chat below, scheduled for Friday, October 2, at 2:30 p.m. EDT to see ask her about these segments.
“Since 2004, the small car market has grown from less than 15 percent of the U.S. market, to nearly 22 percent of industry sales through August of this year”, said Lenard. “Ford is in a unique position to take advantage of that growth, by leveraging our world-class global B and C platforms to bring outstanding small vehicles to market quickly.”
In Europe, Ford cars have a strong reputation for outstanding driving dynamics, eye-catching design, and innovative technology. Leveraging these strengths globally allows Ford economy-of-scale benefits that will provide excellent value to consumers, and technology not typically seen in small cars.
Having held a variety of sales, marketing, and strategy positions with Ford, Lenard describes her present role as one of the most challenging. By the end of 2011, Lenard will oversee the launch of the Ford Fiesta, the all new, next-generation Ford Focus sedan and five-door hatchback, a battery-electric Focus, the C-MAX, and a Mercury C-sedan.
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SYNC You Very Much: Ford to help Microsoft promote Windows 7
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Marketing/Advertising, Technology, Ford
Ford and Microsoft, sittin’ in a tree… right, you know the rest. With the official October 22nd launch of Windows 7 right around the corner, the Blue Oval has reportedly pledged to support the Washington-based software company’s new operating system however it can.
That support will include upgrading all of Ford’s own computers from whatever version of Windows they happen to be running (any bets that Ford never made a wholesale switch to Vista?) to the new release. Also making the switch will be Continental Airlines, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Intel.
Further, these selected companies are currently meeting with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to discuss how else they can help promote Windows 7. Ford’s tie-in with the house that Bill built stems from the fact that the two companies paired up to launch Ford’s excellent SYNC infotainment system back in 2007.
[Source: Auto Observer, Bloomberg]
SYNC You Very Much: Ford to help Microsoft promote Windows 7 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Autoblog Podcast #147
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Podcasts, Etc., Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Toyota, Rumormill
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Episode #147 of the Autoblog Podcast is ready for your consumption. Chris calls in to Sam and Dan, and the trio bites into a few timely topics. BMW’s move to put its turbo 4.4 liter V8 into the M5 is our first subject of conversation, before moving on to more powertrain news with the rumors that the 2011 Hyundai Sonata will be a four-cylinder-only affair. Audi’s fuel mileage achievement with its A3 TDI is up next, before we go all power crazy and touch on Rhys Millen’s mid-engined Genesis Coupe. Wrapping it up, we head to truckville, thinking about what it would mean for Chrysler to make Ram its own nameplate, ponder the new Toyota 4Runner, and finally chat about the new Ford SuperDuty before moving on to some of your excellent questions.
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Autoblog Podcast #147 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Sedan, Ford, Reviews
In 1985, when few models really stood out from the midsize pack, Ford created one of the most influential vehicles of the late 20th century: the Taurus. Radically styled and intelligently packaged, the Taurus won the hearts and minds of millions of car buyers, and for over a decade, it was a dominant force in the retail car market. Eventually, competition from the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord proved too much for Ford to handle, and the Blue Oval hung its game-changing sedan out to dry. Product development dollars were funneled to trucks and SUVs, and the Zodiac’s bull died a pauper’s death in 2007 after an achingly long stint as a tattered fleet Queen.
When Alan Mulally took the helm of FoMoCo, the new CEO wondered why the recognizable – if tarnished – Taurus name had been abandoned. So a branding Band-Aid was affixed to the underperforming Five Hundred sedan and, unsurprisingly, consumers saw through the botched rebadging. The “new” Taurus was still the old Five Hundred; a dynamically challenged sedan whose biggest selling point was a really large trunk. In hindsight, the move may have been a way to revive the Taurus in the public’s consciousness as Mulally and company went back to the drawing board to create a new world-class sedan capable of taking on the biggest names in the segment. The 2010 Ford Taurus is here… but does it have what it takes?
Gallery: Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL
Photos copyright (C)2009 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale
Review: 2010 Ford Taurus SEL stays big, goes upscale originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.