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2013 Ford Explorer Sport presages running changes for entire range
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Performance, Crossover, Ford
Ford has just revealed its Explorer Sport to the assembled media in Dearborn ahead of its New York Auto Show debut. And while the 350-horsepower, 350-pound-foot-of-torque crossover will be the performance capstone for the nameplate, Autoblog has learned that the Sport also previews a number of subtle performance updates that will roll out throughout the entire Explorer range for the new model year.
The Sport isn’t just an engine upgrade and appearance modifications – there are meaningful tweaks across the entire vehicle.
Among those changes is a new solid mount for its electric power steering rack, a move designed to take some of the slop out of the system and deliver more accurate direction changes (the Sport also receives its own unique boost tuning to add both quickness and heft). In addition, engineers have gone over the Explorer’s suspension and steering, fitting new ball- and steering joints, with the goal of increased stiffness so that shock and bushing tuning can be more finely adjusted. The result, say Ford officials, is a better controlled vehicle – one that allows for greater performance differentiation model to model (Sport versus XLT, say) through simple tuning of the vehicle’s compliant bits.
To be clear, the Explorer Sport stops well short of a full-on performance model like the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 – Ford itself suggests likely competitors include the 5.7-liter Grand Cherokee and its Dodge Durango R/T. Even so, the Sport isn’t just an engine upgrade and appearance modifications – there are meaningful tweaks across the entire vehicle, including everything from a 3.16:1 final drive ratio to a water-cooled Power Take Off faceplate cooler that keeps the standard all-wheel-drive system at proper operating temps when it’s being worked harder by those 350 pound-feet.
Ford says the Sport knocks a full two seconds off the 0-60 time of other models.
Apparently Ford has learned its lesson based on feedback it received from the launch of the 2010 Taurus SHO (a vehicle that shares much of this CUV’s architecture and drivetrain). Like the updated-for-2013 SHO, the Explorer Sport has received a brake upgrade, moving from 13.1-inch rotors to 13.8 inches. In addition, the discs themselves are thicker, leading to a 22-percent increase in stopping power. That’s good news, because Ford says the Sport knocks a full two seconds off the 0-60 time of other models, but it declined to cite a hard number.
Other Sport-specific hardware changes include a throatier dual exhaust with large polished tips, a reworked Terrain Management System to take advantage of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine’s extra torque in all conditions, as well as larger shock tower braces and a new cross tunnel brace for added rigidity.
Ford says it sold 135,000 Explorers last year, and fully 50 percent of those were conquest buyers. Of that percentage, 12 percent were luxury brand converts, so Ford is clearly betting that the 2013 Sport’s augmented performance and style can yield even more higher-end transaction prices.
2013 Ford Explorer Sport presages running changes for entire range originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
NHTSA probing nearly 2 million Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable models over stuck throttles
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Safety, Ford
According to Reuters, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has trained its gaze on nearly two million Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable models over a potential stuck throttle issue.
This past Sunday, March 11, NHTSA announced it would investigate 360,000 Taurus sedans from the 2005 and 2006 model years after the government safety regulator received 14 complaints of a stuck throttle due to cruise control cable detachment. A day later, The Detroit News reported that NHTSA has expanded its investigation to include all 2001 through 2006 Taurus and Sable models for a total of 1.92 million vehicles, and in a letter to Ford, said that it has located a total of 30 such complaints.
Reuters says at least one complaint noted that the Taurus’ engine can race to 4,000 RPM after the car is shifted into Park or Neutral, and there were further complaints indicating that affected models were difficult to slow. In certain cases, the transmission had to be shifted into Neutral or the engine turned off to stop the car.
Ford is reportedly cooperating with the NHTSA probe and no recall has been announced.
NHTSA probing nearly 2 million Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable models over stuck throttles originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Gotta Have It Green 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 snapped getting comfy in Detroit [w/poll]
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Ford, Design/Style
You’ve heard us gush about the Ford Mustang Boss 302 before, calling this 444-horsepower coupe “The pony car’s best ambassador.” Sadly, we have yet to drive the updated 2013 model, which includes, among other things, a reworked front fascia, improved front-end cooling, a more assertive front splitter and new paint and graphics options.
Among those new color choices is Gotta Have It Green, which reminds us somewhat of Porsche Emerald Green popularized on 911 models in the 1970s, albeit a bit flatter. Photographed here being jockeyed into place at Ford’s Detroit Auto Show stand this morning, this is actually the second look we’re giving you at Gotta Have It, though these photos are markedly clearer (and more numerous) than the ones we showed you back in November. We like the new reflective ‘hockey stick’ side graphic that replaces the boomerang U-shaped treatment of the 2012 model, but if we’re being honest, we’re on the fence about the pastel-like paint finish.
If you don’t (like) Gotta Have It, there’s also a new Impact Blue paint choice, along with School Bus Yellow and last year’s Black, Ingot Silver, Race Red and Performance White. Unfortunately, we didn’t spy either of the other new colors on Ford’s Cobo Hall show stand while we were there for a preview this morning, but they could still make the scene before press days get underway next week.
Speaking of high-performance Mustang models, Autoblog has learned that rumors of the 2013 Shelby GT500 Convertible debuting in Motown are 100-percent false (as if to reinforce that fact, we spotted a 2012 model on a display stand). The most-powerful ‘Stang droptop will debut this auto show season, though Ford wouldn’t officially say at which show (we’re thinking Chicago Auto Show).
So, now that you have a better look at Gotta Have It Green, does it live up to its name? Take our second-chance poll below and let us know what you think in Comments.
Gotta Have It Green 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 snapped getting comfy in Detroit [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ford takes interactivity to The Cloud with new Detroit show display
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Detroit Auto Show, Etc., Technology, Ford, Infotainment
The Detroit Auto Show won’t swing open its doors officially until Monday’s press days, but that doesn’t mean the show hasn’t already taken hold at Cobo Hall, as thousands of workers are busy erecting stands, checking lighting and jockeying vehicles into place. Ford Motor Company officials invited us over a little early to get a sneak peek at their still-being-built display, and it’s chock-full of technology that takes interactivity to a new level.
Dominating Ford’s Living Connected display is the centrally located “Cloud Journey” ride, which literally takes showgoers through the ceiling in the name of connectivity. The circular floating platform ride accommodates a dozen belted occupants in Sparco racing seats, pushing them up from the show floor to a recess in the ceiling with a 360-degree screen. Participants are then treated to an immersive 360-degree presentation that shows Ford’s vision of the near-term future of cloud-enhanced motoring (about 10 years out, officials tell us), with items like car-to-car communication, dynamic routing and so on. While you’re up in The Cloud, a series of digital cameras capture riders’ experiences, and they’ll be able to relive the experience at home with a video if they sign up for a Blue Oval Card.
What’s a Blue Oval Card? It’s a free, RFID-based card that can be used all over Ford’s stand. As you walk through the various displays, you can wave the card over the various receiver ‘pods’ to interact with the displays. Your card will then have a digital record of your progress and the vehicles in which you have expressed interest, and if you like, when you get home, you can log in to a special website that will have information tailored specifically to you based on your experience at the Detroit Auto Show. You’ll be able to download video of your time on the Focus ST simulator, get digital brochures on cars you expressed interested in, share items with Facebook friends and so on.
Continue reading Ford takes interactivity to The Cloud with new Detroit show display
Ford takes interactivity to The Cloud with new Detroit show display originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.