Ford C-Max pricing to undercut Toyota Prius V
By · CommentsFiled under: Hybrid, Minivan/Van, Wagon, Europe, Hatchback, Ford, Toyota, Electric
Ford dealers have started taking orders for the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, the company announced today.
The gas-electric hybrid will arrive later this year with a starting price of $25,995, undercutting its most direct competitor, the Toyota Prius V hybrid, which has a base price of $26,550.
“C-Max Hybrid offers better fuel economy, performance, technology and functionality than Prius V – and C-Max Hybrid customers will pay less at the dealership and at the pump,” said Ken Czubay, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, in a press release.
More importantly, Ford will provide some stiffer competition for Toyota, which has ruled the hybrid market, selling 77 percent of all hybrids in the U.S. this April. The C-Max will only be offered in the U.S. as a hybrid, similar to Toyota’s Prius strategy. There will also be an all-electric version, known as the C-Max Energi, that arrives this fall.
Ford sells the C-Max, which is built on Ford’s compact car platform, in Europe as a gas powered model. Since introducing this utility vehicle in 2010, Ford has sold more than 150,000 C-Max vehicles in Europe.
Continue reading Ford C-Max pricing to undercut Toyota Prius V
Ford C-Max pricing to undercut Toyota Prius V originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Technology, Ford
When you’ve got the most powerful factory V8 in the world, even the best driver can struggle with getting that power to the pavement. The 662 horsepower and 631 pound-feet of torque the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is packing can easily turn its rear tires into expensive clouds of smoke. That’s why the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 is the first Shelby Mustang to be factory-equipped with launch control. “With so much more power and torque on tap from the new 5.8-liter V8,” says SVT senior engineer John Pfeiffer, “launch control makes it easier for drivers to take advantage of the performance.” What’s different about the Shelby GT500s launch control is that drivers can engage it by just pressing a single button, and it’s also capable of being fine-tuned for the best reesults.
Launch control is by now a familiar technology, with systems operating by holding engine RPM at a set point to help facilitate clean, repeatable launches. “Launch control is essentially a special mode of the traction control system that integrates the brake and engine management systems to keep the tires balanced on the peak of the mu-slip curve,” explains SVT’s Pfeiffer. In plain English, it’s designed to send as much torque to the tires as they can handle. What’s different about the system in the 2013 GT500 is its flexibility. “Most of our competitors’ launch control systems have a fixed engine launch speed,” says SVT Engineering supervisor Eddie Khan, but since “not every driver has the same style, and surface, tire, and climate conditions vary,” he points out, “we’ve given Shelby GT500 drivers the ability to adjust the engine speed to achieve the best and most consistent performance.”
Drivers can use TrackApps through the instrument cluster or tap a switch to the left of the instrument panel to enable the system. Through TrackApps, the engine launch rpm can be adjusted between 3,000 to 4,500 rpm with steps of 100 rpm. There are other tricks up the GT500s sleeve, too. Extinguish the traction control while using launch control and you’ll get an rpm-only mode that keeps the brakes out of the picture to avoid sacrificing any possible speed. Launch control also works with the different stability control modes to allow some wheelspin when that’s the fastest way out of the hole. “It’s not as intrusive as some TC systems have been in the past,” said SVTs Khan. “We’e given our drivers the ability to exert control over all the power and torque this Mustang can produce.”
Continue reading 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 features clever variable-RPM launch control
2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 features clever variable-RPM launch control originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ford and GM in Twitterfight over Facebook advertising?
By · CommentsFiled under: Marketing/Advertising, Ford, GM
Frenemies Ford and General Motors have taken to cyberspace for a little verbal sparing, trading snarky shots this week over which company is more likeable on Facebook.
GM set itself up Tuesday after news broke that the carmaker decided not to spend $10 million on Facebook advertising the same week the social media juggernaut prepares for its initial public offering expected to raise $100 billion dollars.
Ford used the opportunity to tweak its crosstown rival, tweeting: “It’s all about the execution. Our Facebook ads are effective when strategically combined with engaging content & innovation.”
GM couldn’t leave that alone, going onto its Facebook page, “Just wanted to let our millions of Facebook fans know, we’re still here, and we ‘like’ you back!”
Both carmakers will continue to use Facebook, where both have millions of followers of their brands and vehicles. And, really, they are both right.
Ford has done an extremely good job incorporating Facebook into its marketing strategy. When it came time to launch the new Ford Explorer, it did it through Facebook reaching millions of people.
GM has determined its money will be better spent in other areas. A recent Associated Press-CNBC poll showing more than half of all Facebook users never click on sponsored ads and only 12 percent said they felt comfortable to buy anything over Facebook. Google, The Wall Street Journal points out, is much more effective.
Ford and GM in Twitterfight over Facebook advertising? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ford finally takes serious aim at the Chinese market
By · CommentsFiled under: China, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford
When we asked Volkswagen last year why it was building a factory in the U.S., after having missed the irrationally volcanic era of car sales, we were told that even a 12-million-per-annum market was still too big to ignore. A report in Reuters paints Ford’s situation in China somewhat the same way: Ford is only now attacking the Chinese market, building plants and increasing local capacity there, after numerous other players have established their positions.
Nevertheless, there’s still much to play for. Whereas our market is expected to hang around in the 12- to 15-million-unit range, China’s market is predicted to hit 30 million cars per year by 2020. Said one analyst, “People are saying the Asia Pacific auto industry by 2020 is half the world’s industry.” A little piece of China’s colossal market will, anywhere else, still be considered a pretty big piece of pie.
After years of false starts and missteps in The Middle Kingdom, Ford sells six cars in China now, but they weren’t developed for the Chinese market and haven’t taken off with buyers there. Over the next three years Ford intends to introduce 15 more cars, many of them SUVs, and 20 engines to the Chinese market that can make better impressions on the locals.
That won’t put it anywhere close to market leaders General Motors – which already sells 35 cars there and is lining up 60 more models, and has the preeminient Buick brand – or Volkswagen. But even the 3.1 percent share that one analyst predicted was in Ford’s reach by 2020, up from 2.8 percent now, will be enough to turn Ford’s currently desultory Chinese-market profits into something like a $700-million spigot once its production and offerings are stabilized.
Ford is investing $600 million and $760 million in two projects with its JV partner Changan Ford Mazda Automobile to expand capacity to 1.5 million autos per year. At the moment, The Blue Oval has no plans to take Lincoln across the Pacific.
Ford finally takes serious aim at the Chinese market originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.