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Increased Sales Prompt Ford to Double MKZ Hybrid Production to 40% of Total...
When the Lincoln MKZ was introduced, Ford Motor Co. took the unusual step of pricing the MKZ Hybrid the same as the non-hybrid version of the car, $35,925. Assuming that would mean a good take rate...
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Ford Posts Record Q2 Profits, Up Almost 19%, Surpasses Expectations, All...
‘Good job, Al’, ‘Thanks Bill’ For the 16th consecutive quarter, Ford Motor Co. profits have risen, with the Dearborn automaker reporting a 2nd quarter 2013 profit of $1.23 billion, up 18.6% from 2012,...
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This Day In Automotive History: Model T Assembly Line Starts For First Time –...
Regardless of what you may read elsewhere today, October 7, 1913 was not when the first automotive assembly line was started up. Yes, 100 years ago today, after some experimentation at the Piquette...
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Ford’s Design VP J Mays Retires, Replaced by Moray Callum. Mfg and Labor...
Three of Ford’s most senior and veteran executives are retiring, global design chief J Mays, North American manufacturing head Jim Tetreault and Martin Mulloy, who is in charge of labor relations....
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Dodge Centennial: How To Build A Car And A Car Company, In Three Notebooks
The Dodge brand’s centennial celebration began this week with the announcement of special 100th Anniversary Editions of the Dodge Challenger and Charger. After more than a year of preparation, John...
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Daimler to Acquire Stake in Aston Martin in Exchange For AMG Engine Tech
Aston Martin’s current engines are assembled at a Ford facility near Cologne, Germany. In a non-cash deal, Daimler AG will supply Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. with technology and engine development in...
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Ford’s Profits in Latin America Wiped Out as Venezuela Devalues Currency by 44%
Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Valencia, Venezuela. Ford Motor Company announced last week that instead of making money in Latin America this year, it will likely lose $350 million in the region...
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Mulally Not Taking CEO Job At Microsoft, Will Stay At Ford At Least Through 2014
In an interview with the Associated Press, Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally, saying he wanted to end speculation that he was leaving Ford to run Microsoft, said that he would remain at Ford at...
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Ford Won’t Actually Require Shop Certification for F-150 Aluminum Repairs
Though a Ford Motor Co. executive told the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans that repair shops would need factory certification to work on the new aluminum bodied F-150...
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2104 Beijing Auto Show: Ford Introduces Everest SUV to Chinese Market
While two days after an avalanche killed 13 Nepalese Sherpas on Mount Everest may not be the best time to highlight a vehicle named for the peak, Ford is going ahead with introducing the Everest...
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Mark Fields To Replace Alan Mulally, As Ford CEO: We Wish Him Mazel Tov
Mark Fields, Ford Group VP Derrek Kuzak, Bill Ford Jr., Alan Mulally Two of the most reliable reporters on the automotive beat, Karl Henkel and David Shepardson of the Detroit News, have reported that...
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September 2014 Sales: Outgoing F-Series Not Responsible For Ford Decline
The Ford Motor Company’s namesake Ford brand suffered a September 2014 sales decline of 3% as the industry reported gains in excess of 9%. First thought? The F-Series, not just Ford’s best-selling...
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Peak MKC? Lincoln’s MKC Sales Growth Finally Suspended In November
After increasing sales of the brand’s new Escape-related small crossover in five consecutive months, Lincoln MKC volume levelled off in November 2014 at 2152 units. This represents a 2% drop from the...
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Ford’s Graying Car Lineup Relying On Mustang To Boost U.S. Sales Numbers
Through the first two months of 2015, U.S. sales of non-Mustang Ford brand cars are down 2% to 91,026, a marginal loss of 1813 units. The overall Ford brand car lineup tumbled 6% in the month of...
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Capsule Review: 2015 Ford Fusion Titanium AWD
It’s a Detroit midsize sedan that I drove just for the sake of driving. That’s a verdict in and of itself. This heavily optioned 2015 Ford Fusion, a Titanium EcoBoost AWD model loaned to us by Ford...
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Did Sputnik Doom the Edsel?
When I noticed Michael Beschloss did a piece on the failure of the Edsel, I thought it was pretty cool that a historian of his reputation would write about cars. Beschloss is better known for writing...
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“I’m Here to See Mr. Ford”– A Detroit Story
Henry Ford as a young man, circa 1883 One of my editors once described researching a topic as “falling down a rabbit hole.” Four hours later, you end up far afield from the 1963 Whizbang X500 you...
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Chart Of The Day: Is There Room In The Middle For GM’s Crossovers? Ford Says Yes
As General Motors prepares to carve out space in between their best-selling utility vehicle, the Equinox, and their large three-row crossover, the Traverse, Ford reports significant improvement with...
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Chart Of The Day: Post-Recession Automaker Market Share In America
Since 2010 — when America’s auto industry was in tatters but also in recovery — General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Toyota USA, and American Honda have lost 5.5 percentage points of market share....
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Chart Of The Day: 2014’s U.S. Full-Size SUV Sales Pace Wasn’t Sustainable
There were six new full-size SUVs from General Motors. Ford refreshed the Expedition. Lincoln did the same with their upmarket Expedition, the Navigator. The year was 2014, and U.S. sales of Detroit’s...
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