Ford is thankful that it has one vehicle doing well in the market. The vehicle is their Ford Fusion and thanks to the growing popularity of this vehicle, they have moved up in the retail market share for April.

In April, the Ford Fusion paced the share performance. Fusion sales totaled 18,321, a record for any month. April was the first full month of sales for the redesigned 2010 model and the new Fusion Hybrid version, and April is believed to be the first month that Fusion was among the top three-selling mid-size sedans. Recent independent studies rate Fusion and the Mercury Milan – the most fuel-efficient mid-size sedans in America – as having the best predicted reliability among all mid-size sedans.

The new Fusion Hybrid is one of four hybrid models offered by Ford. Hybrid models also are offered in the Mercury Milan mid-size sedan and the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small utility vehicles. All Ford hybrid models are the most fuel-efficient vehicles in their class, and the Ford Escape and Ford Fusion recently were named to Kelley Blue Book’s list of Top 10 Green Cars. In April, combined sales of all hybrid models totaled 2,299, up 21 percent versus a year ago.

Other new Ford products contributed to the retail share performance, including the new F-150 pickup, America’s best-selling vehicle, and Ford Flex, the distinctively styled crossover utility that had its best sales month ever (3,190).

(Source) Press

Tags: Crossover, ford escape, ford fusion, ford products, fuel efficient vehicles, green cars, hybrid models, hybrid version, kelley blue book, Mercury, mercury mariner, mercury milan, mid size sedans, new ford, utility vehicles

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Power steering in most cars today is a benefit that makes navigating entirely easier and apparently Ford Motors is aiming to make sure that this is available in all of their car models. Customers already behind the wheel of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, one of Ford’s first products to sport EPS, also are enjoying other clever steering characteristics that enhance drive quality.

One such EPS-enabled feature, pull-drift compensation, is a software-based technology that helps drivers offset vehicle pulling or drifting that can occur in steady crosswinds or on uneven roads.

Customer complaints about a “constant pull or drift to one side” or “steering that requires extra uneven effort” historically have been a source of customer dissatisfaction in steering, ride and handling in quality studies. Ford’s EPS with drift-pull compensation is projected to improve customer satisfaction in these areas by up to 50 percent.

The 2008 Escape, one of the first vehicles to showcase EPS with pull-drift technology in North America, substantiated this projected improvement, cutting the number of customer complaints associated with steering in half.

(Source) Press

Tags: car models, Cars, customer satisfaction, Ford, ford escape, ford motors, Mercury, mercury mariner, north america, quality studies

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The times may be tough but finding out you have produced the 100,000th vehicle under your wing is already an achievement in itself. Apparently that is what Ford is celebrating today as it has reportedly rolled off its 100,000th hybrid SUV and reinforced its commitment to ramping up production of hybrid vehicles this year.

Ford launched the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids five years ago and the vehicles remain the most fuel-efficient SUVs on the market. At the same time as workers at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant celebrated the hybrid milestone, Ford dealers are preparing to begin selling the all-new 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids, which will be America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedans.

Today, the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV and Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV deliver 34 mpg city driving, 31 mpg highway. The newest entries to Ford’s hybrid lineup, the Fusion Hybrid and Milan Hybrid deliver 41 mpg city driving, 36 mpg highway, the most fuel-efficient midsize sedans on the market today.

The Kansas City Assembly Plant, which employs 4,100 people, has been the hub for Ford’s hybrid SUV production since 2004 when the first Ford Escape Hybrid rolled off the line. Lean, flexible manufacturing processes and specially-trained employees at the plant allow the hybrids to be built on the same production line as conventional Escape and Mariner SUVs.

(Source) Press

Tags: escape hybrid suv, first ford, ford dealers, ford escape, ford escape hybrid, ford fusion, fuel efficient suvs, hybrid car, hybrid vehicles, hybrids, mercury mariner, mercury mariner hybrid, mercury milan, midsize sedans

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