Three more car companies received sizeable loans from the federal government yesterday, but don’t worry; it’s not another bailout. In fact, the$8 billion is just the start of a larger $25 billion project called the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM for short) that was thought up back in 2007 and funded by Congress in late 2008 during the Bush administration. The project, overseen by the Department of Energy, is a federal grant and loan initiative bent on providing [...]
Is 120 miles-per-gallon too much to ask from an American car company? Ford doesn’t think so.
With the addition of the Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) to its development line, Ford Motor Company is showing that it can dance with the best of them.
The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid uses high voltage lithium-ion batteries, which can be charged using common household currents (120v). Fully charging the battery takes six to eight hours. For the first 30 miles following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can drive on the batteries alone, before switching to operate as a fuel efficient, standard Ford Escape Hybrid. The transition is automatic and unnoticeable.
It was the Ford Escape PHEV that was delivered to Hydro-Québec, Canada’s largest electricity generator, on June 9th. Ford Motor Company and Hydro-Québec announced that Hydro-Québec has joined a North America-wide demonstration and research program on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
The domestic auto industry may be in turmoil, but for at least one of the Big Three things are starting to look up. Ford Motor Company, the only American auto company not to take government aid, has been moving forward full speed with their green car initiatives, and as such has been awarded the Green Choice Award by Natural Healthmagazine. Ford has expanded in every direction by trying to become a more green car company, building on the success of its Ford Escape Hybrid SUV by introducing the Ford Fusion Hybrid, which gets 41mpg in the city and 36 on the highway, besting Toyota’s Camry and equaling its initial quality, according to recent surveys.
A Ford Motor Company engineer has built a 3-wheel motorbike capable of getting 125 mpg.
The fuel economy expert crafted the vehicle at his home shop in Belleville, MI. It’s a street legal, two-passenger, 3-wheel motorbike that is made from aircraft materials. Oh, and it is capable of a top speed of over 100 mph.
With this investment of $550 million worth, Ford continues the track to deliver its promise to bring four new electric vehicles to the U.S. by 2012 and will support approximately 3,200 jobs.
The Inspired Economist interviewed Jennifer Moore, Corporate News Manager at Ford. Here’s what she had to say.
IE: Why is Ford making over an SUV facility to manufacture the Ford Focus? Will Ford completely halt….or merely downsize its production of SUVs and Lincoln Navigators?
JM: The retooling of this facility to make small cars and the battery electric vehicle is a part of our overall transformation plan to convert some of our truck plants to small car facilities, leverage our global assets and produce smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles for our customers.
We have not halted production of the Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition - production was transferred to our Kentucky Truck plant. We still believe there is a market for large SUVs for customers who desire the size and capability of the vehicles, but we recognize that market will clearly be smaller than it was in the past. As part of our transformation, we are balancing our product portfolio and that is the reason we are retooling the Michigan Assembly Plant.
Caroline Reichert, a spokeswoman for the Germany energy company RWE, said leading automotive and energy companies have reached an agreement for a standardized plug for electric cars. Some of the automakers include in that agreement are Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Smith Electric Vehicles to build electric trucks in Kansas City
Company officials at the UK-based Smith Electric Vehicles announced on Friday that they will begin manufacturing “The world’s largest battery-electric-powered truck” at a new plant in Kansas City, Missouri.
The battery-powered Newton will be the first vehicle to be produced at the new plant, but starting next year, the plant will manufacture an electric version of the new Transit Connect light-duty vehicle in collaboration with made by Ford Motor Co.
Editor’s Note: Our friends at Popular Mechanics have written an in-depth piece about an essential piece of fuel-saving technology: the turbocharger. Read the rest of this story at PM.
In the 1980s, it was difficult to escape the turbocharger. The twin energy crises of the 1970s forced automakers to produce cars that delivered better fuel economy. And that meant downsizing engines. By the 1980s, turbo technology was evolving and automakers installed them to boost the power of these smaller engines. But turbos promised more than just power—they promised fuel economy benefits too.
A few months ago Cleantechnica reported on the new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan’s graphical display known as SmartGauge. Now Ford has released a video showing the interactive display in action.
Probably the coolest part of the video is where it shows how the driver will get instantaneous driving habits feedback by displaying how efficiently he or she is driving. The gauge does this through a constantly changing display of green leaves — the more green leaves on the display, the better you’re driving. For the less creative among us, that same information can also be displayed in a history graph (fuel economy over the last ten minutes). This is a nice, non-intrusive way to help promote good driving habits and maximizing a driver’s fuel economy.
Video after the break (skip to minute 2 for hybrid-specific graphics and display).
Well, actually I wasn’t there, at the Detroit Auto Show, but it stands to reason that someone from Ford uttered those words, near a rotating platform, without breaking into a laugh. I’m willing to go on record, though, with the prediction that Ford’s new engine, the EcoBoost, will bear a new nameplate within two years. In a world fixated on what is sustainable, that name is simply not.
The name of Ford’s new V6 engine seems to imply that power is somehow boosted by some naturally occurring and environmentally sustainable green technology, like tree leaves, or a river. Cars are a long way from being environmentally friendly, regardless of the technology that’s been developed and put into hybrid and electric cars. Electrical outlets don’t grow own trees, and in fact, much of the electricity we use is powered by coal, not exactly a clean or sustainable technology.
As the NY Times reported, Chrysler and GM have been closing production facilities left and right across the country; the latest closures have all been SUV facilities. What does this mean for the future of this American icon?
The name of Ford’s new V6 engine seems to imply that power is somehow boosted by some naturally occurring and environmentally sustainable green technology, like tree leaves, or a river. Cars are a long way from being environmentally friendly, regardless of the technology that’s been developed and put into 
