MotorYP

Ford’s research into cloud-based technology includes adaptive vehicle dynamics, driver health and well-being, and smart electrification

Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally taking center stage on the CES Innovation Power Panel on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 at 9 a.m.

The stunning Ford Evos Concept car will make its first appearance in North America as the centerpiece of Ford’s display at the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas, Jan. 10-13, 2012. The Evos Concept made its global debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The Ford Evos Concept embodies the company’s new global design language while providing a glimpse at Ford’s technology future highlighted by the use of cloud computing to enhance the driving experience.

“Today, drivers have to adapt to the features and capabilities of their car,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford chief technical officer and leader of the company’s global Research and Innovation team. “The Evos Concept changes the paradigm of how you interact with your car. Our vision is that the car should seamlessly adapt to the driver taking the driving experience to a whole new level of personalization and convenience.”

The Evos Concept integrates technology in a holistic way meant to enrich the driving experience. By exchanging data with the cloud, the Evos extends the connected lifestyle from home and office to the vehicle, providing new possibilities for personalization and adaptability of the car.

Through integration of on-board data about driver preferences with cloud-based information such as work schedules, music and weather conditions, and local data delivered through vehicle-to-vehicle communications, Evos Concept aims to make life simpler. “The car gets to know you and can act as a personal assistant to handle some of the usual routines of a daily commute,” said Mascarenas.

Ford researchers have also incorporated technologies to enhance driver health and wellness while at the wheel. Features such as the heart-rate monitoring seat and certified allergy-free interiors connect to the cloud to monitor the physical state and workload of the driver, and adjust the driving experience accordingly.

“Our wellness research and technologies are focused on relieving driver stress and enhancing a driver’s situational awareness,” said Mascarenas. “Drivers around the world are spending more time behind the wheel, and the car should not be another stress point in their lives.”

Evos also utilizes the power of the cloud to understand driver behavior and travel patterns in order to make predictions about destinations and to adjust the control strategies for the state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Through understanding where the driver is likely to go, Evos can intelligently switch between running on battery or engine power in order to use the least amount of energy for any situation.

Alan Mulally, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company, will be returning to the International CES stage for the fourth consecutive year, participating in the 2012 Innovation Power Panel keynote. The Innovation Power Panel will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 9 a.m.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:   F), a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.

The relatively hefty price tag alone is enough for many environmentally-minded automobile enthusiasts to skip over hybrid options. But
a secondary worry for those who love the open road has always been the limitations that such a vehicle can travel without a recharge. Forget the fears about having to get an auto refinance agreement in place to hold onto a hybrid: if you can’t hit it on the highway for any length of time where’s the fun? But more importantly, where’s the confidence as a car owner when you’re limited on how far you can travel?

As it turns out, suppositions of how limited one is when driving a hybrid vehicle are greatly exaggerated. This is backed up by a study recently released by the UK Technology Strategy Board, a government-funded organization responsible for providing businesses with tech stats and data, which concluded that owners of hybrid vehicles lose their “range anxiety” after an average of three months of driving. The organization came to this conclusion by polling owners before and after the purchase, while backing their testimony up by keeping track of miles driven and hours charged.

The initial anxiety over the driving range of hybrid vehicles is easy to see from the data collected. Despite ranges that can exceed 80 miles, most hybrid owners surveyed never went over 25 miles before recharging. This was maintained for the duration of the three month period in which hybrid drivers were monitored.

Despite continued resistance to pushing the boundaries of their vehicles, 83% of the owners surveyed stated they had improved confidence in their hybrids’ ability to outlast their desired driving range. With that said, and peculiarly so since they barely tipped the scales of traveling possibility, nearly half of hybrid owners who participated in the study said they’d like to see improved traveling ranges.

Whether or not they press for more range, it’s apparent that hybrid car drivers are markedly less stressed over the range of their vehicles once they start driving them and they understand better the science behind hybrid automobiles. For those considering a hybrid vehicle, you should be confident in the fact that you’ll be able to put the pedal to the metal when you want to. More importantly, you can rest assured knowing you probably won’t have to worry about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. You might overestimate your personal driving range, but hybrid makers have always had you covered.

Thule announces this year’s winners of the 2011 Thule Road Trip Vehicle of the Year. Both the vehicles provide the perfect combination of fun, utility, safety and conveniences when heading out on a road trip. Both vehicles also score high in the criteria that is on everybody’s mind, gas consumption.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend is the unofficial start of summer vacation travel for many families and friends. This year, more people will be getting into their vehicles and heading out on summer vacations and road trips. Having a safe, comfortable and fun vehicle is essential to truly enjoying the journey.

To honor the great American road trip, Thule, world leader in products that make it easy for people to transport their equipment securely, safely and in style, is proud to announce their awards for their 2011 Thule Road Trip Vehicles of the Year. This distinction is reserved for automobiles in two categories, above and below $30,000, that provide the perfect combination of fun, utility, gas mileage, safety and conveniences for a family or group of four taking an epic road trip.

“Gas prices are on everyone’s minds this year. Both the vehicles we have chosen not only scored highly on all our criteria, but are also on the lower-end on gas consumption,” commented Karl Wiedemann, Thule’s Channel Marketing Manager.

Thule bases the decision on 11 unique criteria including styling, storage, gas mileage, size, comfort, cost, number of cup holders, number of speakers, warranty, entertainment features and safety.

Under $30,000 2011 Thule Road Trip Vehicle of the Year, Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI

Starting at just under $25,000 the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI is a great combination of value, style and utility. This small wagon comes with raised roof rails which makes adding a rack for bikes, skis, cargo, surfboards or kayaks a breeze. This is the second win for this vehicle in the last three years.

“For around $25,000 you can get a fun-to-drive wagon that gets 42mpg on the highway. The peppy engine makes for a spirited drive while the interior cabin space is comfortable and intuitive. The raised rail on the roof provided many roof rack positions to maximize the amount of gear we were able to transport,” remarked Tripp Wyckoff, Thule’s VP of Sales, Marketing and Service.

Over $30,000 2011 Thule Road Trip Vehicle of the Year – Ford Explorer Limited

Ford completely reworked the Explorer for 2011. With seating for up to seven, EPA highway mileage of 23mpg and the ability to tow up to 5,000 pounds, the Ford Explorer Limited was a clear winner. When not towing, the receiver hitch can be used to transport up to five bicycles with the addition of a Thule hitch rack.

“The Explorer was an amazingly capable vehicle weekend road trip to Vermont this past winter. Our road conditions varied from snow to ice to muddy dirt road to dry pavement and the Explorer felt confident in all these conditions. With a price tag just above $40,000, the Explorer has a luxurious feel and all four occupants had plenty of space for ski gear and snacks,” said Wiedemann.

About Thule

The Thule brand was established in Sweden in 1942. Thule is now a premium brand that is used around the world. Under the motto Bring your life, Thule offers a wide assortment of accessories to simplify the transportation of your gear and equipment in a secure, safe and stylish way. Roof racks, bike and water sport carriers, roof boxes, accessories for recreational vehicles, trailers for the active life (horses, boats etc), snow chains as well as luggage bags and boxes are just some examples of what Thule currently offers.

Ford’s use of an advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system to regulate the temperature of its lithium-ion battery packs in Focus Electric will provide customers in cold and snowy climates an advantage over the competition. 

The liquid-heated battery operates under a range of ambient temperatures, providing additional power, longer battery range and a preconditioned battery after charging. 

The all-new Focus Electric – the company’s first-ever all-electric passenger car – is a zero-emissions, gasoline-free version of Ford’s popular global Focus model. 

Cold temperatures and consistent snowfall can slow things down in the winter, but not the Ford Focus Electric. Thanks to the use of an advanced active liquid-heating system, the battery provides additional power, longer range and is preconditioned after charging – all in cold temperatures.

“Batteries are similar to people as they both achieve maximum performance working under moderate, unchanged temperatures,” said Sherif Marakby, Ford director of Electrification Programs and Engineering. “Using a liquid-heated battery system allows Ford to keep the Focus Electric’s battery at a moderate temperature and improve performance whether you are charging or driving in a cold climate.”

Extreme temperatures can affect battery performance and reduce the range of electric vehicles. The range will not be impacted as much with a liquid-heated system compared to an air system. That’s why Ford will use an advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system to regulate the temperature of its lithium-ion battery packs, which are designed to operate under a range of ambient conditions.

“A liquid-heated battery can accept a charge faster from the regenerative braking that recaptures kinetic energy and sends it back to the battery, essentially providing longer range for the customer in real world cold weather conditions,” said Marakby. “Additionally, since acceleration in an electric vehicle comes from the power available in the battery, the customer will have more power available if the battery is warmer.”

The use of active liquid heating also enables owners of Focus Electric to automatically precondition battery pack temperature during daily recharging. While the vehicle is plugged in to the power grid, the vehicle system will be able to warm up the battery on cold days.

“Even when you’re parking in cold temperatures, as long as the vehicle is plugged in, you will warm up the battery,” explained Marakby. “Basically, customers will have the capability they need right off the bat. They won’t have to wait for the car to warm up.”

On cold days, heated liquid warms the batteries, gradually bringing the system’s temperature to

a level that allows it to efficiently accept charge energy and provide enough discharge power to get good vehicle performance.

“Focus Electric wasn’t built just for consumers in warm cities with consistent temperatures,” said Marakby. “We want our customers to know they can count on their electric vehicle whether they live in a cold or warm climate.”

The power of choice

Electrification is an important piece of Ford’s overall product sustainability strategy. Ford’s aggressive strategy includes five new electrified vehicles in North America by 2012 and Europe by 2013. Ford launched the Transit Connect Electric small commercial van in 2010 and in addition to Focus Electric in late 2011, will introduce C-MAX Hybrid, a second next-generation lithium-ion battery hybrid and the C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid in 2012.

TracKey, available for 2012 Mustang Boss 302 owners through Ford dealers, adds TracMode powertrain control software to the car for track use, providing full race calibration and two-stage launch control in addition to stock calibration, without compromising factory warranty  

Using a dual-path powertrain control module (PCM), TracKey software is installed after the vehicle is purchased; accessed by a specially programmed vehicle key, new code coexists with stock Boss software, allowing drivers to choose between street or track use simply by selecting a key. 

No aftermarket chips or permanent modifications are made when TracKey is used, allowing owners to return to the stock setting by starting the car with a regular key. [...]

The exciting new next-generation Ford Focus range is the star attraction in Ford Motor Company’s display at the 2010 Paris Motor Show on September 30.

For the first time, the complete global Ford Focus line-up of three production-ready dynamic bodystyles will be displayed together, providing customers with a full insight into this significant new model before it goes on sale in Europe and North America early in 2011.

Ford is also delivering on its promise to introduce a global performance version of the new Focus with a world premiere for the exciting flagship of the range, the muscular 250 PS Focus ST.  The dramatic new ST will launch in early 2012 and will be revealed on September 30 at the Ford stand by Alan Mulally, Ford’s President and CEO, and Stephen Odell, Chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe. [...]

A new standard 6.2-liter V8 engine pumping out 411 horsepower, new technologies and a newly available SuperCrew option that gives Raptor customers more choices in cab size all ensure the 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor will remain the off-road performance truck champion in the new model year.

“When we launched the F-150 SVT Raptor, consumers were blown away with the capability of the vehicle,” said Jost Capito, director of global performance vehicles and motorsports business development. “By adding the SuperCrew, we have expanded the versatility of Raptor, and now even more enthusiasts will be able to experience the no-compromise off-road performance that only Raptor delivers.”

The F-150 SVT Raptor is the first-ever high-speed off-road performance truck offered by any manufacturer and highlights 33 years of Ford truck sales leadership by emphasizing F-150′s Built Ford Tough durability, innovation and engineering. Developed with the DNA of an off-road pre-runner, comprehensive modifications focused on chassis and suspension enhancements. [...]