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Ford recalls 382k vehicles across six campaigns

Ford needs to repair a total of 381,633 vehicles in North America across six newly announced campaigns, including five safety recalls and one compliance recall. By far the largest of these campaigns covers the 342,271 examples of the 1998-2003 Windstar to double check an earlier recall repair. Among these, 283,413 are in the US and 58,858 are in Canada. The combination of corrosion and stress can cause cracks in the rear axle and eventually lead to the part to snap completely. The company reports a small number of accidents might be connected to this, but there are no injuries. The minivans were recalled for this issue back in 2010, and it was investigated by NHTSA. According to Ford's latest announcement, the reinforcement brackets on some of these models might not have been installed correctly. This time, dealers will perform an inspection. Minivans with incorrectly installed brackets will get a new rear axle. The rest of the owners will be offered a deal to replace the part at a reduced cost. The next largest campaign covers 36,857 examples of the 2015 F-150 to fix a problem with the adaptive cruise control. Specifically, there are 33,481 affected trucks in the US, and 3,376 in Canada. According to Ford, "when passing a large, highly reflective truck" the radar in the system can misidentify a semi as being in the same lane as the pickup. The collision warning system would then activate, slowing the F-150. There's one report of an accident with this happening but no injuries. The fix is simply an update to the adaptive cruise control module software. Ford also has a recall for 1,477 examples of its 2016 F-53 and F-59 stripped chassis models, and they're all located in the US. A manufacturing issue might allow the trucks to shift into reverse without the driver first applying the brakes. There are no reports of any accidents from this, though. To repair the problem, the models get a new transmission shift control bracket and an adjustment to the shift cable. The Blue Oval's safety compliance recall covers 708 examples of the 2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, including 658 of them in the US, 28 in Canada, and 22 in Mexico. On these models, a manufacturing problem with the fuel tank could allow it to crack in a crash, which isn't allowed under federal rules. There are no reports of accidents, injuries or fires. The fix will be a new fuel tank for all of them. The company is also repairing 251 units of the 2015 Taurus and Lincoln MKS, plus the 2016 Explorer.

Man turns Ford Fiesta into a one-car band

The one-man band is a rather ridiculous idea, drawing up images of one person attempting to manipulate several instruments, at once, in a vain attempt at creating music. It's usually represented by silly scenes like this. Interestingly, the concept isn't much more successful when the "man" in "one-man band" is replaced with "car," as we see in this video.
It seems that someone rigged up and edited (699 times, we might add) a Ford Fiesta, a bucket, 12 PVC pipes and the natural sounds that a car makes to come up with a song. Now, we don't recognize the tune, so we've no idea if this is a cover or an original piece. And while it's hardly Beethoven, we have to admire the amount of effort the "conductor" went to in his attempt to turn a subcompact car into a musical instrument(s). Take a look (or listen) below for the entire video.

2015 F-150 kick-starts Ford sales

The F-150 had a middling year in 2014, and its sales dipped slightly as Ford transitioned to producing the all-new truck with an aluminum body. But with one factory humming, another on the way and a fuller stock of trucks, 2015 is already shaping up to be a different story. The F-Series posted a 17-percent leap in January, helping to push Ford sales to a 15-percent gain for the month. The F-Series had its best January performance in 11 years with sales of 54,370 trucks last month. Much of this strength comes from the new generation of the F-150. While many of the old model are still being sold off, Ford is rolling out the new version. Just five percent of the F-150's retail sales were the new truck in December, but it was up to 18 percent in January. The increase comes as the first factory that makes the truck, Ford's Dearborn facility, is fully back online. The other F-150 factory, in Kansas City, is still completing its changeover to build the aluminum-bodied truck, and that's expected to be finished in the first quarter of this year. Sales of the truck will still be "tempered a bit" until the Kansas City plant ramps up, Ford sales analyst Erich Merkle said. Ford expects to have a full inventory of F-150s by mid-year. To that end, the company announced plans on Wednesday to add 1,550 jobs to support the F-150, including 900 positions at the Kansas City factory. The remaining jobs will be spread out over sites in metro Detroit. The Dearborn and Kansas City factories collectively will be able to build more than 700,000 F-150s annually. The added headcount also means Ford has reached the maximum number of entry-level workers allowed under its pact with the United Auto Workers. About 300 to 500 employees at several plants in the Midwest will transition to a higher pay rate, and their wages will rise from $19.28 an hour to $28.50 an hour. The F-Series was Ford's hottest seller in January, moving off lots in an average of 12 days. The high-end models, the King Ranch and the Platinum versions, are moving slightly quicker. The average transaction price is also up $2,100 for the F-150 compared to January 2014. "We're really pleased with how the new one is doing on dealer lots," Merkle said. A larger stock of F-150s will allow Ford and its rivals to capitalize on low fuel prices, which have slowed consumers' interest in smaller vehicles.