2012 Ford Escape Limited Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l Flex Fuel 6 Cylinder on 2040-cars

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Ford books $1.2B profit in second quarter on strength of trucks

Ford is rolling along nicely, with a positive second-quarter sales report and a $2.3 billion profit in North America. The Dearborn, Michigan-based manufacturer captured $1.2 billion globally from April to June, with a $177 million profit in Asia. Even in Europe, the land of doom and gloom for automakers not named Mazda, Ford saw some success as it lowered its expected full-year loss from $2 billion to $1.8 billion. The company lost $348 million in Europe during the second quarter, which, believe it or not, represents a $56-million improvement over 2012.
According to the report on CNBC, Ford enjoyed a three-percent increase in pre-market trading thanks to the news. The strong demand for the F-150 propelled growth in the US market, while Ford's 47-percent increase in Asian sales can be attributed to the new EcoSport crossover and Kuga (Ford Escape in the US) arriving in the somewhat fragile Chinese market.
Pre-tax profits for Ford are expected to be in the neighborhood of $8 billion by the end of the year, with sales the US, Europe, and China all looking up. The company also shifted $4.78 billion of asset-backed debt in the form of bonds, according to a report by Bloomberg. This move came amidst rumors of the Federal Reserve cutting back on its $85-billion-per-month bond purchases. Ford wasn't alone among automakers looking to sell off debt, though, as Mercedes-Benz and Nissan shifted around $1 billion each in bonds relating to auto loans.

Jerry Seinfeld doesn't love Sarah Jessica Parker's new Country Squire in latest CiCGC

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee has finally returned for its fourth season of combining Jerry Seinfeld, a miscellaneous celebrity and a cup of java. But rather than fondly remembering some older piece of automotive machinery, this time around, Seinfeld is utterly unable to keep his hatred of Sarah Jessica Parker's 1976 Ford LTD Country Squire from coming out to hilarious effect.
However, Parker has such a high level of infectious enthusiasm for her recently purchased Country Squire that she seems to win over Seinfeld by the end - at least a little bit. For most of their time together, the two of them drive around Manhattan and the suburbs waxing nostalgic about what things were like when these wagons were ubiquitous.
Since this is actually SJP's car, she and Seinfeld trade off driving duties, and the image above should give you some indication of Seinfeld's reaction to the Sex and the City star behind the wheel. It seems this '70s land yacht might be a little too much for her to handle in New York traffic. Regardless, she is absolutely in love with her Ford.

Bacon-wrapped Ford Fiesta hams it up for International Bacon Day

This is a bacon-wrapped Ford Fiesta. It is a real thing, that a real, multi-billion-dollar company designed. And it isn't even April Fools' Day. Designed for International Bacon Day, which is also apparently a thing, the 2014 Fiesta is finished in Green Envy paint - we're told black paint, like the color of a skillet, made the car look camouflaged - and features 10 gigantic decals depicting strips of tender, cured bacon.
The design, which was approved by the CEO of Benton's Country Hams, Allan Benton, show off the depth of Ford's Custom Graphics program. Unbelievably, Ford will actually start offering bacon decals to everyday customers, including (and we can't believe we're writing this) dual bacon racing stripes which will no doubt have Carroll Shelby spinning and/or salivating in his grave, and a "side of bacon," which wraps a couple of strips over the rear wheels.
Benton, who Ford claims is the King of Bacon, had this to say: "This car just makes so much sense." The Fiesta's marketing manager, Liz Elser added, "It's just awesome to drive down the road in a piece of bacon."