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2015 F-150 launch to curb Ford profits?

Ford is making a big bet on aluminum with its new 2015 F-150, and it's possible that the decision will hurt the company financially, at least in the short term. After earning a record $8.6 billion in 2013, the Blue Oval does not expect to set another record in 2014. According to Automotive News, that's "largely attributable to F Series," says Bob Shanks, Ford's Chief Financial Officer.
To retool for the new F-150, Ford will idle its Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan for 11 weeks and the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri for 2 weeks. "3 of the 13 overall weeks occur during what normally is our summer shutdown timeframe," said Mike Levine, Ford Trucks Communication Manager, in an email to Autoblog. The extra 10 weeks will be preparing for the more aluminum-intensive construction for the trucks and will mean over 2 months of no F-150s being made. For comparison's sake, Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne just confirmed that the 200 plant in Sterling Heights, MI will be down for 30 days to retool for the new model, but obviously there are many more F-150 production variables than for the midsize sedan.
Levine notes that Ford is already running three shifts at both plants, and says the automaker has plans to ensure that there is adequate supply of the full-size pickups during the retooling process. The company does not want to suffer a shortage of the vehicle that accounted for 31-percent of its 2013 US sales and an even bigger percentage of its profits.

Ford Focus ST diesel estate in track showdown with Focus ST hatch

Diesel hot hatches are still a concept that's gaining ground. Obviously, there are none for sale in the US, but European buyers have the choice of at least the Volkswagen Golf GTD and Ford Focus ST Diesel. What better way to find out how the new, high-performance oil-burner really stacks up than for Ford to stage a race against the gasoline-fueled Focus ST? On paper, the ST Diesel is at a big performance detriment here. Its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 182 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque compared to 247 hp and 266 lb-ft for the gas version in this race. However while not a factor for this race, the oil-burner does offer better fuel economy and produces less CO2, which makes a difference for European buyers. Ford skews the race results by giving the ST Diesel Estate a two-second head start for this one-lap battle around the Castle Combe Circuit. Also, this is a video from the Blue Oval, which is going to further minimize the appearance of weakness for its vehicles. Still, both STs really get to show off their strengths, and it's worth seeing how the sibling rivalry shakes out at the finish line.

How did Ford keep the GT a secret before Detroit?

True secrecy is a rarity in the automotive industry. Sure, companies try to keep their future projects under wraps all of the time, but usually a spy shot or blurry development photo leaks out. The complete lack of any hard details before its unveiling likely helped make the Ford GT one of the biggest stars of the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Not only was it the favorite of Autoblog's editors, but the supercar scored a prestigious EyesOn Design Award, too. Rumors about the vehicle had circulated for weeks before the show, but no one really knew much about the GT until it rolled onto the stage for Ford's press conference in Joe Louis Arena. Amazingly, the Blue Oval kept things mostly a secret during the car's 14- month gestation period prior to its debut. According to Automotive News, the GT project began in late 2013 by a skunk works team, including six designers, that guided the supercar along from birth until the unveiling. Ford kept things clandestine by locking the vehicle in a basement storage room, and only the group members got a key to the lock. Much of the development was also done at night to further keep the secret, but occasionally the prototype was hauled outside on weekends to check it out in natural light. Because of the speed in getting the development done and for even more stealth, the designers didn't get input from the Blue Oval's other styling teams around the world. But that was somewhat of a double-edged sword. "You don't actually get to bounce opinions off people," Ford design boss Moray Callum said to Automotive News. "We were on tenterhooks ourselves until the first people saw it." Even now, there are still mysteries surrounding the GT. There's still no official word on the supercar's power; just that it's over 600 horsepower. There are also the persistent rumors going back months that the Blue Oval plans to take the GT racing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of automaker's Le Mans victory. Although, maybe this time the secrecy wasn't so good because we might have got a glimpse of the racer, recently. Related Video: