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Ford gets out of car subscriptions, sells Canvas to rival Fair

Ford says it’s selling its Canvas subscription service to competitor Fair, getting out of the subscription game after less than three years. Terms of the deal were not announced. Ford acquired Canvas in 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary based in San Francisco as a service to pilot subscriptions to Ford and Lincoln vehicles, eventually rolling out to Los Angeles and Dallas. The company said it had amassed around 3,800 subscribers in that time, who will have the opportunity to join Fair when their current subscriptions end and will receive more information from both subscription companies. But that number pales in comparison with Santa Monica, California-based Fair, which claims more than 45,000 subscriptions in 30 markets since launching in 2017. Ford was always fairly quiet about Canvas, and Automotive News last year reported that Lincoln executives expressed surprise over soft demand, saying that subscribers were looking for short-term solutions and often dropped out after just a few months. Ford is also in cost-cutting mode under CEO Jim HackettÂ’s $11 billion restructuring plan. The Blue Oval joins Cadillac, which put its $1,800-a-month Book By Cadillac subscription service on ice late last year, citing higher costs and fewer customers than expected. Cadillac has pledged to eventually relaunch the service as a pilot in select cities, but mumÂ’s been the word since. More recently, VolvoÂ’s Care by Volvo subscription service has come under scrutiny from dealers and an investigation from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and has made changes to its program. Thought it also has added the XC60, XC90 and V60 to the list of available vehicles. Fair touts itself as a “commitment-free” solution, with all-inclusive plans covering 24-7 roadside assistance, routine maintenance, insurance and other perks. It uses a mobile app to get customers prequalified, and it analyzes their eligibility and targets an affordable range of monthly payments. Customers then shop for cars and sign up for one via an initial payment that ranges by vehicle type, with the ability to keep the cars as long as they want and drop the service at any time. It peddles used cars from more than 30 different brands, none more than six years old or with more than 70,000 miles on the odometer. Fair on Tuesday announced it has raised $500 million in loans from a group of creditors, including Mizuho Bank and Japan's SoftBank, as it looks to expand its leasing services to Uber drivers.

Ford recalls 1.3 million Fusions, MKZs: Steering wheels could come off

When driving a car, the steering wheel is only expected to move in a rotational fashion, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. When it moves in some other direction, something is wrong, and when it moves the wrong way enough that it is no longer attached to the steering column, that's a really, really bad thing. And apparently, according to a recall issued by Ford, there are over 1.3 million Ford Fusions and Lincoln MKZs that are at risk of this happening. And at least two accidents and one injury have been attributed to the issue. Ford says the problem is that the steering wheel bolt that keeps the wheel attached to the column might not provide enough torque, resulting in the bolt slowly loosening and working its way off the column. The good news is that the fix is really simple. Ford will install a larger bolt with more threads along with a larger nylon patch to keep it all locked down. The fix is completely free to owners. Cars affected by the recall include 2014 to 2017 Fusions built built at the Flat Rock plant in Michigan between August 6, 2013, and February 29, 2016. Model year 2014-2018 Fusions and MKZs built at the Hermosillo factory in Mexico are also affected. So if you have one of those sedans, please get in touch with your local dealer to have the issue addressed. Related Video:

Ford recalls over 953,000 vehicles to replace Takata airbag inflators

DETROIT — Ford is recalling more than 953,000 vehicles worldwide to replace Takata passenger airbag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel. The move includes over 782,000 vehicles in the U.S. and is part of the largest series of recalls in U.S. history. Included are the 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, the 2010 and 2011 Ford Ranger, the 2010 to 2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, the 2010 and 2011 Mercury Milan, and the 2010 to 2014 Ford Mustang. Some of the recalls may be limited to specific geographic areas of the U.S. Takata used the chemical ammonium nitrate to create an explosion to inflate airbags. But it can deteriorate over time due to heat and humidity and explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister designed to contain the explosion. At least 23 people have been killed worldwide and hundreds injured by the inflators. Ford says it doesn't know of any injuries in vehicles included in this recall. Dealers will replace the inflators. Ford will notify owners about the recall starting on Feb. 18, and the company has replacement parts available for dealers to order, said spokeswoman Monique Brentley. In previous Takata recalls, parts availability had been an issue. Owners can go to this Ford website and key in their vehicle identification number to see if their cars and SUVs are being recalled. The same information will be available soon at the NHTSA recall website. More than three years after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took over management of recalls involving Takata inflators, one third of the recalled inflators still have not been replaced, according to an annual report from the government and a court-appointed monitor. The report says 16.7 million faulty inflators out of 50 million under recall have yet to be replaced. And 10 million more inflators are scheduled to be recalled this month, including the Ford vehicles. Safety advocates said the completion rate should be far higher given the danger associated with the inflators. The recalls forced Takata of Japan to seek bankruptcy protection and sell most of its assets to pay for the fixes. The inflators grow more dangerous as they get older because ammonium nitrate deteriorates due to high humidity and cycles from hot temperatures to cold. The most dangerous inflators are in areas of the South along the Gulf of Mexico that have high humidity. Related Video: