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Ford rolls out Vignale Mondeo for upscale European buyers

North American buyers looking for a luxury automobile from Dearborn know to turn to Lincoln, but overseas, the Ford brand itself appeals to upscale customers with its own products. The Blue Oval automaker unveiled a premium take on the Taurus for the Chinese market at the Shanghai Motor Show this weekend, and in Europe it's rolling out the Vignale sub-brand with the model you see here. Previewed in concept form a year and a half ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Vignale line revives the name of a storied Italian coachbuilder that Ford acquired (together with Ghia) back in 1973. Now ready for production, the first Vignale model upgrades on the Mondeo (which we know as the Fusion) with a number of high-end features. The cabin space is altogether more luxurious, featuring high-end, laser-cut leather trim with hexagonal quilting and "tuxedo" stitching. The multi-contour front seats have a massage function, and occupants are better isolated from the road via upgraded sound insulation and active noise cancellation. The Ford Vignale Mondeo benefits from all the latest safety-convenience and infotainment technologies, including an optional Sony digital audio system with twelve speakers. The exterior is made to look more upscale as well, with unique metallic paint finishes, special chrome trim, 18-inch alloys and the requisite special badging to set it apart from ordinary Mondeos. Buyers will be able to choose between sedan or wagon body styles, front- or all-wheel drive and from a number of engine options. There's a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four with 237 horsepower, a 2.0-liter turbodiesel available with 177 or 207 hp, and a gasoline-electric hybrid system with 184 hp. Each vehicle is hand-finished and individually inspected at the Vignale Centre at Ford's plant in Valencia, Spain, and will be offered through select dealerships outfitted with premium Vignale Lounges. Customers will also benefit from access to a dedicated "relationship manager," customer assistance operators on call 24 hours a day and a companion app, but of course none of these features come cheap: At around GBP30k in the UK, the price of a Vignale Mondeo comes close to that of an Audi A6 or Jaguar XF, and it'll be up to individual buyers to decide whether the spruced-up Fusion is worth the premium. Look for a Vignale version of the S-Max to follow.

Ford dealer loses Super Bowl bet, pays $300K to lucky customers [w/video]

A Missouri Ford dealership's Super Bowl weekend sale cost it big when the improbable happened. Hutcheson Ford ran a promotion from January 29 to February 1, called the Super Weekend Sale. The gist was, if any customer purchased a vehicle between those dates and either the opening or second-half kickoff of the big game was returned for a touchdown, the dealership would refund the purchase price.
In the dealership's defense, it seemed like a safe bet. According to the mathematicians, there was just a 2.5-percent chance of either half opening with a touchdown return. But that didn't stop Seattle's Percy Harvin from doing his part to ruin Denver's evening, returning the second-half kick for an 87-yard touchdown run. Twelve Hutcheson customers were eligible for refunds thanks to the return, with prices ranging from $10,000 to $55,000, according to Automotive News. The total amount shelled out by the dealership? $300,000.
"At least we're not like that furniture guy that lost $7 million," dealership marketing manager Kathleen Frazier told AN. We think it was a big success." The dealership did take out insurance to cover its losses, meaning the $300K won't come entirely from its pockets.

2015 Ford Mustang Convertible shown on Twitter [UPDATE w/video]

It hasn't yet been 12 hours since the hotly anticipated 2015 Ford Mustang has been let out into public view. After a series of evocative leaks over the course of the last days, we brought you a full deep dive of the sixth-generation pony car at the dawning of today. And yet, here we are rushing to bring you news of a new Mustang variant, already.
Be it part of a plan to keep the Mustang fervor at full boil, or a misunderstood email somewhere in the chain of command, Ford UK has unceremoniously tweeted a picture of the 2015 Ford Mustang Convertible. For a newly global Mustang, getting our first look at the droptop from the convertible-crazy British does make some amount of sense.
As for details, well, you're looking at them. Brandon Turkus reported yesterday that the Mustang 'vert would make use of a fully electric convertible mechanism, and that it would be of fabric construction rather than some kind of retractable hardtop. We see here that the fabric part is clearly true, and it does look as though Ford may still be employing the same kind of manually attached tonneau cover that exists right now. Of course, our view from this angle isn't great, and the particulars are still up in the air.