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Former Cadillac boss Butler takes Ford tech job

When Don Butler made the surprising decision to leave his post as Cadillac's VP of global strategic development, it was a surprise. Citing a desire to "recalibrate, reassess my priorities" in that August announcement, it wasn't entirely clear where Butler - a virtual General Motors lifer after spending nearly 30 years with the company - would end up. Turns out he took a trip to Dearborn.
Butler has taken a position in the newly created position of Executive Director of Connected Vehicles and Services at Ford, where he'll be responsible for the Blue Oval's global connectivity strategy. "Not only does Don understand the connected car landscape, but probably just as important, he understands customer expectations," said Raj Nair, who, as Group Vice President of Global Product Development, is Butler's new boss. "Having a leader with technology experience both inside and outside the industry is a rare combination - we're excited to have Don join our team."
As Ford has received its fair share of flak for the sometimes recalcitrant MyFord Touch infotainment system and its Sync voice-controls, it appears that Butler has his work cut out for him.

2016 Ford Focus RS may yet be AWD, US sales likely

When it comes to forbidden fruit, few vehicles are spoken of in as hushed a tone as the Ford Focus RS. The turbocharged, five-cylinder hot hatch could only be seen from afar by American customers as it tore up the roads of Europe. And while it's safe to say that Ford's Yankee fans are quite happy to now be on equal footing with drivers in the old country thanks to the Focus ST, we doubt there'd be much protestation over a successor to the RS arriving stateside.
Of course, we've seen images of the new RS undergoing testing, but a new story by Road and Track aims to fill in some very large blanks in our knowledge of that car, thanks to a pair of mysterious insiders at the Ford. Chief among those is this - the RS will almost certainly make its way to the US, albeit in limited quantities. It gets better, though.
Under hood, the new RS is unsurprisingly expected to borrow the 2.3-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder from the 2015 Ford Mustang and 2015 Lincoln MKC. While that twin-scroll turbo produces 310 horsepower in the Mustang and 285 ponies in the MKC, R&T expects the RS to deliver quite a bit more firepower - 325 to 350 hp, with preference going to the higher output due to the limited-edition nature of the RS. This roughly fits with previous reports.

Ford invests $682 million in Edge-producing Canadian facility

Ford announced that it's investing $682 million in its Oakville assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, to make it a global manufacturing plant, which the automaker also says secures 2,800 jobs there. Including this injection of cash, Ford has invested over $2 billion in Canada in the last decade, starting with nearly $1 billion for Oakville in 2004, and over $570 million for its Essex Engine Plant in 2010.
The move to make Oakville a global manufacturer of Ford vehicles means, "If consumers suddenly shift their buying habits, we can seamlessly change our production mix without having to idle a plant," says Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas.
Ford says that the latest investment will help it meet North American demand for the Oakville-produced Edge crossover, which is on track this year to beat 2007's US sales record of 130,000 Edges. The Ford Flex and Lincoln MKX and MKT are also manufactured at the plant.