2000 Ford Explorer Sport on 2040-cars

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2015 Ford Focus Sedan is fresh-faced and ready to defend its Most Popular crown

Ford has made an art of deeper-than-normal midlife updates since the 2010 Fusion, a strategy that has allowed it to keep models looking fresher in showrooms for longer without needing full redesigns. Instead of slight touchups to light fixtures, new paint colors and perhaps new wheel patterns, Ford has been digging deeper, with significant sheetmetal changes and very different front-end looks, along with an increased emphasis on new in-car technologies to keep models vibrant. Other automakers are following this trend, and Ford itself is continuing on the path with this new 2015 Focus Sedan.
There's a handsome new SE Sport Package that includes a firmer touring suspension, modest body kit and 17-inch wheels.
We first saw this sleek Aston Martin-like nose fitted to a Focus at the Geneva Motor Show last month, but Ford only showed the new look on the five-door hatchback - this is the first appearance of the sedan, which will bow at next week's New York Auto Show. The front end treatment is the same, with a new hood, new headlamps incorporating LED accents, a different grille shape and a completely revised lower fascia that does away with the 2014 model's controversial triangle-shaped corners and gaping intakes. The rear gets a new two-piece, laser-brazed trunk lid with new taillamps, but the overall look is quite similar to last year's car. In any case, the refreshed look brings the Focus sedan more in line with the design of Ford's other recently reworked cars, including the Fusion and Fiesta.

Ford Mondeo Hybrid could beat unloved diesels in Europe

Predicting changes in the European auto market isn't easy, and Ford is hedging its bets there with the introduction of the Mondeo Hybrid. The Blue Oval has no expectation of the electrified version of the sedan being a rollicking sales success, but the model is a fuel-efficient alternative in case the recent backlash against diesel turns into an outright ban somewhere. This is the first time Ford is selling a hybrid version of the Mondeo (a cousin to the Fusion in the US) in Europe. The vehicle pairs a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder with a 1.4-kWh battery pack to make a total of 185 horsepower and emit 99 grams per kilometer of CO2. The Blue Oval expects to sell around 100,000 units of all versions of the sedan annually there, according to Automotive News Europe. However, fewer than 5,000 of those are predicted to be the gas-electric model. "Legislation around Europe is so different it's very difficult to predict," Roelant de Waard, Ford of Europe sales boss, said to ANE. "If you're betting only on one horse you might be lucky, but you also may be very unlucky." Ford is probably smart to have alternatives ready, and it also already offers the Focus Electric and hybrid C-Max there. Governments in Europe are rapidly turning against diesel, especially in France. The country considered offering buyers 10,000 euros ($11,300) if they trade in an old oil-burner on a new electric vehicle, and the prime minister calls backing the fuel for so long a mistake. The UK's Labour Party is making similar declarations. News Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req.Image Credit: Ford Government/Legal Green Ford Emissions Green Driving Diesel Vehicles Hybrid Sedan

Ford to build Explorer in Russia to meet demand [w/video]

The current Ford Explorer is sold in more than 64 countries, and this three-row vehicle continues to grow in popularity worldwide. To keep up with demand, Ford began producing the Explorer at Ford Sollers Elabuga Assembly Plant in Tatarstan, Russia, a joint venture facility. This partnership will build Russian-market Explorers only, and production of export vehicles not destined for Russian buyers will continue to be built at Ford's assembly plant in Chicago.
Before this plant went online, Ford would ship Explorers to Russia (and other regions around the world) as partially assembled knock-down units where final assembly would eventually take place. While there is no indication as to how many Explorers Ford Sollers will build for Russia, Ford did add that exports of the SUV were up 65 percent last year (from 2011) accounting for more than 24,000 units.
Scroll down for a press release about the Russian Explorer as well as a video (bad music and all) showing the SUV being produced in Tatarstan.