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Ford Mondeo with 1.5-liter EcoBoost debuts in China

Does the car above, posing fancifully in white, look familiar? Well, it should. Although it wears Mondeo badges in the form you see above for the Chinese market - as it does in Europe - the car is basically the same thing sold in the US as the Ford Fusion. Of course, it's what's under that shapely skin that counts.
Ford has chosen the Shanghai Motor Show as the venue with which to unveil its 1.5-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine. We'd heard about the engine before, but now we have a few performance estimates to share: 133 kW of power (about 178 horsepower) and 240 Nm of torque (about 177 pound-feet).
Those numbers pretty much confirm previous rumors indicating about 177 in each category, and it's right on par with what Ford's own 1.6-liter EcoBoost produces. Ford is claiming best-in-class fuel economy as well, but no specific figures have yet been provided. In any case, we'll surely have all the data soon enough, as the 1.5-liter mill is destined for the US Fusion in 2014.

Ford's BlueCruise gains hands-free lane changes and more in update

Ford is sending out an update to BlueCruise that will enhance its functionality with some nice features we tend to enjoy on other advanced driver assistance systems. Plus, in addition to BlueCruise getting the update, the Lincoln version named ActiveGlide will get the same update. For starters, both BlueCruise and ActiveGlide will gain hands-free lane changing. Similar to other lane-change assist systems, you’ll prompt the lane change by activating the turn signal. ItÂ’ll scan for traffic, and if all is clear, the vehicle will move into the requested lane. Ford says that itÂ’ll even suggest lane changes to the driver in the cluster as you approach slower-moving traffic. What this new feature doesnÂ’t do, though, are automatic lane changes. Systems like Super Cruise and TeslaÂ’s Autopilot will recognize slower traffic, then make a pass all on their own to move around said traffic — theyÂ’ll even move back over into your previous lane after making the pass. We wouldnÂ’t be surprised if Ford adds this functionality to the system in a future update. Another update in this release is new “In-Lane Repositioning” programming. ItÂ’s designed to recognize when there are vehicles in adjacent lanes and will then shift you further away from them within your lane of travel. Ford says itÂ’s especially helpful when passing semi-trucks, and will give you the usual and more comfortable buffer that a human driver might give a truck. The final update is a Predictive Speed Assist feature that will adjust your speed as you approach a curve. It will signal to the driver in the cluster that the car will slow for a curve, then do so gradually as you approach it. This is the sort of feature we typically like to turn off as soon as possible, since weÂ’d rather just remain at the same speed for curves on the highway. But, if youÂ’re one of those folks who like to slow down for curves on the highway, this will provide a more natural driving feel. Ford says that customers have cumulatively put over 16 million hands-free miles on cars with BlueCruise at this point. This update, simply named 1.2, for BlueCruise and ActiveGlide will see its initial rollout this fall. It will hit the Mustang Mach-E first, and Ford says other vehicles will follow. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. POV drive of the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E

Focus RS shreds in prep for Goodwood hillclimb

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is rapidly becoming a second home for Ford's hottest versions of the Focus. Last year, the updated Focus ST and high-performance diesel debuted there, and this year the motoring event has been selected to show off the new 2016 Focus RS. To get a little exercise before speeding up the hill climb, the Blue Oval unleashed its upcoming hyper hatch on a Belgian test track. Based on this clip, Ford's test driver has absolutely no problem whatsoever in making the Focus RS slide, at least with the stability and traction control off. Interestingly, while the RS shares its 2.3-liter EcoBoost with the latest Mustang, the Blue Oval's engineers give it a much different exhaust note here. Rather than a growling muscle car, this example has much more of the staccato bark of a rally-bred machine, which is a great fit. The all-wheel drive, 315-horsepower Focus RS should be arriving at dealers soon, and we're definitely looking forward to seeing and hearing it take on the Goodwood hill during the upcoming event. Related Video: