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Ford rakes in record $2.5b profit during Q1 of 2016

Fears that the auto industry is due for a downturn may be fading. Ford posted record profits in the first quarter of 2016, the company announced Thursday. Chief financial officer Bob Shanks said Ford enjoyed its best quarterly performance in history, generating operating profits of $3.8 billion and a record profit margin of 9.8 percent. Overall, the company's $2.5 billion profit in the quarter more than doubled from the 2015 quarterly results. "The first quarter was an absolutely terrific start to the year, an all-time record for the company, with very strong performance across the business," said chief executive officer Mark Fields. "We're excited about our future and confident in our ability to deliver long-term growth and profitability as we expand our business model to be both an auto and a mobility company." During the quarter, Ford announced the creation of Ford Smart Mobility, a new subsidiary that would vet future mobility projects in the realm of car-sharing, fractional ownership and autonomous deployment. The company also kicked off a billion-dollar makeover of its Dearborn, Michigan campus and headquarters. The company's after-tax earnings of $0.68 per share trumped Wall Street's expectations, and were significantly up from $0.39 per share a year ago. The results were buoyed by the company's fourth consecutive quarter of growth in Europe, which comes after a long period of stagnant sales. Ford's earnings results come amid reports that April car sales are on pace to jump 4 percent year over year, which would make it the best-selling April in history. Kelley Blue Book projects that car sales will reach 1.51 million this month, placing the industry on track for 17.5 million vehicles sold in 2016. Even as SUV and crossover sales drive the market, analysts say Nissan and Honda are positioned to benefit from renewed interest in mid-size cars. "Following a disappointing March, we expect sales to get back on track in April with SAAR in the mid-17 million range," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "Increased fleet sales and rising incentive spending among automakers remain the factors to watch, but the retail demand appears to be holding steady, signaling the industry's strong run isn't over quite yet." Related Video: Image Credit: Getty Earnings/Financials Ford Lincoln 5g Connectivity mobility auto industry financial

2023 Detroit Auto Show Editors' Rankings

The 2023 Detroit Auto Show was back in its traditional location, though in its fall spot in the calendar, and it was another pretty quiet event. By our count, only five new models, or model lines, were revealed and brought to the floor; all of which came from Detroit's own car companies. Still, some of them were quite significant, and the types were diverse. Naturally, we also had our favorites. So take a look to see how we ranked the reveals of the Detroit Auto Show. 2025 Cadillac CT5 View 15 Photos 5. 2025 Cadillac CT5 The refresh for the 2025 Cadillac CT5 is no great revelation, because it doesn’t have to be. An already solid, attractive design means only light tweaks were made to its appearance, and the new front fascia and redesigned lights just make the CT5 just that much more aggressive. So what was missing from the current model? Apparently, the answer was a gorgeous 33-inch curved LED display serving as both infotainment and instrument cluster. It has touchscreen capability to both the right and left sides of the steering wheel, and provides 9K resolution. Update some of the safety and driver assist tech, and — boom — the CT5 is properly modernized. Now bring on the updated Blackwing. –Senior Editor, Green, John Snyder 2024 Jeep Gladiator Live View 10 Photos 4. 2024 Jeep Gladiator Jeep carved out plenty of time for what is essentially a no-brainer mid-cycle refresh, but thereÂ’s one among us who is easily swayed: Me. I dumped the maximum number of points allotted on the 2024 Gladiator with only three words of explanation: "I like Jeeps." But this is kind of a big deal. The Gladiator pulled a lot of weight for Stellantis during the pandemic by providing an alternative to pickup buyers while Ram dealers were scraping the bottom of the supply barrel. To be fair, we're probably giving the Gladiator a bit of advance credit here for its promise to deliver a 4xe variant in 2025, but who else is talking about their PHEV pickup plans? Your move, Ford. –Associate Editor Byron Hurd. 2024 GMC Acadia AT4 View 17 Photos 3. 2024 GMC Acadia The 2024 GMC Acadia is the one reveal from this yearÂ’s Detroit Auto Show that was actually a totally new vehicle, and as far as three-row SUVs go, GMC aced it. The exterior has its own personality separate from its Chevrolet Traverse twin. Its AT4 trim is legit with more ground clearance, a torque-vectoring rear diff and sweet orange marker lights on the fenders.

Ford Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost sales robust in early going

Okay, okay, okay, so I was just a smidge wrong. Those that read my review of the Ford Fiesta with the new 1.0-liter, EcoBoost engine will know that while I really enjoyed the torquey little three-cylinder, I was concerned that Ford's decision to force 1.0-liter owners into a manual transmission, steel wheels and one trim level might hurt sales of the new engine. I was also concerned that the promised 45-mile-per-gallon highway rating wouldn't be enough to tempt buyers into trying an engine that's so far outside of what the general public is use to. My concerns, though, seem to have been for naught.
While not doing a booming business on the triple-equipped Fiesta, Ford is seeing a take rate of four to eight percent per month in the engine's first few months on sale. Now, four to eight percent might not sound like a lot - if, like last year, the Fiesta sells around 71,000 units, there'd be barely 5,600 1.0-liter models on the road. It is also small potatoes relative to the take rate on EcoBoost-equipped vehicles across the Ford range, which US sales analyst Erich Merkle estimates to be roughly 35 to 40 percent of retail sales. Still, according to The Detroit News, the 1.0-liter is getting adopted at roughly the same rate as the sparkling Fiesta ST, which should be a solid indication of just how well this little engine is doing.
The 1.0-liter's success "really speaks volumes, not just to what we're doing with the Fiesta, but with EcoBoost in general," Merkle told Autoblog.