2012 Ford Edge Limited on 2040-cars

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Ford Escort is ready to focus on the Chinese market

Ford officially revived the Escort name in China, showing of the new, four-door compact at the Beijing Motor Show. Painted in a stylish brown-bronze, the new sedan wears a number of global Ford styling cues while sharing its platform with the Ford Focus.
Power for the new model comes from a 1.5-liter four-cylinder, although Ford doesn't specify just how much power is on offer, simply saying that the fuel economy of the new mill will be "outstanding." It's unclear what transmission will be distributing the engine's power, although based on the images we've seen, the Escort will definitely offer a two-pedal setup.
The layout of the cabin is fairly clean, although as we mentioned in our initial post on the new Escort, it's a decidedly sparser environment than we've grown use to in US-spec Fords of late. If anything, it's like a weird blend of current Ford switchgear with an overall look that reminds us of older Ford layouts. Still, it looks like a comfortable way of moving five people about without too much fuss. There's ample space both front and rear, and a rather spacious trunk.

Ford bumped by Amazon in best-perceived brand list

Back in July, a mid-year study from YouGov found Ford to have higher brand perception than any other company in the US. While Ford failed to top the year-end study, it still has plenty to brag about. The final BrandIndex report shows that online retail giant Amazon edged out Ford for the top ranking, while Subway, the History Channel and Lowe's rounded out the top five spots.
For Ford, it's still an improvement from sixth place in the 2012 study, and, more importantly, it dominated other automakers in terms of brand perception with a clear advantage over Toyota, Honda, Chevy and Volkswagen. To determine how well - or not so well - a brand is perceived, YouGov uses a Buzz score that asks respondents whether they've "heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth" and whether it was positive or negative. While it isn't clear how many respondents were included, YouGov does point out that Ford had a strong presence in social media, advertising and newsworthy toward the end of the year.
For more details about the study and the top companies, check out the press release posted below.

Recharge Wrap-up: Grimsel electric car breaks acceleration world record, electric Ford Raptor ATV debuts

An all-electric version of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is now available... as an ATV. Made by Caddyshack Golf Cars, it features officially licensed Ford badging borrowed from the super-macho pickup. It has a lifted chassis with leaf springs in the front and rear, hydraulic shocks and off-road tires. Powered by a 48-volt motor, it can do 0-25 mph in 2.9 seconds. Range is an estimated 30 miles - plenty to get you through 18 of the most rugged holes of golf you've ever played. Caddyshack also offers other miniature electric Fords, including a Shelby GT500, Shelby Cobra and 50th Anniversary Mustang. Read more at Green Car Reports. Lexus takes a crack at the BMW i3 in a new video from Funny or Die. In the decidedly anti-EV film, a group of guys drives to Las Vegas for a "dad-chelor party" in a Lexus CT 200h and a BMW i3. The Lexus hybrid makes it to Sin City without any problems, while the BMW's occupants need to make several lengthy stops to charge along the way, missing much of the fun. The video lampoons the inherent range limitations of the EV (the BMW group ends up driving slowly through the desert with no AC or radio to save energy), all in a well produced, if somewhat misguided, short comedy film. Perhaps they should have considered the i3 with a range extender? See the video below, or read more at Green Car Reports. Students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University have set a new EV acceleration world record. Their "Grimsel" racing car was able to zoom from 0-100 kph (0-62.137 mph) in just 1.785 seconds in less than 30 meters (98.425 feet), crushing the previous record of 2.134 seconds. Even more impressive is that the Grimsel was built by the students themselves, as part of the Formula Student team at the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich. The car weighs just 370 pounds and provides 200 horsepower and 1,202 pound feet of torque from the four hub motors. The Grimsel uses traction control to manage torque for maximum acceleration. See the record acceleration run in the videos below or read more at Gizmag, at Electric Autosport or in the press release from ETH Zurich below. 'grimsel' breaks world record The 'grimsel' electric racing car today broke the previous world record for acceleration in electric cars. The vehicle accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.785 seconds in under 30 metres. The new record was set by students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, who also designed and built the vehicle.