Ford F150 King Ranch Supercrew 4d.v8, 4x4,short Bed on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford will add lots of carbon fiber to new vehicles

With BMW receiving a bunch of positive press for its usage of carbon fiber to build its i3 and i8 plug-in vehicles, Ford is jumping into that game as well. The US automaker has reached a manufacturing agreement with Dow Chemical to speed up the use of that material in Blue Oval vehicles. Carbon fiber usage will cut weight from Ford's new products, boosting fuel efficiency as a result. Ford will work with DowAksa, a 50/50 joint venture between Dow Chemical and Turkey-based Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S, on a manufacturing partnership. The goal is to speed up technology research to make it cheaper to make cars and trucks with carbon fiber materials. Ford's light-weighting efforts received a boost of sorts this week when its aluminum-body 2015 F-150 was awarded a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's testing, making this year's version the safest to date. The new body construction cut 700 pounds from the truck's curb weight. Take a look at Ford's press release about DowAksa below. FORD, DOWAKSA TO JOINTLY DEVELOP CARBON FIBER FOR HIGH-VOLUME AUTOMOTIVE LIGHT-WEIGHTING APPLICATIONS Ford and DowAksa formalize agreement to advance the adoption of cost-effective carbon fiber components through technology validation and proof of concept to reduce vehicle weight and increase fuel efficiency without sacrificing strength Agreement provides pathway for a high-volume manufacturing partnership New joint development agreement accelerates joint research announced in January in partnership under new U.S. composites manufacturing institute Ford and DowAksa today signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to formally advance research on cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing of automotive-grade carbon fiber, a material poised to play a significant role in the drive to make vehicles lighter for greater fuel efficiency, performance and capability. The agreement, between Ford Motor Company, Ford Global Technologies and DowAksa – a 50/50 joint venture between The Dow Chemical Company and Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S – will combine DowAksa's feedstock capacity, carbon fiber conversion and downstream intermediates production capabilities with Ford's expertise in design, engineering and high-volume manufacturing. The goal is to produce materials that make cost-effective carbon fiber composite parts that are much lighter than steel but meet automotive strength requirements.

Ford F-150 King Ranch celebrates 'history and authenticity' for 2015 [w/video]

What's life like on an authentic Texas ranch? We honestly have no idea, having never lived on such a ranch, but we imagine it requires lots of hard work, grit and determination to keep all 825,000 acres - that's larger than the state of Rhode Island - of the King Ranch in Texas under control. Indeed, a total of 350 vehicles, all of which come from Ford, we're told, are currently in use by the ranch. No wonder, then, that the collaboration between Ford and King Ranch has lasted for 15 successful years.
For 2015, in celebration of that 15th anniversary, Ford is debuting three new King Ranch models today at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The most significant is the 2015 F-150 King Ranch, which, naturally, will add unique interior and exterior bits and pieces to the new aluminum-intensive F-Series pickup. Color choices will consist of Caribou, Bronze Fire, Guard and Ruby Red Metallic Clearcoat, with a range of two-tones to go along with a monochromatic scheme in Caribou. Inside, a bespoke King Ranch interior will be swathed in Premium Mesa Brown leather.
Joining the F-150 King Ranch on dealership floors later this year will be 2015 King Ranch editions of the Super Duty pickup and Expedition fullsize SUV, all of which will offer similar levels of content. Scroll down for more details and two videos from Ford, and be sure to check out the high-res image gallery above, which was shot by the official State Photographer of Texas, Wyman Meinzer.

Ford Fiesta becomes UK all-time best seller

We may regard Ford as an American automaker, but ask a Brit and they may tell you otherwise. The Blue Oval has, after all, been selling cars in the UK since 1903, and started manufacturing there as far back as 1911 when it began local production of the Model T in Manchester. Last year Ford ended 100 years of vehicle manufacturing in the UK when the last Transit van rolled off the assembly line in Southampton, but it's still the biggest-selling automotive marque in Britain.
Ford has led the British market for 34 out of the past 45 years, selling more Fiestas than any other company sells any other car in the UK since 2009... when it overtook the Focus. In fact the Fiesta has now become the best-selling car in British history, topping 4,115,000 units since its introduction in 1976. The previous record was held by - you guessed it - another Ford: the Escort sold 4,105,961 units over the course of its 32 years on the British market.
Although the Fiesta is no longer manufactured in the UK (previous versions having been built at Dagenham until 2002), engines are: the EcoBoost line was developed at the company's R&D center in Essex and are built at the factory in Dunton, while its diesel engines were developed at Dagenham in East London. Even the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine in the Fiesta ST is built in South Wales.