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Feds Probe Power Steering In 938,000 Ford Midsize Cars

U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that the power-assisted steering can suddenly fail on three Ford midsize car models. The probe covers 938,000 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ cars from the 2010 through 2012 model years, as well as the 2010 and 2011 Mercury Milan. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 508 complaints alleging that the cars lost power-assisted steering, causing increased steering effort. Four complaints say the problem caused crashes, but no injuries were reported. The agency says in documents posted Monday on its website that in many cases, a warning message appeared as the failure happened. Restarting the car corrected the problem in some cases, but the problem returned in others. The agency says it will check the scope and frequency of a problem. It could seek a recall. Ford says it's cooperating with the probe. Shares of Ford Motor Co. rose 6 cents to $14.65 in morning trading Monday. Its shares are down 14 percent over the past year. Related Gallery Our Favorite Hot And Sporty Cars For 2015 Recalls Ford Lincoln NHTSA Ford Motor Company power steering mercury milan investigation

Here's how Detroit is selling more luxury vehicles than Germany and Japan

Now there's an attention-grabbing headline, eh? Although the answer to the riddle - pickup trucks and SUVs - might be somehow deflating, the numbers involved deserve a going over. According to TrueCar's figures (click on the table to enlarge), six of the year's ten best-selling vehicles in the US that sell for a transaction price above $50,000 are body-on-frame, and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the only foreigner to crack the top five. Every enthusiast knows that pickup trucks are 'Murica's most popular vehicle by a colossal margin, and there have been plenty of reports about the popularity of luxuriously appointed trucks and SUVs, but compare these figures from TrueCar: 70 percent of Chevrolet Tahoe sales have a transaction price above $50K, and The Bowtie is expected to make $3.9 billion in revenue on 66,945 predicted high-dollar sales; 95.1 percent of E-Class sales break $50K, so the German company will make $4.0 billion on 67,006 predicted sales in that pricing sphere. It's about the only time you'll see the Tahoe ranked right next to Mercedes' bread-and-butter sedan. Ram is ahead of those two with $4.2B coming from $50K-plus sales. The Ford F-Series does almost as much revenue as the next three combined, with an expected $10.8 billion coming from sales of trucks over $50K - more than a quarter of the model's total sales, when a base F-150 can be had for about $26,000. Yes, the Germans make a lot more money on fewer sales, but considering the comparison, the bottom line isn't too troubled by such facts. Weighing like-for-like, the full-size Ford walks it in every category; elsewhere, the Chevrolet Silverado outsells the Ram, but the Ram outsells the Chevy by 6.7 percent above $50K. And for all the flak GMC takes over swapping out grilles, the Sierra also outsells the Chevy in the well-appointed segment, 16.1 percent of sales versus 11 percent – the Professional Grade brand is a huge profit center for The General. You'll find more info in the TrueCar press release below. TrueCar finds pickup trucks far outsell premium brands among top 10 vehicles over $50,000 Ford F-Series pickup sales over $50,000 surpass combined BMW 3, 5, 7 Series luxury car sales SANTA MONICA, Calif. (December 10, 2014) - TrueCar, Inc., the negotiation-free car buying and selling platform, finds mainstream pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles dominate U.S.

Ford Focus RS configurator hits the Internet

Ford made waves yesterday when it drooped the performance and pricing details on the new Focus RS. Perhaps keen to keep the momentum going, the Blue Oval has launched the configurator for its new fire-breathing hot hatchback. As configurators go, this is a lot like the Ford's other build-your-own tools, only it's even more limited. The total list of options on the new Focus RS is quite light. You can pick from one of four colors, including the stylish Nitro Blue shown above, while there are just two interior upholstery schemes – partial black leather and full black leather for the standard Recaro seats. Your decision there will ultimately inform just how pricey your Focus RS will get. Opt for the full leather interior and you'll be stuck with the so-called RS2 package, which adds heated, powered front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated mirrors, and navigation to the standard SYNC3 infotainment system. Oh, and it'll also drive the price up by $2,785. Other options include a handsome set of 19-inch wheels, with the option of ultra sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. The wheels alone are a $1,395 option while adding the tires runs the price up $595, which is a bargain considering how pricey 19-inch PS Cup 2s are. The final option is a simple sunroof, priced at just $895. As you can see above, we've built our ideal Focus RS, finished in Nitro Blue with the 19-inch wheels, RS2 package (we live in Michigan, after all) and standard Michelin rubber. Yep, we passed on the more aggressive tire, with blame going to replacement costs. The total price comes to $41,480. Head on over to Ford's website and build your very own Focus RS, and then head back here and let us know how you optioned it, down in Comments. Related Video: