Hatchback Se Certified 1.6l Sunroof Cd (6) Cupholders 5 Passenger Seating Tint on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Bill Ford op-ed argues we can't just build and sell more of the same cars

It's hardly a secret that the auto industry is undergoing an enormous, tectonic shift in the way it thinks, builds cars and does business. Between alternative forms of energy, a renewed focus on low curb weights and aerodynamic bodies, the advent of driverless and autonomous cars and the need to reduce the our impact on the environment, it's very likely that the car that's built 10 years down the line will be scarcely recognizable when parked next to the car from 10 years ago.
Few people are as able to explain the industry's many upcoming changes and challenges as clearly as William Clay Ford, Jr., better known as Bill Ford. The 57-year-old currently sits as the executive chairman of the company his great-grandfather, Henry Ford, founded over 110 years ago.
In an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Ford explains that the role of automakers is, necessarily, going to change to suit the needs of the future world. That means changing the view of not just the automobile, but the automaker. As Ford explains it, automakers will "move from being just car and truck manufacturers to become personal-mobility companies."

Ford Smart Mobility plan moves forward with P2P car sharing

Back when 2015 was still just days old, Ford Motor Company outlined its Smart Mobility plan at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It consisted of 25 global experiments meant to test out various ideas, with a stated goal of learning how to better address future transportation needs and direct the company's efforts. Six months later, Ford is ready to take what it's learned and move to the next phase. During the keynote address at the 5th annual Further with Ford future trends event – this year held, significantly, in Palo Alto, California – CEO Mark Fields announced Smart Mobility is moving from experimentation to implementation. Mostly. On the more concrete action side of things, Ford Credit Company is working with partners in the US and London, England on a pilot peer-to-peer car-sharing program. Stateside, this will see it team up with Getaround, inviting some 14,000 people in six cities to sign up for pre-screened, short-term car rentals. Across the pond, Ford will work with easyCar Club, targeting 12,000 folks in a similar service. Smart Mobility will also bring the GoDrive one-way car sharing program under its umbrella, upgrading it from what it calls an experiment to an actual pilot program. Fields also revealed a new electric bike design called the MoDe:Flex. The sporty model joins its two previously announced brethren, the MoDe:Me and MoDe:Pro. MoDe:Link, the app that provides a variety of info and allows for eyes-free navigation using hand grips that give haptic feedback to parlay direction changes has been extended to run on an Android smart watch. There, the app can process a rider's biofeedback signals to alter output. For instance, in "no sweat" mode, the bike will pick up more of the workload as your heart rate increases, keeping you from overexerting yourself. None of the bikes are being offered for sale, or for use as part of any sort of sharing program. At least, not for now. Instead, they remain in the realm of multimodal mobility experimentation. Check out the video above for a closer look at Ford's P2P car sharing plans or move down for a look at its latest ebike. You can find lots of detail about the shift in the Smart Mobility plan in the official press release, which is also below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ford Police Interceptor with 2.0L EcoBoost rated most fuel-efficient police sedan

Back in September, Ford announced a non-pursuit version of its Police Interceptor Sedan, which swaps out a choice of two V6 engines for a fuel-efficient 2.0-liter EcoBoost inline four-cylinder. This Special Service Police Sedan will be marketed to law enforcement agencies looking to cut fuel costs and don't need the extra power.
For college campuses, detectives and the like, this new police car has now been certified with EPA fuel economy estimates of 20 miles per gallon in the city, 32 mpg on the highway and a combined rating of 24 mpg. These figures represent a decrease of two mpg in city and combined ratings compared to the civilian-spec 2014 Taurus. These police cars still offer active grille shutters for better aerodynamics, although we're guessing agencies upfitting their cars with light bars and push bumpers aren't exactly concerted with aerodynamics. The true benefit of the SSP version is when it's compared against other police sedan options like the Dodge Charger, Chevy Impala, Chevy Caprice and even the V6 Police Interceptor Sedan.
Ford claims the new Police Interceptor Sedan SSP is the most fuel-efficient current option for police departments, saying that this car can save $1,720 per car over three years and almost $260,000 over the same span of time for fleets with 150 vehicles. There is an official press release posted below, and also check out the gallery of images from Ford collected from various police agencies across the US (although none show the 2.0-liter SSP model). Head on over to Ford's Police Interceptor mini-site for even more pictures of the Police Interceptor Sedan and Utility.