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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

2024 CES Mega Photo Gallery: Honda concepts, a VinFast truck and flying cars galore

The 2024 rendition of CES is coming to a close, and per usual, it was full of all the funky, futuristic tech the show is long known for. It’s also full of cars and legitimately forward-thinking tech related to cars, and we were on the ground to see it all and bring photos to you in this Mega Gallery.  A boatload of manufacturers attended and made big reveals, from the Star Wars-like Honda concept cars to a pickup truck from VinFast, the sort of debuts we got to see ran the gamut. Of course, there were plenty of reveals and vehicles on the floor that were even more outlandish than concepts from traditional OEMs like Honda and Mercedes. Check out this flying Xpeng car as an example. Or perhaps the flying Mansory car. Apparently, flying cars were a theme. Anyway, make sure you scroll down to check out the various reveals and photos of the cars and technologies revealed at the 2024 CES in our barrage of galleries. Honda 0 Series Honda 0 Series saloon 1 View 26 Photos VinFast Wild pickup VinFast Wild 10 View 10 Photos VinFast VF3 VinFast VF3 1 View 4 Photos VW GTI Prototype with AI-enhanced infotainment CES 2024: New Volkswagen GTI with AI-Enhanced Infotainment View 17 Photos Kia PBV Concept Kia PBV Concept platform View 28 Photos Sony Honda Mobility Afeela concept Afeela by Sony Honda Mobility View 5 Photos Hyundai Mobion Concept Hyundai Mobion Concept CES 2024 View 6 Photos Mullen Five RS Mullen 2 View 14 Photos Mansory Empower concept Mansory Empower concept View 14 Photos Hyundai Supernal S-A2 eVTOL Hyundai Supernal S-A2 View 13 Photos XPeng Aeroht eVTOL Flying Car XPeng Aeroht eVTOL?Flying Car View 6 Photos Verge TS Ultra verge-ts-ultra-ces-2024-electric-motorcycle-01 View 17 Photos Horwin Senmenti Maxi Scooter Range Horwin Senmenti 0 View 12 Photos BMW Teleoperated Valet BMW iX controlled with Remote Valet View 15 Photos Mercedes-Benz MB.OS infotainment Mercedes-Benz MB.OS infotainment system View 9 Photos Lamborghini Telemetry X Lamborghini Telemetry X View 5 Photos Related video: Green Motorsports CES BMW Ford Honda Hyundai Kia Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Technology Infotainment Smartphone Autonomous Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Concept Cars Polestar Infrastructure

Consumer Reports: Ford Fusion fun but flawed; Mitsubishi i-MiEV slow, chintzy [w/videos]

Waiting for a Ford compliment from Consumer Reports these days is like waiting for a low-cost new product from Apple. So we weren't really expecting a glowing review of the 2013 Ford Fusion when CR got its hands on the car. The institute's crew bought three different versions of the Fusion (Hybrid, 1.6-liter EcoBoost and a Titanium with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost) to put through its barrage of tests, and while we aren't too surprised by some of the findings, they're still interesting nonetheless.
CR praises the Fusion for its "eye-catching" design and says that the sportier Titanium trim level is the best-handling midsize sedan they've ever tested, but that's about where the good news ends for Ford. The Fusion Hybrid also posted the best-ever fuel economy CR has recorded in a midsize sedan, but the only problem is that their number was 39 miles per gallon combined - far less than Ford's 47 mpg rating for city, highway and combined. As expected, CR also dinged the Fusion for its MyFord Touch, but some of the other gripes about the car include a cramped cabin and poor fit and finish.
Other Ford products tested this time around include the Focus Electric and C-Max Hybrid. Like the Fusion, CR's observed fuel economy of 37 mpg for the C-Max fell well short of Ford's advertised 47-mpg rating, and both cars were criticized for the use of MyFord Touch. CR notes that the Focus Electric's interior is also cramped, with the battery pack taking up a lot of cargo space.