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Ford to revisit CVTs?

Today, Ford wishes its first experience with non-hybrid continuously variable transmissions was far behind it. The Blue Oval was awash in complaints and a couple of class-action lawsuits over the CVTs used in its 2005-2007 Ford Freestyle, Five Hundred and Mercury Montego models, which were a manufactured in Batavia, Ohio as part of a joint venture with ZF. The company gave up on the CVT after just two years, but with fuel economy standards pressing automakers to conjure new tricks, Ford's global product development head, Raj Nair, is now saying the transmissions might make a return, "particularly in the low torque applications," says Automotive News. An obvious candidate for CVT consideration is the 1.0-liter Fiesta that can presently only be had with a five-speed manual. Beyond that, the company's 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines might fit the bill. Ford hasn't given any indication as to what vehicles it might use to reintroduce the CVT to the US market, or hints about timeline or who would develop it, however. Some CVT trivia: The 1990 Subaru Justy II was the first US passenger car offered with a continuously variable transmission - Subaru called it the ECVT. It handled gearing duties for a 1.2-liter, inline three-cylinder engine that got all of 70 horsepower. A contemporary blurb about the car begins with "Goodness, gracious, great gobs of gimmickry," and goes on to say that "We can't imagine where you would take this car for repairs, but we are certain that the one mechanic in the world who can fix it lives in a very expensive house." The transmission didn't win any fans, but the ECVT and the car have been largely forgotten, while Subaru played the long game and now you'll find its vastly improved Lineartronic CVT on six of the eight models it sells.

Ford says C-Max mpg reduction has hurt sales

The Ford C-Max is having a rough time. Sales for the five-door hybrid hatchback were down 39.1 percent in March to 2,295 cars, and sales from January through March were down 42.5 percent to 5,566 units. In an interview with The Detroit News, Ford Americas boss Joe Hinrichs places the blame on lowering the model's fuel economy rating.
"We're definitely seeing consideration on C-Max decline over time. We need to reinvest in the product because it's a great car," said Hinrichs to The Detroit News.
The company was hit with bad publicity over the C-Max when owners in multiple states filed class action lawsuits that alleged the cars weren't able to meet the stated fuel economy. Ford eventually re-rated the model from 47 miles per gallon city, highway and combined to 40 mpg city, 45 mpg highway and 43 mpg combined. To soften the blow of the change, the automaker sent checks to the owners to make up some of the difference. Initially, Ford claimed that demand remained strong for the hybrid. However, the latest sales figures and Hinrichs' statement seem to show the opposite.

New Ford Escape spied inside and out

For the 2016 model year, the Ford Escape receives the Blue Oval's latest Sync 3 infotainment system and some minor tweaks to the color and trim options. Based on these new spy shots, it would appear that the crossover is due for some much bigger changes not too far into the future, as well. The thorough refresh isn't just an exterior styling update, either. Ford's designers are giving the future Escape a front end that's a bit more in the style of the latest Edge, at least based on these shots. Peek behind the mesh obscuring the grille, and the styling there now appears to have a hexagonal shape with horizontal slats and a smaller, lower intake. At the same time, the headlights are narrower and come to a sharper point as they wrap around the fender. The heavy camouflage makes the changes at the back harder to spot, although the taillights seem subtly tweaked with a similar overall shape but a clear stripe cutting through the center. The Escape also seems to be receiving a completely different center stack inside, but the area is still well concealed. The gearshift moves down between the seats, and that allows physical controls for the radio and HVAC to take that real estate. It's possible that the infotainment screen might pop up from the mesh-covered area you can see at the top of the interior photos. Take a look through the gallery for some detailed shots of Ford's camouflaged crossover.