1967 Ford Mustang on 2040-cars

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Ford investing $2.5 billion in two new plants in Mexico

Automobile production keeps ramping up in Mexico. Last week alone, Toyota announced a new plant it's building south of the border, and news broke that Hyundai is looking into the same. Now Ford has announced a multi-billion-dollar initiative that will see it building two new facilities in Mexico, as well. Though neither will be a final assembly plant, both promise to break new ground for the automotive industry in Mexico – at least as far as Ford is concerned. The first is a new engine facility to be built at Ford's existing plant in Chihuahua. The fruit of a $1.1-billion investment will see the Blue Oval produce new gasoline engines for use in North America, South America and Asia-Pacific, creating 1,300 new jobs in the process. Ford will also be investing another $200 million to expand its inline-four and diesel engine production lines at the same plant. The move will create another 500 new jobs and make Ford's Chihuahua engine plant the largest in Mexico, according to the company's press release. Ford has also announced the building of its first transmission facility in Mexico, to be constructed within Getrag's plant in Irapuato in the state of Guanajuato. The $1.2-billion investment will create 2,000 new jobs and be charged with exporting two new automatic transmissions to markets around the world. The announcement comes on the 90th anniversary of Ford's presence in Mexico, dating back to 1925. Currently the company produces the Fiesta, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ in Mexico, as well as numerous Duratec and diesel engines. Related Video: FORD ANNOUNCES $2.5 BILLION USD INVESTMENT FOR NEW ENGINE, TRANSMISSION PLANTS IN MEXICO - Ford is investing $2.5 billion USD in new engine and transmission plants in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Guanajuato, respectively - Approximately 3,800 direct jobs will be generated through three projects – a new engine plant in Chihuahua, expansion of Ford's I-4 and diesel engine lines in Chihuahua and a new transmission plant – Ford's first in Mexico – in Guanajuato - The investment is part of the company's One Ford plan, which emphasizes global competitiveness. The news comes as Ford celebrates its 90thyear in Mexico Further building its lineup of increasingly fuel-efficient engines and transmissions, Ford today announced a $2.5 billion investment in two new facilities building a new generation of engines and transmissions in the states of Chihuahua and Guanjuato, respectively.

2015 Ford F-150 configurator is ready to go to work

Ford is inching towards the on-sale date for the eagerly anticipated, aluminum F-150 pickup. While we're preparing to drive the new truck (expect our take on it sooner rather than later), the best-seller has reached another, albeit more minor, milestone as its online configurator has officially been switched on.
We took to Ford's consumer website to mess about with it and see just how ridiculous of a truck we can build. Among the fun things we discovered were these two nuggets - the most expensive truck we could configure was not the top-end Platinum model, but instead the King Ranch, which rang up at $65,955. The other exciting discovery? The new truck would be available in a questionable shade called Blue Jeans (shown above with the optional contrasting Caribou paint). Yep, Blue Jeans.
You can head over to Ford's consumer page and build your very own aluminum F-150 now. Take a look.

Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally lands on Google board

Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally often referred to the Blue Oval as a technology company when he led the automaker. Now he'll be offering guidance to a different kind of technology firm: Google.
Mulally was appointed to Google's board of directors July 9, and late Tuesday, it was announced that he will serve on the company's audit committee. The veteran executive led Ford from September 2006 until he retired in June, succeeded by Mark Fields.
While Mulally will act as a board member - rather than in a managerial role - his presence adds credibility to Google's recently announced plans to produce an autonomous car. The ambitious program calls for 100 prototypes to begin testing later this summer. Production of the car is rumored to be in collaboration with a Detroit area performance company, Roush.