2006 Lincoln Town Car Designer on 2040-cars

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Even Ford executives had issues with MyFord Touch

MyFord Touch is one of the auto industry's more controversial features. The media broadly panned the infotainment system developed with Microsoft for its slow responses and reliance on voice commands to navigate its deep menus. Oh, and Ford executives weren't big fans, either. Newly revealed court documents in a California class-action lawsuit demonstrate the level of venom Ford employees, both big and small, reserved for the Blue Oval's infotainment system. An error caused Bill Ford's navigation system to crash, leaving the family scion stuck on the side of the road in an unfamiliar area. The documents, unearthed by Forbes, detail current CEO Mark Fields' aggravations with MFT, too. A mechanic emailed an image of a cracked infotainment screen on an Edge to one of Ford's top Sync engineers, Kenneth Williams, suggesting "Mark Fields may have been a little aggravated with the system." But Ford and Fields' issues are nothing compared to the woes of the engineers that had to work on MFT. In a collection of emails obtained by Forbes, one engineer called the system "a polished turd," while another simply said, "These poor customers." And after one engineer suggested using a photo of Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant – home of the Edge, Flex, Lincoln MKX, and MKT production – as a background for the system, one of his coworkers said in an email that someone should instead Photoshop the image to read "abandon hope all ye who enter here," the Detroit News reports. Another summed up the problem, saying: "Ford's quality reputation is completely on the line ... another model year with the same crap is not acceptable." MyFord Touch almost single-handedly torpedoed Ford's reputation in widely reported quality metrics, including JD Power and Consumer Reports. Ford responded with a refreshed Sync3, a wildly improved rethink of its infotainment system that is far more responsive and easier to live with every day. Related Video: News Source: Forbes, The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Ford Government/Legal Ford Lincoln Technology Mark Fields sync 3

Ford hybrids getting update to improve fuel economy

Ford has announced that it is introducing "calibration updates designed to improve on-road fuel economy for owners of the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid."
We can speculate that these changes are at least due in part to lawsuits over mileage claims of hybrid vehicles. The automaker is enhancing 2013 models starting in August by raising their electric cruising speed to 85 miles per hour from 62 mph, optimizing the use of active grille shutters and the climate control system, shortening the engine warm-up period by 50 percent and reducing electric fan speed to minimize the fan's energy consumption.
It bears mentioning that Ford is doing pretty well in the US electrified vehicle market this year. The company claims to have grown its share in the segment by 12 points to 16 percent while taking a high number of Toyota Prius trade-ins in the process. Conversely, Toyota has experienced a five-percent drop in new-Prius sales over the same period. Additionally, Ford states that it has increased its share of the US vehicle market by one percent this year, more than any full-line automaker.

Lincoln Corsair reportedly getting a PHEV among three engine options

What's a Lincoln Corsair, again? That would be the forthcoming replacement for the current Lincoln MKC compact crossover, and we know little about it besides its name change and the fact it'll be related to the also-redesigned Ford Escape. However, The Truth About Cars says it saw paperwork Ford filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration detailing Corsair powertrain options. These VIN decoder documents reportedly indicate three available engines, including, most notably, a plug-in hybrid. TTAC, which didn't post the documents, indicates the hybrid's heart will be a 2.5-liter Duratec four-cylinder – such an engine currently power base models of the Ford Escape and Fusion. All-electric driving range is unknown, but the Fusion Energi can go 25 miles, and crossover competitors do anywhere from 22 to 26 miles on EV power. What we do know is that all PHEV Corsairs will come with AWD. This would be the first time we've seen mention of a Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrid, but the idea isn't far fetched. The new Lincoln Aviator will offer a plug-in hybrid version, and we know there's a traditional hybrid version of the related Ford Escape crossover on the way. Spy shots of that vehicle from earlier this month didn't show the plug-in port where Ford likes to put it, on the left front fender. We expect a different powertrain in that model and we also wouldn't be surprised if there's an Escape PHEV as well. The other two powertrains will reportedly be the MKC's 2.0-liter Ecoboost four-cylinder as the base, with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost continuing to be an optional upgrade. TTAC also says the VIN document indicates that trim configurations have changed to simply offering standard and Signature trims (from the MKC's standard, Select, Reserve, and Black Label levels). This is hard to believe given that every other Lincoln offers a Black Label and is usually the model featured in promotions and official photography. There's still a lot to be learned about the Lincoln Corsair, including whether these VIN documents are accurate. We expect to know more later in the year. Given that the Lincoln Aviator was shown before its Ford Explorer sibling, we wouldn't be surprised if the Corsair made its official introduction first. Related Video: