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When Ford released pictures of the redesigned Ka that will be used in the upcoming action flick Quantum of Solace, the automaker neglected to mention that the car would be powered by hydrogen. From the press release:

The 'Quantum of Solace' Ka is unique with metallic gold paint and an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination.

Yeah, we see the paint and graphics... but take a close look at the pictures of the car, as seen above, which will be driven by actress Olga Kurylenko as she plays Camille, a friend of our good buddy Mr. Bond - James Bond, and you'll notice that the front of the gold-colored Ka is emblazoned with stickers proclaiming that it's running on hydrogen. Interesting, eh? Additionally, on the sides of the vehicle are stickers which say "Greener Planet," whatever that means. Perhaps Ford will come clean (ha ha, get it?) and let us in on what all of this means - or doesn't mean - before the Ka makes its official debut October 2 in Paris.

[Source: Carscoop]

We've been following the Ford fuel cell fleet for two years now, and have done our own in-depth test drive of the hydrogen-powered Focus. Ford has been keeping a detailed record of their own experience with these advanced powertrain vehicles and likes what it sees. The company announced today that the Focus Fuel Cell vehicles "performed better than expected" and will be on the road for up to an additional two years thanks to an extension of the program Ford has with the U.S. DOE. Thus far, the advanced fleet has traveled more than 865,000 "real world miles" and these vehicles will go many more before the next-generation hydrogen system is ready around 2010. That system should address weaknesses in the current one, and be able to go farther on a tank of hydrogen, be more reliable and start up when it's below freezing out. Details after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Like other automakers, Ford has been doing considerable research into so-called "Smart Intersections." Smart intersections fall into the realm of vehicle-to-infrastructure technology, AKA telematics. While this is generally considered safety related, both vehicle to infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle communications can also play a major role in reducing fuel consumption and pollution. One of the major causes of excess emissions and fuel use is vehicles stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, often caused by accidents or by drivers in urban areas blocking intersections because they tried to get across and ran out of time. Ford, along with a number of other automakers and government agencies, is working to develop common standards and architecture for these active traffic safety systems. One of the first privately-funded smart intersections that sends signals to cars when a light is about change has been installed near Ford's Dearborn development center. If signals can be sent to vehicles giving advanced warning of light changes or stop signs, drivers could potentially avoid trying to run yellows or doing excessively hard braking and acceleration. The Texas Transportation Institute's "2007 Urban Mobility Report" estimated that three billion gallons of gas are wasted every year due to congestion and this could technology could help reduce that significantly.

[Source: Ford]

Ford will be launching production of the first EcoBoost V6 engines early next spring for installation into the Lincoln MKS and Ford Flex. The first units will get a 340 hp, 340 lb-ft performance rating and Ford is planning to charge a $700 premium for the new 3.5L turbocharged and direct injected engine. Compared to a similarly powerful V8 engine, the fuel savings from the new V6 are estimated at $339 a year at $3.25/gallon. At current prices the savings will obviously be even higher. In 2010, Ford will also add the engine to the F-150 as an alternative to the current 5.4L V8. In the next couple of years Ford will also be introducing four cylinder EcoBoost engines in other models. By 2012, Ford plans to have EcoBoost engines available in over 90 percent of its vehicles.

Update: Ford spokesman Alan Hall let us know that no official announcement has been made about EcoBoost pricing yet. We'll let you know as soon as we here something definitive.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Back in the day, the Ford Pinto was most famous for the occasional gas tank explosion when involved in a rear-end collision. When you design a car with that kind of feature engineering flaw and then combine it with doors that jam shut in the same type of crash, people are going to talk. Nowadays, there's a Pinto in Alaska with fire-orange paint developing a reputation for a exploding off the drag strip starting line that's got people talking. This pony lacks a gas tank so you know all that smoke must be coming from the tires, though the lack of a screaming V8 might try to fool your senses. The car is owned by the president of the Alaskan chapter of the Electric Vehicle Association, Mike Willmon, and can tear up a quarter mile of tarmac in as little as 12.576 seconds and tops out at 127 mph. Yeah, we've seen faster cars too, but we're talking Pinto here! You can get lots of details on the rig at its EV Album page then sit back and watch the electric streak dubbed "Crazy Horse" take on a few "gassers" after the jump.

[Source: Anchorage Daily News / YouTube]

Click the Ka for a high-res gallery

The world will get its first official look at the new Ford Ka at the Paris Motor Show in about 6 weeks. However the production crew of the new James Bond flick have been seeing and driving it for months. Ford's new city car will be wielded by the the female lead in Quantum of Solace starting in November. The rampant product placement of the Casino Royale looks set for a re-run in the new movie. We still don't know if or when Americans will ever get a chance to tool around in a Ka, but if gas prices spike again, it's not beyond the realm of possibility. In the meantime you can check out the Polish assembled Ka in the gallery.


[Source: Ford]

We have heard all about these European hypermilers who manage to churn out 45-50mpg U.S. in production cars, usually with high-technology turbocharged diesels. However, British TV station Channel 4's motoring website 4Car has carried out real-world fuel economy tests on eight low-emissions cars (5 diesels, 2 gasoline and one hybrid) and has found out that they didn't meet the official mileage and CO₂ emission figures. Although the EU driving cycle is more theoretical than real-world driving, the difference is quite stunning. For instance, the worst offender was the Ford Focus Econetic, which got 11mpg Imperial (9mpg U. S. or almost 1l/100 km) worse in the Channel 4 tests than the official numbers whould have us believe. Moreover, higher fuel usage means that these cars pollute more than expected, and means they should fall in a different Vehicle Excess Duty (Road Tax) band and the driver should pay a higher rate. Follow us after the jump for the complete list and their press release which explains their evaluating method.

[Source: 4Car]

Ford is ready to start making money on small cars, and the production of Job One of the new global Fiesta marks what the company is calling a "new global small-car era for Ford." Having just spent a month in Europe and very much liking the various Kas and other small Fords running around there, this is good news to me, especially to see that the first new Fiesta rolled off the production line in Cologne, Germany today (see the gallery below). The Cologne Stamping and Assembly plant has been the birthplace of over 5m Fiestas since 1979. Sales of the new Fiesta should start soon, and production will also kick off in Asia and Spain in the next few months. In a few years (in early 2010), Ford will start building the North American Fiesta at the Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico. More details after the break.


[Source: Ford]

As the U.S. market finally makes the inexorable shift to more rationally-sized cars, Ford's President for the Americas, Mark Fields, will explain how his company plans to make money with smaller cars. Ford will apparently focus on doing what might seem intuitively obvious to some, but has not heretofore been part of doing business in the U.S. market. They will build small cars that people will actually find desirable to own and willing to spend more money on. For the past several decades, automakers, particularly those based in Detroit but import companies as well, have simply tried to reduce the cost of small cars below the price people were willing to pay. Since people weren't willing to pay much for lousy cars, you can see where that equation went. The problem for the automakers is that it doesn't cost that much less to build a car like a Focus than it does to build a Lincoln or a full-size truck. The engineering costs, wages for workers, tooling, etc. are all the same whether you build big or small. The lower cost of using less material is not enough to make up the price difference.

The entrance of MINI into the U.S. market earlier this decade proved that Americans were wiling to pay more for small cars, certainly enough to be profitable. The key is cars have to be desirable, good looking and have the features customers have come to expect. While Ford's latest Focus may miss out on the good looking part, it does have plenty of features - like SYNC - and people have demonstrated a willingness to buy it. The average transaction price that people are actually paying for the Focus has risen by $1,000 and Ford intends to make money on cars like this and the upcoming Fiesta by providing a good driving experience rather than just a box. What a concept!

[Source: Detroit News]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Escape Hybrid

Girls Girlz, are you in the market for a new sport utility? If you are looking for help from your parental units, consider checking out this article from Carz4Girlz on how to show your parents that you need that Escape hybrid to save on gas. Not only does the world's first hybrid SUV (which has gained a few siblings since its introduction) get very good fuel mileage (in the thirties) in comparison to its leading competitors, it also uses recycled materials in its interior. Take a look at our driving impressions of the latest Escape and Escape hybrid here.

But what is you want an SUV but your 'rents just can't swing the extra scratch for a hybrid? The other recommendations from the Girlz are to opt for the Kia Sportage, which in V6/automatic guise returns just 17-mpg city and 21-mpg highway, or the Honda CR-V, which does better at 20 in the city and 26 on the highway with an automatic. We say stick with the hybrid.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Ford Germany has announced that its LPG and CNG-powered cars' performance has been improved. According to the press release, gas-powered Fords have improved their consumption up to 1 liter/100 km, which allows the cars to have 50km (30 miles) more range, that is, about 450 km on gas and 750 additional km on unleaded.

Not only that, thanks to a new facility in Saarlouis, Ford has improved its production capabilities. All LPG variants will be made in the new facility in Saarlouis, which allows a global production of 2,000 units of Focus and Focus C-MAX models, while the existing facility in Mainz will be producing CNG variants exclusively (300 Focus, 250 Focus C-MAX) as well as the Ford Transit Van LPG variant (150 units).

Prices for factory-guaranteed conversions are €3,275 and €2,500 (CNG/LPG respectively) for the Ford Focus or C-MAX and €3,950 or €2,920 for the for the Ford Transit van (CNG/LPG respectively).

[Source: Ford]

Is it possible that we'll see a Ford Volt at some time in the not to distant future? If a story in the Detroit News is to be believed, yes! Ford and General Motors are apparently in talks to share the E-Flex powertrain technology that underpins the Volt. It wouldn't be the first time that Ford and GM have collaborated. The front wheel drive 6-speed automatic transmissions used in the larger cars and crossovers (Flex, Taurus, Acadia, etc) was jointly developed by the two companies. GM has also collaborated with Daimler, Chrysler and BMW on the Two-Mode hybrid system.

Sharing the E-Flex hardware would allow GM to more rapidly ramp up production volumes and drive down costs. At the same time Ford would be able to pick up an advanced powertrain that they are currently lacking. GM reportedly approached Ford and the Dearborn board of directors approved negotiations. Several meetings have been held but nothing has been agreed to yet. At the same 2007 Detroit Auto Show where the Volt Concept debuted, Ford showed its own Airstream concept with a plug-in fuel cell series hybrid powertrain. Ford has had a prototype Edge running with that powertrain since November 2006 and could provide some controls and system integration experience to the collaboration. GM is likely well ahead of Ford on the battery development side at this point.

[Source: Detroit News]

Ford has been pretty consistent in saying that it doesn't expect plug-in vehicles to reach mass-market volumes until at least 2012-13. That doesn't necessarily mean they won't have any plug-in vehicles until then. It only means that they don't expect batteries to reach a price and durability level that will allow them to be sold in large volumes until then. While companies like Mitsubishi, GM, Nissan and Toyota are all expected to have plug-in vehicles on the road by the end of this decade, all them including the Chevy Volt will b sold in comparatively small volumes. if GM hits its targets for the Volt, even that one is only expected to hit about 10,000 units in the first couple of years. Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of sustainable mobility technologies and hybrid vehicle programs told an interviewer this week that for plug-in vehicles to reach mass market penetration, the batteries have to be able to last a decade and 150,000 miles. The concern is that if the batteries only last five years and the replacement cost exceeds the residual value of the car, either manufacturers will face huge warranty losses or customers will rebel. Either way, the durability and cost of lithium batteries has to be improved in order to get profitable mass market acceptance of plug-in vehicles.

[Source: Reuters]

Ford is planning to make a huge push for turbocharged engines starting in April 2009 with the introduction of the first in its line of EcoBoost engines. Honeywell Turbo Technologies will be supplying Ford with turbochargers for the 3.5L V6 and the followup four cylinder EcoBoost engines. Honeywell is estimating that turbocharged engines will go from 30 percent of global vehicle installations to 38 percent over the next five years. Ford and other manufacturers are adding direct injection and turbocharging to smaller displacement engines to allow them to be substituted for larger engines in a variety applications. The 3.5L EcoBoost V6 will be used in place of larger V8s in a vehicles ranging from the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS to the F-150. Smaller cars like the Fusion will use a 4 cylinder EcoBoost engine where they would have used a V6 before. Honeywell is not the only manufacturer to be banking on turbos. In recent months Continental and Bosch have both announced plans to start manufacturing turbochargers.

[Source: Ford]

Click the new Ka for a high-res gallery

Ford's new super-mini won't be making its live debut until the Paris Motor Show in October, but we now have official photos of the new Ka. Ford hasn't released any notable details of the new city car yet but we do know some things about it. It shares a platform with the Fiat 500 and will be built at a Fiat factory in Poland. Ford has done a masterful job of migrating the kinetic design themes of its European lineup to the diminutive Ka. Now if only they would bring it to the US to take on the likes of the MINI and Smart ForTwo.


[Source: Ford]