Ford For The Love Of Chocolate

Ford are apparently taking notes from Nestle's Chocolate Bar, Aero. 

The little bubbles inside the chocolate bar have apparently given Ford the idea to make their plastic parts for their cars in this same way. The bubbles of air that are found in Aero chocolate have been incorporated into the manufacturing process of new Ford plastics which are set to make vehicles much lighter than previous models. The plastics have been produced by introducing gas bubbles into the plastic as it is molded. You can see it in the picture below on an engine cover.

The technology Ford is using for this ecoboost engine cover is called Mucell Technology...

The result is a microscopic honeycomb structure that Ford says saves weight by reducing the amount of plastic used without compromising the integrity of the part. 

Thinking Of Selling Your Used Car? Here Are Some Tips

Whether you believe it or not, most people buy with their eyes and their hands. Don't underestimate the power of feeling a steering wheel in your hand, or looking over the leather interior that is shimmering in the sunlight... okay that is a bit much, but you get the idea.

This is why it is so important to make the effort to clean your car, inside and out. Make it sparkle! Popping an air freshener in the car will also get rid of any musty smells that older, used cars tend to have, it also gives that 'just out of a showroom' feel and smell. If it appears as though the interior and exterior of the car have had little maintenance, the buyer may assume the same is true of the engine and other parts of the car. First impressions can be everything.

Compare the market. Not to sound like the meerkat from those adverts, but this is really important to guarantee a quick, fair sale. Find out what price the car you are currently selling is going for in your area, this is a good basis for what you would ideally like to sell your car for and whether what you were initially asking for is or was a reasonable price. You also don't want to sell your car for much cheaper and lose out on a couple of hundred pounds, so this is quite an important  thing for you to do first and foremost.

When you are advertising the car, don't forget to write down everything about your car that makes it different, competitive and sale-able. For example, if you have just had the clutch and brake replaced, let the buyer know this - "brand new clutch and brake installed on (_insert date here__)". If you have kept all of your maintenance records for any work carried out since ownership of the car, let the buyer know that these records are available to be viewed. Any cosmetic/performance modifications you have had done to the car, let the buyer know of this. The more information you can provide, the more confidently you can haggle a decent price with your potential buyer. Research the important or desirable features of the vehicle to become an effective salesperson. A skim through the owners' manual is a good place to find the answers.

Effectively advertise your car, these days you don't have to spend a penny to advertise personal items thanks to online advertising and free ad websites. By effectively, we mean  put a picture up of the car, you'll be surprised how many cars are overlooked because they have no image to look at - don't forget customers buy with their eyes! There are many free photo hosting websites out there - photobucket.com is one or image shack. Both of these generate a link where you can copy it on to your online ad so buyers can see it. The more photos, the better, - inside & out. If computers and technology aren't your forte, then why not put a 'For Sale' sign in the window of the car, along with price, statistics and MOT date and park it on a busy road. You'll be surprised how many people sell their cars this way.

Lastly, don't forget about the payment. Make sure the buyer of the vehicle doesn't pay with cheque, as much as you'd like to trust every person that says they have the correct amount of money in their bank to pay, can you guarantee that when they walk off with your car they haven't left you with a duff cheque?? Make them pay with cash or a certified cheque! A certified check can be obtained from the buyer's bank and guarantees that they have the funds available in their account. 

Ford Has Most Repeat Buyers Than Other Brands

Ford gets the most repeat customers. An analysis of 2010 year-end automotive-loyalty rates by the Polk automotive research firm found that people who own or lease a Ford vehicle replace it with another at a rate of 60.3%. That’s up 4.5 percentage points from the prior year and is the best in the industry.

Ford was followed by Mercedes-Benz with a 56.7% loyalty rate. Honda was just a tad behind at 56.6%. Toyota was next at 56.4%, and Chevrolet was fifth at 53%.

Toyota, hurt by millions of recalls in the last year, was the only brand in the five to see its loyalty rate decline, falling by four-tenths of a percentage point from 2009.

The results reflect choices among 5.2 million new-vehicle-buying households during the 2010 calendar year, Polk said. 

“Loyalty measurements are an important aspect of any customer-retention strategy, but the real value is derived from the various consumer marketing and field training strategies created from the measurements,” said Brad Smith, director of Polk’s loyalty management practice.

Source; Credit: LA Times

Ford Mondeo and Voice Recognition Technology

I don’t know about you, but we have always dreamed that one day, just maybe there would be some kind of technology available in the future where we could tell our car to do something, no matter how impractical or distracting and it would not only know what we commanded, but would also do it, a bit like Batman in his Batmobile, or Knight Rider in his car, Kitt.

The Hoff in action with Kitt

Well the Ford Mondeo has brought you a car that does just that. There is no shouting involved, no need to change your voice and no need to yell at the car in angst thinking that you are talking in a foreign language because it doesn’t understand your accent or dialect.The Ford Mondeo voice recognition technology only requires you to talk clearly in your normal voice, no shouting needed.

Ford has worked with Microsoft in order to employ this new technology into the Mondeo. By commanding your Mondeo to “help” for example, you will be responded to with a series of commands that you can use to give your car commands. Some of these include the ability to control the:

·         Bluetooth Phone (it will read out text messages and emails for you, however you  can’t reply without using the keypad)

·         Radio

·         CD Player/CD Changer

·         Ipod (External USB Device)

·         USB External Device

·         Automatic Climate Control

·         Navigation System (DVD units only)

This new system has been designed in order to still allow drivers to talk, play and listen on the move, but without having to use their hands. Although you could say that this will improve road safety, we argue that actually concentrating on the road without any distractions (such as the above distractions) will also improve road safety enormously... Even if having voice recognition as a feature in your car does make you feel a bit like Batman, please watch the road and keep your concentration...



Ford Uses Recycled Carpet To Become More Sustainable

In an effort to step up its commitment to use more sustainable materials in its vehicles, Ford have announced that they have saved more than 4.1 million pounds of carpet from landfills last year by using the recycled material in cars. To create these savings, Ford used a material made of a nylon resin derived from 100 percent recycled carpet, called EcoLon.

The cover is the first automotive product of its kind made entirely from nylon derived from recycled carpet.

Source: Ford Motor Company

Ford uses EcoLon to make cylinder head covers for the 3.0-liter Duratec engine in the Fusion and the Escape, and also on the 5.0-liter engine, which powers the Mustang and the F-150.


"We didn't have to make compromises for this application," said Roy Ford, Ford engine sealing supervisor. "With a fixed raw material cost that delivers cost savings compared to oil, along with the green benefit, this application adds to the ways Ford is minimizing our impact on the environment."


Ford has been increasing the use of nonmetal recycled and bio-based materials, including soy foam seat cushions, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns on seat covers, and natural-fiber plastic for interior components.