We at Autoblog love the new little Ford Fiesta ST, and apparently, folks in Europe are pretty impressed with it, as well. According to Ford, the automaker's European arm has already logged 3,000 orders for the new hot hatch since it hit dealerships this March. The US-spec car, which will only be available as a five-door, will go on sale in the United States this summer.

What's perhaps most interesting about the Fiesta ST ordering is that the majority of customers appear to be ordering high-spec cars. According to Ford data, 60 percent of customers have opted for the leather interior with Recaro buckets, and 90 percent have selected the upgraded 17-inch wheels (seen on our test car, above). Spirit Blue has been the most popular color, commanding 27 percent of all orders. As for the technology upgrades, 19 percent of customers have ponied up for the Sony stereo with navigation.

Link to article:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/05/17/f...-strong-start/

Link to Ford press release:

http://www.at.ford.com/news/cn/Pages/Ford

Customers in the U.K. have bought more than half of all models sold to date, with Germany placing the next largest number of orders, followed by Switzerland.

I wonder how the orders are going in the U.S.?

GM shares return to $33 IPO price on optimism for truck sales - AutoNews
Tim Higgins
May 17, 2013

Shares in General Motors topped its $33 initial public offering price for the first time in more than two years as the automaker prepares to introduce redesigned full-sized pickups.

GM shares closed up $1.03, or 3.2 percent, at $33.42 in New York Stock Exchange trading today amid a broad rally in U.S. equity markets...

...GM's shares peaked at $38.98 at the close on Jan. 7, 2011, less two months after its November 2010 IPO. They slid below the IPO price in March 2011, and reached a low closing price of $18.80 in July 2012.

Confidence in GM is growing as the U.S. Treasury sells down its stake, helping facilitate a return to the S&P 500 Index.

The automaker also plans to introduce about 20 new vehicles in the United States this year, including profitable Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, as it seeks to rebound from an 88-year-low market share in 2012...

...As of April 1, the Treasury held 241.7 million shares, representing a 16.4 percent stake, according to GM's proxy statement. GM joined Ford and Chrysler in gaining U.S. market share in the first quarter for the first time in 20 years, fueled by their most competitive lineup from top to bottom in a generation.


Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/2013...#ixzz2TbnTnZgA
Follow us: @Automotive_News on Twitter | AutoNews on Facebook

Hey everyone,

I thought I would introduce my car, a 2003 SVT Ford Focus, to the other forum members on ford inside news.com. I am excited about learning more about the new 2015 models.

http://www.dpccars.com/car-videos-13...r-24-years.htm

24 years ago Rick Lookebill, had to part ways with his first car, a 1972 Mustang MACH 1. Over the years he has talked of wanting to locate it and they even ran across it once in Clinton, Illinois in 1999. Recently, he has had a "spark" in his interest of finding it and his family was able to locate it for him three weeks ago.

New Products Drive Ford of Europe Sales Increase in April; Overall Market Share and Retail Share Improve
Ford Media


Ford April sales volume increased by 3 per cent year over year in Ford’s traditional 19 European markets driven by strong demand for new products
Ford’s market share for April totalled 7.7 per cent, up slightly compared to April 2012
Ford’s passenger car retail market share in its five major Western European markets rose to 8.2 per cent in April, up 1.2 percentage points versus a year ago (preliminary data)*
Ford’s commercial vehicle share was 9.1 per cent in April, up 1.9 percentage points – the best April commercial vehicle share for Ford in the Euro 19 region since 1998
New products driving sales increase include B-MAX, Kuga, Transit Custom and Ranger
European product acceleration continues. Launches this year include all-new Fiesta ST, Focus Electric, Transit Connect, Tourneo Connect, and EcoSport

COLOGNE, Germany, May 16, 2013 – Ford of Europe reported today that its sales increased in April by 3 per cent year-over-year driven by strong demand for new products.

Ford sold 93,000 vehicles in its 19 traditional European markets in April, up 3 per cent over April 2012. Ford’s overall market share rose by 0.1 percentage point to 7.7 per cent in the month.

Ford also saw significant increases in two important areas of the European market: passenger car retail market share – vehicles purchased by private customers – and commercial vehicle market share.

Passenger car retail share in the five major Western European markets in April totalled 8.2 per cent, up 1.2 percentage points versus April 2012 (preliminary data*). Commercial vehicle share was 9.1 per cent, up 1.9 percentage points, the best April share for Ford in the Euro 19 region since 1998.

“We have continued to invest heavily in new product launches throughout the economic downturn, which helped us increase sales in April in a very challenging market,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “Importantly, we significantly increased retail sales -- the key to building a healthy, growing brand -- while also reducing daily rental and short cycle sales.”

New products drove Ford’s increase in April

New products and better availability of large cars drove Ford’s sales increase. The new B-MAX multi-activity vehicle surpassed 7,000 sales in April and 25,000 sales in the first four months of the year. According to preliminary external industry data, B-MAX was Europe’s best-selling small MAV in the first quarter.

Fiesta was the best-selling small car in Europe in the first quarter**. Retail share in that period was at 12.3 per cent in its segment, up 0.4 percentage points. The new Fiesta ST performance car is off to a strong start, with 3,000 orders since first going on sale.

Sales of the new Kuga SUV continue to be strong, with total Kuga sales of 5,400 units in April, up 15 per cent year-on-year. Ford recently announced plans to increase Kuga production in Valencia to meet strong demand.

Also, sales of large passenger cars – Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy – rose to 10,600 units in April from 5,700 in March, following the resumption of normal working at Ford’s Genk plant in Belgium.

Ford sold 16,000 commercial vehicles in April, up by 27 per cent versus April 2012, driven by strong demand for Transit, Transit Custom as well as Ranger.

Selected Country Data

In the UK, Ford retained total vehicle sales leadership for both April and year-to-date, with a sales increase of 15.1 per cent in April. Ford’s market share in the UK for April totalled 14.9 per cent. Germany, Ford’s second largest market by sales, also saw significant gains in April and was up by 6.1 per cent. Market share improved by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9 per cent.

Turkey saw April sales of 9,500 – an increase of 14.9 per cent year-on-year, the third largest market for Ford in Europe by volume for the month.

Italy was Ford’s fourth-largest market in Europe by sales volume in April, with sales rising by 10.3 per cent, and market share up 1.5 percentage points to 7.6 per cent.

Across its wider European region of 51 markets, Ford sold 116,000 vehicles in April, up 0.3 per cent.

Not bad.

The F150 with ecoboost engine does not meet expeditions or advertisment by FMC. Paying an addition premium for moer fuel economy is a wate. Gas mileage is very disappointing and much lower than advertised.

Since the MY 2014 C-MAX Order Guides have been released show absolutely "ZERO" changes from the previous 2013 MY, what`s in store for MY 2015? The 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid and Energi Plug In is based on the European Ford C-MAX which is built on an aging 2010 Platform. I think Fords is going to skip a simple "refresh" and Launch a totally new Model C-Max before 2016. Pull the trigger now or wait? Me thinks a 24 month Lease on a 2013 or 2014 C-Max might be the prudent way to go.

Beautiful 2015+ GT500 (s550) render.

Via: http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/show...=3400#post3400



Hope it looks somewhat like this. Would be a nice modern evolution from the s197 GT500

http://wot.motortrend.com/mercedes-b...ds-367779.html

Strategic Vision: Ford Fusion, Ford F-250/F-350 are quality leaders - Media.Ford.com

The 2013 Ford Fusion and 2013 Ford F-250/F-350 are No. 1 in their segments in Strategic Vision’s 18th annual Total Quality Index™ study. Fusion is Total Quality winner among midsize sedans and F-250/F-350 tops the heavy-duty pickup truck segment for Total Quality. Research consultants for more than 35 years, Strategic Vision accurately measures the most meaningful quality experiences products generate in order to capture the hearts and minds of consumers’ decision making.

With its leading fuel economy, technology and game-changing looks, Fusion commands top quality honors in the highly competitive midsize car segment. Fusion had best-ever April sales of 26,722 cars, a 24 percent increase over record 2012 levels. Strongest retail sales increases for Fusion continue to come from the western and southeastern U.S. – with sales in the west doubling and southeast sales up 70 percent.

Ford F-250/F-350’s segment-best fuel economy, class-leading power, towing and payload make it the top quality choice among heavy-duty pickups. Click here to read more on Strategic Vision’s 2013 Total Quality Index study.

General Motors told us so back in March, but it is now official: The twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 announced for the 2014 Cadillac CTS will also join the options list for the 2014 Cadillac XTS. The LF3 engine puts out 410 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque in the XTS, however, which is 10 hp and 61 lb-ft down from its application in the CTS

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/05/14/2...twin-turbo-v6/

time to get more hp of the 3.5L ecoboost v6

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/05/14/b...hoes-8-series/

http://wot.motortrend.com/spied-chev...#axzz2TIQ9NmaJ

Lincoln MKC prototype caught partially covered, reveals some changes
Autoblog
May 14, 2013
by Michael Harley

When Lincoln pulled the wraps off the MKC Concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, we said that the very attractive concept was going to closely mirror the production vehicle. With few exceptions, a clad prototype recently caught running on public roads seems to substantiate our statement.

From what the pictures reveal, the disguised Lincoln MKC production mule and show concept seem to share the same waistline with identical sculpting over the wheels. The midsection of the two also appear to match with the same flare and styling. The lower rockers have been cleaned up a bit, mainly to be more practical in the real world (the deep chisels on the show car would have collected mud and snow).

Full article and images available at link.

China is a learning lab for Lincoln
Automotive News
May 13, 2013
by Bradford Wernle

SHANGHAI -- For Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln luxury brand, what happens in China won't necessarily stay in China.

The brand is studying the habits of luxury shoppers here at Shanghai's luxury malls for new ideas in customer service that eventually could find their way back to U.S. Lincoln dealerships.

"In many ways, China will be a listening post for Lincoln in the United States," Jim Farley, global head of Lincoln and the automaker's top marketing executive, said in an interview at the Shanghai auto show. "Soon China will be the largest luxury market in the world."

Farley met the first group of Chinese Lincoln dealers over dinner before the auto show. Farley compares the Lincoln experience in China to what he went through when Toyota developed the Lexus and Scion brands from scratch.

"It felt like 1988 to me with Lexus," said Farley, who was a young product planner with Toyota Motor Corp. when Toyota launched its luxury brand.

Lincoln's first dealerships in China will open in 2014. "Because we're building the Chinese Lincoln business from the ground up, we can take more chances here because the dealer network is brand new," Farley said. "We can give them large trading areas. They will have large throughputs and they can make upfront investments and differentiate the service."

Farley declined to say how many dealers Lincoln will have initially in China except to say it was a "small group." Lincoln has not announced volume targets.

Ford already is busy trying to reinvent Lincoln for a new generation of U.S. luxury customers. Lincoln has been trying to improve the shopping experience at U.S. dealerships. Lincoln has contracted with Le Clefs d'Or, an organization of hotel concierges, to develop an academy to train dealers to provide the kind of luxury service consumers would experience at boutique hotels.

Full article available at link.

2013 Ford Fusion vs 2014 Mazda6 - AutoGuide
Comparing the two most stylish, efficient and fun family sedans
By Mike Schlee, May 7 2013.
Photos and video by Chris Blanchette and Adam Wood

Ford was first up with a complete reinvention of the Fusion last year while Mazda unleashed an all-new Mazda6 this year. Interestingly, despite parting ways, the core qualities and competencies that each car possesses are remarkably similar. Both are gorgeous. Both promise exceptional fuel economy. And both deliver an engaging driving experience.

For this comparison we have gathered mid-level versions of the two vehicles outfitted with their most efficient engines and automatic transmissions. The 2014 Mazda6 is a Touring model that begins at a base price of $24,495. After items like the technology package, fog lights and destination charges are added, our vehicle comes in at an as-tested price of $27,985. The 2013 Ford Fusion is a front-drive SE model with the optional 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and 6-speed automatic. This package has a base price of $24,625, but quickly escalates to $29,105 after options and destination charges are added...

2013 Ford FusionSE 1.6L EcoBoost
____LOVE IT____________LEAVE IT____
Attractive exterior_______Heavy
Three display screens____MyFord touch
Torquey motor__________Not overly efficient
Large trunk_________.___Pricey

2014 Mazda6 Touring
____LOVE IT____________LEAVE IT____
Good driving dynamics___Slow off the line
Attractive exterior______.Cramped rear seat
Near-premium interior___.Smallish trunk
Fuel economy champ

MORE & video...

Tesla : Consumer Reports' best car ever tested - Money.CNN.com
By Peter Valdes-Dapena @PeterDrives May 9, 2013

Consumer Reports is calling the Tesla Model S the best car it has ever tested. The Model S, an all-electric plug-in car, earned a score of 99 out of a possible 100 in the magazine's tests.

The score would have been higher but for the fact that the all-electric car does need to stop and recharge during extremely long-distance drives.

"If it could recharge in any gas station in three minutes, this car would score about 110," said Jake Fisher, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports. Fisher called the car's performance in the magazine's performance tests "off the charts."...

...no car at any price has ever scored higher...


MORE...

Ford Media

• Ford China April 2013 wholesales reach 75,331 vehicles, up 37%; year-to-date sales reach 261,927 wholesales, up 49%;
• CAF passenger car April 2013 wholesales reach 52,713 vehicles, up 55%; year-to-date sales up 79% with 180,719 wholesales sold.
• JMC commercial vehicle April 2013 wholesales remain steady with 20,731 vehicles sold; year-to-date sales up 5%, with 77,151 wholesales sold.

SHANGHAI, China, May 8, 2013 – Ford China sales continued to climb in April, selling 75,331 wholesale vehicles this month, an increase of 37 percent compared to April 2012, bringing year-to-date sales to 261,927 wholesales, up 49 percent from last year.

In its second full sales month, demand remained strong for the all-new Ford Kuga, selling nearly 10,000 wholesale units for the second month in a row. As an SUV packed with clever technology, the Kuga is one of three high-quality, fuel-efficient SUVs Ford launched in China in the first quarter of 2013. With Kuga, EcoSport, Edge and Explorer all available in China today, Ford now competes in every segment of the country’s growing SUV market.

The Ford Focus continued to be in high demand by Chinese customers, selling 30,673 wholesales in April, up 41 percent compared to April 2012. Strong April performance for Focus brought year-to-date sales to 126,853 wholesales, up an incredible 114 percent compared to last year.

Ford's passenger car joint venture Changan Ford Automobile (CAF) sold 52,713 wholesales in April, up 55 percent from April 2012. Year-to-date figures increased even more sharply with 180,719 wholesales sold, up 79 percent compared to last year.

Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), also delivered strong sales, with April sales holding steady at 20,731 wholesales sold compared to 20,773 wholesales sold in April 2012. JMC’s year-to-date sales grew 5 percent, with 77,151 wholesales sold compared to 73,465 wholesales last year.

At Auto China 2013 last month, Ford continued to deliver on its promise to bring 15 new vehicles to China by 2015, giving auto show visitors an exclusive look at its new generation of global vehicles and smart technologies. Alongside an impressive lineup of vehicles and several regional debuts—including the all-new Mondeo and the Fiesta ST—Ford injected new energy into the compact car segment with the global debut of an exciting new concept car, the Escort Concept.

thought we already had a thread for the coming Mz3...

via CarSpyShot
2015 Mazda3 interior spied for the first time - some blog about autos
By Steven J. Ewing
Posted May 8th 2013

...these latest round of spy shots don't really show us anything we haven't seen before. Oh, wait, yes they do – the interior...

...We expect that the 2015 Mazda3 will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, packing both petrol and diesel engines. A sedan variant is also in the works, and should debut shortly after the hatchback...

MORE & larger pix at site...