The new 2016 Ford Explorer will go on sale in North America next year | All Star Family Ford Amarillo TX

The 2016 Explorer will go on sale in North America next year with a new look and some of Ford's latest technology.

The current Explorer debuted in the 2011 model year and made the dramatic change from being a body-on-frame truck to a car-based crossover.

The Explorer helped define the SUV segment and sales in the U.S. peaked at 445,000 in 2000. Nearly 7 million have been sold since the SUV debuted in 1990. But gas prices forced Ford to rethink the family vehicle to make if more fuel efficient and nimble to drive. Crossovers of all sizes have surged in popularity because they fill that bill.

Global demand for SUVs is up 88% since 2008, making utility vehicles the fastest-growing segment around the world, according to IHS Automotive. Utilities now comprise 19% of the global vehicle market.

For the Ford brand, utility vehicles accounted for 23% of global sales in 2013, up from 17% a year earlier; and sales are forecast to grow to 29% by 2020.

"As utility vehicle demand rises around the world, our global lineup of vehicles, like EcoSport, Escape/Kuga and Edge, is helping us grow our share," said Jim Farley, head of global marketing, sales and service. "The global desire for new utility vehicles is driving expansion in developing markets like China and helping the Ford brand reach more customers."

Ford is trying to distinguish itself in China by offering four different crossovers for sale — the only region where Ford offers so many utility choices.

The expanded portfolio in Europe now includes the new and tiny EcoSport and the Edge will be added in late 2015. They augment the Kuga (known as Escape here). The utility market in Europe has grown from 9% market share in 2008 to 19% last year.

In the United States, small crossovers are now the largest segment. Ford reported record Escape sales last year.

Is The 2015 Ecoboost Mustang More Fun Than A Fiesta Or A Focus ST? | All Star Family Ford Amarillo TX

Máté Petrány

The first turbocharged Mustang in more than three decades is certainly a huge step up from the rental car that the V6 Mustang is, but is it fun enough to provide a real alternative to the GT?

This 2.3 is not that 2.3 you might remember from 1984. The 2015 Mustang's Ecoboost comes with a twin-scroll turbo, direct injection, forged connecting rods and a forged crankshaft, a high-pressure die-cast aluminum block and piston cooling oil jets. That's why it has a lot of torque at lower revs and in the midrange, but it's also tuned to lose most of its grunt as you get closer to the redline.

The claimed 310 horses are more like 279 at the wheel according to Motor Trend's dyno test, and they have to move roughly 3600 pounds which means the turbo Mustang is far from being the wildest pony out there.

It certainly wasn't built for the track, but let's see what's it like to drive one at speed for the first time:

Secrets Behind the New Ford Power Stroke Diesel | All Star Family Ford Amarillo TX

Tori Tellem,

 

10/5/2014

 

Secret #1: Ford engineered its own powertrain for the 2015 Super Duty^®

Secret #2: The 6.7-liter Power Stroke^® V8 makes more horsepower and torque than the previous model

Secret #3: First rule of the Power Stroke? There are no secrets

The design of the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8™ is something you would think would be cloaked in darkness, even within the walls of the Blue Oval. ™ Not so – Ford is proud of what it accomplished with the second-generation diesel model optional in the 2015 Super Duty, and admitted building an efficient engine* required a lot of openness. “Keeping everything in-house gives a competitive advantage because there are no go-betweens,” explained David Ives, Ford Power Stroke Technical Specialist. “The engine guy can just walk over to the transmission guy and they can work together to find the best solutions, breaking down barriers.”

The upgrades to the Power Stroke resulted in 440 horsepower – the previous 6.7-liter Power Stroke made 400 – and 860 lb.-ft. of torque – up from 800. This pertains to all Super Duty models, from F-250 to F-450. That’s what happens when you engineer a work truck to be a work truck, and as a team. Ford is the only manufacturer that develops and builds its own powertrains in this class. And there are innovations galore: a compacted graphite iron engine block and reverse-flow layout. About that no-secret rule? “Strong communication built a better diesel truck,” David added.

“The designers of the original 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 Turbo Diesel predicted that it would eventually need to be upgraded for higher output,” said David. “They designed it in a way that made it easier to add a larger turbocharger, increasing airflow and creating more power for dramatically improved performance, yet we haven’t lost any efficiency.”

So, looks like the cat is out of the bag: This purpose-built truck has been improved from (cylinder) head to tow.

*Based on Ford simulated city-suburban drive-cycle tests of comparably equipped 2015 Ford and 2011-2013 competitive models, consistent with SAE Standard J1321.

The New Old Reliable | All Star Family Ford Amarillo TX

Ford Social Member,

 

9/19/2014

 

For Loveland, Ohio lawyer Doug Nienaber, Ford has always been a family name. “We’ve had Fords in my family for as long as I can remember,” says the 38-year-old father of two. “My dad was a business manager at a Ford dealership, and he was always bringing home demo vehicles. We got a lot of attention. One time he brought home an early Taurus. Sometimes he’d bring something even more exotic.”

He brought home a Mustang in 1979, the year it was the pace car at the Indy 500. “That was amazing,” Nienaber says. “The car had a graphic logo on the side, and everybody wanted to know more about it.”

And while Nienaber loved the glitz and glamor that rolled into the driveway with each new Ford his dad brought home, he always felt a deeper connection to the Blue Oval.

“We’ve always been attracted to the quality,” he explains. “The first car I ever had was an Escort that I bought from my dad back when I was in college. It wasn’t a muscle car by any stretch, but it served me well for a long time, gave me a lot of great memories—I dated my [now] wife, Jennifer, in that car—and it never let me down.”

That Escort carried Nienaber to the purchase of his first Focus in 2002—a car that, he says, became a trusted member of his family. “I bought it the year I graduated from law school, and it was the first time I bought a new car with my own money. It endured 130,000 miles and took me through everything my twenties had to offer. I brought my daughter home from the hospital in that car!”

In fact, he loved that Focus so much that he didn’t want to part with it. “I cared for it like it was one of my kids. I changed the oil, did the repairs. I didn’t want it to leave the family, so I sold it to my cousin. It still rides like it’s brand new.”

What’s new in his garage is a 2013 Focus ST. He wanted something that he could depend on, but that would also be exciting to drive. “It’s a lot more powerful and a lot faster [than my 2002 Focus], but it’s got a similar feel and the same reliability,” Nienaber says. “It’s reminiscent of the old car, but it’s modern. My kids love it.”

“It’s also great for hauling around all the kids’ stuff and friends,” he explains. “I coach my son’s T-ball team, and we can fit all the equipment in the back.” The five-door hatchback makes loading and unloading the kids easy.

No matter the task at hand, the Focus ST always adds a little Ford fun for the Nienaber family.

How the "Internet of Things" Will Affect Your Ford | All Star Family Ford

Transportation has changed just a wee bit since the 18^th century and its horse-and-buggy days, and we don’t just mean horsepower versus horsepower. Think about the experience then versus now. Wind-in-the-hair driving dynamics are about all the decades still have in common. Technology then was advanced, but technology now is almost sci-fi by comparison.

One of the most interesting has to do with communications through our vehicles. Now, you might expect this new wave of innovative technology to have some kind of computer-geeky name, but it’s actually the strangely entertaining and layman-understandable phrase  “Internet of Things.” Those in the know call it IoT. Simply put, it’s communication between objects, thanks to an interconnected network, sensors, and the like. It’s smart technology to the max, and we already see it in ways such as talking to our kitchen appliances from outside the home.

On the automotive side, Ford and Intel are teaming up to explore new opportunities for the connected car, hoping to offer the ability to remotely peer into your car using a smartphone as well as facial recognition software that could identify the owner of the vehicle and automatically adjust features based on that person’s individual preferences, in addition to offering more privacy controls.

The collaborative project is called Mobile Interior Imaging (Project Mobii), and could create a more personalized and seamless interaction between you and your vehicle. Fun fact: Mobii research has included input from anthropologists.

As you know, Ford already utilizes exterior cameras on vehicles for driver-assist features, including Lane Departure Warning. Mobii will look into how to use cameras inside the vehicle. This could mean calendar, music and contacts specific to the person ID’d in the facial recognition software. If it doesn’t recognize the person? The vehicle owner gets a photo via smartphone and can then enable or disable features as needed. And imagine gesture recognition software, too, where your natural gestures could open the sunroof or turn up the A/C.

Connecting with the future is within arm’s length, and if Ford has its way, the future really will be just one “come here” gesture away from reality.

Source:  http://social.ford.com/our-articles/cuvs/c-max/how-the-internet-of-things-will-affect-your-ford/

Does this Bag Make Me Look Green? | All Star Family Ford

Reusable shopping bags are becoming fashionably hip instead of a burden. Bright colors, funky designs and interesting materials are all the rage. So, when we decided to, well, bag one of our own, we went witty, fun and conversational with the bags. We say witty, thanks to the sayings such as, “Does this bag make me look green?” We say conversational in that the fabric is the same material–Repreve^®–used to upholster the Ford Fusion Hybrid seats. And we say fun, because your environmental statement isn’t just green–it’s blue too, as in Blue Oval!^TM

In case you weren’t aware, in some locations–such as 90 cities and counties in California–there’s a ban on plastic bags, leaving residents to either pay for paper bags or bring their own bags when they go grocery shopping.

But here’s great news: Ford handed out the bags in grocery store parking lots and popular farmer’s markets alongside the Fusion Hybrid. This is not the first time we have gone quirky and interesting with materials, nor is it a new trend for Ford; the automaker has been exploring this for years. For example, the 2014 Ford F-150 debuted with various sustainable materials, such as rice hulls to reinforce the plastic (that’s a by-product of rice grain) in the electrical harness. Recycled cotton can be found as carpet insulation and sound absorption material. Soybeans? You’re sitting on them: they have been used for seat cushions and seat backs.  Soda and water bottles, recycled tires and blue jeans are also creative recycled content. And right now, Ford is collaborating with Heinz–of ketchup fame–to look into the idea of tomato fiber to develop a more sustainable bioplastic material for vehicles, like those used for storage bins.

By the way, the use of EcoLon™ material, which is a nylon resin made from 100 percent recycled carpet has saved more than 4.1 million pounds of carpet from landfills. That’s equal to a reduction of more than 430,000 gallons of oil consumed. Ford believes strongly in “reduce, reuse and recycle.”

This philosophy is also maintained in abundance at the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant, which in 2014 marked 10 years of sustainable manufacturing. The plant builds the F-150, and has set a Guinness World Record for world’s largest living roof; at 10.4 acres, it has a unique ecosystem, removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduces energy use. Meanwhile, the plant itself uses natural light and ventilation, and as much recycling of packaging is done as possible to reduce waste.

Precisely why Ford is a global green brand. You could say it has “bagging” rights!

Source: http://social.ford.com/our-articles/cars/fusion/does-this-bag-make-me-look-green/

2014 Ford Fiesta Earns Multiple Awards at Texas Auto Writers Association Rally with EcoBoost Engines

It’s no doubt; here at All Star Family Ford in Amarillo, TX we love the 2014 Ford Fiesta. Sure, trucks are our big movers and that’s what we sell mostly, but we can really get behind the idea of a super efficient subcompact with great styling and all of Ford’s innovative features. That’s why we’re excited to announce that the Fiesta has earned multiple honors at this year’s Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) Rally! This 49 car event is a chance for auto journalists to judge all sorts of new cars and was held at the Texas Motor Speedway.

First, the 2014 Ford Fiesta SE equipped with the 1.0-Liter EcoBoost engine has been awarded the Sub-Compact Car of Texas title. This small but powerful three-cylinder manages to put out over 120 hp and runs so smooth you wouldn’t even think it was anything but a four cylinder. With an EPA estimated 32/45 mpg it is one of the most efficient gasoline engines on the market. It is for the excellent engineering and refinement that TAWA also named the 1.0L EcoBoost as the Best New Feature.

The 2014 Ford Fiesta ST, a sporty hot hatch that is quickly earning a name as one of the most fun-to-drive cars on the market, also earned some recognition at the TAWA event. Equipped with the surprisingly powerful 1.6-Liter EcoBoost, the Fiesta ST boasts 197 hp and 202 lb-ft of torque. For such a small vehicle these are some serious numbers and make for a great driving machine as they are matched to an excellent chassis and superb suspension tuning. More than 50 Texas auto writers at the event named the ST as the Best Value product at the rally. The Fiesta ST also earned the title of Performance Compact Car of Texas.