Today at the Denver Convention Center, Ford representatives addressed members of the media during the pre-opening Denver Auto Show Press Day. During the presentation a spokesperson from Ford’s Sustainable Business Strategy Department stated that in addition to commitments to safety and quality, Ford has made the commitment to be the leader in fuel economy. The spokesperson also stated that this is a new stance for the Ford Motor Company and it’s very exciting because being sustainable is a big part of Ford’s viability plan for the future. In addition to this, Ford will be releasing 4 new electrified vehicles over the next 4 years.
Ford says that in June of 2010 it will introduce its first battery electric commercial level vehicle, an all-electric version of the Transit Connect. They anticipate that it will be powered by the new nickel-metal hydride battery technology and will have a range of about 100 miles per charge. Then in 2011, Ford plans to introduce an all-electric sedan that they say is currently being tested in Europe on the Focus c-type car. Finally, in 2012 they plan to start introducing the next generation in hybrid technology—plug-in hybrids. Right now they have in the neighborhood of 9 regional power companies in California testing and evaluating these plug-in hybrid vehicles. Ford says that currently the test plug-in hybrids are getting near 120 mpg.
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid on the floor of the 2009 Denver Auto Show
Ford also talked about the new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and called it the most fuel-efficient mid-size vehicle in North America today. They claim that the 2010 Ford Fusion will achieve a range of about 700 miles on one take of gas during city driving due to the new Ford hybrid technology. Octavio Navarro, Western Region Communications Assistant Manager for Ford Motor Company, also addressed the Media and expanded on the excitement Ford has for their new Fusion hybrid. Mr. Navarro said, “With the introduction of the Fusion Hybrid, this takes our [Ford’s] capacity up to 50,000 vehicles per year and that vehicle is still available with the $1700 Federal Tax Credit.”
Mr. Navarro also talked about Ford’s new flagship sedan, the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus. The Taurus will be available with the new EcoBoost™ technology in the SHO edition. The SHO will achieve 365 horsepower and still return an estimated 25 mpg on the highway. The 2010 Ford Taurus will have a long list of available options including Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning, Intelligent Access with Push Button Start, Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert and MyKey™ parental programmability, just to name a few.
Bottom line—It was impressive to hear Ford talk about its plans to introduce 4 new electrified vehicles in the next for years. It shows a commitment to what the public wants and it shows the innovation and engineering that we know the American car companies possess. Now we have to wait and see what Ford can deliver, personally, I am going to need a little more than 100 miles on a single charge for my EV. Even in town I could probably use that 100 miles up in an afternoon, especially if I had to go to the hardware store—everybody knows it takes at least 3 visits to get everything you need, if not more.
Be sure to stay tuned for more 2009 Denver Auto Show news, photos and more. Don't forget to visit our other reviews, news and photo gallery here at Allsmallcars.com.
Also, for more news, reviews and more, check out our partner site over at FordReports.com and FordF150reviews.com!
