Ford Focus
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If you're an automaker, how do you get the next generation of car buyers to pay attention to your new models? One way has traditionally been by putting your cars into rental fleets. But some companies only rent to drivers 25 and up, so what to do about college students? For Ford, there's now a one-word answer: Zipcar. Zipcar on campus The popular and growing car-sharing service [NSDQ:ZIP] has made a concerted effort to place its cars on or near college campuses, offering students the options of cars when they need them without the burden and cost of parking, insurance, and maintenance when...
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Did Hyundai Elantra Ad Make Ford Stretch Focus Leg-Room Claim?
We're eagerly looking forward to driving the 2012 Ford Focus. It's won raves in reviews--including the first-drive report on TheCarConnection--and been the subject of downright fawning coverage in Detroit media. It has many unique features and options for a compact car, from Ford's excellent...
John Voelcker -
2012 Ford Focus Electric NYC Debut: What You Need To Know
As you may have seen by now, the 2012 Ford Focus Electric was officially launched today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by Ford CEO Alan Mulally. At the very same time, another notable executive--Bill Ford--unveiled it in New York City. He covered the same production details that were...
John Voelcker -
Ford Will Be First Major Carmaker To Offer Start-Stop In U.S.
Start-stop systems, which shut off car engines when the vehicle comes to a stop, have been offered in Europe for several years. But until now, no automaker other than Porsche has offered them on U.S.-market cars. That's about to change. Ford said yesterday it will offer the systems on some of its...
John Voelcker -
2012 Ford Focus Electric Will Surpass Volt On Volume, But Not Leaf
October is the month of electric-car media this year, with major press rollouts and lots of coverage of both the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Nissan Leaf. Next year, several more electric cars arrive on the U.S. market. One is the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, and yesterday, Ford discussed volume...
John Voelcker -
Dead Before Arrival: Mercury Killed, Compact Tracer Vanishes
To the long list of dead U.S. car brands, you can now add one more: Mercury. The Ford Motor Company announced today that Mercury production would cease by the end of this year. That means that the widely anticipated compact Mercury version of the 2012 Ford Focus--named "Tracer" after the...
John Voelcker