Ford Germany has announced that its LPG and CNG-powered cars' performance has been improved. According to the press release, gas-powered Fords have improved their consumption up to 1 liter/100 km, which allows the cars to have 50km (30 miles) more range, that is, about 450 km on gas and 750 additional km on unleaded.

Not only that, thanks to a new facility in Saarlouis, Ford has improved its production capabilities. All LPG variants will be made in the new facility in Saarlouis, which allows a global production of 2,000 units of Focus and Focus C-MAX models, while the existing facility in Mainz will be producing CNG variants exclusively (300 Focus, 250 Focus C-MAX) as well as the Ford Transit Van LPG variant (150 units).

Prices for factory-guaranteed conversions are €3,275 and €2,500 (CNG/LPG respectively) for the Ford Focus or C-MAX and €3,950 or €2,920 for the for the Ford Transit van (CNG/LPG respectively).

[Source: Ford]

Click on the image above for more shots of the 2008 Ford Focus

There sure are lots of automobile choices out there vying for your hard earned dollars. Cars come in all shapes and sizes, and finding the perfect one can be a daunting task for those who are not very well versed in the market. Today, as gas prices continue to climb, choosing the right-sized car for your needs is increasingly important to the pocketbook. A recently-widowed woman who needs to downsize from her current Ford F-150 truck sent a letter to Tom and Ray Magliozzi, better known as Click and Clack, wondering what new vehicle would best suit her needs. The real question: How much power is enough?

Simply put: drive all your options before making a decision. Be sure to consider how many miles will be driven on the highway as opposed to the city and how many people you will regularly be taking with you. For those who drive predominately in the city and alone, the smallest available engine is most likely going to work out just fine, which, incidently, is true for the majority of the population of the United States. Now, need and want are two completely different questions...


[Source: The Detroit News]

In yet another sign of the times at Ford, it looks like the factory that builds what was not so long ago the best-selling SUV on the plant is shifting gears. Ford's Louisville, KY assembly that has built the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer for two decades will switch to building small cars in 2010. The current Focus will be replaced by a model developed by Ford of Europe at that time and production will be expanded from the current Wayne, MI assembly location location to Louisville. With the latest capacity increase at Wayne, Ford has capacity for 280,000 Focuses a year. Sales of the compact are already up 35.7 percent this year based largely on its fuel economy.

The new Euro-designed Focus will come in sedan and five door hatchback body styles when it arrives. With the shift to a common platform, current Europe-only variants, including the C-Max compact MPV, are likely to join the U.S. lineup. The new compacts will get direct injected engines and six-speed automatic and manual transmissions to further enhance fuel economy.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Ford is responding to the dramatic shift in vehicle sales in recent months by culling truck production and adding passenger car production as quickly as they can. One of the few bright points in Ford's lineup right now is the Focus, which Ford is selling as fast as they can build them. The company will be adding a third shift in the body and paint shops at the Wayne, MI assembly plant that produces the Focus and increasing the line speed on the assembly line to try and keep up with demand. The Kansas City assembly plant that builds the Escape and Mercury Mariner crossovers is also adding a third shift to keep up with demand for those vehicles. At this time, Ford doesn't plan to increase volumes for the Escape hybrid from the current 25,000 per year.

Perhaps more exciting to the those who aren't fans of the styling of the current U.S. Focus, Ford has confirmed that the next-generation Euro Focus will be coming to North America with production starting here in 2010. CEO Alan Mullaly declared, "We view the move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles as permanent, and we are responding to customer demand." Ford is also slashing production of all large trucks and full-size cars. The big question for Ford is can they move fast enough to meet demand for the cars that drivers want? The Ford press release is after the jump.

Click the S-Max for a high-res gallery

Ford has already sold 3000 Euro-market Focus ECOnetic models prior to the vehicle's official on-sale date. Many of these units are headed to businesses interested in lowering their fleets' carbon footprints. Because of the low added cost, the vehicles are proving to be more popular than expected; popular enough that Ford is rethinking how many ECOnetic Mondeos that they need to make. The Focus ECOnetic emits just 114 g/km of CO₂, and the new Mondeo is rated at less than 140g/km.

In other related news, Roelant de Waard, head of Ford U.K., says that an ECOnetic S-Max is a possibility, but don't expect any hybrids from Ford's outpost in Blighty. Instead, the EurOval is looking at stop/start technology and low-emission diesels, which have a proven track record of selling well in Europe.

[Source: Business Car]

The 2008 Ford Focus EcoNetic

At the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, Ford is showing off an updated version of the European Focus. On the outside the freshened Focus picks up some kinetic design cues from the Mondeo but the best stuff is under the skin. The 2.0L DuraTorq common-rail turbo diesel gets bolted up to a new PowerShift dual clutch gearbox.

The dual-clutch transmission helps boost fuel economy by ten percent and lower the carbon dioxide compared to a six speed automatic. The diesel/DCT combination will also be available in the C-Max compact van for 2008. The Focus also gets interior updates including a 230V inverter to plug in electrical devices and a USB port for the audio system. Finally the Focus also gets the capless fuel filler that Ford is adding to the Explorer in the US market.

[Source: Ford]

Late last night, Ford released a slew of pictures of the new 2008 Ford Focus. With our new gallery feature, I can't resist putting them up for you all. Like I mentioned when I first posted on the Focus, some people don't like the look of the Focus, but it's growing on me. I think it looks kind of like a Lego car, and Legos are great. Not terribly aerodynamic or known for making great cars, but this design somehow fits the Focus, and it'll be interesting to see how the public accepts it when it's finally available this fall.

Click on the image above to see enter our high-resolution (1,280 pixel wide) image gallery of the Focus. The 36 images are downloadable for your personal use.

Related:

• Detroit Auto Show: Redesigned 2008 Ford Focus shows how Ford will attack small car market
  

[Source: Ford]

Ford certainly wants to capture part of what they admit is a growing small car market, and the redesigned 2008 Ford Focus, to be unveiled Sunday at the Detroit Auto Show, is what they're offering. I've already heard one snarky comment about the look, but I don't think the design is too shabby. For one thing, the new design changes the coefficient of drag (CD) from 0.33 to 0.32.

But let's focus (ahem) on the green aspects, what goes in the gas tank and what comes out the exhaust, and how much of each. We don't have MPG ratings yet, but we know the car can be pretty clean. The standard 2008 Focus will feature a 2.0-liter, Duratec 20 dual-overhead-cam (DOHC), inline four-cylinder engine. If you're looking for a PZEV, get yourself the option with the Duratec 20E engine that will be offered in states that have adopted California emission standards. The 20E qualifies the Focus as a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV). Both the Duratec 20 and the 20E will be available with a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

The 2008 Focus will come in both the typical four-door sedan version and a new two-door sport coupe, which Ford hopes will attract new, younger buyers. The new LED ambient lighting option gives the possibility to make your entire car feel like the aisle in a dark movie theater.

Read more and see more pictures after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

According to Jeff Gilbert at the WorldWide Automotive Report today, Ford will be showing off the new 2008 Focus next month at the Detroit Auto Show. The redesigned Focus has been making it's presence felt recently on the roads around Detroit, which is generally a sign that it's not far off. Unfortunately each time I've been next to one on the road I haven't had a camera handy, but others have. The '08 Focus has the new Ford family face with the three bar grille first seen on the Fusion and Edge. That look will also be spreading to the Five Hundred and Freestyle next year. The new Focus will come in at least a new two door coupe version as well as the sedan, although the fate of the wagon is unknown at this point. Ford is apparently also working on another smaller car for the US market, but that one is still a couple of years away from production so it probably won't be shown.

[Source: Worldwide Automotive Report]

In spite of a pending redesign for the 2008 model year and a 9.2 percent drop in sales so far this year, the 2007 Ford Focus is getting some updates to boost its mileage ratings. Ford has made changes to the Intake system on the base 2.0L engine keeping the charge motion valve closed longer. The changes to the engine control software account for half of the 3 mpg boost on the highway. The rest comes from the use of new low rolling resistance tires supplied by Korean manufacturer Hankook. The Focus has the highest EPA ratings of any domestic branded car built in North America, matched only by the Korean-built (and smaller) Chevy Aveo. The 2007 Focus is now rated at 27/37 city highway. Whether anyone will actually notice the difference on the road rather than just the EPA dyno is questionable, but every little bit helps.

[Source: Automotive News - subscription required]

The British publication AutoExpress has a first look at the new Ford Focus CC-3 TDCi. It's bad enough that Ford chose not to give the North American Market access to the latest Focus from Ford dealers. You can buy cars off the platform from Volvo or Mazda dealers but it's just not the same. Even worse is that we can't get a diesel in any of these incarnations. The Focus CC is the new retractable hardtop convertible version of the European Focus. The really interesting part of the title is the TDCi. This is a new 2.0L turbo-diesel that is rated at 134 hp, and 47.9 mpg. For comparison, the current US Focus has a 2.0L gas engine that is rated at 136 hp and only 26 city/35 hwy mpg. These numbers aren't directly comparable because they're measured differently and the Focus CC is heavier than either the standard hard-top Euro Focus or the North American model. They are in the ball park for power output, though, and the mileage is significantly better. This is just another example of potentially great product that should be available from Ford dealers in the US but are not. Ford needs to find a way to cost-effectively bring their most efficient cars to the only market in the world that can't get them right now.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Badging to the rescue. With the Toyota taking the hybrid title and the domestics vying for ethanol/flex-fuel laurels, Ford announced today it is stepping up its green marketing attempts with the PZEV badge to let consumers know its got green vehicles, too. PZEV stands for Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle and the first Ford to wear the mark is the 2007 Ford Focus with a 2.0-liter Duratec 20E engine. The badge will be applied to all 2007 Ford Focuses sold in California (the PZEV designation is based on the the California Air Resources Board certification) and other Ford Motor Company vehicles from Mercury, Volvo and Mazda are also in line for the mark.

PZEV means that the vehicle meets three criteria set by CARB: tailpipe emissions must be 80 percent lower than the average of other 2007 models, there must be virtually no fuel vapors escaping from the fuel system, and the manufacturer must warranty the PZEV requirements for 15 years of 150,000 miles. Ford says that the 37-mpg 2007 Ford Focus meets the same emissions standards as the best hybrids. One bit of vague trivia Ford included in their press release is that grilling one hamburger emits more hydrocarbon emissions than a Focus PZEV would over a 180-mile drive. Does that mean we shouldn't grill burgers?

[Source: Ford]