Ford vehicle sales outlook: 'Worst is over' | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co.'s top sales analyst said this November U.S. sales appear to be at least as strong as October, meaning the industry has once again found its footing after one of the worst declines in history. "So far, so good. We won't fall backwards from October," said George Pipas, head of sales analysis and forecasting at Ford. "The worst is over -- both from an economic standpoint and from an automotive standpoint." However, he warned that the recovery remains fragile, largely because too many...

Ford: Union concerns resolved at Kansas City plant | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Ford Motor Co. says union concerns over working conditions at its Kansas City Assembly plant have been resolved. But a union officer said members were moving ahead with a planned strike authorization vote. Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said Saturday that officials from the automaker and United Auto Workers Local 249 reached an agreement late Friday on issues related to the workload at the plant. Union leaders have said problems developed in October when Ford added a third shift, including staggered...

Inflatable seatbelts coming to Ford Explorers | detnews.com | The Detroit News
--For Srini Sundararajan, the new inflatable seat belt system that Ford Motor Co. debuted Thursday represents the culmination of a decade of work and the realization of his dream to make automobile transportation safer. The 47-year-old biomedical engineer has spent nearly half of his 21-year career at Ford working on the first-ever system, which will debut on the new Ford Explorer next year and promises to provide unprecedented protection for back seat passengers -- particularly for children and the...

Sterling Heights Ford UAW local may ask for revote | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co. could shift work promised to its Sterling Heights axle factory as part of a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers to a German supplier after the local union voted overwhelmingly against the deal, according to a union source. Now, some workers there are organizing a petition urging UAW President Ron Gettelfinger to call for a revote. Spurred on by union dissidents who say the time for concessions is over, rank-and-file members at plants across the country have cast their ballots...

Local UAW approves Ford deal | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Members of United Auto Workers Local 900, which represents workers at Ford Motor Co.'s Wayne Assembly and Michigan Assembly plants, have narrowly approved a deal reached between the union and the Dearborn automaker last week. UAW sources told The Detroit News that 51 percent of workers voted to ratify the agreement Thursday. However, some workers questioned the results. "Most everyone I talked to voted no," said one worker, who asked not to be identified. "I voted no, too. My main concern was the...

Sneak Peek: Ford Fiesta | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Ford recently launched its new Fiesta Sedan in China, but we caught the U.S. spec version out testing, and new details are visible. Although the new Fiesta profile is unmistakable, the U.S. version -- as seen here -- has a new front fascia, including a small 3-bar grille and new front and rear bumpers. Very sleek headlights can be seen in front, as well as jeweled taillights in back. There almost certainly will be changes to the interior; the interior on this particular prototype is shrouded in a black...

Ford Presents Figo in India
On Wednesday Ford has revealed new hatchback for Indian customers, Figo. It is a brand-new nameplate which comes from Italian “cool”. In fact, Figo is a close sibling to the European Fiesta. The hatchback has all-aluminum 1.2-liter gasoline engine which is a derivative of 1.4 Sigma engine for Fiesta. It outputs between 70 and 75 horsepower. The car will be offered with diesel motor too: 1.4-liter Duratorq with 68 hp. The front of the hatchback is ordinary for this kind of Ford vehicles: it has slim...

Ford Flex is for those needing a bigger people-hauler | detnews.com | The Detroit News
There's something about the 2010 Ford Flex. Entering its second model year, the Flex is Ford's answer to people who need a big people hauler. It stretches more than 200 inches and can carry up to seven people, depending upon how it's configured. Though I would suggest selecting the captain's chairs for the second row because they are so comfortable. For the vehicles it replaces -- the minivan and Taurus X the crossover formerly known as the Freestyle -- the Flex offers a much more stylish solution. But...

Tire tariff jolts Ford supplier | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Few things scream "American" louder than Ford Motor Co.'s F-series pickup, but some models of the best-selling vehicle in the United States sport tires made in China. And that means Chinese tire makers are not the only ones scrambling in the wake of President Barack Obama's new tariffs. Hankook Tire supplies the base tires for the Ford F-150. It is not a Chinese company, but a Korean manufacturer with factories in China. That still means that tires produced at those facilities, including those for the...

Ford vies for Sync patents | detnews.com | The Detroit News
--A man that Ford Motor Co. once called "a lead architect" of Sync has left the company, raising serious questions about who owns intellectual property vital to the popular voice-controlled infotainment system it developed in conjunction with Microsoft Corp. Now, rival automakers are lining up to talk to Joseph Berry. So is Ford, which tried to get the telematics expert to sign off on several patents -- after he was terminated in late July. Berry says he is "happy to license" the technology to Ford, but...