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Ford Atlas Named Autoweek's Most Significant Detroit Auto Show Debut, What Do You Say?

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The new Ford Atlas Concept, which previews the future of America's best-selling pickup truck for the past 36 years and the best-selling vehicle overall for 31 straight years, the F-150, has been named by the editors of Autoweek magazine, the "Most Significant vehicle of the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)".

Bob Gritzinger, Autoweek executive editor, explains why:

“The Atlas Concept is clearly Most Significant winner for the things you don’t see, like hidden aerodynamic improvements and weight savings from high-strength steel and interior parts, like thinner seats. Those things add up to significant fuel savings for pickup trucks down the road. A next-generation EcoBoost with Auto Start-Stop technology also signals why Atlas is a real game changer.”

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Ford yanked the covers off a new concept model at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday morning showcasing the brand's evolved styling language but more importantly, its future vision for pickup trucks and how they'll improve fuel economy.

The Blue Oval won't say (yet) if the new EcoBoost-powered Atlas Concept directly previews the next generation of its best-selling F-150 series, but the truck's size and overall presence suggests that it does.

“The Ford Atlas Concept previews the innovations that will transform what people expect from their pickup,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “With 36 years as America’s best-selling pickup, we are absolutely committed to setting the agenda in the truck market.”

While the exterior design of the Atlas Concept aptly evolves Ford's current DNA, the devil is in the details with the automaker making use of an assortment of active aerodynamic elements to reduce wind resistance.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

After doing it the first time with the Falcatron and seeing all the attention it received from the automotive and gaming worlds alike, Ford's Australian subsidiary and High Moon Studios, the developer behind the "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron" video game, came together to create another Ford-based Autobot.

The new character is named Torque and is spun off the new generation of Ford's compact pickup truck, the Ranger in Wildtrak specification, which is not available for the North American market.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

There's a new racier pony car making its debut at Sin City's SEMA Show and it's called the Mustang Cobra Jet Concept.

It's a prototype version of Ford's factory-built turnkey drag racer that replaces the 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet's 5.0-liter V8 unit that's available with or without a supercharger with a new iteration of the V8 featuring a pair of turbochargers incorporating the brand's EcoBoost technologies.

Friday, October 19, 2012

The Blue Oval always takes the SEMA Shows seriously and this year's event from October 30 to November 2 is no exception.

After telling us about the four 2013 Fusion sedans and five Focus STs it has prepared, some on its own and others in partnership with known tuners, Ford has dropped images of three SUVs, including two 2013 Escapes (sold as the Kuga in Europe) and a 2013 Explorer.

Monday, October 15, 2012

We were anticipating that Ford would bring several tuned examples of its new Focus ST hot hatch to the upcoming SEMA Show and now, the Blue Oval has released teasers and initial information on its offerings.

Joining the four 2013 Fusion concepts at the automaker's Las Vegas booth will be a total of five modified Focus ST project cars.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

As much as Ford's Australian division would have liked to see one of its models taking a role in the popular world of Transformers, this won't be happening any time soon.

For now, however, Ford will make do with a design for a conceptual Transformers character named the "Falcatron" based on the Australian market Falcon XR6 Turbo, which in real life sports a 4.0-liter turbocharged inline-six that generates 362hp / 270kW of power.

Friday, August 17, 2012

On May 10, the automotive world mourned the death of one of its great icons, Carroll Shelby.

To honor the man that gave his name to some of the most well known cars in the American industry, Ford Motor Company, Shelby American, Ford Racing and many others came together under the umbrella of "Friends of Carroll Shelby" to create a one-of-a-kind 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Cobra.

Monday, July 9, 2012

As the current life-cycle of arguably America’s most iconic automotive nameplates draws to an end, all eyes are looking towards the near future and locking on to the next Ford Mustang that will arrive in 2014 as a 2015 model, right in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the pony car.

Now in writing this I must confess to admiring the styling of the current Mustang, with its chiseled bodywork and retro throwbacks it does get my heart pumping - almost bordering towards cardiac arrest in GT500 form.

So where to from here for Ford and the global design studios that have a hand in penning the next Mustang; should they look to the past for inspiration or should they follow a clean slate approach that throws all previous retro elements into the shredder?

In protecting its loyal customer base, Ford will want this to be a home run, so expect some familiar cues combined with a more futuristic look incorporating the company’s Post-Kinetic design language.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

For our third photo quiz, we picked out four models from the Ford brand and upped the difficulty level just a little bit since most of you were spot on with your answers last week.

Here are two clues to assist you on the Ford puzzle: a) there are two production vehicles and two concept studies seen in this collection and b) each car is from a different region.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The voters have spoken and they chose the "High Gear" concept designed by Jennifer Seely of Ford Motor Co. for the first-ever SEMA Mustang Build Powered by Women. Read more »

Design Student Refashions the Ford Taurus Sedan

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Having received a mild facelift only a year ago, the current generation of the Ford Taurus sedan that originally debuted at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show isn't due for a redesign for another few years.

Nevertheless, Tyler Bame, a 22-year old automotive design student from Lawrence Tech in Michigan, drew up a couple of sketches that represent his idea for what a next generation of the Taurus sedan could look like.

Monday, April 16, 2012

As with everything else in this life, there comes a time when things must change for a vehicle series, and if we are to believe a report from the Wall Street Journal, that time has arrived for the Ford Mustang.

Citing unnamed sources that are familiar with Ford's plans, the newspaper reported that the sixth generation of the Mustang that is pegged to arrive in 2014 as a 2015 model on the 50th anniversary of the series, will abandon the current, fifth-generation model's retro-styling in favor of a far more modern design.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Ford will squash speculation on how the next generation of the Transit will look like with the world premiere of the all-new Tourneo Custom Concept at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Show.

Not to be confused with the upcoming North American market Transit that is a separate model, the new concept van previews the next family of one-ton Transit people movers and commercial vehicles for Europe and Asia.

The production version of the Tourneo, which will be introduced along with the rest of the Transit range later in 2012, will compete against the VW Caravelle.

“One look at the Tourneo Custom Concept is enough to tell you that it will inject an exciting new spirit into the personal use segment,” said Stephen Odell, CEO of Ford Europe.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Making its world premiere at this week's 2012 Auto Expo in New Delhi, India, is the Ford EcoSport, a very thinly disguised concept that previews the company's upcoming entry in the compact SUV segment.

We've already brought you the official announcement and photos on the EcoSport, but now we have the first videos as well as a batch of live pictures from the New Delhi show, courtesy of India-based website Motorbeam.

As anticipated, Ford's surprise world premiere at this week's New Delhi 2012 Auto Expo was indeed a near-production-ready small five-door crossover model named EcoSport.

The EcoSport is based on the B-segment Fiesta platform with its exterior sporting several styling cues from the Evos concept that was displayed at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Highlights include a very large, trapezoidal grille at the front, while the back we find a tailgate-mounted spare tire.

“EcoSport has a tough, robust attitude that says ‘I can play with the big boys’”, says Ford’s chief designer J Mays. “But it also makes you want to play. That’s why it’s so appealing. EcoSport is perfect for crowded urban streets and inspires you to seek adventure away from the city too.”

Friday, December 23, 2011

Ford's UK division is dreaming of a green Christmas this year as the company's designers took some time off from their regular schedule to reinvent Santa Claus' sleigh and bring it to the 21st century.

The first thing you'll notice about Santa's new ride is the absence of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and of course Rudolph, as the nine reindeers have given their place to a gasoline engine and in particular Ford's new 1.0-litre EcoBoost three-cylinder unit.

And all for good reason, as Ford car designer Paul Wraith, explains: “They may look cute, but Santa’s team of nine reindeer create a staggering 214,670 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions each year, so something had to be done to help him re-discover his greener roots."

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Auto Expo 2012 that takes place in New Delhi, India, from January 7 to 11, will serve as the backdrop for the presentation of a new, but as of yet unnamed, concept model from Ford.

The Detroit-based carmaker won't reveal any specific details about the study but said that it will preview an all-new vehicle planned for introduction in India as well as other global markets in the very near future.

Friday, November 11, 2011

As most of you will probably remember, Ford held the world premiere of its new Evos concept model at the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September.

Now, interested parties in the U.S. will finally get their chance to see the four-door study at the car’s North American debut, which will take place during the upcoming 2012 International CES in Las Vegas from January 10 to 13, 2012.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The next generation of the Ford Escape is slowly coming out of the bag as the Blue Oval prepares for the new SUV's world premiere at next week's 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

In the beginning of the month, Ford released the first video of the 2013 Escape showing us how the hands-free power liftgate works. Now, we have two more clips that concentrate on the interior providing us with our first glimpse of the dashboard styling.

Ford also tells us that the compact crossover model will feature the latest iteration of its MyFord Touch interface, which promises to be faster and easier to use.