Archive for April, 2008
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
In a moment, their lives changed forever.
Holly Thrailkill and her 4-year-old daughter Graceyn were on their way home after dropping off Graceyn’s two sisters at school.
About three miles from home, the Thrailkills’ Nissan Quest was hit head-on by a Ford F-350.
A month later, after multiple surgeries, Holly is on the mend. Graceyn is paralyzed and using a wheelchair. And the driver of the pickup has been arrested on DUI charges.
Tonya Gann, 39, of Raymond is being held on two counts of DUI mayhem in the Rankin County Jail.
A blood-alcohol test showed she was over the legal limit of 0.08 percent when she crossed the center line of two-lane Shiloh Road in a Ford F-350 utility truck and struck the Thrailkill’s SUV around 8 a.m. March 25, according to Rankin County Sheriff Ronnie Pennington.
Graceyn’s spinal cord was damaged, and doctors have told her family she may not walk again. She remained hospitalized until last week.
Holly Thrailkill spent 12 days in intensive care and underwent four surgeries at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She suffered compound fractures of both legs along with severe gall bladder and liver injuries.
Thrailkill’s husband, Lane, has had to go on leave from his job at Nissan to take care of the two, along with the couple’s 8- and 6-year-old daughters.
He said food and financial help from loved ones have eased the new burden placed on the family.
“Even if this falls under our insurance, insurance only pays for so much, and then we’re paying out of pocket,” Lane Thrailkill said. “We were living paycheck to paycheck before this. We have been blessed that our friends and people have been able to help us.”
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Monday, April 28th, 2008
A local car dealership loses some inventory when one of their cars catches fire.A 2002 Ford Truck caught on fire at MB Auto Sales on Chester and 30th Street just after 4 pm Thursday afternoon.The dealer say he saw smoke coming from the truck and when he went to check it out, it burst into flames.He tried to move the truck next to it to protect it from getting damaged, but says the flames were too hot.Total loss is estimated at about $30,000. Bakersfield Fire Fighters believe a faulty cruise control started the fire.
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Friday, April 25th, 2008
New seats designed by an in-house team at Ford Motor Co. are to debut this spring and summer in three important vehicles: the F-150 pickup, the Lincoln MKS and the Ford Flex.Jerry Brown, Ford’s chief engineer for global seats and restraints engineering, said the new seats are part of an effort that began in 2004 at Ford to do more of its own interior design and engineering.Ford expanded its seat engineering department from about 65 to 150 to develop seats across all Ford cars and trucks with a unique look and feel.When the program began, Ford had 28 seat platforms. Today, the company has nine and it is aiming to reduce that to two. The F-150, Flex and Lincoln MKS feature the same seat, Brown said, but each has different cushioning, fabric and other modifications to fit the character of each vehicle.”We had to continually pay for the engineering, the testing and then the tooling to constantly refurbish or replace these 28 different seat structures,” Brown said. “So we took a step back to try to figure out how we could get away from that.”The first seats from the program debuted on the Ford Focus last fall. Warranty claims on those seats dropped 47% and the money spent to settle claims fell 70%, Brown said.Ford has saved millions of dollars from the program beyond the warranty savings but Brown declined to be more specific. Now, Ford may use the program as a model for other product areas, such as instrument panels and center consoles.”We just simply feel we need to be more involved in the system integration of our interiors to ensure they are distinctively Ford,” Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of global product development, said at the SAE 2008 World Congress last week.
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Friday, April 25th, 2008
Ford Motor Co. (F) will cut North America production by 101,000 vehicles during the second quarter in response to the weakening U.S. sales market.The auto maker now plans to build 710,000 cars and trucks during the quarter, Chief Financial Officer Don Leclair said during a conference call Thursday. European production, however, is expected to increase by 53,000 vehicles to 565, 000.The production cuts underscore how the softening U.S. economy, combined with rising gas prices, are impacting the sale of new cars and trucks. General Motors Corp. (GM) said Wednesday that U.S. industry sales may be worse in the second quarter than the first quarter.Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said during the call he will continue looking to trim hourly jobs after the company bought out 4,200 hourly workers during the first quarter. Mulally said he will now concentrate on reductions on a plant-by-plant and product-by-product basis. Buyouts will be used but the packages won’t be sweetened, Mulally said.”We don’t have a company wide hiring freeze,” Mulally said. “The overall direction is to size production to demand.”Ford shares recently rose 56 cents, or 7.5%, to $8.08.
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Thursday, April 24th, 2008
The Work Truck Show, produced annually by the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) claims to be North America’s largest vocational truck event. Held in Atlanta, GA, the show included 538 exhibitors and covered more than 450,000 sq. ft. of display space.
This venue provided an ample opportunity to witness the latest developments in the industry. Following is a sample of some of the most relevant product introductions.
Innovative solutions from Ford
Ford Motor Co. has introduced technology to make F-Series Super Duty Trucks and E-Series Vans more productive on the jobsite. Ford Work Solutions delivers four innovative features: an in-dash computer that provides full high-speed Internet access and navigation; Tool Link, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) asset tracking system that enables customers to maintain a detailed real-time inventory of the tools or equipment stored in the pickup box; the Crew Chief fleet telematics and diagnostic system; and a Cable Lock security system to discourage tool theft.
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Friday, April 11th, 2008
Ford trucks are about to start working smarter on the jobsite. Through innovative thinking and industry-first partnerships, customers of the brands popular work-trucks and work-vans will be able to experience enhanced connectivity and security on the go with the newly-announced Work Solutions.
It’s a name given to an umbrella of helpful features intended to help owners better run key aspects of their business. Ford says that four key technologies have been developed to meet the goal.
The first is an in-dash computer system that’s powered by Microsoft Auto and allows high-speed internet access right from the dashboard, using the Sprint Mobile network. Navigation is included with this feature- and it’s the first broadband-capable in-dash computer in production.
Customers can use it to access the internet virtually anywhere, as well as to print or store important information. There’s an SD card slot, a built-in stylus, and full Bluetooth connectivity.
The in-car computer puts a sensitive touch-screen to work in a tough environment that’s commonly filled with dirt and dust, but Ford promises that the system is held to the same standards as the rest of their truck.
The Tool Link system is available under Ford Work Solutions too. It uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags embedded within tools to display a real-time inventory of equipment that’s stored on board. RFID tags are very small and require no power source, as they’re “energized” by an external reader before emitting a signal. This allows a scanner to determine how many of the ‘tags’ are present in a given area without actually seeing or touching them. For Ford’s application, the system was developed with DEWALT tools and ThingMagic- an expert on embedded RFID technology.
“Tool Link increases productivity and saves money,” said William Frykman, Ford Work Solutions product and business development manager. “It helps contractors and tradespeople guarantee they show up at the job site with the right tools for each job– and that they don’t leave equipment behind.”
From keeping track of tools to keeping track of an entire fleet of vehicles is Crew Chief- a telematics and diagnostic system that allows owners to manage their machines more easily.
The system is tied into the vehicle electronics and can warn of undesirable situations like excessive idling or the presence of a check-engine light. Using a web-based application, owners can dispatch workers to job sites quickly while keeping detailed maintenance records on all of the trucks. Crew Chief can also help calculate fuel expenses and even alert the office if a truck is in an unauthorized area- and for how long. It’s a triumph of technology over excessive coffee-breaks.
Finally, a Cable Lock security system was developed with Master Lock and aims to discourage theft of expensive tools that are too large to fit in the cab of a truck.
A heavy-duty, ten-millimeter sheathed metal cable can be woven though large equipment that may have to stay in the vehicle’s box when it’s parked- like a tool-box or generator.
The cable can then be attached to anything else in the trucks box, the tie-down cleats, or even to itself, making sure that the larger items stay just where they were left.
According to Ford, these smart new features add a new dimension to the concept of a work-truck above and beyond payload ratings and maximum towing capacities. “Our truck customers are smart — and they work hard,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “Ford Work Solutions provides truck customers new technologies and tools to help them work even smarter and further boost their productivity.”
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Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
The vision for Ford’s truck team was clear: Redesign America’s favorite truck inside and out to give customers unrivaled capability, unprecedented choice and a host of smart, game-changing features. The result is the new 2009 Ford F-150, the new benchmark in the full-size pickup segment from the industry’s truck leader - which has built more than 33 million F-Series pickups since 1948.
The Ford truck team adopted a holistic, 360-degree approach to revamping the new 2009 F-150 - from its segment-first features to the tough new exterior highlighted by a dramatic three-bar grille and more spacious, flexible and refined interior, to the unparalleled choice of cab styles and trim levels - including a new Platinum series that redefines truck luxury. Under the hood, the new F-150 will be powered by three modern V-8 engines, mated to either a 4-speed or a new fuel-efficient 6-speed automatic transmission.
The improvements are just as dramatic beneath the sheet metal. A new high-strength, lighter-weight chassis is the backbone that allows this tough truck to deliver more horsepower, better fuel economy and safety, and additional towing and payload capacity.
A high-tech suite of features ensures the F-150 is sure-footed and safe in all driving and load 
conditions. The new F-150 offers segment-first standard AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control) and Trailer Sway Control plus available Rearview Camera Assist as well as Integrated Trailer Brake Controller a segment-first on light-duty pickups.
The interior of the new 2009 F-150 SuperCrew offers more usable space for moving more people and gear thanks to a 6-inch stretch that improves rear seat legroom and cargo capacity. A mechanically articulated second-row seat flips up and out of the way. Combined with a truly flat load floor, the feature gives the new SuperCrew class leading 57.6 cubic feet of space behind the front seats and can accommodate items up to 47.9 inches tall, such as flat-screen TV that needs to be hauled from the electronics store to home.
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Monday, April 7th, 2008
Sales of Ford trucks and sport utility vehicles sagged again in March by double digits. Meanwhile, growing sales of the Focus compact car shed light on increasing consumer demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Overall, auto sales last month were the lowest since March 1993, as U.S. new-car buyers pulled back from rising gasoline prices, tighter credit markets and a weak economy.
Ford foresees an even tougher second quarter, said Jim Farley, group vice president for global marketing and communications.
“I would like to tell you the worst is behind us,” he said. The second quarter “may be the most difficult of the year.”
General Motors and Chrysler led the downward sales trend with a 19 percent sales drops in March, followed by Ford’s 14 percent decline compared to a year earlier.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda reported declines of 10 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
The North American sales outlook for the entire industry for the year could dip as low as 15 million vehicles, Ford executives said.
F-Series truck sales declined 24 percent and Explorer sport utility vehicle sales fell 15 percent, the automaker reported.
Ford sold 54,465 F-Series trucks last month, compared to 71,482 in March 2007. Buyers continue to bypass the Explorer in search of more fuel-efficient vehicles, with the SUV dropping to 10,969 sold in March, down from 12,876 in last year’s period.
Ford’s Louisville plants manufacture the Explorer and F-Series 250 and larger trucks.
Those results are even starker when compared to March 2006, with F-Series truck and Explorer sales plummeting about 35 percent each since then.
Viewed another way, trucks and SUVs account now for 30 percent of Ford sales, compared to 50 percent in 2004, Farley said.
“That is a wholesale change,” he said. “Frankly, this shift puts a lot of pressure on our market share.”
The change is apparent across the automobile market, said Jesse Toprak, chief of industry analysis at Edmunds.com.
Still, with rising sales of the Focus, Ford’s lone entry in the small-car market, and increasing popularity of the Edge, the Escape and other crossover SUVs, Ford is maintaining its 15 percent market-share goal for 2008, Farley said.
Ford continues to enjoy decent sales of the Edge, up 35 percent in March to 13,508 from 10,915 one year ago.
The Focus also appears to be getting traction among buyers looking for a small vehicle for price, fuel economy or both. Ford reported Focus sales rose 36 percent in March to 21,168.
Still, Ford would do well to broaden its small-car offerings beyond the Focus, Toprak said.
“Honda and Toyota have always had quite a few selections in every category,” he said. “That is truly the whole idea of going after the niche markets, to have a car for any customer, in any income bracket, in any kind of size.”
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