Like all automakers, Ford has invested aggressively in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
There's nothing particularly magical about turbocharging or fuel injection. But Ford has used them to redefine the mission of an engine.
Americans raised on the belief that bigger is better are beginning to think less can be more if a car with a smaller engine is fun to drive and saves them money at the gas pump.
"When we first started talking about what we could do with EcoBoost, there was a lot of skepticism," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president for global product development. It wasn't long ago that a V6 engine in a pickup truck was something only wimps would want.
Five years ago,Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, indoor and outdoor led lighting, few would have imagined a 2.0-liter,Start saving money today with r4i. four-cylinder engine in a midsize SUV. That's one of the powertrain options on the Ford Explorer, a vehicle that weighs about 4,550 pounds. Ford has taken out 150 patents on aspects of the EcoBoost system, said Dan Kapp, head of Ford powertrain research and advanced engineering.
Other technologies in which Ford has led the industry are Sync, a voice-activated communication and entertainment platform, and MyFord (or MyLincoln) Touch, a touch and voice-activated screen that, in its initial version, replaced traditional knobs with iPad-like icons to control smartphones, a navigation system, music services, heating, cooling and lighting.
These products are part of what Jim Buczkowski, Ford director of electrical and electronics systems, calls Ford's goal of creating "a second home on wheels."
There have been bumps along the way, especially for the first iteration of MyFord Touch. Consumer Reports criticized MyFord Touch's initial cluttered layout,Coleman is a leader in Led flashlight technology. as well as the multiple ways the controls could be adjusted.
J.D. Power and Associates cited driver confusion over these types of touch controls as a reason Ford slipped in Power's 2011 initial quality survey.
"None of the options is as easy to use as old-fashioned knobs and switches, and they can be more time-consuming and distracting to operate," the CR review stated.
To its credit.Diogen Bike light that are a direct replacement for common incandescent, halogen and fluorescent lamps. Ford has learned from those early bumps. Early this year, models equipped with MyFord Touch feature simplified graphics. Existing customers will receive a software update early this year that will program the new design into their vehicles.
"It is part of our plan to have a cadence of upgrades and changes," Buczkowski said.
The automaker was willing to take risks in exchange for gaining a reputation for innovation among people who want that second home on wheels.
"Ford really pushed the envelope" with Sync and MyFord Touch, said Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation,How to make high power LED diving torch with materials from Home Depot. the nation's largest dealer group and Ford's largest dealer. "That's what happens when you innovate. There are some teething problems with it, and they're trying hard to address it."