Ford eNews - April 13, 2011

DEARBORN, MI, April 13, 2011:

Is your city ready for electric vehicles?

While Ford is gearing up to launch the all-new Focus Electric later this year, cities around the country also are preparing to support the new plug-in technology. Ford has compiled a list of the 25 most electric vehicle-ready cities, based on its latest research and information available on community-generated actions. Infrastructure is key to supporting electric vehicles, including the Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid that will debut in 2012. Cities include Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit; Orlando, Fla.; the Greater San Francisco Bay Area; Seattle; and Richmond, Va.

Two Ford cars make kbb.com Top 10 Green Car list

With Earth Day approaching and soaring gas prices weighing heavily on the minds of consumers, it's timely kbb.com has named two Ford vehicles to its 2011 Top 10 Green Car list -- the 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2012 Ford Focus. Editors of kbb.com say Fusion Hybrid was an easy pick, because along with its outstanding fuel economy of 41 mpg city and 36 mpg highway, "it delivers the driving dynamics and comfort that make the conventional Fusion so endearing." Likewise, Focus' impressive fuel economy of 28 mpg city and up to 40 mpg highway is just one of the things they liked about the all-new vehicle. Click here to read the full release.

Recycled carpet finds a home in Ford engines

The carpet underfoot in homes sometimes ends up in strange places, and now Ford's efforts to use sustainable materials in its vehicles have landed carpet in another unique spot �the cylinder head covers on some Ford engines. The recycled carpet delivers some impressive benefits for the environment. In 2010, the use of EcoLon, a nylon resin made from 100 percent recycled carpet, saved more than 4.1 million pounds of carpet from landfills �the equivalent of nearly 154 football fields. It also amounted to recycling more than 985,000 yards of carpet and reducing the consumption of more than 430,000 gallons of oil.

Ford builds electric vehicle buzz at SAE World Congress

With a full suite of new electrified vehicles coming to market over the next two years, Ford is pushing ahead with five key technologies to advance its electrification strategy. At the SAE World Congress this week, Chuck Gray, Ford chief engineer of Global Core Engineering Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, shared his insights on emerging electrification technologies including Auto Start-Stop, Human Machine Interface, regenerative braking systems, motors and batteries. All are critical for electrification advancement.

Ford ushers in new era of collaboration

As it marks the 60th anniversary of its U.S. research hub �the Sci Lab �Ford is opening its doors even wider to the possibility of more nontraditional partnerships that can help create a better vehicle experience for customers. Ford is engaging in new research projects with top universities around the globe including Northwestern, Purdue, China's Shanghai Jiao Tong and Germany's RWTH Aachen, and collaborating with a range of players from Silicon Valley to health care providers. The work of Ford's experts, researchers and engineers has resulted in more than 4,600 active patents in the U.S. and another nearly 1,300 pending patent applications. In the last two years alone, 475 patents have been awarded to Ford that name at least one person from the Research and Innovation team as an inventor.