Autoblog

Ford boosts production (slightly) of F-150, Escape

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

Two of Ford's vehicles are moving well enough that the automaker is adding production to its plants in Missouri and Michigan. Ford says its F-150 and Ford Escape are looking to earn their highest sales of the year in August, with the F-Series truck line looking good for its first year-on-year sales jump since October 2006 and the Escape knocking on the door of its own sales record. Of course, August sales number are expected to be wildly inflated by the success of the government's Cash for Clunkers program, so Ford is also taking into account the sales rates of these two vehicles before August and only boosting production by a smidge in response.

Thus, 2,800 workers at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant will go back to full-time work at the end of September, which will raise production of F-150s by 10,000 units through the end of the year. A third shift added to the Kansas City plant in October will raise production of Ford Escapes and Mercury Mariners by 2,400 through year-end. If production details are your cup of tea, you can read all of Ford's good news in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Ford | Image: Scott Olson/Getty]

Continue reading Ford boosts production (slightly) of F-150, Escape

Ford boosts production (slightly) of F-150, Escape originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford moves its F150 launch back up

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Ford

click above for more high-res images of the 2009 Ford F-150

Ford announced earlier this summer that it would delay the launch of its ultra-important F150 full-size truck by a few months to help dealers clear out left over 2008 inventory. For the record, the new truck's launch was originally scheduled for October before being moved to December. Finally, Ford has split the difference and will begin marketing its F150 in November. Jim Farley, main marketer at the Blue Oval, cites two main reasons for the revised decision. One: its dealerships culled their old supply faster than anticipated, and two: Dodge just launched its new-for-'09 Ram. Ford obviously doesn't want its cross-town rival to steal all its thunder.

Expectations for the new F150 seem appropriately timid. Current market conditions, including the relatively high price of fuel and the difficulty in securing credit, mean the the days of Ford selling a million trucks a year are over. Still, there is a large market left of users who depend on their trucks for work, and Ford's targeting them. We'll see how it goes beginning next month.

Gallery: 2009 Ford F-150

[Source: Inside Line]

Ford moves its F150 launch back up originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford slashing F-150 customization by 90 percent

Michael Harley — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:33:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Sedan, Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Work, Hatchback, Ford, Lincoln

Click on the pic above for our high-res 2009 Ford F-150 gallery

As staggering as it may seem, the 2008 Ford F-150 pickup can be ordered in billions of different combinations. That's all going to change for 2009. In an effort to reduce complexity and cut spiraling costs in the process, Ford will be slashing the number of possible F-150 configurations by 90 percent. The automaker isn't leaving the rest of the lineup alone either. The Ford Expedition goes from 250,000 combos down to fewer than 10,000. The 2009 Lincoln MKS debuts with about 300 combinations, and the 2010 Ford Focus will offer only about 150, which is 95 percent fewer than the current model. Are you in the market for a 2009 Ford F-150 and worried that you won't be able to get it exactly the way you want? Don't fret, Ford will still offer more than 9 million combinations for next year's model, including a brown one we presume.

Gallery: 2009 Ford F-150

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Ford slashing F-150 customization by 90 percent originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: 2009 Ford F-150 grille

John Neff — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:02:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Truck, Ford

click above for more spy shots of the 2009 Ford F-150

We've already seen some revealing spy shots of the 2009 Ford F-150 that's scheduled to debut next week at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but the angle was such that we couldn't see the pickup's new face very clearly. Enter KGP Photography, which has just snapped a couple pics of the new grille head on. There's a clearly a lot of influence from the Super Duty line of truck's in the F-150's new design. You can also see the shape of the headlight clusters are very close to those on vehicles like the Edge and Taurus X, with a main headlamp sitting on top of smaller front turn signals. As there are practically a billion configurations for the F-150 that range from stripper work trucks to pampering pickups, don't expect this to be the F-150's only grille. Judging by the fact that there are a pair of foglamps on the front of this prototype, though, we suspect it's an up-level version of the truck.

UPDATE: Check out the F-150's new badge on the truck at Pickuptruck.com.

[Photos: KGP Photography]

Gallery: 2009 Ford F-150 - spy shots

Spy Shots: 2009 Ford F-150 grille originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don't need no stinkin'... New Ford F-150 badge revealed!

Chris Shunk — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:28:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Spy Photos, Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Ford

We're only a couple weeks away from the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and the premature unveilings seem to be trickling in at a slightly slower pace than they did last year. Ford has managed to keep its 2009 F-150 off the web for the most part (except for these spy shots), which is more than cross-town rival Chrysler can say about the 2009 Dodge Ram. Our friends over at NAIAS headquarters haven't spilled the beans on the Blue Oval's new F-150, but they have given us a glimpse of the truck's new badge.

As you can see above, it looks like designers at Ford have updated the truck's branding in their favorite word processing program by clicking on the Italics and Bold buttons. The brushed aluminum gradient backdrop looks more like a stamped chunk of metal than did the chrome-painted plastic of the current model (right). Well, now that we've got the badge unveiling out of the way, all we have left is the 5,000-lb. truck that has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. since the Brady Bunch was on prime time TV. Let us know what you think of the new logo after the jump.

[Source: NAIAS Newsletter via Top Speed via Jalopnik]

Gallery: 2009 Ford F-150 - spy shots

We don't need no stinkin'... New Ford F-150 badge revealed! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: 2009 Ford F-150

John Neff — Thu, 03 May 2007 18:03:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos

We're betting Ford wants to get the new 2009 F-150 to dealer lots as soon as possible. With increased competition from the new Chevy Silverado and the Toyota Tundra stealing market share, the F-150's title as the best-selling vehicle in the world, a mantle it has worn for decades, is under serious threat this year. The revised 2009 F-150, however, is meant to address this threat head on. While we don't know anything about what mechanical improvements are being planned, these fresh spy shots from The Car Connection show that a styling update will help Ford's best-seller remain a relevant player.

Being that the F-150 is the most important product in Ford's portfolio, the level to which to the automaker has gone to obscure its new styling is extreme. Nevertheless, we can see that the F-150 will receive a version of the corporate chrome three-bar grille. It also appears that its headlights will remain in proportion to its body rather than taking on the "stacked" look of the new Super Duty's lamps. Unfortunately, foam was placed beneath the camoflouge cover in strategic places to hide the truck's new lines, so what we see is an F-150 that looks bundled up for winter in a heavy down coat. We concur with TCC that the 2008 Detroit Auto Show is the likely time at which the 2009 Ford F-150 will debut. After all, the best-selling vehicle in the world needs the world's biggest automotive stage to make an entrance. Click on the Read link to view all 10 spy shots that were snapped.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Spy Shots: 2009 Ford F-150 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 May 2007 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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