Autoblog

Episode 30 of the Ford Bold Moves documentary has just been released. It's the final episode in this long series of short videos that has chronicled Ford and its journey down the Way Forward path since the middle of last year. No doubt by this time the producers had hoped to show a triumphant Mark Fields, mullet blowing in the wind, declaring directly into the camera that he had, indeed, shown this company the way forward. Looks like they ran out of tape before that could happen, so episode 30 turns its lens towards the Showroom of the Future event that Ford held for its own employees and the media last month. You'll see what we saw inside of Cobo Arena where about two dozen future Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products are shown hanging out under white sheets. We think Ford should just yank the sheets off for everyone to see and get an honest thumbs up or down reaction from the public. That way they can judge if they are heading down the wrong path and still have time to turn around if needs be. Regardless, episode 30 is meant as a morale booster for any Blue Oval fan. There's just something about Fields staring into the camera and passionately exclaiming "We can do this" that makes me want to run out and score a touchdown.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

Ford's Rouge plant is an icon in automotive manufacturing, having at one time built the Model A, military warcraft after WWI and during WWII, 40 years of the Mustang and currently the F-150. It's over 100 years old, but you wouldn't know it while on a tour of the facility. Ford has revamped Rouge to be a cutting edge manufacturing plant, not only with all the latest high-tech production processes, but also with a lot of green technology to lower the plant's impact on the environment. The best example of this is the plant's living roof, the largest of its kind in the world, that filters storm water running into the Rouge River, keeps the plant cool and protects the roof. We haven't taken a tour of the facility yet ourselves, but Episode 25 of the Ford Bold Moves web documentary is the next best thing to actually getting of our duffs and driving to Detroit.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

Episode 23 of the Ford Bold Moves web-based documentary is here, and at this point we're just letting you know out of habit. After the very enjoyable Episode 22 in which a GT500 was beaten on by pro drivers, we return to a slightly more promotional format that stars Ford's newest sedan, the Fusion. In this episode, however, it's all about introducing the Fusion to the ladies and hoping the two hit it off. The documentary spends some time in the field at a promotional event held where Ford believes the most females will be found: the mall! Mid-day shoppers are offered the opportunity to drive the Fusion, to which one nice woman responds, "Never heard of it." Hehehe. We poke fun, but the Fusion's doing well and it deserves its day in the sun. Hopefully some upcoming products from Ford will be able to join it.

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

I didn't go see the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? when it was originally released in theaters on June 28th. For whatever reason, many of you may not have either. So I'm happy to report that the film is available to watch in its entirety (and in good quality) right here on the site thanks to Google Video. It seems to have been uploaded by Truth911.com at some point (don't know when), what by all measures appears to be a conspiracy theorist site. But I'm less interested in the site that did this than in the movie itself, which I just watched in full for the first time.

My thoughts about the electric car and the pursuit of alternative fuels and power sources has certainly changed after watching the film, though I'm reticent to say the documentary presented a fair argument for its conclusions. Like many modern documentaries, the film relies heavily on emotion and the pulling of heart strings while at the same time presenting some misleading claims as facts. Check out this article by Karl Brauer, editor of Edmunds.com, to see these claims presented as they should've been. However, the film did leave me with a sense that a) regardless of its motives, GM missed an opportunity to parlay its investment in the EV1 project into further research and development on new battery technologies or at least hybrid drivetrains that could present electric propulsion in a package more acceptable to the mainstream consumer, and b) that hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are currently benefiting from a big PR push right now that doesn't guarantee in 20 years that they'll be able to offer better performance and range than a pure electric vehicle, especially considering how fast batteries are advancing thanks to other industries that heavily rely on the technology (i.e. the personal computer industry).

One particular point I liked in favor of EVs was the lack of infrastructure they require. The idea of not having to visit a gas station every week or so because the energy my vehicle requires can be delivered to my garage across powerlines is certainly appealing, and lack of a delivery infrastructure is one of the major impediments facing not only hydrogen, but also other alternative fuels like E85 ethanol.

Anyways, I highly recommend you watch the film, if not just to have it under your belt and to be able to say you saw it. Feel free to discuss its finer points in the comments after you're done, but keep it intelligent and on point.

Also, here are just a few great related posts from AutoblogGreen about the film and issues surrounding it that have been published since its release in theaters.

• Exclusive Q&A with Chelsea Sexton from the film
• Exclusive Q&A with Byron McCormick, GM executive director of GM's fuel cell activities
  
• Who Killed the Electric Car movie review
• Electric car filmmaker sounds off against Chevy Sequel

Episode 12 of the Ford Bold Moves web-based documentary is live online and it focuses on Ford's history in racing. One interesting fact it reveals is that Ford Racing celebrated its 100th anniversary 18th months prior to Ford Motor Company's big centennial blow out, because in 1901 Henry Ford beat Alexander Winton in a race held at a Grosse Pointe racetrack. Ford sold the car he used, the trophy he won and solicited some venture capitalists in the stands that day to start Ford Motor Company.

The main message of Episode 12 as it pertains to racing is that Ford doesn't plan on leaving the track anytime soon. Not only does racing offer opportunities for trickle down technology in the areas of performance and safety, but is there any better marketing for Ford than seeing a Blue Oval cross a checkered line?

[Source: Ford Bold Moves]

To help rectify a relative lack of automotive content in the world of TV documentaries, General Motors and the Discovery Channel are teaming up to bring a four-part series to the small screen in 2007. The new series will follow eight interns as they each take a vehicle - based on GM's hydrogen fuel cell technology - from the drawing board through the design process. The series promises a "rare look" at several aspects of automotive industry and product development process, such as the sprawling engineering centers and proving grounds where cars are born and put to the test.

Given the number of vehicles being followed and the relatively short length of the series, we're a bit concerned that several aspects of the development process will be glossed-over; however, considering that it's currently easier to find documentaries on the making of Little Debbie swiss-cake rolls than it is to find anything on the passenger car design process, we'll take what we can get.

[Source: GM; the full press release is posted after the jump]