Autoblog

Bang for Your Bark: AAA picks best canine-friendly cars

Zach Bowman — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST

Honda Element, one of AAA's best dog-friendly vehicles - Click above for high-res image gallery

Dog owners looking for a new set of wheels can take heart; the American Automobile Association has taken the time to pick a handful of vehicles best suited to moving your furry friend from one place to another. With around 45 million households across the country boasting at least one dog in the family, it should be no surprise that the ability to conveniently and safely move a pet plays a big role in which vehicle consumers choose to buy. A total of 11 SUVs, crossovers and wagons have made the AAA list, each divided into categories like luxury, active lifestyle and efficient and fun.

While we weren't surprised to see cars like the Subaru Forester and Honda Element make the cut, others, like the BMW 3 Series Touring and the ever fun-to-fling Mazda3 five-door were vehicles we wouldn't have necessarily thought of as doggie rides. Thrifty buys like the Kia Soul and Nissan Cube found particular favor on the AAA list, thanks in part to their ability to serve up plenty of space with their rear seats folded down. We still say a Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon would do just fine - at least for a low-profile dog like a dachshund or beagle. Hit the jump for the press release after checking out our complete gallery of canine-correct-carriers below.

Gallery: AAA Dog-Friendly Vehicles

[Source: American Automobile Association]

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Bang for Your Bark: AAA picks best canine-friendly cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid makes being green easy

Chris Shunk — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:58:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Crossover, New Car Reviews

2010 Ford Escape Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Ford Escape Hybrid was the first mass-produced battery-assisted SUV on the market when it launched in 2004, and from day one it's delivered on Ford's promise of class-leading economy. It also offered similar performance and handling to its gas-powered counterparts with virtually no compromise. Sales have steadily risen each year and The Blue Oval even began eeking out some profit after trimming production costs by 30 percent. It's now seven years later and the Ford Escape Hybrid is a well established product that seems to have risen above the hoopla of being a hybrid. It's just a good CUV with great fuel economy. Even the president thinks so, having traded in his V8-powered Chrysler 300C for an Escape Hybrid during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election.

Ford gave the entire Escape line a visual makeover back in 2008. A year later it revamped each model's drivetrain, giving the gas-powered models new or updated engines and transmissions while also upgrading the Escape Hybrid's powertrain with a larger, more powerful 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and new nickel metal hydride battery pack that was 20-percent smaller and significantly lighter.

But for some reason, all of those changes haven't translated into increased sales. In fact, sales have dropped each year since the redesign. A certain global financial meltdown is probably to blame, but newer entries in the small CUV segment have also given potential Escape buyers something to think about. We spent a week with a fully loaded 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid Limited 4WD model to find out if Ford's top-of-the-line hybrid CUV is still a serious contender.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid

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Review: 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid makes being green easy originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 May 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford may pass Honda as second best hybrid seller in U.S.

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:33:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Ford, Honda, Toyota

2009 Ford Escape Hybrid - Click above for high-res image gallery

There's no doubt about which automaker leads the hybrid vehicle race. Toyota - and particularly the Japanese automaker's Prius hybrid - outsells all other manufacturers combined. In total, Automotive News calculates that Toyota sold 144,351 hybrid vehicles in the first nine months of 2009, which actually represents a 28-percent drop from the previous year.

So far this year, Honda has come in second with its new Insight, but that position is currently in jeopardy. The 26,016 hybrid vehicles sold by Ford in the first nine months of the year represents an impressive 73-percent gain from last year. Honda has sold 29,958 hybrids so far in '09, representing a much smaller eight-percent increase. In both July and September, Ford actually sold more hybrids than Honda.

In other words, Ford, led by its Escape Hybrid and new-for-2010 Fusion Hybrid, is gaining on Honda at a very rapid pace. Moving on down the line, General Motors slots in at number four with 12,556 total hybrid so far this year and Nissan's 7,713 units make it the number five hybrid seller in the U.S.

Gallery: ABG Garage: 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid Limited

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

Ford may pass Honda as second best hybrid seller in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mulally chooses Escape Hybrid for D.C. road trip

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Green, Crossover, Ford

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Escape Hybrid

Ford CEO Alan Mulally has made the politically correct decision for his return trip to Washington DC this week and is skipping the company jet. In fact, he's skipping the airport altogether and hitting the road in an Escape Hybrid. It seems like it would have been better to grab one of the brand new Fusion Hybrids, but no one in Washington should be too upset at the choice of the Escape. The last one we tested for AutoblogGreen averaged 33 mpg. Perhaps he'll even take one of the prototype plug-in hybrid versions, although that wouldn't make much sense for the nine-hour drive. In our reader poll you actually opted for the Fusion by a wide margin, followed by the Fiesta and Mustang. The Escape came in at a respectable fourth.

Gallery: ABG Garage: 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid Limited

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Mulally chooses Escape Hybrid for D.C. road trip originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2008: Ford stacks the ballot with concepts for election day

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Tuners, Coupe, Hybrid, Sedan, Wagon, Crossover, Ford, Celebrities

Click above for massive gallery of Fords from SEMA

What recession? Perhaps anticipating the euphoria that will follow the end to the seemingly decades-long Presidential race today, Ford decided to throw a huge tuner party at SEMA this year, and they invited ALL of their friends. The Ford booth always houses a bunch of tuned blue ovals, but they generally tend to be grouped around a central vehicle. Last year it was the Mustang. And the year before. And probably the year before that, too. But this year they gave the ol' spit shine to virtually every model in the lineup. Ford even threw in a Lincoln or two for good measure (above).

In the gallery below you'll see the Lincoln MKS and MKX, as well as Ford Focus Coupe, Escape, Escape Hybrid, Transit Connect, and Edge. Tuners include 3dCarbon, Custom Creations, RKSport, Stout Performance, Barber Driving Experience, FSWerks, Street Concepts, EcoTrek, HPA Motorsports, H&R, and Steeda. For more info on each one, check out the press release after the jump. There are actually quite a few interesting concepts in the bunch.

Gallery: SEMA 2008: Ford Booth

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SEMA 2008: Ford stacks the ballot with concepts for election day originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford gives 88-MPG flex-fuel, plug-in Escape Hybrid to Department of Energy

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, SUV, Government/Legal, Green, Ford

The Blue Oval has gifted the U.S. Department of Energy a one-of-a-kind vehicle: a plug-in Escape Hybrid that can run on E85, has a 30-mile range on pure electric power at up to 40 mph, and gets 88 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway. Yes, you read that correctly. But you might want to read it again.

The Escape uses a 4-cylinder engine assisted by a 10kW lithium-ion battery pack made by Johnson Controls/Saft. In pure electric mode, the battery pack runs until it is 70-percent depleted, and then the gasoline engine kicks in. The vehicle's emissions are estimated to be 60-percent less than that of a traditional gas vehicle, and that could climb all the way to 90-percent less if the car used cellulosic ethanol.

This is one of 20 vehicles that Ford is giving to government and research bodies in order to help push the growth and penetration of hybrid vehicles. Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said "There's no silver bullet solution, so we're pursuing multiple technology paths - recognizing that commercial viability is an essential component for success." And we say hear hear, well done, and it's about time...

[Source: Ford via GM Inside News]

Ford gives 88-MPG flex-fuel, plug-in Escape Hybrid to Department of Energy originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DC Auto Show '08: Ford updates Escape and Mariner Hybrids

John Neff — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Crossover, Ford, Mercury, Misc. Auto Shows

click above to view more high-res pics of the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrids

As AutoblogGreen points out, Ford will soon be facing tough competition in the compact hybrid CUV segment with the introduction of the Saturn Vue two-mode hybrid. What better time, then, to update the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid for 2009? The big news is the addition of a new 2.5L four-cylinder to replace the old 2.3L engine. Not only is the new engine larger, but it also adds variable valve timing on the intake to boost power by 17 up to 170 horsepower. The 2.5L also serves as the new base engine for the standard Escape and Mariner, but uses the Atkinson cycle in the hybrid models. Ford's hybrid CUVs also get a ~~new six-speed automatic~~ (correction: only the gas-powered models get the new six-speed automatic), aerodynamic upgrades and new 16-inch low-rolling resistance tires from Michelin. All of these improvements ~~add up to a one mpg gain in fuel economy~~ (correction: fuel economy remains the same for the hybrid models while power goes up), plus more power and usability. Ford hasn't released official fuel economy numbers for the 2009 Escape Hybrid, but it should maintain the same numbers as before, and likewise for the new Mercury Mariner Hybrid.

[Source: Ford]

Gallery: 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

Gallery: 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid

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DC Auto Show '08: Ford updates Escape and Mariner Hybrids originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford straddles party lines, declares Escape Hybrid "The Candidate's Choice"

Alex Nunez — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:02:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, SUV, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Ford

Ford has figured out a way to take advantage of the current crop of presidential candidates' green-pandering. As has been covered here at Autoblog, one of the measures some candidates take to burnish their eco-cred is swapping out their current daily drivers for more economical fare, and since no American Presidential candidate would be caught dead in anything other than an American car, Ford's Escape Hybrid is an obvious choice. The Ford advertisement shown at right (click for the full ad) takes advantage of this lucky fact for Ford. Not only is the SUV American-made, it's also a genuine hybrid vehicle, and as a bonus, it's got "green" seat fabric. You can almost taste the bipartisan tree-huggery. Of course, we all know that the vehicle-switching by candidates is essentially political theater, but in a Presidential campaign, what isn't? If you're in the market for one, look for a few lightly-used Escape Hybrids in the Beltway area after the primary season's over.

You can read Ford's PR after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford straddles party lines, declares Escape Hybrid "The Candidate's Choice"

Ford straddles party lines, declares Escape Hybrid "The Candidate's Choice" originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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