Posts Tagged ‘Ford’s’
-
Ford’s electric car battery pack costs $12000-$15000
Posted on April 23rd, 2012 by admin
Ford’s electric car battery pack costs $ 12000-$ 15000
News from Fox News:One of the auto industry’s most closely guarded secrets, the enormous cost of batteries for electric cars, has spilled out.
Speaking at a forum on green technology, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally indicated battery packs for the company’s Focus electric car costs between $ 12,000 and $ 15,000 apiece.
“When you move into an all-electric vehicle, the battery size moves up to around 23 kilowatt hours, [and] it weighs around 600 to 700 pounds,” Mulally said at Fortune magazine’s Brainstorm Green conference in California.
“They’re around $ 12,000 to $ 15,000 [a battery]” for a type of car that normally sells for about $ 22,000, he continued, referring to the price of a gasoline-powered Focus. “So, you can see why the economics are what they are.”
Ford is currently promoting its $ 39,200 Focus EV at events around the country. It has a 23 kilowatt-hour battery pack. A Ford spokeswoman said Mulally’s comments were designed to provide an indication of the car’s battery costs.
Based on the price range that Mulally indicated, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford appe…………… continues on Fox News
2012 Ford Focus EV First Drive – MotorTrend Magazine
News from 2012 Ford Focus EV First Drive – MotorTrend Magazine:
2012 Ford Focus EV First Drive – MotorTrend Magazine -
Ford’s union workers ratify new contract
Posted on October 19th, 2011 by admin
p>By The Associated Press
Union workers at Ford Motor Co. overcame early opposition to a new four-year contract with the company and overwhelmingly approved the deal in voting that lasted two weeks.
More than 26,000 workers, or 63 percent of those who cast ballots, voted in favor of the pact, while almost 15,000, or 37 percent, opposed it, the UAW said in a statement Wednesday.
The vote means that new contracts have been approved at Ford and General Motors Co., with Chrysler workers just starting to vote on their deal. At all three companies, the union agreed to profit sharing and signing bonuses instead of annual pay raises, a novel concept that helps the companies control their costs yet rewards workers.
The contracts set the wages and benefits for 112,000 auto workers nationwide, and also influence the pay at auto plants owned by foreign companies, auto parts supply companies and other industries.
As part of the deal at Ford, the company promised $ 4.8 billion in new investments in its U.S. plants and 5,750 new jobs.
Most workers won’t get annual raises under the contract, but they will get profit-sharing checks, inflation adjustment payments and other bonuses worth at least $ 16,700 through 2015. The deal at GM was similar, but the Chrysler pact has far s …MSNBC
.Read full article -
Ford’s new ‘Focus’ — A dividend?
Posted on October 13th, 2011 by admin
div id=”ie_dottop” readability=”9″>
Although Ford’s stock has taken a notable hit in 2011, it’s still up sharply from the lows during the recession. That’s led to speculation Ford may soon reinstate its dividend.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — With long-term bond yields still hovering around a piddling 2%, it is no surprise that many investors are hungry for stocks that offer juicy dividends.
Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) is currently not one of those stocks. But analysts think that could soon change.
Ford, which suspended its quarterly dividend in 2006, has enjoyed a stunning turnaround in the past few years. The company was the only one of Detroit’s Big Three to avoid a government bailout/bankruptcy following the worst of the financial crisis.
All the while, Ford’s sales and market share have been on the rise and the company has been cutting back on its debt load.
Even though shares have pulled back sharply this year on renewed economic fears, Ford’s stock remains well above the lows it hit during the early part of 2009 when things looked bleak for all automakers.
That’s led to increased chatter among traders that Ford could soon be close to restoring its dividend. Ford has itself fueled t …CNN
.Read full article -
Sync sinks Ford’s quality ratings
Posted on June 27th, 2011 by admin
div id=”ie_dottop” readability=”8″>
Problems with Ford’s MyFord Touch interactive system have caused customer complaints and helped drive down Ford’s ranking in the J.D. Power Initial Quality survey.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ford tumbled from a fifth place ranking in last year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality ranking all the way down to 23rd this year.
Ford Motor Co.’s (F, Fortune 500) luxury brand, Lincoln, dropped, too, but not quite as far. Lincoln dropped from 8th place in the survey last year to 17th this year.
The annual J.D. Power Initial Quality survey measures not just how often things go wrong or break but also how well owners like various aspects of their new vehicles. In other words, even if a certain feature of a car works as it was designed to, automakers are penalized if owners complained about it, anyway.
Much of Ford’s trouble has to do with the latest version of its Sync entertainment and phone system, said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power. The latest version of Sync is incorporated into a complex new interface called MyFord Touch.
“People were finding several problems with the syst …CNN
.Read full article -
Ford’s better idea: A 50% sales boost
Posted on June 8th, 2011 by admin
p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ford Motor Co. will tell investors Tuesday that it will boost sales globally by 50% through increased production of small vehicles and the targeting of emerging markets.
Ford (F, Fortune 500) chief executive Alan Mulally will detail the strategy at his corporate analysts’ day in New York.
Appearing on CNN’s American Morning, Mulally said his company plans to significantly increase its offerings in growth markets such as China and India, going from five to 15 models in China and from three to eight in India.
While Ford has made market share gains in its home U.S. market in recent years, its sales still trail rivals such as General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) in China, which has become the No. 1 market for auto sales worldwide.
By 2020, about one-third of the company’s sales are expected to come from fast-grow …CNN
.Read full article -
At 65, Ford’s CEO Mulally has no plans to retire
Posted on May 13th, 2011 by admin
div id=”mainart” class=”hmedia art grid-6×2″ about=”http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/ap/ford annual meeting-1535859071_v2.grid-6×2.jpg”> Luis Alvarez / AP
Under Alan Mulally’s leadership, Ford posted its eighth straight quarterly profit in the first quarter. The profit, of $ 2.6 billion, was Ford’s best first-quarter performance in 13 years.WILMINGTON, Del. — Ford CEO Alan Mulally brushed back talk of retirement on Thursday, saying he hasn’t given any thought to stepping down now that the company is profitable.
“I haven’t thought about that at all,” Mulally, 65, said during a brief meeting with reporters after Ford Motor Co.’s annual shareholders meeting in Wilmington, Del.
Mulally’s retirement is the subject of frequent speculation …MSNBC
-
Sexist sock puppet is Ford’s new spokesman
Posted on March 26th, 2011 by admin
div id=”mainart” class=”hmedia art grid-4×2″ about=”http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/110324-biz-doug-focus-1230p.grid-4×2.bmp”> Ford
Ford’s YouTube videos featuring Doug the sock puppet were directed by Paul Feig of “Freaks and Geeks” fame.msnbc.com contributor msnbc.com contributorFord’s new spokesman has an attitude: He’s rude, lecherous and … bright orange.
Doug, the new pitchman for the Ford Focus, made his debut on YouTube earlier this month and he’s anything but the typical suited PR flak you’d picture representing the stodgy century-old automaker (we hope few real-life spokesmen would call a woman reporter “pretty pants.”)
“I’m …MSNBC
-
Ford’s Mulally awarded $33 million in stock
Posted on March 8th, 2011 by admin
span class=”captionname”>Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Bill Ford Jr., the automaker’s executive chairman, were both granted stock.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ford Motor has rewarded the executives responsible for its turnaround, granting CEO Alan Mulally $ 33.4 million in stock after taxes, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mulally has overseen a tremendous turnaround for the automaker — both in terms of stock price and profit. On March 3, according to the SEC filing, he received the stock, as well as a slew of options and restricted shares.
Also cashing in was the company’s executive chairman, Bill Ford Jr., who took home $ 25 million after tax in the form of unrestricted stock.
A spokesman for Ford said the awards are in line with Ford’s philosophy of tying compensation to performance and long-term shareholder value.
“It’s all stock based, tied to the long-term interests of the company,” said spokesman John Stoll. “The value today reflects the comeback of the share price, and the success of Alan and Bill.”
The compensation was agreed to by the company’s board in 2008, the same year that Ford shares dipped below the $ 2 mark. On Monday, shares closed at $ 14.01 …CNN
.Read full article