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Ford gets out of car subscriptions, sells Canvas to rival Fair

Ford says it’s selling its Canvas subscription service to competitor Fair, getting out of the subscription game after less than three years. Terms of the deal were not announced. Ford acquired Canvas in 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary based in San Francisco as a service to pilot subscriptions to Ford and Lincoln vehicles, eventually rolling out to Los Angeles and Dallas. The company said it had amassed around 3,800 subscribers in that time, who will have the opportunity to join Fair when their current subscriptions end and will receive more information from both subscription companies. But that number pales in comparison with Santa Monica, California-based Fair, which claims more than 45,000 subscriptions in 30 markets since launching in 2017. Ford was always fairly quiet about Canvas, and Automotive News last year reported that Lincoln executives expressed surprise over soft demand, saying that subscribers were looking for short-term solutions and often dropped out after just a few months. Ford is also in cost-cutting mode under CEO Jim HackettÂ’s $11 billion restructuring plan. The Blue Oval joins Cadillac, which put its $1,800-a-month Book By Cadillac subscription service on ice late last year, citing higher costs and fewer customers than expected. Cadillac has pledged to eventually relaunch the service as a pilot in select cities, but mumÂ’s been the word since. More recently, VolvoÂ’s Care by Volvo subscription service has come under scrutiny from dealers and an investigation from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and has made changes to its program. Thought it also has added the XC60, XC90 and V60 to the list of available vehicles. Fair touts itself as a “commitment-free” solution, with all-inclusive plans covering 24-7 roadside assistance, routine maintenance, insurance and other perks. It uses a mobile app to get customers prequalified, and it analyzes their eligibility and targets an affordable range of monthly payments. Customers then shop for cars and sign up for one via an initial payment that ranges by vehicle type, with the ability to keep the cars as long as they want and drop the service at any time. It peddles used cars from more than 30 different brands, none more than six years old or with more than 70,000 miles on the odometer. Fair on Tuesday announced it has raised $500 million in loans from a group of creditors, including Mizuho Bank and Japan's SoftBank, as it looks to expand its leasing services to Uber drivers.

Diesel details: Comparing Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Chevy Silverado Duramax, Ford F-150 Powerstroke

With specifications for the 2019 Ford F-150 Power Stroke diesel already out, and the details on the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and Chevy Silverado Duramax (and its GMC Sierra twin) trickling out, we felt it was a good time to start comparing the full-size trucks' light-duty diesels. Bear in mind, we've only driven one of these new diesel trucks, so we'll be sticking to numbers for now. Some numbers haven't been announced yet, either, but stay tuned, because we'll be updating this post with additional specifications as they become available. And if you want to compare any other versions of these trucks with other vehicles, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Now let's start comparing, starting with our big chart of numbers below. As we can plainly see, these trucks are quite closely matched. Each one has six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 liters and a turbocharger to boost it. The output of each is somewhat close, too. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the torque king at 480 pound-feet, 20 more than the GM trucks and 40 more than the Ford. The GM trucks win on power, though, with 277 ponies, 17 more than the Ram, and 27 more than the Ford. GM does report that you get their trucks' peak 460 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm, whereas the others only report peak torque at a particular point in the rev band, but all of these trucks should have wide, flat torque curves as you would expect from modern turbodiesels. 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel View 8 Photos Engine output is only one part of the truck performance equation. We also have towing and payload capacity, as well as fuel economy. With towing, the Ram 1500 is the current leader with a maximum capacity of 12,560 pounds. That tops the Ford F-150's 11,400-pound tow rating by well over 1,000 pounds. The F-150 can carry 2,020 pounds in its bed, but we don't know yet whether that's better or worse than the Ram or the GM trucks. We also don't have numbers for the GM trucks' towing capacities. View 9 Photos As for fuel economy, the Ford F-150 manages a thoroughly impressive 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway with two-wheel drive. Choosing four-wheel drive drops those numbers to 20 and 25 respectively. The fuel economy numbers for the Ram, Chevy and GMC haven't been revealed yet, but for some comparison, we can look at the old Ram EcoDiesel. That truck's best fuel economy was 20 in the city and 27 on the highway with two-wheel drive.

Ford recalling 450,000 Fusion, Mercury Milan sedans

Ford has announced a pair of recalls, and both are critical safety issues. The exponentially larger of the two recall campaigns affects over 450,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans manufactured at the Hermosillo plant between July 21, 2008, and March 4, 2011. The canister purge valve in the fuel tank could malfunction and could cause the top of the tank to crack and leak fuel. That could cause a fire, although Ford "is not aware of any accidents, injuries or fires" resulting from the issue. Affected vehicles will have their ECU software updated and their fuel tanks inspected for potential replacement. The company estimates there are 411,205 affected units in the United States (and its federalized territories), plus another 33,605 in Canada, and 7,055 in Mexico. The second recall affects 13 F-650 trucks. The column shifter's park position mechanism may fracture and let the truck roll away unexpectedly. Those 2016 models built in Ohio between July 29 and September 3, 2015 are all located in the US. Fixing the problem will require replacing the steering column and reconfiguring the instrument panel. FORD ISSUES TWO SAFETY RECALLS IN NORTH AMERICA DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 23, 2015 – Ford Motor Company is issuing two safety recalls in North America. Ford is not aware of any accidents, injuries or fires related to these conditions. Details are as follows: Ford issues safety recall for certain 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles in North America for potential fuel tank issue Ford Motor Company is issuing a safety recall for approximately 450,000 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles for a potential issue with the fuel tank. Some of these vehicles might have a canister purge valve that does not work properly, causing internal pressure changes inside the fuel tank. Repeated pressure changes inside the tank could result in a crack on the top of the tank, possibly allowing fuel to leak. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can lead to a fire. Ford is not aware of any accidents, injuries or fires related to this condition. Affected vehicles include certain 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant from July 21, 2008 through March 4, 2011. There are a total of approximately 451,865 vehicles that might be affected in North America, including 411,205 vehicles in the United States and federalized territories, 33,605 in Canada and 7,055 in Mexico.