2000 Ford Focus Lx Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Obama to herald auto industry turnaround from idled Ford plant

President Barack Obama will tout the recent successes of the American auto industry in a speech on Wednesday. This would be a fine and dandy plan aside from two small hitches. First, the president is visiting Ford's Wayne, MI factory, which is rather strange considering the government bailed out the company's local rivals, Chrysler and General Motors. Even more worrying, considering the topic of the speech, is that the Wayne facility has been idled due to a lack of demand. According to The Detroit News, the White House said the speech will focus on "the workers in the resurgent American automotive and manufacturing sector now that the auto rescue has been completed and the decision to save the auto industry and the over one million jobs that went with it." Wayne Assembly employs some 5,100 Michiganders when its lines are up and running, but as gas prices have plunged below $2 per gallon in some areas over the past month, its fuel-efficient products – the Focus and C-Max – have seen their sales plummet, as well. In December, the Focus' year-over-year sales were down 4.4 percent, while the C-Max dipped 3.3 percent, Ford told The News. Lagging sales for the two compacts aren't a new thing, though. Focus sales in all of 2014 were down 6.4 percent, while the C-Max struggled with a 21.6-percent drop last year. According to The News, Ford made the decision to idle the factory before being approached by the White House. Considering that, we wonder what the team at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was thinking when it selected the Ford facility, and what impact the location will have on the president's message. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Mira Oberman / AFP / Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Ford

Ford reserving 50th Anniversary Mustangs for service members

Think getting your hands on one of the 1,964 50th Anniversary Ford Mustangs is hard as a civilian? Imagine how tough it might be for the Mustang fanatics in our nation's military. Perhaps recognizing this fact, Ford Emerging Market Services and the Overseas Military Sales Corporation (the only Ford-authorized retailer on the military's bases) ran a raffle, with the winners receiving the opportunity to purchase one of the limited-edition muscle cars. Ford EMS and OMS received 300 entries to the raffle, although with only eight 50th Anniversary Stangs to hand out, we imagine there were quite a lot of disappointed soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. "We are pleased to offer limited-edition anniversary Mustangs to members of our military through our Military Appreciation Program, and we are delighted at the response it's receiving," Doug Walczak, EMS' fleet sales manager, said. The first Mustang was delivered to Army Maj. Del Boyer, shown above. While Maj. Boyer took delivery in New York, the raffle was open to servicemembers both at home and abroad.

Ford GT concept adorns Forza 6 cover

Ford has rolled in to the Detroit Auto Show this week with a staggering array of performance machinery, including the new GT Concept, Mustang GT350R and F-150 Raptor. That's the exciting part. The thing is, that most of us won't have the opportunity to drive any of them, let alone really wring them out on the track. Fortunately, they'll all feature in the upcoming release of Forza 6. Not only that, but the new Ford GT will adorn the box cover as well. Featuring on the cover of the latest installment of what Microsoft (citing Metacritic ratings) says is "the highest-rated racing series of the past decade" would be a coveted place of honor for any automaker. The box art for the original version (at least the one first released in North America) featured a modified Acura NSX, followed by a Nissan 350Z drifter on Forza Motorsport 2, an Audi R8 on Forza 3, Ferrari 458 Italia on Forza 4, an SRT Viper on Forza Horizon, the McLaren P1 on Forza 5 and the Lamborghini Huracan on Forza Horizon 2. This, then, will be the first time a Ford will be the poster child for a new version of the popular game. With carbon-fiber construction, active aero and a twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 pumping out over 600 horsepower, it strikes us as a place well deserved by Dearborn's finest. Microsoft and Ford Unveil Ford GT as the Cover Car for "Forza Motorsport 6" Debuting Exclusively on Xbox One Ford's new line of performance vehicles will star in Microsoft's newest and most advanced racing game DETROIT – Jan. 12, 2015 – Microsoft, Turn 10 Studios and Ford unveiled their new collaboration today at the North American International Auto Show, announcing the all-new Ford GT ultra-high performance supercar as the featured cover car in the next iteration of the acclaimed racing simulation franchise for Xbox, "Forza Motorsport 6," launching exclusively on Xbox One. The GT serves as a technology showcase for Ford with its ultra-efficient EcoBoost engine performance, advanced aerodynamics and lightweight carbon fiber construction. It begins arriving in dealerships in select markets globally late next year. In addition, the companies revealed that Ford's performance vehicle line-up will appear in "Forza Motorsport 6." This includes the GT, Shelby® GT350 Mustang and F-150 Raptor debuted by Ford earlier today at the auto show.