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Alan Mulally talks about why Ford's Falcon had to die

When Ford made the decision to end production of the Falcon sedan and Territory CUV in Australia, it wasn't a popular move Down Under. The large, four-door Falcon had been in production for 50 years, and while Ford has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market, it's understandable that some people still aren't all that crazy about the Blue Oval's decision.
Speaking to CEO Alan Mulally after Ford's Go Further event in Sydney, Australian site Go Auto reports that the decision was not one made lightly, and that the automaker is doing everything possible to respect the Falcon and Territory's "stakeholders." It's an interesting piece that shows a softer side of a corporation, while demonstrating that Ford is doing everything in its power to make the end of production as smooth as possible for all parties.
Head over to Go Auto for the full series of remarks from Mulally, and then let us know what you think of Ford's handling of the Falcon and Territory discontinuations, in Comments.

Ford reports $3B profit in Q4, $6.9B for the year

Good news out of Dearborn today, as Ford announced $3 billion in profit for the last quarter of 2013, a 90-percent increase over the same period of 2012. Net income for all of last year, meanwhile, jumped to $7.2 billion from $5.7 billion in 2012, while pre-tax profits sat at a decade-topping $6.9 billion for all of 2013.
The results of the substantial profit increases are bigger profit-sharing checks for UAW employees. How big? A record $8,800 on average for 47,000 UAW workers, making 2013 the biggest year for profit sharing in Ford history. In total, $414 million will be paid as part of the profit-sharing scheme.
Now, it should be pointed out that a fair portion of Ford's Q4 profits were due to tax benefits, totaling $2.1 billion, according to Automotive News. Total profits would have also been higher, had there not been a significant recall on the Escape, as well as plant issues in South America.

Aluminum lightweighting does, in fact, save fuel

When the best-selling US truck sheds the equivalent weight of three football fullbacks by shifting to aluminum, folks start paying attention. Oak Ridge National Laboratory took a closer look at whether the reduced fuel consumption from a lighter aluminum body makes up for the fact that producing aluminum is far more energy intensive than steel. And the results of the study are pretty encouraging. In a nutshell, the energy needed to produce a vehicle's raw materials accounts for about 10 percent of a typical vehicle's carbon footprint during its total lifecycle, and that number is up from six percent because of advancements in fuel economy (fuel use is down to about 68 percent of total emissions from about 75 percent). Still, even with that higher material-extraction share, the fuel-efficiency gains from aluminum compared to steel will offset the additional vehicle-extraction energy in just 12,000 miles of driving, according to the study. That means that, from an environmental standpoint, aluminum vehicles are playing with the house's money after just one year on the road. Aluminum-sheet construction got topical real quickly earlier this year when Ford said the 2015 F-150 pickup truck would go to a 93-percent aluminum body construction. In addition to aluminum being less corrosive than steel, that change caused the F-150 to shed 700 pounds from its curb weight. And it looks like the Explorer and Expedition SUVs may go on an aluminum diet next. Take a look at SAE International's synopsis of the Oak Ridge Lab's study below. Life Cycle Energy and Environmental Assessment of Aluminum-Intensive Vehicle Design Advanced lightweight materials are increasingly being incorporated into new vehicle designs by automakers to enhance performance and assist in complying with increasing requirements of corporate average fuel economy standards. To assess the primary energy and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) implications of vehicle designs utilizing these materials, this study examines the potential life cycle impacts of two lightweight material alternative vehicle designs, i.e., steel and aluminum of a typical passenger vehicle operated today in North America. LCA for three common alternative lightweight vehicle designs are evaluated: current production ("Baseline"), an advanced high strength steel and aluminum design ("LWSV"), and an aluminum-intensive design (AIV).