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J.D. Power study identifies top seats for your tush

File under News your fanny can use: The seating systems in the Ford Escape and Edge, the Audi A3, Chevrolet Cruze, Kia Cadenza, Porsche Cayenne and Toyota Tundra received top marks in a new J.D. Power study on seating and seat belt quality and satisfaction. The J.D. Power 2017 Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study asked more than 77,000 new owners and lessees of 2017 model-year cars and light trucks to rate their vehicle's seats and seat belts within the first 90 days of taking ownership. The survey is broken up into seven vehicle segments and scored on total seat problems per 100 within each segment, with awards presented to the seating system supplier. Canadian auto supplier Magna won three of seven first-place awards for its seating systems in the A3, Escape and Edge. Ireland-based Adient got top marks for its seats in the Cadenza and Cayenne. Lear Corp. won for the Cruze, and Avanzar Interior Technologies scored highest for seats in the Tundra. J.D. Power says its study is intended for automakers and suppliers with quality and satisfaction information to be used in developing and marketing seating systems. "But the results are just as interesting to a consumer audience," the company says. "After all, some drivers spend a considerable amount of time behind the wheel, and it's helpful to know which vehicles offer the most comfortable seats for those long commutes." Ain't that the truth. Ford was the only automaker whose seat systems, both manufactured by Magna, received top honors in two segments: the Escape for mass-market compact SUV and the Edge for mass-market midsize/large SUV. J.D. Power says it used 22 attributes to measure seat quality, three measures of seat belt quality and 12 to measure satisfaction. Awards were presented to the seating suppliers. Related Video: Image Credit: Audi Auto News Design/Style Audi Chevrolet Ford Kia Porsche Toyota Safety JD Power seats

2014 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids get deep, deep discount

Math-phobes may not appreciate all the price discounts available for potential buyers of the Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in Hybrid. For everyone else, though, break out the calculators and celebrate. Because the plug-ins, or at least the 2014 model-year versions, can be had for as much as a third off. How? Start with $4,000 bonus cash from Ford (double what it used to be) and add another $1,750 in dealer discounts, according to Cars Direct. Additionally, the feds will provide a $4,000 tax incentive, while shoppers in the great state of California might get another $1,500 in clean-vehicle rebates. Add them all up – oh, and another $1,000 thrown in by some dealers – and the MSRP of just under $34,000 gets brought down to less than $22,000 out of pocket. It makes that recent $900 price cut for the model seem pretty minor by comparison, doesn't it. Ford is looking to unload a bunch of 2014 model-year C-Max Energi models after sales, which started strong last year, tapered off in recent months. While Americans boosted C-Max Energi purchases by 18 percent last year to 8,433 units, that year-over-year sales gain had been 58 percent through last June. Meanwhile, January sales were down 16 percent to just 395 units. Related Videos: Featured Gallery 2013 Ford C-Max Energi: First Drive View 20 Photos News Source: Cars Direct via Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips/AOL Green Ford Hybrid PHEV discounts

Ford dissects the heart of the 2015 Mustang, its engine range

Happy Mustang Day. Are you tired of hearing about the 2015 Ford Mustang yet? No? Good, here's a bunch of mechanical data on Ford's sixth-gen muscle car, along with cutaways of the GT's 5.0-liter V8 and the new 2.3-liter, EcoBoost four-cylinder shown above. We also have a smattering of info on the Stang's updated transmissions and an exploded-parts-diagram view of its all-new independent rear suspension.
Ford is set to make waves offering the Mustang with a turbo for the firs time since the small-volume SVO of the 1980s. Displacing 2.3 liters, the engine's twin-scroll turbo should help the four-cylinder turn out a projected 305 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, while also returning the best fuel economy in the Mustang's engine lineup. As we said in our Deep Dive, the EcoBoost will be slotted in as a premium engine, above the 3.7-liter V6 but below the 5.0-liter V8.
Speaking of that high-revving eight-cylinder, it's receiving a new cylinder head with high-flow ports. The intake and exhaust valves are larger and the cams have been replaced, among other tweaks. It should rev even higher thanks to a rebalanced crankshaft and forged connecting rods. Ford is still claiming a projected 420 hp and 390 lb-ft, although as many of the changes for the 2015's V8 come from the 2013 Boss 302, we're going to assume there's some sandbagging at work.