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Ford ready to install GE Wattstations at 60 locations in North America

Upper-level Ford executives are sending mixed messages about the power of plug-in vehicles, but in the companies parking lots across North America, at least, the signal is clear: come on and charge your EV. Today, Ford and GE announced that the Blue Oval will be installing Wattstation chargers at its Dearborn HQ and will then add units at more than 60 locations across the US and Canada, including "offices, product development campuses and manufacturing facilities." If you're a Ford employee, then you get four hours of free charging a day. That should be plenty to top off any of the company's plug-in vehicles, even the Focus Electric, and the time limit encourages drivers to swap cars at lunch, because Ford wants to encourage charging station sharing and get more employees to plug in. Ford doesn't mention the DOE's Workplace Charging Challenge by name in the release (available below), but we suspect these Wattstations are part of that project. Ford was one of the founding members, joining the Workplace Charging Challenge on January 31, 2013. On that date, the Ford Motor Company and Ford dealers had over 1,750 charging stations installed on company/dealer property. Ford, GE WattStation Chargers Support Employee Electric Vehicle Charging Network Ford to install its first employee electric vehicle charging station network in Dearborn, Mich.; facilities across the United States and Canada to follow Ford will work with GE as its network provider and supplier of electric vehicle charging stations; networked stations will help Ford understand charging usage and plan for future installations Ford electrified vehicles have logged an estimated 65 million electric miles over the last 18 months. Ford now offers six electrified vehicles, including Focus Electric, C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids, and C-MAX and Fusion hybrid vehicles Ford Motor Company in conjunction with GE, will supply vehicle charging stations at Ford facilities nationwide, beginning with facilities in and around its headquarters. The announcement continues the innovative cooperation begun more than 100 years ago between Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, co-founder of GE. This month, Ford will begin installing GE WattStation™ charging stations across its North American campuses, developing a workplace charging network at nearly every Ford facility in the United States and Canada.

Ford confirms Everest SUV production for China

According to Ford, the Chinese SUV segment grew by 49 percent in 2013, and the Blue Oval held a 4.5 percent market share. At the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, Ford is showing the Everest SUV that, while just a concept for now, will go into production in the near future.
The Everest is a big, brawny seven-seat SUV that mixes solid, chiseled styling and contemporary Ford design cues. Up front there is an angular version of the trapezoidal grille and sharp, wraparound headlights. The beltline rises in the rear to make the back appear higher than the front. The rear seems just as chiseled, with the taillights resting in jagged scallops. There is no doubt that this concept means to look rugged, and ready for rough roads - the whole thing looks pretty great.
The truck was penned by Ford's Asia Pacific design and engineering team in Australia, and it was first shown in Sydney last year. Ford's JMC joint venture will build the truck for the Chinese market, and it will be sold at Ford dealers there. The Blue Oval isn't hinting at what powers the production version yet, but it reportedly shares some components with the foreign-market Ranger.

2015 Ford Focus sedan shows its fresh face in New York

That handsome fellow you see above is the 2015 Ford Focus sedan. We liked the looks of the 2014 Focus, and the updates for 2015 only improve things to our eyes, with the adoption of the Aston Martin-inspired grille that has been permeating Ford's lineup these last few years. Sweeping, slightly bulbous headlamps join a revised, more demure lower grille opening to round out the styling updates up front. The rest of the car's look is just slightly massaged, including new taillamp clusters that look much like they did last year.
New for 2015 is the availability of Ford's 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, mated exclusively to a six-speed manual transmission. There's also a new SE Sport Package that adds more aggressive suspension tuning, paddle shifters (when equipped with Ford's six-speed dual-clutch automatic) and a few body kit bits and pieces. Rounding out the mechanical changes are an updated electronic steering rack that promises better feel, suspension tweaks to make the ride more comfortable and some software updates designed to make the dual-clutch gearbox better behave itself.
In addition, inside there are a few interior upgrades, as well as some added comfort and safety tech that includes available blind-spot detection and lane-keeping assist, along with other more incremental changes that all add up to a better vehicle. We suggest you check out the official press release below for all the details, but not before scrolling through our image gallery of live shots above.