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Ford expands door-latch recall to 156k more vehicles, nearly 550k total

Ford is being inundated with recalls as of late. Just days ago it called in over 590,000 cars for a variety of issues. Now, the Blue Oval has announced an expansion of its door latch campaign to cover an additional 156,000 vehicles in North America. Counting the original 389,585 cars, this has brought the total to 545,906. Under this expansion, the same models are affected, but Ford is broadening the coverage dates in some cases. The recall covers the 2011-2014 Fiesta, 2013-2014 Fusion, and 2013-2014 Lincoln MKZ; there are 456,440 units in the US, 50,681 in Canada, and 38,785 in Mexico in need of repair. In these vehicles, a door might not latch because of a broken pawl spring tab. Even if a passenger can successfully close it, the faulty part could unlatch while driving. According to Ford, there are two allegations of doors bounding back and hitting a person. There's also one possible accident from a door opening and striking another vehicle. Dealers will replace all of the latches to fix the problem. Related Video: MAY 1, 2015 | DEARBORN, MICH. FORD EXPANDS DOOR LATCH SAFETY RECALL IN NORTH AMERICA DEARBORN, Mich., May 1, 2015 – Ford Motor Company is expanding a safety recall regarding door latches to include approximately 156,000 more vehicles at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bringing the total to 545,906 vehicles in North America. The door latch in certain vehicles may experience a broken pawl spring tab, which typically results in a condition where the door will not latch. If a customer is then able to latch the door, there is a potential the door may unlatch while driving, increasing the risk of injury. Ford is aware of a total two allegations of soreness resulting from an unlatched door bouncing back when the customer attempted to close it, and one accident allegation when an unlatched door swung open and struck the adjacent vehicle as the driver was pulling into a parking space. Affected vehicles include certain 2011-14 Fiesta vehicles built at Cuautitlan Assembly Plant, Nov. 3, 2009 to May 31, 2013; certain 2013-14 Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant, Feb. 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013; certain 2014 Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant, April 12, 2013 to April 26, 2013; and certain 2013-14 Lincoln MKZ vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant, Feb. 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013. There are 456,440 vehicles in the United States and federalized territories, 50,681 in Canada and 38,785 in Mexico.

Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

2023 Lincoln Corsair gains a new face and more tech, loses buttons

The 2023 Lincoln Corsair heads into its next model year with a notable refresh inside and out.  Lincoln’s best-selling vehicle gains a number of items, but it also loses a big one: the previously optional 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. Due to low take rate, Lincoln is dropping its most powerful engine from the lineup, making the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 250 horsepower the only pure-gasoline version of the 2023 Corsair. Lincoln says the 2.0-liter is updated and changed for emissions reasons, but it returns the same output and fuel economy as before. The Grand Touring PHEV carries over unchanged, so itÂ’s still rocking the 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder and single electric motor for a combined 266 horsepower. The exterior changes are largely contained to the CorsairÂ’s new face. It gets a totally new grille that is much larger than before. It features a wavy surface, and for the PHEV, it has a metallic foil surface with blue accents to denote its hybrid status. The lower front bumper is revised to accommodate the new grille design, and new wheel options are available across the board. No changes are made to the rear. Lastly, two new color options are available: Crystal Red and Whisper Blue. The blue is new to Lincoln, and seeing it in person, it skews more towards periwinkle than blue — we like it a lot. As for the interior, Lincoln has redesigned the center stack with a new 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen taking center stage. It runs Sync 4 technology, can be updated via over-the-air updates and features Amazon Alexa. YouÂ’ll be able to monitor the CorsairÂ’s new Auto Air Refresh system (an optional feature) via the infotainment system, too. It features a laser sensor and unique cabin air filter that constantly monitors the cabin air quality and is capable of refreshing the air in the cabin 1.5 times per minute. A 12.3-inch instrument cluster also runs new software for 2023, and it comes standard in the Corsair now. The new center stack designdeletes the large array of climate and media controls that were previously there, which Lincoln says was for the purpose of promoting a more airy cabin and a feeling of spaciousness. A volume knob is still present, but the vast majority of the functions previously controlled by buttons and knobs can now be found in the big, new touchscreen. Yes, that means the climate controls are now integrated into the touchscreen.