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Mark LaNeve named head of Ford US sales and marketing

Ford continues to rework the positions of its top marketing executives as Jim Farley moves to take over the Blue Oval in Europe and Stephen Odell becomes head of global sales. The latest shift brings Mark LaNeve in as the new vice president of US marketing, sales, service and dealer relations, effective February 1. LaNeve replaces John Felice, who is retiring. Felice was with the automaker for the last 30 years and held his most recent job since November of 2013. In addition to coordinating marketing and sales, LaNeve's other duty is to build "innovative new digital communications and transforming the retail experience for customers," according to the automaker's press release announcing the change. He reports to both Odell and Joe Hinrichs, Ford's boss of the Americas. LaNeve has a long history in the auto industry. He spent a portion of his early career with Cadillac but eventually was hired as the CEO of Volvo Cars North America. He also headed up US marketing at General Motors for several years in the 2000s. Since 2012, LaNeve has been the chief operating officer at Global Ford Team, which is responsible for the company's worldwide advertising. There's an interesting challenge ahead of LaNeve in leading the Blue Oval's US marketing and sales in 2015. Ford was the bestselling auto brand here in 2014 but overall sales fell about 1.1 percent. According to Automotive News, the company's market share dropped to 14.9 percent, a one-percent reduction and the lowest level since 2008. Read below for the automaker's official announcement of LaNeve's new job. JOHN FELICE RETIRING AFTER 30 YEARS; FORD NAMES MARK LANEVE TO LEAD U.S. MARKETING, SALES AND SERVICE TEAM John Felice is retiring as vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, after 30 years of service Mark LaNeve, named vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service and elected a Ford Motor Company officer; former chief operating officer at Global Team Ford brings nearly three decades of automotive marketing and sales experience to Ford Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today changes in its senior leadership team as it continues to deliver and accelerate the company's One Ford plan while driving for product excellence and innovation. John Felice, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, has elected to retire after 30 years at Ford, effective Feb. 1, 2015.

This Ford F-150 might have a Land Rover turbodiesel V6

Our spy photographers just caught this Ford F-150 driving around Dearborn, wearing camouflage around the bed – not so unusual near Ford's headquarters. What's interesting with this particular mule is that it might be packing a Jaguar-Land Rover turbodiesel V6. As with the Super Duty, the F-150 prototype pictured here sports a Venturi exhaust tip popping out the side of the rear bumper behind the wheel, which – along with the sound reported by our shutterbug – suggests that it's burning oil up front. That could mean Ford has found another application for the 3.2-liter, five-cylinder Power Stroke diesel that it just federalized for the Transit van. However our sources suggest what the mule is actually powered by the 3.0-liter Lion V6 diesel that Jaguar Land Rover – once subsidiaries in Ford's Premier Automotive Group – is bringing over for the Td6 models of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The engine produces a respectable 254 horsepower and a healthy 443 pound-feet of torque, and is tipped to be mated to the same ten-speed automatic transmission as the new Raptor. That could give the F-150 the kind of fuel economy and muscle it would need to challenge the likes of the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and the heavier-duty Nissan Titan with the Cummins engine. With gas prices as low as they are, however, and sales of diesel-powered vehicles lagging, Ford could just be trying to keep up with the competition by offering a light-duty diesel pickup. With its lightweight aluminum body, the diesel F-150 could even surpass the Duramax diesel-powered Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon for frugality at the pumps, according to Mark Williams of PickupTrucks.com. He told Autoblog that, "it makes perfect sense for Ford to do a diesel. It seems like everyone is pushing them to do a Ranger, but if they can get the F-150 to push 30 mpg it can challenge the Ram Ecodiesel and even the Colorado Duramax." Reached for comment, Ford spokesman Mike Levine sent us the following statement: "We do not speculate about future products. While diesel is a solution, it is not the solution. EcoBoost offers the ideal combination of performance and fuel economy that over 60 percent of F-150 customers are choosing." Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-150 Diesel: Spy Shots Image Credit: Brian Williams / SpiedBilde Green Spy Photos Ford Land Rover Truck Diesel Vehicles jaguar land rover ford f-150 diesel

Consumer Reports criticizes small turbo engines for misleading performance, fuel economy claims [w/video]

Consumer Reports has taken aim at at small-displacement, forced-induction engines, saying the powerplants don't manage to deliver on automaker fuel economy claims. Manufacturers have long held that smaller, turbocharged engines pack all power of their larger displacement cousins with significantly better fuel economy, but the research organization says that despite scoring high EPA economy numbers, the engines are no better than conventional drivetrains in both categories. Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports, says the forced induction options "are often slower and less fuel efficient than larger four and six-cylinder engines."
Specifically, CR calls out the new Ford Fusion equipped with the automaker's Ecoboost 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The institute's researchers found the engine, which is a $795 option over the base 2.5-liter four-cylinder, fails to match competitors in acceleration and served up 25 miles per gallon in testing, putting the sedan dead last among other midsize options.
The Chevrolet Cruze, Hyundai Sonata Turbo and Ford Escape 2.0T all got dinged for the same troubles, though Consumer Reports has found the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the BMW 328i does deliver on its promises. You can check out the full press release below. You can also read the full study on the Consumer Reports site, or scroll down for a short video recap.