2003 Ford Excursion Limited Sport Utility 4-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

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Ford's Farley apologizes for saying Blue Oval tracks customers with GPS

Ford marketing head honcho Jim Farley made waves at CES this week by telling show attendees, "We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you're doing it." according to a report by Business Insider. Farley continued by saying, "We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing. By the way, we don't supply that data to anyone."
Farley has since amended his statement, saying that Ford dose not, in fact, track its customers in their cars "without their approval or consent."
Apparently carried away with a hypothetical notion, Farley was attempting to describe how Ford might be able to employee aggregated user data for things like accurate traffic reporting and pattern spotting. A Ford spokesperson confirmed with Business Insider that its GPS units are not sharing the whereabouts of drivers, though there are a few on-board services that might do so. After opting in to the services (and presumably being made aware of any/all tracking and data collection), Ford's Sync Services Directions and Crew Chief software do, in fact, allow data collection as a means of improving both systems. Farley added that the opt-in data is not shared, even when being tracked.

Ford sued over alleged 3.5-liter EcoBoost defects

Three Ford owners from Ohio have filed a lawsuit against the automaker over defects that they allege exist within the company's twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine. Automotive News reports that the lawsuit claims the engine "contained serious latent design, manufacturing, or assembly defects." Those defects, the suit claims, cause the vehicle to shake, misfire and lose power quickly.
Two of the plaintiffs, a married couple, own a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO, and allege they experienced a loss of power and stalling, while the third, an F-150 owner, claims he lost power while accelerating. In addition to the Taurus SHO and F-150, the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine is also available in the Ford Flex, Explorer Sport and Lincoln MKT and MKS. Other three- and four-cylinder EcoBoost engines are not included in the suit. There have been no recalls associated with 3.5-liter V6 engine, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently not investigating the matter.
The plaintiffs, however, claim Ford has known about the problem, citing several technical service bulletins issued to dealers of the F-150 that suggest possible fixes. Ford had no comment for Automotive News, saying that it's yet to review the lawsuit, which was filed last Friday in Columbus, OH.

How Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra will take on the Ford F-150 profit machine

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — When General Motors engineers were developing the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, some of them joined public tours of Ford's Dearborn, Mich., factory to watch aluminum-bodied F-Series trucks go down the assembly line. The redesign of the Ford F-Series trucks, launched in 2014, set a new standard for fuel economy and lightweight vehicle construction. But armed with stopwatches and trained eyes, the GM engineers believed they saw problems. "They had a real hard time getting those doors to fit," Tim Herrick, the executive chief engineer for GM truck programs, told Reuters. His team did more intelligence gathering. They bought and tore apart Ford F-Series doors sold as repair parts. Their conclusion: GM could cut weight in its trucks for a lower cost using doors made of a combination of aluminum and high-strength steel that could be thinner than standard steel, shaving off kilograms in the process. These pounds-and-pennies decisions will have major implications in the highest-stakes game going in Detroit: dominance in the world's most profitable vehicle market, the gasoline-fueled large pickup segment. What's more, GM is banking on strong sales of overhauled 2019 Silverados and GMC Sierras to fund its push into automated and electric vehicles — a business many investors see as the auto industry's long-term future. The risks are high given the hits automakers have taken from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. Rising aluminum prices spurred by Trump's tariffs are driving up costs on the Ford's F-Series, while rising steel and aluminum prices likewise drag on GM results. GM also has a significant risk should the United States, Mexico and Canada fail to agree on a new NAFTA trade deal, given GM trucks built at its Silao, Mexico, factory could face a 25 percent tariff if NAFTA collapses. Major profit per truck Interviews with GM executives and a tour at its factory here in northwest Indiana provide a detailed look inside GM's plan for the most important vehicles in its global lineup. These big pickups are everything Tesla's Model 3 or Chevy's Bolt electric car is not. The mostly steel body is bolted to the truck's steel frame, rather than the one-piece body and frame electric vehicles. The majority of trucks will have a V-8 gasoline engine powering the rear wheels — like the classic GM cars of the 1950s. Some Silverados will have new four-cylinder engines, but there is no electric or hybrid offering as of now.