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Ford gives police chiefs tech to surveil officers in their own cars

Police officers certainly have a difficult job in keeping the streets safe, but as public employees in positions of authority, there is still a very real need for oversight. To that end, Ford is partnering with a tech company to offer a new system called Ford Telematics for Law Enforcement on its line of Police Interceptor patrol vehicles that could make cops safer, while giving cities a better idea of what its officers are doing.
The system streams live data about cruisers back to the home base to people like the police chief or shift supervisor. That info includes expected things like speed, location and cornering acceleration, but it gets incredibly granular as well, with records of things like if emergency lights are on, or even if an officer is wearing a seatbelt.
Ford Telematics for Law Enforcement "ought to protect officers as much as it protects the public," said Ford spokesperson Chris Terry to Autoblog. Constantly monitoring patrol cars offers cities a lot of advantages, too. First, it reduces potential liability because a department can prove where each vehicle is at all times. Also, officers know they are being watched and may potentially drive more safely.

Blue Oval's new Cargo cab-over rig is largest "One Ford" initiative yet

The imposing commercial truck above has a feature that might be surprising to most Autoblog readers - a Blue Oval emblem on the front. Here in North America, Ford simply doesn't play in the eighteen-wheeler sandbox, but that doesn't mean that the Dearborn-based automaker is absent in the heavy hauling space in other parts of the globe. In fact, Ford presently fields two completely different big rig ranges under the Cargo moniker - one a product of an Eastern Europe/Turkey joint venture, and another from Brazil. But that's about to start changing with the advent of this new cab-over model seen here.
Unveiled in São Paulo, Brazil, this new generation of Cargo is perhaps the largest physical embodiment of CEO Alan Mulally's "One Ford" global streamlining strategy. Instead of multiple models, company engineers have developed a new single truck that it says will better meet the needs of truckers in all markets. Designed to compete in what's known as the "extra heavy-duty segment" elsewhere in the world, this Cargo was developed jointly by Ford engineering teams in Brazil, Turkey and Europe.
Specifics remain hard to come by (read: unreleased), but Ford is promising an all-new engine enabling hauling capability of up to 56 tons while still returning excellent fuel economy. Ford's global Cargo lineup will henceforth consist of a dozen models, but Ford tells Autoblog has no plans to bring this hot and heavy-duty action to North America.

Ford Explorer, Expedition next to go aluminum?

Ford made some serious waves when it unveiled the latest F-150. Instead of making its bodywork out of steel, like just about every other truck on the market, Ford went with aluminum. And you can bet the F-150 won't be the last Ford model to go with the lightweight alloy construction, either.
Our compatriots at Edmunds report that Dearborn is considering replacing two of its most popular SUVs with aluminum versions. One candidate is the Expedition, which would make sense considering that the current model (like the two preceding generations and the fullsize Bronco before it) is based on the F-150's underpinnings. Another is the Explorer, which was traditionally based on the Ranger pickup but went with a car-like unibody chassis in its current iteration. If the Explorer does go the way of aluminum, don't expect it to be a part of its very next update, which is likely due too soon for such major changes.
It would stand to reason that, if the Expedition were to go aluminum, so would the next-generation Lincoln Navigator. Ditto the MKT together with the Explorer. But those aren't likely to be the only models in contention for aluminum construction. Like any other automaker, Ford is under pressure to steadily reduce its carbon emissions and improve its fuel economy figures, prompting it to look at a whole range of measures - including more efficient engines, lower rolling-resistance tires, active aerodynamics and lightweight construction. Expect aluminum to play a big part in that equation moving forward.