2005 Ford F350 6.0 Powerstroke Diesel Regular Cab Dually 4x4 Xlt 48k Miles on 2040-cars

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Ford tries to get a better handle on what EV drivers want

Ford says more than nine out of 10 electric-vehicle drivers indicate that their current EV won't be their last. Which is a good thing. Given the Blue Oval's most recent green-car sales, that next EV purchase couldn't come soon enough. The automaker took a poll of 10,000 electric-vehicle owners in the US and found that, among other things, more than 80 percent either already have or are considering installing solar panels to enable off-the-grid vehicle charging from home. Less surprising, these drivers use their smartphones to do things like check the car's battery charge and remotely turn on or off their cars' air-conditioning or heating systems before setting off on a drive. Of course, these folks want a little bit more from their smartphone apps. Most handy would be a public charging station locator as well as the ability to reserve and pay for electric charging sessions in advance. And more fast-charging stations appear to be in store, as almost half of the battery-electric vehicle drivers use conventional 110-volt outlets to charge their vehicles at home. Ford is hoping that these repeat-driver indicators bode for good things in the future. Last month, the automaker sold almost 5,800 hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles in the US. That was down 27 percent from a year earlier. Notably, Ford Focus Electric sales dropped 32 percent from a year earlier to just 135 units, and have fallen 16 percent for the year. It's not just Ford that's facing difficulties. US plug-in vehicle sales overall dropped 22 percent from a year earlier to about 8,600 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Ford Focus Electric: Quick Spin View 18 Photos News Source: FordImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green Ford Green Culture Smartphone Electric PHEV app

GM being sued over imploding Bosch fuel pumps in Duramax diesel trucks

Texas-based law firm Hilliard Martinez Gonzalez (HMG) this week filed a class-action lawsuit against General Motors over an alleged issue with Bosch CP4 fuel pumps. The suit claims Bosch designed the CP4 pump to work with European diesel fuel, which is thicker than U.S. diesel. When GM installed that pump in the 6.6-liter Duramax engine used from the 2011 to 2016 model years, the lawsuit claims the thinner U.S. fuel didn't provide enough lubrication, allowing air pockets to form in the fuel pump. That, in turn, allegedly let metal rub against metal inside the pump, causing the pump to eventually disintegrate and "send thousands of metal shards into the fuel injection system and every part of the engine." The Detroit News reported on the most recent lawsuit filed in Michigan's Eastern District Court, but the case is another piece of nationwide legal maneuvering going on since at least last September. Every U.S. truck maker used the Bosch CP4 fuel pump, and HMG originally went after all of them, as well as Bosch. On September 30, 2018, HMG filed a class-action suit in Texas on behalf of eight plaintiffs. The law firm wanted to prosecute the affair under RICO — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — and named 10 defendants: FCA US LLC, FCA North America Holdings, LLC, F/K/A Chrysler Group, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, N.V., Ford Motor Company, General Motors LLC, Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch LLC, VM North America, Inc., and VM Motori S.P.A.  The firm filed another suit in Florida on Nov. 2, 2018, against the same 10 defendants, again under the RICO statute, this time on behalf of more than 30 plaintiffs. We don't know how many other suits might have been filed, but the two suits mentioned apparently didn't have legs — the courts dismissed both quickly. So HMG shifted its strategy away from the RICO angle, and focused its efforts on GM, filing suit in California on Nov. 20, 2018. Instead of trying to catch 10 fish with a small net, HMG wants to score one fish with a big net. The results have borne more promise for the plaintiffs. In July this year, a judge in California denied GM's motion to dismiss, noting "the alleged defect is central to the vehicleÂ’s function." This latest suit filed on Aug. 6 in Detroit singles out GM again.  The Bosch CP4 is known to be problematic, however.

Ford Shelby GT350 shows off HUD shift light [w/video]

We're getting pretty geeked about the upcoming Ford Shelby GT350 as Ford continues the slow trickle of news about the upcoming Mustang track beast. To review: 526 horspower, optional carbon-fiber wheels, and a wicked exhaust note from the flat-plane crank V8. And the latest piece is a programmable shift light that projects onto the windshield The head-up display, officially called Performance Shift Light Indicator, throws a line of amber lights in front of the driver's line of sight. Chevrolet uses a similar system on Camaro and Corvette models with an optional head-up display. While the GM HUD offers additional information like vehicle speed and a tachometer, the Ford system is more customizable. Depending on which of three modes, the lights flash in different patterns: Tach mode moves left to right, Track mode moves from the outside to the end until it makes a solid line, and Drag mode flashes all the light when the rpm limit is his. On the Shelby, the Performance Shift Light Indicator settings are programmed through menus in the instrument cluster's multifunction display. Stay tuned for more GT350 news next week, and check out the full press release below. View 6 Photos Ford Shelby GT350 Gets Racing-Inspired Customizable Shift Light Indicator to Help Drivers Optimize Track Time • Shelby GT350® Mustang features Performance Shift Light Indicator display with Track, Tach and Drag mode • Performance Shift Light Indicator provides the benefits of a shift light while allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the track at all times • Heads-up shift light was developed by reimagining existing hardware and is standard on all-new Shelby GT350 and Shelby® GT350R DEARBORN, Mich., July 23, 2015 – When driving the high-revving, 526-horsepower Shelby GT350® Mustang, drivers would do best to keep eyes on the road. So that's where Ford put the Performance Shift Light Indicator. For decades, race drivers have used shift lights that signal the perfect engine speed for the shift point for maximum acceleration and lower lap times during the intensity of on-track driving. Shift lights allow drivers to concentrate on the road in front of them rather than watching a tachometer. However, most shift lights either obscure the forward field of view or are located low in the instrument cluster where the driver must look down to see it. The Performance Shift Light Indicator is a heads-up display located in front of the driver.