focus

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Ford Focus EV unveiled

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Ford CEO Alan Mulally introduced the automaker's first-ever zero-emissions vehicle Friday in his keynote address at the 2011 CES convention in Las Vegas: The Focus Electric, a new version of the little sedan which Ford says offers better mileage than the Chevy Volt and charges twice as fast as the Nissan Leaf.

"This is our first ever gas-free, zero carbon dioxide emissions car," Mulally said. "(It's) a great step forward in electrification, and part of an even more comprehensive plan for bringing affordable fuel efficiency technology to millions of people around our world."

It … Read more

We've known for some time that Ford Motor Company has been developing a battery electric vehicle (BEV) variant of its Ford Focus. However, the mule previously showcased was based on the second-generation Focus chassis, which is now old-new following the unveiling of the third-generation Focus. Today, the automaker has released teaser photos of what appears to be a new Focus BEV concept and announced via its Ford Electric Vehicles Facebook fan page that it will have big news at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

A set of photos posted on the automaker's Facebook wall … Read more

Ford is about to start assembling gas-powered, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles in its remodeled Michigan assembly plant that now is the size of 22 football fields.

Ford recently invested $550 million to remodel the plant. Improvements include a three-wet-paint booth that utilizes 66 paint robots with seven axes of movement to precisely apply paint to the cars and 500 robots in the body shop, capable of 4,000 welds per vehicle. But it's not just robots assembling cars; the 1.2-million-square-foot plant has 3,200 employees.

"We've modernized just about every square foot of this … Read more

Ford's spin on "reduce, reuse, and recycle" includes your old blue jeans.

The auto maker today announced that the 2012 Focus, on sale early next year in North America and Europe, will use cotton from recycled clothing for carpet backing and sound-absorption materials inside the car. These materials will supposedly provide a much quieter cabin.

"Ford is continually looking for greener alternatives," said Carrie Majeske, product sustainability manager. "Recycled content is a way to divert waste from landfills and reduce the impact of mining virgin material."… Read more

Many vehicles on the road today offer ambient cabin lighting, and Ford vehicles have offered customizable ambient light colors for some time. The 2012 Ford Focus' cabin has this customizable LED ambient lighting setup, but also includes a few new features that add quite a bit of functionality to what was once just a styling option.

A new mode called "search light" allows users to, at the touch of a button, change the lighting color to white and increase the brightness of door, footwell, and cupholder lights to help quickly find dropped items. Sure, cars have had dome … Read more

The Internet's own Bonnie Cha stops by to discuss Windows Phone 7. You're probably asking, "Why would the classy and graceful Bonnie Cha agree to discuss anything with you?" I asked the same question, which is why I was forced to dip into my bag of dark secrets about Bonnie I've collected over the years and use it as what turned out to be very effective leverage.

Tune in to find out why the Windows 7 Phone interface intrigues me so, how Xbox Live fits into this, and why Bonnie affectionately refers to me as &… Read more

In February 2010, Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 7 to the world. With the complete overhaul of its mobile operating system, Microsoft got the tech world excited about the OS again with its fresh user interface, added features, and promises of improved performance. We've had to wait a long time since then to see if Windows Phone 7 actually delivers everything it promises, but we finally got a chance to find out, and for the most part it does. There are certainly aspects that need to be fine-tuned and features that need to be added, but overall, Microsoft has created … Read more

Ford just launched a new Web site to educate people about electric vehicles in an interactive way.

The site is designed to inform visitors about the differences between hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure battery electric vehicles like the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Ford Focus Electric, and other plug-in vehicles Ford has in the works.

Using videos and diagrams, the Web site demonstrates how gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles work and lets visitors make their own conclusions about which vehicle is right for them. The Web site also offers links to other sites, such as EcoBoost and MyFord Touch, … Read more