Ford

While new car launches were few at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, some were significant. Mini brought around the Clubman, a stretched version of the Cooper. Volkswagen showed off its new crossover, the Tiguan, and Audi had a significant model update for the A4. Dodge also came to play, putting a crossover called Journey on the floor.

Click here to see our photos.

Besides Toyota Motor and BMW, automakers haven't done a great job of building fleets that emit less carbon dioxide, according to an Environmental Defense report.

The organization's 80-page report, called "Automakers' Corporate Carbon Burdens" (PDF), evaluated the carbon dioxide emissions of vehicles from major automakers between 1990 and 2005. Companies graded were: Ford Motor, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Subaru and Mitsubishi Motors.

"The rate of carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and light trucks in the U.S. dipped for the first time in two … Read more

Ford Europe plans to announce a special Knight Rider edition of the Ford Focus in Europe, according to the car blog Jalopnik .

While Ford has released this photo of the Ford Focus ST Black Edition on its global site, a press release has not yet surfaced as of mid-morning.

Jalopnik reported that a French Ford Europe press release says the new Ford ST Focus Black Edition will be a tribute to the Knight Rider series that starred David Hasselhoff.

But if this is supposed to be a tribute to Knight Rider why does the driver in Ford's press photo … Read more

The Ford Verve concept car was unveiled at a press conference in Hanau, Germany, on Thursday.

As goes the automakers' dance with the media, come car season, Ford distributed photos and a bland release to the press, while saving for the official unveiling at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show any possibly juicy details of how this thing might actually run.

The car is an example of how the company now has an eye toward small cars, and it will be the first of three cars that Ford plans to reveal this season in Europe, Asia and North America. The "… Read more

A big fuel cell from UTC Power was in the news here in Silicon Valley this week when Fujitsu installed it as a backup power source for its local campus. CNET's Michael Kanellos wrote a good story about the event here, and took pictures ("Photos: Fujitsu unveils king-size fuel cell").

Although the fuel cell itself runs on hydrogen, there's no convenient source of pure hydrogen in Silicon Valley, so UTC Power also provided a steam methane reformer that yields hydrogen from natural gas.

One place where pure hydrogen is readily available is NASA's Cape Canaveral … Read more

Here's something you can brag about to your family the next time you get back from Las Vegas.

The city has added two hydrogen fuel buses from Ford Motor to its downtown bus routes. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman hosted an inaugural launch for the press on Monday.

The city of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Valley Water District's Springs Preserve have already been participating in municipal hydrogen pilot programs. The Springs Preserve hydrogen filling station makes its own hydrogen from water and electricity generated by the station's solar panels.

Now tourists and citizens interested in … Read more

CNET readers were so impressed with Sync, the in-car media application developed by Microsoft for Ford, that they voted it the winner of the People's Voice award for Best of CES 2007. Today Ford released details on how much the people are going to have to fork over to choose Sync on select 2008 Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln models: a pretty reasonable $395.

Those who do option up will get one of the most sophisticated media and communications systems available. As we found in our hands-on test, the Sync application, which runs on a Microsoft Auto platform, enables drivers … Read more

Cargo space and performance are the most important car traits among those who post to CarGurus.com, a site that rates cars like TripAdvisor rates hotels.

The No. 1 rated car is the 2007 Jeep Wrangler, according to CarGurus.com's community ratings of the top 10 2007 models, with the 2007 Ford Mustang coming in at No. 2.

The 2007 Toyota Camry, which is known for its gas mileage of 31 mpg on the highway, was No. 3 followed by the also sensible 2007 Honda Accord. The 2007 Ford Focus was also on the list. Except for those three, … Read more

The "Twin Force" engine that Ford's been hinting about these past months will deliver the power-performance of a V8 with the fuel economy of a V6, Ford confirmed to CNET News.com.

The engine will have direct injection plus a turbocharger, according to a Ford representative.

The company would not confirm when or in which production models consumers can expect to see the new technology.

Many of the recent announcements concerning fuel injection and turbocharging technology have been related to diesel engines. Ford's claim is an interesting one that, if true, could put its "Twin … Read more