ford fusion

Wednesday's tech news roundup is at full throttle:

T-Mobile will launch a truly unlimited data plan beginning Sept. 5. No caps or throttling. Sprint also offers this, but T-Mobile is competing with pricing. Sprint's starting price for unlimited data is $80 a month, and users are limited to 450 voice minutes. T-Mobile also starts it at $80 a month, but throws in 500 minutes. The larger difference is when you want both unlimited data and unlimited talk; Sprint charges $110, T-Mobile charges $90 a month. Of course, there's also smartphone choice and service to consider. T-Mobile will … Read more

If you're driving around in a 2013 Ford Fusion and think to yourself, "My, but this seat is comfortable," there's a good chance you have RUTH the robot to thank.

Ford's Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics -- a modified consumer packaging arm that tests interiors for quality and comfort -- has crossed the Atlantic from Europe to bring her touchy-feely testing skills to North America.

The robot simulates human motor skills to measure parameters like roughness, hardness, and temperature on points such as the steering wheel, knobs, and armrests. RUTH has already been used for several years at the automaker's European Research Center in Aachen, Germany, to poke and prod European versions of the Focus and Fiesta.

RUTH 2.0, located at Ford's Product Development Center in Dearborn, Mich., measures seat comfort too. She has extended her six-jointed arm all over the seats of the 2013 Fusion, the first North American car headed to production that she's had a major hand (or arm, we should say) in testing. … Read more

Ford Motor today announced the recall of about 129,000 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion sedans that may suffer wheel stud fractures, causing the vehicles' 17-inch steel wheels to fall off.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the recall affects 2010 and 2011 models built from April 1 through April 30, 2009, and from December 1, 2009, through November 13, 2010. (To see the recall notice, click here and search on NHTSA campaign ID number 11V574000. No permalink, unfortunately.)

The recall announcement states that while the car is in use, "multiple stud fractures could occur at the … 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

With Toyota's name all over TV and the news within the last couple of months, I figured it timely to show that not all things associated with Toyota are bad. In the specific case of the Toyota Prius, the Japanese manufacturer has honed and crafted a trendsetting, forward-thinking hybrid car that's gone from novelty to an almost universally accepted automobile. In yesterday's video we got a good sampling of the modern Prius' many notable features, but we didn't get a look at everything. And that's why I've got another clip on this very cool … Read more

The last few days I've given air time to the vehicle that won the North American Truck of the Year award this week at the Detroit auto show: the Ford Transit Connect. But apparently Ford doubled its pleasure in the Motor City by winning the other award for North American Car of the Year, and the recipient was Ford's hot new Fusion hybrid sedan.

This road test video examines both the six-cylinder edition of the Fusion as well as the four-cylinder hybrid version of this award winner. If you're expecting flash and excitement, then this video isn'… Read more

I'm sure I've baffled a few readers after several days of Web video on Ferraris and then totally switch gears and start showing videos of minivans, showing moms and their little kids. But variety is the spice of life, my friends, and besides, the thing won a prestigious award at the International Auto Show in Detroit this week for being "Truck of the Year" (interesting, seeing as this is a cargo van, but anyway...). Tuesday's Web video demonstrated the Ford TC's usefulness as a family vehicle, but today's clip basically serves as a … Read more

Anyone who thinks that American automobiles don't stack up against their European and Asian rivals may need to reconsider such an attitude. Why? Just recently two Ford vehicles won both of the prizes in the North American Car and Truck of the Year contests as decided by roughly 50 automotive critics at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The winning car was Ford's first foray into the world of hybrid vehicles (the Ford Fusion), and the other winner for Ford was its new Transit Connect van.

The Transit Connect part cargo van, with plenty of room … Read more

Ford Motor's hybrid sales are up 67 percent this year, despite an overall industry slump of 11 percent, the company reported.

The carmaker sold 31,000 hybrid cars through November this year--which was higher than its previous sales record set in 2007. The company said Wednesday that it pinned part of the increase on the release of the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid. Both vehicles get 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, Ford said. The Fusion Hybrid, which was released in March, represents 45 percent of all Ford hybrid sales for 2009. … Read more