Car Blog

Ford‘s hot-selling Explorer is now the most fuel-efficient seven-passenger SUV on the market, delivering an EPA-certified 28 mpg on the highway with an all-new 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine. This is the first application of this advanced engine in North America.

“Today’s SUV buyers place a high priority on miles per gallon, so Explorer has expanded its portfolio of fuel-efficient engines with an all-new EcoBoost offering,” said Amy Marentic, Ford group marketing manager. “SUV buyers deserve economy with their capability, so Explorer now offers best-in-class V6 and four-cylinder fuel efficiency.”

Building on Explorer’s current class-leading V6 fuel efficiency, the addition of EcoBoost power and a 28 mpg highway rating now puts Explorer over the top. On the highway, Explorer now beats Honda Pilot and Jeep Grand Cherokee by 5 mpg, Chevrolet Traverse by 4 mpg and Toyota Highlander by 3 mpg.

Delivering best-in-class fuel efficiency in both V6 and EcoBoost variants, the full-size, three-row Explorer with EcoBoost even delivers better highway fuel efficiency than the compact Subaru Impreza (1 mpg better), while matching the most efficient gas-powered BMW 3-Series. Read the rest of this entry »

Ford will bold and thicken characters on many interior controls across its lineup beginning with the Ford Edge and Ford Explorer next year, making it easier for people of all ages, particularly aging Baby Boomers, to read display fonts.

Ford’s legibility study used Ford engineers for the younger subjects and local retirees for the older group. The study found that even small changes in the fonts used in interior graphics can make them easier and quicker for drivers of all ages to read and recognize.

The letters and numbers that form words and convey other information on the center stack display on the next-generation vehicles will be slightly thicker, with an approximately 40 percent wider stroke width.

Here is what the difference will look like, for example, on the air-conditioning control of the 2013 Explorer:

The key is to make the words and numbers a bit bolder, but not overwhelming, said Research Engineer Shannon O’Day. Even with high-tech gadgets and components, simpler often works better – and the key is to pay attention to the width and stroke of the text, allowing them to play off each other.

“If you choose wisely, the legibility of even relatively small text can be a comfortable reading experience,” she said. “That is especially helpful for drivers on the move.” Read the rest of this entry »

Ford’s industry-exclusive rear inflatable seat belts – one of the 2011 Explorer’s breakthrough safety innovations that helped nearly triple the vehicle’s March sales – earned the 2011 Traffic Safety Achievement Award from the New York International Auto Show’s World Traffic Safety Symposium.

This advanced restraint system is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat occupants. Over time, Ford plans to offer this technology in other nameplates globally.

“Ford’s rear inflatable seat belt technology will enhance safety for rear seat passengers of all ages, especially young children who might be more vulnerable in crashes,” said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. “Rear inflatable seat belts – a Ford exclusive – help build on our safety leadership.”

Safer and more comfortable

In everyday use, rear inflatable belts operate like conventional seat belts, including compatibility with infant and child safety and booster seats. The additional comfort and padding of rear inflatable seat belts encourages increased use.

In the event of a frontal or side crash, the increased diameter of the inflated belt more effectively holds the occupant in the proper seating position, helping to reduce the risk of injury. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2011 Ford Explorer has been redesigned from bottom to top, inside and out to meet the needs of SUV drivers from Dubuque to Dubai. While the atmospheric conditions of eastern Iowa can be closely replicated in Ford’s Dearborn, Mich., facilities, there’s no substitute for being there when validating vehicle capabilities for Dubai customers.

“The sweltering heat and humidity conditions of Dubai have helped us develop a better Explorer,” said Chief Engineer for Vehicle Engineering Don Ufford. “With midday temperatures pushing 125 degrees Fahrenheit – aggravated by high humidity near the sea coast – Dubai represents an ideal environment to test and validate vehicle performance in some of the world’s most extreme conditions.”

Ufford and his team make the trek to Dubai for more than the opportunities that are inherent in the extreme-condition testing the humid desert climate provides. They are here to listen to customers, too.

“We regularly sell close to 10,000 Explorers per year in the Middle East market,” Ufford says. “SUV drivers in this part of the world regularly use the broad range of capabilities these vehicles offer. Our rationale for testing in Dubai is simple: If we can perform well here, we can do well anywhere.”

A recent Dubai trip for Ufford and the team offered the opportunity to test interior air conditioning effectiveness and occupant comfort in the combined desert heat and high humidity of the adjacent Gulf of Oman. With a 50 percent humidity factor, the equivalent temperature can exceed 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Engineers fitted an Explorer test vehicle with interior temperature sensors in the very places where occupants would be sensitive. A majority of the adjustments the team makes to improve air conditioning performance will find their way into all Explorers.

“Fine-tuning vehicle performance for these extreme conditions helps us deliver a better product for all of our Explorer customers,” Ufford said. “Nearly all of the adjustments we make to optimize for conditions in Dubai are integrated back into the global product program.” Read the rest of this entry »

The all-new Ford Explorer is more than just the new fuel economy class leader in the midsize SUV segment. The reinvented Explorer, which arrives later this year, also sets a new benchmark for sustainability in the SUV segment due to an increased use of renewable and recycled content, such as parts made from steel left over from F-150 production.

The new Explorer also leverages Ford’s industry-leading use of bio foam and recycled fabric in its interior. These and other eco-improvements help make Explorer 85 percent recyclable.

“Ford has made tremendous strides, not only in improving fuel economy in the new Explorer, but also in using more environmentally friendly materials,” said Jim Holland, chief nameplate engineer. “By offering better fuel efficiency in an overall greener package, we’re offering our SUV customers an appealing and sustainable product.”

Explorer’s eco-advantage

Ford is minimizing waste by making Explorer’s noise-dampening fender baffles, which fit between the vehicle’s outer shell and its inner structure, from steel left over after stamping the door openings out of F-150 body sides. The reuse allows Ford to reduce its use of virgin steel by an estimated 119 tons for one year of production. Using less virgin steel also reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 119 tons – about the same amount emitted by a midsize car driving the circumference of the earth 14 times.

The Explorer interior also incorporates sustainable materials to lessen its environmental impact. Explorer uses 25 percent recycled fiber in its interior fabrics, including seat upholstery, bolster and carpeting. The use of recycled fiber instead of virgin fiber results in an estimated 20 percent reduction in energy consumption, 17 percent waste elimination and 14 percent reduction in CO2 emissions for the Explorer’s seating materials.

The new Explorer is the latest Ford vehicle to feature 40 percent soy polyurethane foam in seat cushions and seatbacks. Ford remains committed to using the bio-based material in nearly 100 percent of its North American vehicle lineup by the end of the year.

Soy foam has helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 10,500 barrels, and is up to 24 percent more renewable than petroleum-based foam. The use of soy foam also has helped Ford reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds – the annual equivalent of 965 typical American households. Read the rest of this entry »

The reinvented 2011 Ford Explorer – designed and built in the United States – will do more than redefine how Americans think of SUVs. The all-new vehicle will bring more than 600 new supplier jobs in addition to the 1,200 Ford positions being added. The 2011 Explorer also will be exported to more than 90 countries after it goes into production later this year.

“The economic impact of the new Explorer will benefit hundreds of American communities,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas. “Not only does the new Explorer change the game for SUVs, it will help boost the American economy by fueling jobs and new investments.”

The new Explorer will be produced at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant later this year as a result of a $400 million investment that is adding 1,200 new jobs at the plant.

Key suppliers to the Explorer are investing in new facilities, adding shifts and hiring for more than 600 jobs in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

Each automotive job is estimated to generate an additional 10 indirect jobs, according to the Center for Automotive Research data. That means Explorer could help create up to 12,000 new jobs overall.

“Suppliers across the country are stepping up to the challenge of building the next Explorer,” said Tony Brown, group vice president, Ford Global Purchasing. “There are more than 100 companies in 23 states that will produce parts and components for the 2011 Explorer and hundreds more indirect suppliers beyond that.”

Suppliers adding jobs come from across Ford’s supply base and include members of the company’s minority- and women-owned business groups. They include: Read the rest of this entry »