2008 Ford Focus

For 2008, Ford redesigned the Focus and added new features to let motorists feel safer and more comfortable. Some standard features integrated in the new Ford Focus are as side curtain airbags and air conditioning. Despite the slight changes, the Focus’ price tag remained almost the same. The S Coupe begins at $14,695 and the S Sedan starts at $14,995.

One feature that is new on the 2008 Ford Focus is the Ford Sync. It will be a standard feature on the SES model and will be optional for the SE for $395.

Ford Sync will allow motorists to control most portable digital music players and Bluetooth-enabled cell phones through the car using voice commands.

This is also an added safety features since drivers will no longer have to manipulate their music gadgets manually and can instead focus on the road by keeping their hands on the wheel.

In the recent 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, car manufacturers put on display their newest and best vehicles. Ford is one of those that showed their future cars. One of them is the Ford Verve Concept. The Verve has some distinguishing features like the slim headlights, SUV-like profile and the large wheels. The said car will be coming to the U.S.

The Verve is relatively smaller that the Ford Focus, but it has a sportier look into it if compared to other small cars.

There are still no news regarding the power of the new Ford Verve, although car enthusiasts can be assured that this car will build to be economical and stylish. One car critic said, “Ford is emphatically behind this concept’s design.”

Ford just keeps on getting green

Ford Motor Corp. is getting greener and greener as they recently announced that they will install their patented Fumes-to-Fuel system at its Oakville, Ontario, Assembly Plant. According to reports, the system will convert emissions from the assembly plant's paint shop into electricity.

Reports say that it will first target an internal combustion engine before shifting to a stationary large-scale fuel cell that will improve efficiency. Meanwhile, 300 kilowatts of green energy will be coming from the fumes released by the paint solvent.

"The Oakville installation is the first of its kind in the world to harvest emissions from an automotive facility for use in fuel cell," said Kit Edgeworth, Ford's abatement equipment technical specialist for Manufacturing. "It is the greenest technology and offers the perfect solution to the industry's biggest environmental challenge traditionally."

Such development was made in order to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the painting operations' exhaust air and still make it more useful. This is possible by the carbon beads responsible for capturing the VOCs and later on turned to electricity.

Another great news from Ford is their development of a new environmentally friendly anti-corrosion technology that reduces water use in automotive paint shops by nearly half, and lowers sludge production by 90 percent.

It is currently being field-tested on a small fleet of Lincoln Town Cars. It uses a zirconium oxide vehicle bath instead of the traditional zinc phosphate bath, which contains heavy metals such as zinc, nickel and manganese.