All automakers are focusing on the development of green vehicles. Yes, all of them including our Ford are coming up with revolutionary technology all geared towards making vehicles cleaner. Motorized vehicles are being blamed as the biggest contributors to global warming. Thus, automakers are under pressure from different sectors of the global community to straighten up and come up with vehicles that do not produce too much (or even produces not one bit of) greenhouse gas at all.

Recently, Ford's CEO, Alan Mulally addressed the attendees of the Los Angeles Auto Show. At the said event, he outlined the moves being taken by the Dearborn automaker in its effort to create greener vehicles for the future.

"We are focusing on sustainable technology solutions that can be used not for hundreds or thousands of cars—but for millions of cars, because that's how we can truly make a difference," said Mulally during his keynote address. Although the company is going green, it does not mean that it will be abandoning its large vehicles like the iconic Expedition and the F-150.

The CEO said that Ford is looking to develop turbocharged gasoline engines which are fuel efficient. These engines will be used on their high volume cars and trucks. The automaker already has one in the bag and it will be made available with the Lincoln MKS. The said powerplant is a V8 but it has the fuel efficiency of a V6. That means you do not have to sacrifice power for fuel efficiency. This show a great promise as the automaker can now focus on making small engines with fuel efficiency of even smaller engines.

Mulally committed Ford to the development of green vehicles saying: "We are going to keep improving the fuel efficiency of all our vehicles from this day forward, forever. It's important to start this discussion and keep it going. We need to do this right now."

Ford SYNC™... The Ford Motor Company’s industry-exclusive, voice-activated hands free in-car communications and entertainment system has proven the world that it is a ground-breaking technology and that it is a certified winner! Ford won’t seem to stop from bouncing over and over again like Pontiac shocks when they were recognized by the editors of Popular Science magazine as one of the best new technologies of the year. They were also selected to accept the 2007 “Best of What’s New” award in the automotive category - courtesy of the SYNC™!

“For 20 years, Popular Science’s 'Best of What’s New' awards honor the innovations that a make positive impact on life today and change our views of the future. PopSci’s editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list. There’s no higher accolade Popular Science can give,” says Mark Jannot, the Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science.

Jim Buczkowski, the director of Electrical Systems Engineering at Ford, thanked the magazine’s editorial team for the award and noted, “All of us at Ford are committed to delivering the products people want—and that means not only great vehicles, but also smart, innovative features like SYNC that change the game for the better.”

The Scandinavian subsidiary of Ford Volvo has announced recently a rebate program which will provide shoppers of S40, S60, S80, XC90, V50, C30, and C70 models a rebate of up to $5,000. This incentive program will concentrate mainly on 2008 models although some of the remaining 2007 models are also included in the rebate.

And according to Steve Blyth, President and CEO of Volvo Canada the company and its retailers treat all of its customers equally and would therefore not discriminate between leasing, financing or cash buyers. Likewise, the automaker will not offer a different incentive program to cash paying shoppers as opposed to those offered for finance or lease customers. The said rebate program will be made available on the majority of Volvo vehicles to all customers regardless of they want to conduct the transaction, PR-USA.net said.

With this new rebate program Blyth is hoping to attract a great number of customers into the dealerships. The Volvo cash rebate program is a combination of great lease and finance rates that gives car shoppers a reason to visit their local dealerships.

Blyth also added that they have realized that somehow Canadians are comparing prices of vehicles with same nameplate with those found at the US market. The rebate program will help Canadian Volvo to finally be noticed by consumers. Canadian Volvo would like for consumers to see that they offer vehicles loaded with a much longer list of standard equipment, secured by a more comprehensive warranty, and with a retailer network that is fully capable of parts-to-service designed specifically for Canada vehicles.

Volvo Canada considered price as one of the most important factor in a purchase decision and the rebate program will help customers to avoid the additional cost and hassle that comes with importing a vehicle from America.

If Volvo Canada has its rebate program, its counterpart in India is also using its own sales programme intended for the Volvo S80 luxury sedan and the Volvo XC90 SUV. To lure shoppers both models are to be offered with 3 different engine alternatives namely: the 4.4 liter petrol V8, the 3.2 liter petrol in-line 6 cylinder and the 2.4 liter turbocharged diesel inline 5-cylinder dubbed the D5.

According to Paul de Voijs, MD for Volvo Car India, Volvo Cars is finally starting its operations in India, which he considers a country with immense potential. And the company is reluctant and proud to offer 2 of its top car models to Indian auto aficionados.

Volvo Cars India has 3 dealerships situated in the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chandigarh. The dealerships will be fully operational in autumn of next year. The recent inaugurated headquarters of Volvo Car India is located in New Delhi. The opening of the new office was headed by the Minister of Transport of the Haryana Government, Rao Dan Singh, Lars-Olof Lindgren, Ambassador of Sweden in India and Fredik Fexe, Swedish Trade Commissioner. The ceremony was conducted based on Indian tradition and customs.

News from theautochannel.com about the Toyota Mobile Hybrid was released early this morning and the Road Team Spokesman Mark Ulbrich talks about his rare experience with the new Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive. The Toyota Motor Corporation also hopes that the participants and the drivers were able to get learning skills from the event.

The Auto Channel has the news on their site. There are four distinct interactive learning areas within the exhibit:

• "Alternative Fuels: Fueling the Future," identifies the differences in the various types of alternative fuels and how they are produced.
  
• "Environment and Resources: Small Steps, Big Difference," shows attendees what they can do to make a difference to the environment.
  
• "The Prius Driving Experience" simulates the current Hybrid Synergy Drive technology allowing visitors to interact with system while on-screen instructions offer driving tips.
  
• "Hybrid Technology: Not All Hybrids are Created Equal" exhibit gives visitors a better understanding of the various hybrid technology options on the market and how hybrids benefit the consumer and the environment.

The event started last January at the San Jose International Auto Show were most of the events are seen including Spring of 2008. Customers were given the privilege to drive Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system.

"Most people have heard of hybrid technology and probably have a vague idea of how it works, but few have actually driven a hybrid and or taken an up-close look at its operation. This tour allows consumers to learn more about the technology behind this system and the benefits of hybrid vehicles,” Celeste Migliore, the Toyota's National Manager, Advanced Technology Vehicles, said.

The event aims to lessen environmental impact by means of reducing carbon emission of their cars. Visit www.toyota.com/highway for more information just like Dodge fenders which are available online.

Driver of No. 38 M&M’s Ford Fusion David Gilliland has accounted the fastest speed at the Texas Happy Hour among all Ford Racing drivers. Gilliland’s performance was absolutely as hot as the Lexus radiator buy!

“We’ve worked really hard. We unloaded yesterday and we weren’t as good as we were, and this is something that I’m very proud of out M&M’s group – everybody here, as a team, they don’t give up. And we’ve gotten a lot better, communication-wise with Todd and me, from when I started. Together we’ve been able to make the car very, very good. We’re very happy with it. On long runs, it’s very fast. On short runs, it’s very fast. We just worked through it. We were tight when we got here and we just started throwing stuff at it and made some great, great strides. We feel really good about our chances on Sunday,” explained David Gilliland.

“We put 25 laps on a set of tires, which is quite a few laps, and the car still drove very, very well. We felt like we were very competitive with our times. We put a lot of laps on the car, on the tires. A lot of times where you’ll get the car where it will drive well on long runs, but you can’t go on new tires on re-starts and stuff. And sometimes you’ll give up six or seven positions, and if it’s good on long runs you’ll only be able to pick up three or four back. So, it’s a compromise, and it’s a balance to getting the car where it’ll go as fast as you can possibly make on short runs and then long runs, too,” added the driver.

Automotive News reported earlier today that the Detroit based car maker Ford Motor Company is narrowing down the potential buyers of their car brands Land Rover and Jaguar by the end of the week. The company have confirmed a few names possible to own the two luxury car brands of Ford.

The rumors about Tata Motors, One Equity, Ripplewood, TPG and Terra Firm to own the two Ford brands are again bugging the net. The price will be $1.5 billion for them to acquire the said brands. Ford is expecting to close the bids to $8 billion but I guess it is not safe to expect since these two brands are noted to have a huge decline on sales the past months. Not like Dodge, the maker of Dodge fender covers the two brands are struggling so hard to sell in the US car market.

There is a plan to make these electric cars available for the masses and they even invested $200 million to pursue the plan and now its all coming back to nothing. They have invested $200 million coming from a small group and spend it on making are under these crazy ideas.

If they used only the Mazda Miata radiator on the car, it would never be that expensive. The original plan is that they will sell the car and they will let each buyer have to pay monthly charges for free battery refills for every 100 miles or so. It is like a Netflix for the road where a series of refilling stations will be seen on the road in test countries and cities. These will tell drivers where to pick up batteries and change the units in the same amount of time it takes to fill up a gas tank.

Everybody is happy to know the story. However, these electric cars are not yet available on the market or are not even developed at this very moment. But even without addressing larger geographic areas, the United States will be seeing the large amount of tech in the large city.

Ford has been known for its large vehicles like the Expedition and the F-150. The automaker also owns Land Rover, also a manufacturer of off-road driving vehicles. We all know that Land Rover vehicles are known for their toughness which separates them from the rest of the filed making them truly unique machines. But a certain Land Rover vehicle is truly unique that it can drive all by itself.

The British marque partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT to create a one of a kind Land Rover LR3. Said vehicle has been tinkered with and the result is a fully autonomous LR3 which will be making its appearance at the forthcoming 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.

The LR3 is no slouch when it comes to technologically advanced features. But the men, and women behind the project made the LR3 even more advanced that it has become an out of this world vehicle which can run by itself. You might think that human input via a remote control is responsible for making this vehicle move, but the truth is, the LR3 really drives by itself without having to be controlled remotely.

The vehicle though does not look like a normal LR3 as it is equipped with cameras and sensors and whatnot. With the help of these devices, the vehicle can find sits way along a circuitous track or even city streets. It uses Global Positioning Satellite to determine where it is, where it is going, and where it should pass to reach the destination. The vehicle may seem like a prop for some sci-fi TYV show but this one is for real.

Don't expect though that a vehicle like this would be available in the near future. Although it is not impossible to create an autonomous vehicle, it is still perfect. The cost involved in developing such a vehicle may be too great for consumers to purchase one. I think that even millionaires would still go for a chauffeured limousine than a vehicle that drives by itself. But in the future, beyond this decade, we might see vehicles driving by themselves made available to consumers.

The Ford Sync developed by Ford with Microsoft has certainly attracted the attention of consumers and critics in the auto industry. The technology that is the Ford Sync allows consumers to connect their cell phones and media player to a Ford vehicle's audio system. Playing music can be done via voice command which is really a cool feature to have. Not only that, you can also send text messages without even touching your cell phone. It is possible via voice command too.

And now, Ford has enlisted the help of Latin superstar Juanes. The rock star if you are not familiar with is included in Time magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People in the World". And he is known for his music that's why he is a good match for the Ford Sync.

The Latin superstar has this to say about his involvement with the Ford Sync: "I know that in today’s busy world, one of the few places people have the time to closely listen to music is in their car. As someone who is deeply interested in both technology and sharing my music in personal environments with fans, teaming up with Ford and SYNC is an ideal partnership. I love the idea of people having the ability of listening to my music and communicating with loved ones by voice command while continuing to drive safely."

"SYNC fits your lifestyle and introduces you to the technology of the future," said Juanes. "It's all about being SYNC-ronized with your culture, your people, your music and your car," concluded the rockstar.

Ford has developed the Sync with Microsoft and the said technology will be exclusively available to Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles until 2008. The automaker is continuing its fight to the top and is now offering more reliable vehicles even more durable than Mercedes xenon lights.

Dave Rodriguez, Multicultural Marketing Communications Manager at Ford has this to say about their partnership with the Latin superstar: "Ford, SYNC and Juanes are just the perfect fit because we’re all focused on the importance of being able to connect with people. Staying connected to friends and music while on the go is no longer a trend, it's part of everyday life for our Hispanic target and SYNC brings this power exclusively to Ford drivers."

The Ford Motor Company is helping the citizens of Southern California in battling wildfire and helping them recover from it. The company will be donating cash, cars as well as manpower in order to pursue the fire protection sponsorship they have decided to donate to the said city. The company will also give their customers a chance to delay their payments especially those who have been victimized by these wildfires.

Ford is also donating 20 vehicles from its brand and that includes 11 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks and nine Ford Expedition sport utility vehicles. These vehicles will serve to be the tool in the prevention of wildfire on the city. These cars are made of quality just like the quality they gave to the Jaguar catalytic converter.

Ford Lincoln Mercury Los Angeles regional manager Hal Dewsnap said, "Many Southern California Ford employees and Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers share the concerns of their neighbors as they also have been affected by this devastating fire. Local fire and rescue officials told us they have an urgent need for heavy duty work trucks and SUVs. We located the 20 specially equipped vehicles at local dealerships and they are on their way to local fire and rescue squads.”

A huge amount of $100,000 will also be given to the San Diego Chapter of the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts.

"We are responding to this need immediately. The San Diego Chapter Red Cross has a critical need for medical, food, water and other supplies, as well as counseling support for hundreds of residents forced from their homes," said the president of Ford Motor Company Fund Jim Vella.

The numbers on the bottom of the post are the toll free numbers you can call if ever you need assistance for the new program from Ford. Customers also have the chance to register for the Ford Motor Credit Disaster Relief Program:

• Ford Credit: 1-800-723-4016
  
• Jaguar Credit: 1-800-945-7000
  
• Land Rover Capital Group: 1-877-507-2264
  
• Mazda American Credit: 1-800-945-4000
  
• PRIMUS Financial Services: 1-800-945-4000
  
• Volvo Car Finance: 1-800-770-8234