US Ford's success tops industry wish list

[phillyc]

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs...77/1148/AUTO01

The headline jumped off the page: "Ford Fusion is hybrid champ."

Now that's what we're talking about, Detroit, a new model coming from the Motor City that potentially outperforms, outshines and out-greens the foreign-owned competition -- and stands as an incontrovertible rebuke to the Detroit-can't-do-it crowd in Congress and around the country.

"The buzz you see -- that Ford's different, they've got a plan, they're working it" -- is exhilarating to Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally, he told me Wednesday. "I still believe we're one-and-a-half to two years ahead of where anyone thought we'd be. The only thing we're fighting is the external situation" of an economy slipping deeper into recession and the possibility of rival General Motors Corp. ending up in Chapter 11.

Yes, today is Christmas Day. Yes, we're all beyond weary with talk of bankruptcy and bailouts, haircuts for bondholders and concessions for the United Auto Workers, elimination of brands, closing of dealers, shuttering of plants and central control of a business that government thinks it understands. But doesn't.

So here's a Christmas wish list for an industry poised to enter what's arguably the three most pivotal months of its 100-year history:

First, that Ford's we're-different-from-the-rest schtick will stand up, will be bolstered by new products to be launched next year and will gain traction among would-be buyers. More, that Detroit's No. 2 automaker will avoid being forced to access federal money and to accede to silly political conditions driven more by politics than business.

Second, that GM will execute the most crucial business plan in its post-war history without surrendering its independence or destroying the underlying value of its remaining brands. No simple task, that. Rick Wagoner & Co. are pledged essentially to deliver a bankruptcy-style restructuring outside of bankruptcy -- the final chance to answer legions of skeptics.

Third, that someone in the new Democratic Congress or the Obama White House will realize the absurd folly of dictating product decisions for Detroit's automakers with no regard for market demand or oil prices. Won't work, unless the goal is wanton destruction of taxpayer capital to score points with narrow special interests (which it partly is).

Fourth, while we're on Washington, that United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger will realize that playing the victim card in the can-we-avoid-bankruptcy talks will be a loser in the Bigger America. Blaming the meanie GOP won't help his union or Detroit's beleaguered two -- GM and Chrysler LLC -- stay alive.

Fifth, that Congress and Team Obama will consider tax incentives for the purchase of new cars and trucks in the massive stimulus package now in the works. If the goal is to spur economic activity -- and it is -- selling more metal would help the automakers, ease the burden on the federal loan lifeline and juice local economies across the country.

Sixth, that the deep troubles afflicting Detroit's auto giants will prod Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state Legislature to get serious about structural reform come January. However, when the automakers emerge from this crucible -- and they will, in some form -- the state's revenue and per-capita income outlook will be dramatically different than it is now, let alone what it was.

Finally, that the wags outside the Detroit Bubble would remember that those facing this Grand Reckoning are real people, too. They have children, mortgages and dreams; they've been poorly served by leaders who didn't lead, who denied the reality of their predicaments, who mostly avoided radical change until they had no choice.

Reveling in their discomfort is the worst kind of Schadenfreude, especially at a time of year when joy shouldn't come at the expense of others.

Daniel Howes' column runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at (313) 222-2106, dchowes@detnews.com or detnews.com/howes.

[Ohio XB]

Ford's position, not needing assistance at this time, hitting the market with new technology, better quality, and great products is something I've been touting here for a few weeks now. It is nice to read more reporters acknowledging these points. Being on the inside I am aware of what Ford has done, is doing, and what's coming out. Some things would have been out already if the economy didn't tank.


Yup, 41 MPG in the city for the Fusion and Milan Hybrids. That beats Toyota's Camry Hybrid by 8 MPG. Also, the new generation system is all Ford technology. This also puts Ford in the position of being the auto manufacturer that offers the MOST hybrid car models in the US.

If hybrids really were a big thing for auto consumers this would be an even better thing, but Hybrids are only 5% of the market.


The new Fusion though is getting a lot of praise for it's styling and ride qualities. I am waiting to see a review on the Fusion S with the 3.5L V6 and 263 HP and 249 ft. lbs of torque.


Ron Gettlefinger's problem with the GOP, and the government in general, is their inability to acknowledge the sacrifices that the UAW has made over the past 3 years. He's also bothered by unfair trade agreements that, for example, let Korea ship tens of times more cars to the US than the US can ship to Korea. Of 1.2 million cars sold in Korea (2007 I believe) only 9,000 were from the US. That's not even a 1% market share. There are trade barriers that are not even excise tax related.

He would also like the government to acknowledge that while a UAW line worker earns $28 per hour, a Toyota worker in the US earns $30 per hour after the employees receive their $27 per hour pay and then their "attendance" bonus. Yet, the UAW worker "Needs to be brought down to the wages of the foreign companies building cars in the US". Basically, they have their head in a hole.



Steve

[JerseyVics]

didn't Ford trade Toyota hundreds of truck pattents for their few hybrid technology pattents?

is the Fusion outperforming the old Camry... won't the new Camry potentially be better than the old Camry too?

[ltd]

Originally Posted by Ohio XB

Ford's position, not needing assistance at this time, hitting the market with new technology, better quality, and great products is something I've been touting here for a few weeks now. It is nice to read more reporters acknowledging these points. Being on the inside I am aware of what Ford has done, is doing, and what's coming out. Some things would have been out already if the economy didn't tank.


Yup, 41 MPG in the city for the Fusion and Milan Hybrids. That beats Toyota's Camry Hybrid by 8 MPG. Also, the new generation system is all Ford technology. This also puts Ford in the position of being the auto manufacturer that offers the MOST hybrid car models in the US.

If hybrids really were a big thing for auto consumers this would be an even better thing, but Hybrids are only 5% of the market.


The new Fusion though is getting a lot of praise for it's styling and ride qualities. I am waiting to see a review on the Fusion S with the 3.5L V6 and 263 HP and 249 ft. lbs of torque.


Ron Gettlefinger's problem with the GOP, and the government in general, is their inability to acknowledge the sacrifices that the UAW has made over the past 3 years. He's also bothered by unfair trade agreements that, for example, let Korea ship tens of times more cars to the US than the US can ship to Korea. Of 1.2 million cars sold in Korea (2007 I believe) only 9,000 were from the US. That's not even a 1% market share. There are trade barriers that are not even excise tax related.

He would also like the government to acknowledge that while a UAW line worker earns $28 per hour, a Toyota worker in the US earns $30 per hour after the employees receive their $27 per hour pay and then their "attendance" bonus. Yet, the UAW worker "Needs to be brought down to the wages of the foreign companies building cars in the US". Basically, they have their head in a hole.



Steve

Excellent and informative post Steve, keep em coming.

[ricthewheelie]

Steve, your posts are good inside news. Best wishes for the season.

Ric

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by JerseyVics

didn't Ford trade Toyota hundreds of truck pattents for their few hybrid technology pattents?

is the Fusion outperforming the old Camry... won't the new Camry potentially be better than the old Camry too?

didn't Ford trade Toyota hundreds of truck pattents for their few hybrid technology pattents?


That's a good one I haven't heard before.

Ford had to license about 13 patents from Toyota in the developement of their hybrid system that was originally launched in the Escape Hybrid. These were mostly remedial things.

To give you an analogy: Perhaps something had always been contained in a box and Toyota figured out way to contain it in a bag. They patented this "innovation" and Ford leased it from them so that they could contain "whatever" in a bag instead of a box.

Since Toyota's hybrid program was 100% subsidized by the Japanese government (a point that was accidently leaked to the media by a former Toyota employee, let me know if you need a link) they were able to develope a system before Ford. As a result, naturally they stumbled across certain remedial things that would need to be done to create such a system first.

There was no "proprietary" patents licensed from Toyota.

The new system by Ford is 100% Ford patents and Ford technology.



is the Fusion outperforming the old Camry... won't the new Camry potentially be better than the old Camry too?


I have to look into this. It out performs the current Camry Hybrid and I BELIEVE (let me look into this) that it out performs the coming Camry Hybrid by 2 MPG at least, but I have to do some research.


Steve

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by ricthewheelie

Steve, your posts are good inside news. Best wishes for the season.

Ric

Thanks guys.


I feel it is very important to get out what I know from being in the thick of things and being on the inside. My time is really tight with all the things I have going on, but I feel it's necessary for me to mention what I know about the issues on the Big3, and Ford in particular since I work there, so that the crap that gets reported by the media doesn't skew everyone with misinformation.



I read a report where the reporter wrote that one of the requirements for GM and Chrysler to get the loans was that the UAW do away with the "jobs bank". Then he wrote that Ron Gettelfinger said he was waiting for Obama to get in and remove these stipulations.

Now doesn't that sound like old school, dominating UAW?? Of course it does, the bastards!

I wrote a letter to that reporter calmly voicing my view of his report. I told him that it painted the UAW in a light that doesn't exist.

This report was on or about December 23. I informed the reporter that Gettelfinger suspended the jobs bank on December 2 and it was in all kinds of national news reports on December 3. I also told him that his report made it look like the UAW was resisting this specific requirement.......a requirement that was already done away with.

His response to me was to split hairs. He said "Suspended is not eliminated". Evidently I had to overwhelm him with his own ignorance to get him to understand.



I told him to remove a national contractual agreement (in this case the "jobs bank", known in the industry as GEN) takes a vote of the entire membership. This means it has to be made known to all UAW members under that contract, has to be open for discussion, and then voted on, an action which could go either way. I asked the reporter how long did he think this would take?

Instead, the UAW President decided to comply with this desire of the government and the press (since it was really stressed in reports) to use his power to suspend the jobs bank. This means that on his word alone the jobs bank program could be ceased and those that are in it (about 3,500) that are eligible for unemployment could be moved to that government program or just to the streets, whatever their situations.

Gettelfinger also stated that a date would be agreed upon with each auto maker to eliminate the program. By Gettelfinger taking this action the UAW ceases the program immediately and complies with the spirit of the request. It also makes the acceptance of this choice (eliminating the program) easier to get by the membership because they then understand it is that dire of a thing to do, as demonstrated by the President. If it had gone straight to a vote by the membership it could have been voted against doing away with the program. The UAW President made sure it would cease, right now. If this reporter had his head out of his *** he would have understood that. I told him writing an article with an agenda might be a report, but it wasn't journalism.


I haven't heard back from him after that one.



BTW, the things that the UAW President wants to do away with are the rediculous demands that were added one by one AFTER the UAW and the Senate had a tentative agreement.

Imagine that you want to enter an agreement with someone. They say you need to jump through this hoop, those two over there, jump over this wall, and run 300 feet on one leg. You make sure that if you do that they will give you $50. They say OK.


Then they ask if you will also eat this can of dogfood? Eh, you'd rather not but you can use the $50 so you say sure. Otherwise it's a good agreement, right?

Well, will you also drink these two gallons of milk in 5 minutes? Ick, that will make you sick......but.....ok, just this one more thing.


Then they ask if you will jump up and down in this pile of dog crap?

"THAT'S ENOUGH" you say. You tell them "Hey, we already agreed to a plan between us and you said that was what we had to do. Then you added something else, and then another, and then you got rediculous. We aren't going to do this!



.....and then the other guy goes to the press and says "We were just three words from having an agreement, I don't know what their problem is".


That's what happened with the Senate agreement with the UAW and also now with the loans that the Big3 were told they could have. Gettelfinger is looking to talk with Obama to get rid of the rediculous demands that came after they already agreed to a plan.


Steve

[4Vman]

What's this? ,More positive news about Ford? i expect this will be a quiet thread too...

Thanks for the info Steve.

[FPV8U]

Good to see things are being turned around sooner than later, Possible tax cuts to encourage people buying Locally built cars, something the AUS government could take notice of.

[Elks]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

What's this? ,More positive news about Ford? i expect this will be a quiet thread too...

Thanks for the info Steve.

Bugger you 4Vman...I love positive news. I might post this on the LS1 forums to annoy them.

Lets people understand that 1. FoMoCo is a great company with a great history of innovation and quality automobiles. (I've banged on about this before so I wont today)

Remember Eji Toyoda Toured the Detroit facilities in the late 40's as a part of the project to rebuild Japan. He has since admitted to using old Henry's methods as the base for the company. Seems to work for them.

[Elks]

Originally Posted by ricthewheelie

Steve, your posts are good inside news. Best wishes for the season.

Ric

Here here. Steve thanks for your insight. Keep it coming.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by myts

Bugger you 4Vman...I love positive news. I might post this on the LS1 forums to annoy them.

Lets people understand that 1. FoMoCo is a great company with a great history of innovation and quality automobiles. (I've banged on about this before so I wont today)

Remember Eji Toyoda Toured the Detroit facilities in the late 40's as a part of the project to rebuild Japan. He has since admitted to using old Henry's methods as the base for the company. Seems to work for them.

LOL!!! dont worry, i love good news too! i just wish people would spend more time focusing on it instead of bagging Ford...

[FoMoKid]

Thanks for the great insight Steve. Great to see that Ford are active and delivering in alternative technology. Ford's hybrid tech hasn't really had much coverage in Australian motoring press.

Now my question is, when WILL the Australian press (ie wheels, motor, drive, carsguide et al) learn about this new Ford technology? They keep banging on about much hyped but non-delivered tech from Holden (first DoD, then the DI engines, then hybrid and diesel Commodore, now they're hoping for a 4-cyl Commodore and CNG as well) and the Volt (the only innovation in the volt is its styling and only when compared with other hybrid cars like Prius or Honda's Insight from a few years ago).

Hopefully the next gen RWD architecture could utilise such a technology? In a Falcon and Territory perhaps?

[Ohio XB]

Whereas other car compaines have invested their money in one or two specific alternative energy programs Ford has invested money in Hybrids, fuel cells, hydrogen fueled, clean diesel, direct injection, and electric powered sources. I might be missing one or two. Anyways, they know that the direction the countries could go in could be any one of these. It depends on acceptance, infrastructure, cost, and convenience. Ford wants to be "there" whichever ends up being the alternative method. I believe Ford has spent more money on alternative energy source research for automobiles than anyone else, $22 billion USD I believe.

http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=25359



Ford has the world record for land speed by a hydrogen fuel cell powered car, more than 200 MPH.

http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=26565


This was achieved by funding programs with Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes!) and working with others.


Ford also has a hydrogen fuel cell test fleet of vehicles....


http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=28904

Ford was one of the first automakers to launch a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in 2005, after unveiling a prototype in late 2003. Its Focus Fuel Cell fleet partners include a variety of government agencies in California, Florida, Michigan, Canada, Germany and Iceland, where cold climate testing is expected to result in significant performance improvements on the next generation.

These vehicles have far exceeded their expectations in reliability and durability.


Ford will have an all electric vehicle in the market in 2010.


All the Aussie media has to do is check out Ford's media.com site and our national news and magazine websites to learn about what Ford has done in alternative energy research.



Then there is the 340 HP twin turbo, direct injected V6 coming out in about 4 months, the EcoBoost series of engines. This gives people V8 power with V6 fuel economy, when driving "normally". I gives a 20% fuel mileage boost over a V8 of the same power and also emits I think 30% less CO2. There will also be a 4 cylinder version of this engine. It should be in the 270 HP range. It will be used to replace V6's.



Steve

[Ohio XB]

I want to thank everyone in this and other threads for your appreciation of what I've been posting. I have been waiting for someone to say "Your just another UAW guy that is BS'ing us with your agenda!"

Well, I only make statements I can back up and link to "proof", unless it is based on something that has not been made public. Then I have to be careful of what I say due to confidentiality. I don't want to look like an idiot. I actually care about that. I call it pride in myself.

I make statements with "I believe" when I am not 100% sure about something, but very sure, and I think everyone has caught onto that. I don't know everything and I am open to being questioned on anything I say. It helps us all to get the accurate and real info.



Steve

[axeray]

Nice work Steve.

Great to see and hear some positive news about the industry.

[Swordsman88]

Another thanks from me Steve. Your posts are far more insightful than the patchy media reports i read here in australia and you always take the time to explain what you mean. I think car unions generally are a pretty accomodating lot because you know the the automotive business ain't easy. Certainly alot more accomodating than some other industry unions. Keep up the good work i say....at least this way ford has a real shot at staying afloat in the short-medium term and grabbing market share in the long term with new products. Long live FoMoCo!!!!!

[Ohio XB]

Swordsman, thanks for the kind words.

I wouldn't have wanted to work for the Big3 during the 1970's and 80's. I don't know how well I could endure the union mindset.

When I hired into Ford in late 1992 I had 2 weeks of orientation. One week was company training, one was training from the union. We were informed at that time that the company/union relationship was changing. The recession of the early 80's made that necessity quite clear. We were told how talks between the union and company were not adversarial anymore and that it was the company and union going down the same path together. Global competition was the new buzz word. Could things have been done better back then? Of course, but the old union/company battle was over. That was a huge step.

You will notice if you watch the testifying in front of the Senate board that Wagoner, the CEO of GM, when referring to the UAW or the President of the UAW, never sounded perturbed at their relationship or exasperated over the current standings between the two. He knows the progress that the two have made over the past 3 - 5 years particularly, notwithstanding the past 15 years. When addressing a demand be met he stated that the company was willing to do that, of course with the agreement of the UAW as well, for them to be involved with figuring out how to accomplish the demand. That is people working together without anyone cramming anything down anyone's throat. In many places this is called teamwork.

A lot of union haters would hate to read that.


Alan Mullaly was present at the 2007 contract negotiations. This was the first time that happened, ever. He joined the negotiating team to see how this went on as well as to offer his views and insight. I believe Bill Ford came with Mulally as well. They were involved for the last 2 weeks of talks. This was very appreciated by the UAW negotiating team. There were a couple things that Mulally would have liked to be different but Bill Ford basically told him that those things were ok as they are. Bill was not overstepping his bounds because he is Ford family, but rather because he was more familiar with the union/company relationship and knew when the company had a good thing. Since then Mulally has changed his position on those items. He understands incremental change and the contract, as approved, was hailed as "Transformational". Because of that he recognizes that, at the time, the contract was a monumental step as signed.


http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...62/1361/UPDATE

Both sides praised a new spirit of cooperation that they credited with producing transformational contracts that will allow Ford and the other domestic automakers to better compete with foreign car companies operating in the United States.

"We've got a very, very competitive agreement," Ford CEO Alan Mulally said. "Of course, we'll continue to look at the market and make the kind of adjustments we need to."

"This is an historic day for Ford," Bill Ford said, praising union leaders for their willingness to address "some very challenging issues" in this year's talks. "The teamwork was amazing, and we came up with a contract that is -- in my mind -- excellent for the employees, excellent for the retirees and great for the company."


Left to right: Bob King, UAW National Ford Department Pres, Ron Gettelfinger, President UAW, Bill Ford, Alan Mulally, the man!




Steve

[Ohio XB]

I have to look into this. It out performs the current Camry Hybrid and I BELIEVE (let me look into this) that it out performs the coming Camry Hybrid by 2 MPG at least, but I have to do some research.


Getting back on this....I don't find any figures from Toyota or about the Toyota Camry for the 2010 model other than Toyota is working to have a plug-in hybrid by that model year. Ford is also working on a plug-in hybrid system though.

So basically, still braggin rights right now for Ford.....41 city, 36 hwy.



Steve

[Luke Plaizier]

Well, the coverage you see regarding Ford in Australia neglects any of the positives and only focuses on the negatives.

Here's one for you today.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...eID=59917&vf=2

It serves them well to not have mentioned once on this website that Ford will not be requiring any money from the US government. You can also read into continuous use of words like 'loss-making automaker', 'cash-strapped detroit giant' and 'pluging share price' that the media would like nothing better than for their prophesies to come true.

And I'm pretty sure that this website has either glossed over the Ford Fusion Hybrid or ignored it completely, and instead still has news that a GM 4 Cylinder car will be assembled locally as top news.



Lukeyson

[Gobes32]

I conveniently was watching Fox business news this morning, and the reason behind the sale is that the MGM Grand casino, of which Kerkorian is a major stakeholder, is bleeding money and he has been forced to sell. He is standing behind Ford and in particular, Alan Mulally, and wishes them the best with their re-structuring.

I noticed in the article it fails to mention GM has lost 4/5ths of its share value as opposed to Fords 2/3rds.

[ivorya]

I guess, here in AUS, the holden marketing of yester-year is continuing to win the public, and also the media. What do i mean??

I was having a conversation with my old man about the extreme negative comments by all forms of media towards Ford and the Lack of similar towards Holden. His reply was that, we have to remember that GM Holden were designing cars for Australia and Australians, and this is how it was marketted back in the early days. From this early marketing, we now have people that believed this crud, now in positions as publicists and scare mungers.
They just want Ford out of the equation so GMHolden can continue to build cars for Australians.

Another Big Thanks To you OHIO, Great info your shareing

[FoMoKid]

Steve, that Focus Fuel Cell media release was very interesting reading! I knew that Honda and BMW and Mazda had H2 fuel cell fleet testing but had no idea that ford was running their own research!!! Good to know, as i was starting to think that Ford was slipping behind the rest of the world in alternative fueling methods - going by the reports in the Australian press.

Thanks for your posts mate, really appreciated!

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by Luke Plaizier

Well, the coverage you see regarding Ford in Australia neglects any of the positives and only focuses on the negatives.

Here's one for you today.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...eID=59917&vf=2

It serves them well to not have mentioned once on this website that Ford will not be requiring any money from the US government. You can also read into continuous use of words like 'loss-making automaker', 'cash-strapped detroit giant' and 'pluging share price' that the media would like nothing better than for their prophesies to come true.

And I'm pretty sure that this website has either glossed over the Ford Fusion Hybrid or ignored it completely, and instead still has news that a GM 4 Cylinder car will be assembled locally as top news.



Lukeyson

There's plenty of articles like that in the US as well. Hey, if you aren't the best journalist at least sound sensational!


That story also fails to mention the financial straights that Kerkorian is in and how he needs money because of his failing Casinos.

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited...fx5823219.html


BTW, does anyone know Kerkorian is 91 years old??? What does he really have to lose? He's going to be "done" very soon anyways.


Steve

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by FoMoKid

Steve, that Focus Fuel Cell media release was very interesting reading! I knew that Honda and BMW and Mazda had H2 fuel cell fleet testing but had no idea that ford was running their own research!!! Good to know, as i was starting to think that Ford was slipping behind the rest of the world in alternative fueling methods - going by the reports in the Australian press.

Thanks for your posts mate, really appreciated!

Thanks guys.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that the reason many people may not be aware of research Ford is doing, whether alone or with others, is because their focus and their efforts are in the reasearch. This is as opposed to telling people what you are doing all the time.

It would be easy to say "Yeah, we're working on an "X" powered vehicle" and people might be impressed. They could constantly keep the public updated on it's progress to impress people with what they are doing. But this would spawn two possibilities:

1. Since the public does not know what it takes to develope a power source for a specific appplication that has never existed in the practical world before they do not understand what an effort it takes and how much time it takes. If progress is not reported as fast as the public thinks it should they might begin to believe that the company doesn't know what they are doing.

2. Another possible result could be the "Where's the results?" notion. It is one thing to talk about something, very different to demonstrate it. The company might run into complications that delay progress. This could be preceived as a failure.



So from what I have seen, Ford mostly makes something public when they have hit a milestone in progress. Whether or not that news will sell newspapers determines if it gets printed.

Years ago Ford set out to figure out how to make seat foam from soybeans. They were told it couldn't be done. They hired some biochemists and others and funded this special team for this singular task with other corporations.

http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArti...rticleID=14625

Ford was the first automaker to demonstrate that soy-based polyols could be used at high percentage levels to make foam capable of meeting or exceeding automotive requirements. In 2004, Ford and Lear formed a partnership to commercialize soy-foam applications, with initial work concentrating on the molding of headrest and armrest components.

Ford and Lear collaborated with the United Soybean Board's New Uses Committee (a group of 64 farmers and agriculture industry leaders), Urethane Soy Systems Company, Bayer Corporation and Renosol Corporation on the soy-foam development.


I remember seeing a video of when they finally figured out how to make the soybean foam. They mixed two things together and it foamed instantly and like crazy. Problem was the smell. It made you hungry. It took about another year to figure out how to get rid of the smell.

Anyways, this soy foam is now currently being used in production vehicles and is being expanded.....no pun intended.


AH! Here's a video. I bet not too many people have heard of this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KelsWWnrua8



Steve

[Swordsman88]

I had actually heard about tha soy-based seat foam. Pretty nifty stuff and i think it had better properties RE ignition/fire etc. as well, but that might just be in my head LOL!

Your comments RE ford press announcements is very true, at least based on what i have seen in australia. Ford will always answer with a line basically that we are always investigating new technology but will make a comment when we are ready. We don't comment on long term possible model plans etc. I think this is more ethical way of doing it but can make it appear as though ford is 'out of the loop' and 'not moving forward'. Of course when the model launches you usually get surprised at how far Ford has pushed the engineering and what the cars can achieve. They often become class benchmarks etc. I am always fascinated at some of the things Ford has come up with globally (that Cam shaft torque method of activating VCT was cool) when a new car launches that features the tech. Toyota on the other hand trumpet all sorts of development but most of their current (and near term) new cars dont' have any of that tech in them or are actually just marketing fluff quite often. Very differnet approaches but i know which one delivers the better car.......

[Ohio XB]

Swordsman, you hit the nail on the head.

Jim Farley, the marketing man at Ford, made a statement very similar to what you just said. He commented that Ford had not been very public with their research and that may have had a negative affect on their image. He is planning on making more of Ford's research known to the public. I think this is a very good step, if executed correctly. As I mentioned in my last post I can think of at least two negative outcomes from doing so, but I am not a marketing genius. I figure Farley knows how to do it, that's why Ford coax him over to our side from Toyota. :


Steve