Ford E-News

DEARBORN, Mich., May 7, 2008 -- A Mustang milestone

On a recent afternoon in Flat Rock, Mich., a Ford Motor Company worker slid behind the wheel of a Vista Blue Mustang GT, revved up its throaty V-8 engine, and drove the pony car off the assembly line. It was the 9 millionth Ford Mustang built since the car debuted 44 years ago at the World's Fair in New York. A few days later, Story City, Iowa, farmer Thomas Krumm went to his local dealership and ended up buying the milestone Mustang GT. What a long and wonderful trip it has been for the iconic Mustang, Ford's longest-running nameplate and the best-selling sports car in automotive history. Today, one of every two sports cars sold in America is a Ford Mustang. For more information about this story, click on link: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=28195&make_id=trust

Getting 2008 Navigator in SYNC

So you bought a 2008 Lincoln Navigator and soon got a bad case of technology-envy after hearing from friends and neighbors about Ford's exclusive SYNC in-vehicle communications system? Ford feels your pain and has a solution. Ford has introduced an affordable, dealer-installed SYNC accessory kit that allows select 2008 Navigator and Navigator L customers to enjoy the award-winning voice-activated communications system that works with most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and digital media players. The unique solution is a direct result of Ford listening to its customers. And for the record, nearly all 2009 model year Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will offer SYNC.

That's a Ford? A new Edge buyer is born

Is "Drive one" merely a slogan, or can it become a grassroots push that puts Ford's Blue Oval back at the top of customers' shopping lists? The experience of Healdsburg, Calif.-resident Christine Wall shows what happens when a customer gets behind the wheel of a Ford. A loyal import buyer who thought Ford only built trucks, Wall was chosen to participate in Ford's "Town-to-Town, Friend-to-Friend" campaign. She drove a Ford Edge crossover for a week and came away impressed, so much so that after test driving many competing makes, she and her husband recently bought a new Edge. Their trade in -- a 2006 Honda Civic.

Ford's shift to six-speeds = Better fuel economy

Ever wonder why 6-speed automatic transmissions are more fuel efficient? What do more gears have to do with more miles per gallon? According to Ford engineering director Phil Yuhasz, the new 6-speed automatic transmissions in the 2009 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner offer a lower first gear that delivers more torque when accelerating from a stop in addition to a high gear that enables the vehicle's engine to use less energy at highway cruising speeds, which saves gas. Two more gears also allow a 6-speed to shift at lower engine rpm, further boosting fuel economy.

Lincoln, Harry Connick Jr. form duet to give back

Lincoln is joining forces again with Harry Connick Jr. and the New Orleans Area Habitat to rebuild and celebrate the community spirit of the Musicians' Village in New Orleans. During the week of May 12, Lincoln will form a MODEL Team and join Habitat and the Jimmy Carter Work Project in the Upper Ninth Ward to help rebuild homes and celebrate 25 years of building in metro New Orleans. Ford MODEL Teams are part of the Ford Volunteer Corps, founded by Bill Ford Jr., in 2005. On May 15, continuing their commitment to keep music thriving in New Orleans, Lincoln along with Connick and House Beautiful magazine will decorate and debut the interior of musician Shamarr Allen's home in Musicians' Village.