Finally… A Car for the Environmentally Progressive
The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid was named Most Environmentally Progressive Car of the Year by Earth, Wind & Power™ (EWP) at the Los Angeles Auto Show Tuesday.
The award is designed to recognize vehicles driven by a power source that helps to reduce global warming, are conducive to promoting a cleaner environment, and support the mission to achieve energy through alternative sources.
41 and Loving It
The all-new Ford Fusion Hybrid delivers an EPA 41 mpg rating in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, which tops the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid has been a strong seller since its introduction earlier this year. Hybrid sales account for almost 20 percent of total Fusion retail sales, and the majority of those sales have been to customers coming from import brands – mostly Toyota and Honda.
According to early 2010 survey data obtained in the 2009 U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS), the Fusion Hybrid has the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any Ford vehicle ever. The survey was conducted for Ford Motor Company by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
In addition to the EWP award, the Ford Fusion Hybrid was recently named one of CAR and DRIVER’s “10Best” cars for 2010, and the entire Fusion lineup was honored with the prestigious MOTOR TREND 2010 Car of the Year Award®.
Quotes
“Ford’s Fusion Hybrid sedan has the styling punch of a powerhouse with authority built into the design. With unsurpassed fuel economy, this car has real ecological know-how. We call it purity on wheels.”
– Kevin Smith, Editorial Director of Edmunds.com and one of 19 national automotive editors and journalists who selected the winner of the EWP award
“Ford has worked diligently to make the Fusion Hybrid America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan. It is very gratifying to see our hard work recognized by some of the most prominent automotive journalists in the country through the EWP award.”
– Jonathan Richards, Fusion Marketing Manager
Corrections/Clarifications – December 11, 2009 at 19:20
Isn’t It Time You Got Up to Speed about Mechatronics?
These days every automaker says it’s working on electric vehicles, but few own up to the fact that passing the electrification test will require a bit of homework. Ford Motor Company is teaming with the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) to retrain traditional automotive engineers, providing them with the skills and expertise to develop the next generation of advanced electric and hybrid vehicles.
As vehicle electrification plans expand, the automotive industry’s need for electric vehicle-savvy engineers also is growing, creating increased demand for electrical, mechatronics, systems and controls engineering education. Ford and UDM have collaborated to create a new graduate-level curriculum focused on key engineering skills for the development of electrified vehicles.
An aggressive training strategy for an aggressive product plan
The UDM program will supplement Ford’s internal electrical engineering training courses as the company retrains its own employees to deliver an aggressive electric vehicle product strategy. The course series, which begins in January 2010, is designed to advance the knowledge and capabilities of technological team members in the automotive and defense ground vehicle industries.
Ford engineers are already at work developing three distinct types of electrified vehicles – hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure battery electric vehicles. The vehicles include:
- Transit Connect battery electric commercial van in 2010
- Focus battery electric passenger car in 2011
- Next-generation hybrid vehicle in 2012
- Plug-in hybrid in 2012
The magnitude of the training program will be similar to the educational programs undertaken by Ford during the late 1980s when mechanical engineers were trained on electrical engineering.
The UDM Advanced Electric Vehicle Program will begin with the first group comprised of current engineers from Ford and its suppliers. Team members will apply the program’s coursework in developing the next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles. Approximately 125 Ford engineers will participate in the program over the next several years.
The UDM courses are supplementary to Ford’s internal online training programs in battery cells and electrochemistry, power-split controls, regenerative braking, calibration and commodity planning.
UDM has created seven new courses that are directly responsive to the training needs of Ford and the entire automotive and defense ground vehicles industries.
Engineers in this program will select five of the seven newly created courses that are designed by competency teams of Ford and UDM experts to deploy the most current technology, strategies, methods and tools emerging from universities, corporations and national laboratories.
These five courses will be completed in one calendar year. Most courses will be offered at the Ford Training and Development Center in Dearborn; others requiring laboratory experiences will be provided at UDM’s McNichols campus in Detroit. The Advanced Electric Vehicle Program courses include:
- Introduction to Advanced Electric Vehicles
- Controls Modeling and Design for Electric Vehicles
- Energy Storage Systems
- Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles
- Electric Drives/Electromechanical Energy Conversion
- Innovation and System Architecture for Electric Vehicles
- System Engineering for Electric Vehicles
Quotes
“The era of electric vehicles is here and it’s critical that we meet this technology challenge by retraining our engineers with a broad range of new skills and competencies. This program, together with internal training, will support Ford’s aggressive plans to roll out electric and hybrid vehicles in the coming years.”
– Derrick Kuzak, Ford Group Vice President of Global Product Development
“We recognize a greater need for our teams to have access to programs to increase their knowledge of electrical, mechanical, chemical and software engineering. Ford has a large team of talented and dedicated engineers that are energized by the technological sea change we are seeing happen now in the industry.”
– Nancy Gioia, Ford’s Director of Global Electrification
“The competencies achieved by these courses will enable teams from automotive OEMs and suppliers to develop the electric and hybrid vehicles that will keep the global leadership of the auto industry for this critical segment of the world’s transportation future right here in southeastern Michigan.”
– Dr. Leo E. Hanifin, Dean of UDM’s College of Engineering & Science
U of M Solar Car Team Conducts Wind Tunnel Test of Ford-Sponsored Vehicle
Any race car driver will tell you that a car’s aerodynamics are an important factor in winning a race even when they have 700-horsepower engines hurtling them down the track. Fine-tuned aerodynamics is even more important when the only thing you have to power your car – across an entire continent – is the sun.
The quest for aerodynamic refinement is driving the University of Michigan’s Solar Car Team to spend two days in the Jacobs Technology wind tunnel in Allen Park, Mich., August 14 and 28. There, they are testing their $2.5 million solar-powered “Infinium” car for the 2009 Global Green Challenge, a 1,800 mile race across the Australian Outback from Darwin to Adelaide, October 25-31.
Solar-powered success story
Ford Motor Company is a long-time partner of the UM Solar Car Team, and is providing funding and technical assistance on its current project. The UM team designed the vehicle and Ford’s Design and Milling Studio fabricated the body mold.
The team unveiled “Infinium” at The Henry Ford Museum in June and has since been testing the vehicle across southeast Michigan. The students who will pilot the vehicle in Australia also received professional driver’s training at Ford Dearborn Proving Ground in Michigan.
Ford’s 17-year sponsorship of the team has yielded impressive results. The Solar Car Team has won five of nine national championship races it has entered, including the inaugural international solar vehicle race in 2005. The team finished third in the 2007 World Car Solar Challenge, the highest of any American team. The team seeks to be the first American winner of the race since the inaugural race in 1987.
The wind tunnel tests at Jacobs Technology mark the last major hurdle before the UM team travels to Australia to prepare for the race. Ford of Australia will provide vehicle and storage support during the team’s two-month stay Down Under.
QUOTE
“Even in the currently difficult economic climate, Ford has remained one of the team’s top sponsors, and is a big reason why our team has won five out of nine National Championship races in the past 20 years.”
– Steve Hechtman, the UM Solar Car Team’s 2009 Project Manager