Ford Car Junkie 

Tire talk

Let’s talk about tires.

Let’s have a break first from the latest news and talk about a crucial part of your vehicle: your Ford’s tires. Irregular tire wear is a symptom of a problem that if neglected, could further damage your vehicle and put your safety in jeopardy. Understanding these early warning signs will help keep you safe on the road. Here some tips from roadandtravel.com:

Steering
If your vehicle is pulling to one side, make sure you first check your tire pressure. If your tire pressure is balanced, your steering problems could be due to any of the following: an uneven tire rod length, incorrect toe, unequal camber or caster, or an incorrect center link/rack height. If you are experiencing excessive steering play or hard steering, have your technician check for loose or worn struts, strut mounts, shocks, springs and/or bushings.

Suspension
There are many components within the suspension system of your vehicle. If you are experiencing suspension problems, have your technician check the tire alignment, bearings, bushings, strut rods, springs and/or control arms. Be sure to inspect all suspension components and repair all parts that are worn or damaged. Failure to do so may allow the problem to reoccur and cause premature failure of other suspension components.

Alignment
Wheel alignment is needed for proper handling and tire wear. Proper wheel alignment keeps the wheels from scuffing, dragging or slipping. It also reduces fuel consumption and strain on steering and suspension parts, and improves steering ability.

Should you need excellent replacement tires for your F-150, Focus, Bronco or Escape, just click over to Ford Parts Discount.

Retro-loving

The good old days are back.



Ford will build a remake of the legendary and unforgettable gold on black painted schemed 1966 Hertz Rent a Racer – the Shelby Mustang GT350H.

According to reports, a new version of the famed Shelby Hertz GT350H will be unveiled at the New York auto show in April and will hit select Hertz car rental facilities around the U.S. this summer. The Dearborn automaker has said that the new version will be using a 2006 Mustang GT as a platform and will be adding new calibration for powertrain controls to give the GT's 300-horsepower, 4.6-liter V8 a boost of 20 hp, to 320 hp. Other performance enhancements include intake and exhaust tuning. Only 200 of this magnificent vehicle will be produced by Ford.

Meanwhile you can still find the best Ford wheels, windshield wipers, ac condensers, radiators, headlights, mirrors and more at Ford Parts Discount.

It’s Ford for James Bond

In the news: James Bond will drive a Ford in Casino Royale remake.

According to Inside Line, the Ford Motor Company reportedly is paying producers of the upcoming James Bond movie Casino Royale about $24 million to get the secret agent to drive one of its family vehicles: the European Ford Mandeo.



However, erstwhile Aston Martin (a subsidiary of Ford) shouldn’t be worried since it has also been announced that the famous secret agent will also drive one of its models in Casino Royale, due for release in November. The latest Bond film, Die Another Day, featured the Aston Martin Vanquish.



So while most of us probably won’t be able to own an Aston Martin in our entire lifetime, we can make sure that our Ford Fusion, Ford Mustang or Ford F-150 is always in tip-top shape by giving it only the best replacement auto parts like wheels, starters, engine parts or spoilers from trusted online auto parts stores like Ford Parts Discount.

New incentives from Ford

If you’re in the market for one of Ford’s luxury vehicle models yet don’t want to spend too much, you’re in luck. Beginning this March, you may get to buy if a Mercury or Lincoln vehicle for less the price.

According to the Detroit Press, Ford will begin a special leasing program this Friday with no money down, no security deposit, and no payment for the first month on its Mercury and Lincoln vehicles. The program will reportedly last through May 1st. Plus, if you’re thinking of getting a Mercury vehicle for your parents, you’re also in luck because it is among Edmunds’ top ten best vehicles for senior citizens.

Also, you also need not worry where you can get Ford auto parts to keep your Ford or Mercury vehicle in shape with the best auto parts like windshield wipers, grilles, wheels, radiators, and engine parts from Ford Parts Discount.

Mazda Tribute to go on hiatus

Still on track with its “Way Forward” plan, Ford has decided to put the Mazda Tribute on hiatus in U.S. until 2008.

Ford will cease producing the Mazda SUV at its Kansas City plant after May, killing plans for a 2007 model. A refreshed, redesigned Tribute however, will be back for the 2008 model year, to be built at Kansas City starting January next year. The Mazda SUV is a sibling to the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, as well as its hybrid counterparts which are also built at the Kansas City facility. Ford has said that it will vastly increase hybrid production to a quarter-million hybrids built per year by 2010.

Meanwhile, if you’re in need of replacement mirrors, tail lights, windshield wipers or hubcaps for your Ford car, truck, or SUV, just click to Ford Parts Discount.

Ford to enter small car battle, will get a little help from Mazda

The rising U.S. demand for more fuel-efficient cars has prompted Ford to turn to Mazda for help in coming up with a subcompact vehicle. Mazda, known for its excellent road performers, will be leading a project to develop the basic architecture for Ford's next-generation subcompact for the U.S. market.

Hisakazu Imaki, Mazda's chief executive has said that the Ford plans to apply a new basic vehicle building block which Mazda is developing for the Mazda 2 small car. The platform will also be used for the next-generation Ford Fiesta for Europe. The vehicles are expected to hit the market in the next few years. Once realized, Ford will enter an already busy market -- General Motors already has introduced the Chevrolet Aveo, a Korea-based small car that was launched in 2004 while the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris will all be hitting the U.S. market this year.

One thing’s for sure here, with Mazda at the helm of this planned Ford subcompact car, we can expect something good.

In the meantime, we can keep our Ford vehicles in excellent shape and improve our fuel economy in the process. Getting only top of the line Ford auto parts from trusted online auto parts stores like Ford Parts Online when you need them will also make a difference.

AutoWeek lists 7 Ways forward for Ford

AutoWeek has some very interesting analysis on Ford’s Way Forward plans.

Here are the Ford vehicles Autoweek suggests that Dearborn should build, so it could make good its pledge to give us bold and innovative rides:

1) Focus C1 – Autoweek says: Ford didn’t bring the new European Focus to the United States, deeming the new, smaller Mazda 3-based platform too expensive. Instead Americans were told we could keep the old platform, which, like most stale products, grows staler by the day. What has changed? Post-hurricane America turned away from SUVs and toward small cars more sharply than anticipated and Ford now projects 40 percent growth in the small-car segment, changing all the small-car math. Bringing the C1 Focus here is a move Ford should be able to pull off quickly.

2) ReThink Minivan – Autoweek says: What if Ford zags when others zig, taking its people movers where the other guys ain’t? Fairlane points the way for the seven-seat segment, where a nontraditional design couldn’t fare any worse than the Freestar has since Ford took the Wind out of its name and its sales. Fairlane could appeal to folks who want out of the big SUV but dislike the looks of traditional minivans. The SAV concept from last year’s show circuit meanwhile would serve the compact minivan segment with style and utility.

3) Bronco – Autoweek says: The 2004 concept plays to the same retro off-road themes as the Toyota FJ Cruiser and Nissan Xterra. It could be combined with a program to replace the Ranger compact pickup in 2008 or 2009, by which time the bloom should be off the Hummer H3’s rose, and the four-door Jeep Wrangler we will see in a couple months won’t be quite as fresh an idea as it is now. Look for hybrid, diesel and flex-fuel potential here, and lots of upside aftermarket potential for add-ons and adventure gear. (-- now you’re talking!)

4) Ranchero Revival – Autoweek says: Ford’s Australian arm builds this Falcon ute that could make the transition to America at least as easily as making Pontiac GTOs out of Holdens. We would give this one to Mercury so that Lincoln Mercury dealers have a truck that doesn’t compete directly with F-Series, and they can get rid of that silly damned LT thing. Make it a flex-fuel deal or equip it with the high-tech DuraTorq diesel out of Europe, and watch the parking lots at Home Depot and Lowe’s fill up with Rancheros festooned with NASCAR stickers.

5) B-segment subcompact – Autoweek says: Think Mini Cooper, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio. Can Ford make a play? Last year’s SynUS concept was supposed to point the way, but the Scion xB is already here. Instead, consider: In Brazil Ford makes an EcoSport built on Fiesta/Mazda 2 mechanicals. In a little over a year the Fiesta/Mazda 2 is due for replacement. Now mix in the Model U design study from the 2003 Detroit show, sporting the new face of Ford and some innovative thinking on bodywork and packaging. Blend it with the Faction concept car from the ’03 Los Angeles show. Put it together either in Mexico or somewhere along the southern tier of the United States (where the transplants all play, and tax incentives for post-hurricane investment are easy pickin’). Use the corporate 1.8-liter diesel or diesel-electric hybrid technology along with the CVT and you could have a contender for the hearts and minds of America’s youth.

6) Ameri-Ka – Autoweek says: Look to a stylish B-size coupe drawn from the Euro-market Ka line (Ka, SportKa and StreetKa). Remember the Mercury Messenger concept from 2005, the Mustang platform with a design that wanted to be a Capri or Cougar revival? Well, shoot the Messenger. Bad idea for the freethinkers intended to be Mercury’s new target. The Ford Reflex concept wasn’t received all that well in Detroit, but if you have the Ka or Fiesta/Mazda 2 mechanicals in hand, the notion of a sporty coupe version has real potential as Ford of Europe once demonstrated with a car called Puma. Notice there were no Mercury concepts in Detroit? Perhaps because Fields and company were examining killing off the division. Now they have decided to keep it, and it would make a good home for a lightweight fwd coupe for those who might otherwise gravitate to the Civic Si or Scion tC. And that crowd is just not that into Mustang. They’ve seen lots of “viral marketing” web videos about the Ka, though.

7) A true compact pickup – Autoweek says: We’ve mentioned Ranger is due (actually, far overdue) for replacement, but we expect the new model may be a midsize truck to contend with Canyon, Tacoma and Frontier, all of which have migrated upmarket—if they were Wendy’s combo meals, they’d be Biggie size. Today’s antiquated Ranger is the last truly compact pickup in America. If the steady increase in size of Civic and Corolla has left room for the Fit and Yaris, doesn’t the steady inflation of compact trucks leave room for a revival of the Datsun pickups of the ’60s? Sure it does, and Ford is building this little 1.8-liter diesel Bantam in South Africa (down there they call this form a “bakkie”). Bantam is a front-driver though, and if awd is not a possibility, maybe somewhere else in the system there is a true compact pickup candidate. It’s a big world, and Ford is a global player. As Ford president and COO Jim Padilla said, The Way Forward is all about “maximizing our global synergies.” Yeah, he really said that, but it’s okay, we understand.[/i]

So which of these cars would you want Ford to make or bring to the U.S.? Personally, I dig Autoweek’s suggestion of the Bronco and the Ka. I can already see what kind of customization I could do with those vehicles. Grilles, spoilers, bumpers, Euro altezza lights – Ford Parts Online is just a click away.

But first Ford must seriously get down to work.

Ford wows Detroit with new concept

The Ford Motor Company showcased four of their vehicles in the recently held 2006 Detroit Auto Show. They showed off the Ford Edge, the Ford Shelby GT500, the Ford F-250 Super Chief Concept, and the Ford Reflex Concept.

The Ford Edge is a modern, stylish and sporty crossover utility vehicle, or CUV was one of the stars during the show. It has five comfortable seats and has lots of details and innovation that includes MP3 player, console laptop storage, panoramic Vista Roof™, and 20-ounce cup-holder.

The Ford Shelby GT500 is the fastest production Mustang in history and is one of the most anticipated and powerful cars for this year. It has an aggressive muscular front-end design, Le Mans racing stripes, and Shelby nameplate.

The third vehicle that they showcased was the Ford F-250 Super Chief Concept, which is the world’s first vehicle with Tri-Flex fueling. It is the most advanced, well-appointed pickup that displays the ultimate execution of rugged optimism and demonstrates innovation in technology.

And lastly, the Ford Reflex Concept, which is Ford’s technology showcase. It actually sets new standards for a small B-class couple and shows off that small, environmentally friendly vehicles could also be family friendly, visually appealing, and sporty at the same time.

I’ve been pampering my Ford for years now through Ford Parts Discount and maybe its time to buy a new one.

Planning to sell your current Ford vehicle?

You better read Consumer Reports' advice first on how you can make your vehicle an attractive sell before you slap that “For Sale” sign on your car window.

Whether you trade in your current vehicle or sell it yourself, making it look as good as possible can pay big dividends by improving both its value and sales appeal.

According to Consumer Reports, depending on the vehicle's condition, you can do a lot or all of the work yourself. Alternatively, you can take your vehicle to a professional detailer, where prices can start around $100 but can go rapidly up, depending on the region, type of vehicle, and the amount of work to be done. As with other do-it-yourself projects, the more elbow grease you invest, the less you'll need to pay someone else to do it. Here the things you should pay serious attention to before you sell:

1. Outside appearance
2. Dent removal
3. Fixing window glass
4. The inside dirt
5. Under the hood
6. Minor and major repairs

Fixing and replacing broken or missing items is an important step you must make to ensure that you get a good deal for your vehicle. A missing hub cap or a broken mirror will suggest to the buyer that your Ford vehicle has not been well maintained and that other repairs will probably be needed. Should you need to do some fixing on your Ford car, try checking out Ford Part Online’s vast selection of top of the line Ford auto parts.

Ford concept vehicles shine at Detroit Auto Show

At the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) at Cobo Center in Detroit, automobile manufacturers are heeding the call of the times - displaying uniquely designed vehicles equipped with the latest environmentally friendly features.

Ford Motor Company is displaying the Reflex Hybrid Coupe, a sporty sub-compact car that achieves 65 mpg with a hybrid-electric diesel engine. The Reflex has an electric motor on the rear axle as well as the hybrid propulsion system on the front axle. The rear motor provides all-wheel-drive capability, improved driving dynamics and the fuel economy of a full hybrid vehicle.



Solar cells in the headlights and taillights help recharge the lithium-ion battery, while a roof-mounted solar panel powers fans to keep the interior cool. A unique baby-cam helps caregivers in the front seats monitor baby in the back.

The Reflex has a flexible interior made from synthetic and regenerated materials, and such advanced safety features as inflatable safety belts in the rear. Reflex also uses ground rubber from scrap athletic shoes, called Nike Grind, as insulation to reduce noise and vibration in the car's interior.

Also on display is Ford’s F-250 Super Chief concept, a flex-fuel pickup that runs on three fuels - gasoline, ethanol E-85, or hydrogen. Billed as the world's first Tri-Flex fuel engine this truck gets 12 percent better fuel economy and according to Ford, gets 500 miles between fill-ups. When operating on hydrogen, the Tri-Flex V-10 generates 99 percent less CO2 emissions than when running on gasoline.



Ford has announced its plans to increase its global hybrid production to approximately 250,000 hybrid units annually by 2010. By 2008, if all goes well for the automaker - Ford will have five hybrids on the road, including the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Mazda Tribute Hybrids.

These great concept cars should make it to production – we do need more (and better) choices to keep us happy. In the meantime we can keep our Ford vehicles in great shape by making sure to give it proper care and maintenance. Should you need to replace your Ford starters, wheels, spoiler or Ford headlights, just click over to your trusted online auto parts store, Ford Parts Discount.