J Mays of Ford Motor Company: Thoughts on Design

At NAIAS 2013, Ford Motor Company's Chief Creative Officer, J Mays, had an intimate conversation on a variety of topics including process and finding inspiration.

Robotic Welder - Chain

Really Interesting Welder Making Chain For Monroe Truck Equipment.

Ford the Only Full-Line Automaker Named to Fast Company 2013 Ranking of World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies

Ford Motor Company is the only full-line automaker recognized in Fast Company’s 2013 Most Innovative Companies ranking
Ford joins top-ranked Nike and Amazon as well as technology companies such as Apple and Google and online educator Coursera
NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2013 – Fast Company’s annual Most Innovative Companies issue honors leading businesses, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Target along with such rising newcomers as Square, Fab and Tumblr. Ford Motor Company is the only full-line automaker named to the 2013 list. Nike ranks No. 1 following the release of two major innovations, FuelBand and Flyknit technology.

Fast Company editors highlighted an array of recent efforts by Ford, including the opening of a Silicon Valley Lab in Palo Alto, Calif. in June 2012 where Ford engineers can collaborate with some of the best and brightest technology minds.

Among the innovative features already available in Ford vehicles, the award-winning SYNC® connectivity system enables drivers to stay connected with the latest mobile technology using voice commands so that hands can stay on the wheel and eyes on the road. The all-new 2013 Ford Fusion offers one of the industry’s most complete suites of advanced driver assist systems, including adaptive cruise control and the Lane Keeping System all in an affordable midsize family sedan. Ford researchers are also hard at work on future systems including a driver workload estimator to help drivers manage stressful situations on the road.

The Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s most significant, high-profile editorial effort of the year. The editorial team spends months gathering and sifting data to identify those enterprises that exemplify the best in business from across the economy and around the world. The end result is a package that dares to be different, emphasizing not just revenue growth and profit margins but also progressive business models and an ethos of creativity. This year’s honorees include major brands like Samsung and Coca-Cola, creative upstarts like Nasty Gal and Uber, and social disruptors like Coursera and D-Rev. Internationally Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies package spans the globe celebrating such companies as Kenya’s Safaricom (No. 9), Israel’s SodaStream (No. 23), Russia’s Oktogo online travel service (No. 35) and China’s Landwasher (No. 38).

In addition to the Top 50, Fast Company also ranks the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in 10 categories, including Big Data, Entertainment, Finance, and Food — all of which are featured in the print edition and on FastCompany.com. Additional Top 10 lists will continue to be rolled out online and through social channels in the weeks to come. Special online-only coverage: The Most Innovative Moments in Business, from Apple to Starbucks, Airbnb to Disney.

Notable on this year’s list: the absence of social media giants Facebook and Twitter. “Neither produced innovations worth celebrating,” the magazine explains in an accompanying article. “In the history of our list, fewer than one-third of the companies return from one year to the next. This year, only seven are consecutive honorees, an indication of how more companies in more corners of the world are innovating to seek a competitive edge, with the stakes only getting higher.”

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March 2013) is on newsstands beginning Feb. 19 and available online at www.fastcompany.com/MIC as well as in app form via iTunes.

Clash of the Cowboys: Episode 7 -- Quick Stack

Watch the Clash of the Cowboys to see your favorite Professional Bull Riders (PBR) personalities go head-to-head in a series of weekly challenges that prove who is truly "Built Ford Tough." Welcome to Episode 7. The Outlaws and Bandits are competing to see who can get can stack bales the quickest into the bed of their Ford F-150. But that is just the beginning. Watch which team comes up with the best strategy at www.clashofthecowboys.com.

Super Duty® is a superstar for the University of Michigan Championship C...

Only one truck is the trusted workhorse for the dominant University of Michigan Crew Team: Ford F-250. It's part of the championship team, showing its true strength, power and reliability as it helps transport the team's twenty 60-foot shells toward another victory.

F-150 We Own Work: Farming

A fleet of F-150 EcoBoost-equipped trucks grind it out in the fields day in and day out at Grimmway Farms. See how they prove their capability, efficiency and reliability.

Clash of the Cowboys: Episode 6 -- Paintball

Watch the Clash of the Cowboys to see your favorite Professional Bull Riders (PBR) personalities go head-to-head in a series of weekly challenges that prove who is truly "Built Ford Tough." Welcome to Episode 6. The Outlaws and Bandits are competing to see who can complete a target shooting course with paintball guns while having opponents simultaneously taking aim at them. Who has the best aim? Find out at www.clashofthecowboys.com.

MAMA favors Fusion, now Family Vehicle of the Year

The Midwest Automotive Media Association, gracious hosts of the Spring Collection Road Rally at Road America each year, has bestowed on the 2013 Ford Fusion its Family Vehicle of the Year award. Eligible cars must start under $50,000, be new or significantly updated, and have made an appearance at a MAMA rally for journalists to drive and evaluate. Click here for more.

Ford Social Hybrid 101 with Nancy Gioia

Ford Social sits down with Nancy Gioia, Global Director of Electrification for Ford Motor Company to answer fan questions about hybrid technology.

Edsel Ford Lifetime Acheivement Award Tribute Video

Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors, and great-grandson of Henry Ford, was awarded Automotive News' Lifetime Achievement Award in a ceremony in Washington D.C. on Jan. 31, 2013. This is the tribute video played at that ceremony, featuring many of the legends of Ford Racing.

Clash of the Cowboys: Episode 5 -- Get Dirty

Watch the Clash of the Cowboys to see your favorite Professional Bull Riders (PBR) personalities go head-to-head in a series of weekly challenges that prove who is truly "Built Ford Tough." Welcome to Episode 5. The Outlaws and Bandits are competing in a mud pit to see who can get the most balls into the bed of a Ford F-Series truck. Which team will get the dirtiest? Check them out at www.clashofthecowboys.com.

Clash of the Cowboys: Episode 4 -- Branding Frenzy Challenge

Watch the Clash of the Cowboys to see your favorite Professional Bull Riders (PBR) personalities go head-to-head in a series of weekly challenges that prove who is truly "Built Ford Tough." Welcome to Episode 4. The Outlaws and Bandits are competing to see who can brand the most calves with animal safe paint. Which team can prove they have the best cowboy instincts? Check them out at www.clashofthecowboys.com.

Comparing A Royal Low Profile and Standard Height Service Body

Terry Minion of Commercial Truck Success compares a low profile service body with a standard height service body and showing the benefits of each. In this case we are using Royal Service Bodies on the lot of Fairfield Chevrolet-Isuzu Truck in Fairfield CA.

http://www.ctsblog.net
http://www.royaltruckbodies.com
http://www.fairfieldcommercialtruck.com

Ford Motor Company: A Look at Accomplishments in 2012

For Ford Motor Company, 2012 was a banner year. From revealing the new 2013 Ford Fusion at NAIAS and the 2013 B-MAX at Mobile World Congress, we showed the breadth of Ford design, the ingenuity behind great fuel economy, and the global reach of SYNC, having just entered China. Our award-winning vehicles in North and South America, Europe and Asia proved that Ford is on a winning streak in creating great products. In particular, the Fusion Hybrid, C-MAX Hybrid and EcoSport all proved that performance, design and great fuel economy can go hand in hand.

Our business story was also strong, leading with our Go Further brand promise and ending the year with over 2 million vehicles sold. Over the course of the year, we returned to investment grade status, leading to our reclaiming of the iconic Blue Oval, and notched our best ever total company and automotive pre-tax operating profit in Q3. We formed a joint venture: Changan Ford Automobile Company and saw sales rise in China by 21%. Meanwhile, the company developed its Better Plan for Europe and produced the 500,000th EcoBoost engine in the Louisville Assembly Plant.

Ford also contributed to making the world a better place in 2012. During the Global Week of Caring, over 10,000 employees in 28 countries on six continents completed 268 community service projects. The Ford Volunteer Corps completed 1350 Projects by 25,000 employee volunteers who spent 115,000 hours, or the equivalent to a $3 million investment around the world. We installed solar panels at our facilities in Cologne, Germany, and closer to home, our Operation Brighter Future .made a $10 million investment for Detroit neighborhoods.

It was a great 2012 for Ford Motor Company and its employees. We look forward to an even better 2013.