Nip/Tuck Ford Edge Now Shipping

Midcycle refresh for 2011 Ford Edge

2011 Ford Edge

The most popular midsize crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is the Ford Edge, a vehicle introduced in late 2006 for the 2007 model year. To date, more than 400,000 sales have been recorded, but the Ford Motor Company is not resting on its laurels.

Edge Shipped

This past weekend, the first of the 2011 models left the Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario and are heading to dealerships across the United States and Canada. Though some have mistakenly called the 2011 Ford Edge a second generation model, she isn’t.

Instead, the new Edge has received a significant nip/tuck inside and out, a mid-cycle refreshening designed to breath fresh life into this CUV. A new fascia, front fender, hood, headlamps and tail lamps help give the Ford Edge its updated look.

Strong Sales

Not that the 2010 Edge was flagging in customer interest. Year to date, sales are up 33 percent over 2009. Importantly, the midsize CUV segment has expanded going from 4.3 percent of sales when the Edge was introduced to 9.5 percent today.

And it is a crowded category at that with competition coming from the Dodge Journey, Nissan Murano, Volkswagen Touareg, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda Accord Crosstour, Toyota Venza and others. Ford data shows that the segment will continue to grow, with a 20 percent rise forecast for this year alone.

New Edge

The 2011 model features a standard 3.5-liter V6 engine producing 285 horsepower, up from 265 last year. Notably, the base front-wheel drive Ford Edge will get 19 mpg city, 27 mpg highway delivering best in class fuel economy. Optionally, the Edge will offer the first application of Ford’s 2.0-liter Ecoboost engine or a 3.7-liter V6.

Inside, the changes are notable too and include MyFord Touch driver connect technology, Blind Spot Information System, MyKey and adaptive cruise control.

Getting Technical

MyFord Touch, standard on the Limited and Sport packages, features two 4.2-inch configurable LCD screens placed in the instrument cluster and an 8-inch LCD touch screen in the center stack. Driver can access five-way controls on the steering wheel – in addition to a new Media Hub with two USB 2.0 ports, video input jacks and an SD card slot.

Ford has taken the midcycle refresh to a level not usually seen in the industry. The Mustang and Fusion are recent nip/tuck beneficiaries, showing that automakers can get much more mileage out of a generational model when the facelift isn’t just skin deep.

See Also — Autoweek: Ford Edge Gets $200 Price Cut

Source: Ford Motor Company

Auto Trends Marks First Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, Auto Trends!

Most of all, thank you to all of my readers who have found this site and continue to follow my many updates.

I launched Auto Trends about a year ago, wanting to do something for it that I wasn’t doing on my flagship The Auto Writer site: concentrate on the many concept vehicles being considered for production as well as to follow the changing trends in this industry.

When I set out in April 2008, gas prices were rising but I had no idea that they would soon top four dollars a gallon and stay there for several months. That move had a devastating effect on the auto industry as car buyers largely abandoned big pickup trucks and sport/utility vehicles, deciding that cars like the Ford Focus,  Smart Fortwo, Toyota Prius and Chevy Cobalt XFE were more to their liking.

In September the stock market collapsed, sending a tsunami like shockwave through the auto industry that sent sales plummeting and hastened the financial collapse of General Motors and Chrysler. By the end of 2008, both automakers were recipients of government aid while the Ford Motor Company managed to avoid needing help.

Today, General Motors and Chrysler are still struggling for their lives with additional federal funding coming. Chrysler may yet hook up with Fiat while GM will probably cede dominance in the US market to Ford and Toyota. Brands such as Saab, Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac may soon vanish while Chinese manufacturer Brilliance and Indian manufacturer Mahindra begin to sell their first passenger vehicles later this year.

Going forward, it is difficult to say what the future holds but of note are the many new hybrid and pure electric cars coming to market. Tesla Motors is a tiny player in the mix as will be Fisker Automotive, but Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Ford and a handful of other companies will be behind the biggest shift in production that most of us will have seen in our lifetime: energy efficient and environmentally vehicles are here.

I plan to keep Auto Trends relevant with my hand on the pulse of this dynamic and ever-changing industry. Please follow my updates on Twitter as well as paying me a visit on The Auto Writer to see whatever else I’m covering.

Above all, thank you once again for your support and I look forward to following the many auto trends unfolding over the next twelve months with you.

Auto Coalition Says That Six Million Jobs Disappear If U.S. Automakers Expire

If you haven’t heard that executives from America’s major automotive manufacturers are meeting with Congress in a bid to secure tens of billions of dollars in loan cost loans, then you are missing one of the news items of the year.

Executives from General Motors Corporation, the Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC are asking Congress and the President to approve a loan guarantee program that would allow each automaker to secure funding, monies they say is essential to whether they stay in business or close down shop. Last month these same executives flew to Washington in corporate jets and were roundly criticized for this action. This month, the executives ended up driving some of their most economical cars to the event including a pre-production version of the hybrid Chevrolet Volt, the hybrid Ford Fusion and the hybrid Dodge Aspen.

Several groups have been speaking out in favor of federal government intervention and some have spoken out against assistance. One group wanting to see Congress intervene is a group that calls itself the “auto coalition” and group of auto suppliers, dealers, and other interested parties representing some six million people in the U.S. What they said follows.

“With six million supplier, dealer and related jobs at risk nationwide, failure of the domestic auto industry is not an option,” said Timothy D. Leuliette, president & CEO of Dura Automotive Systems, Inc. “In addition to the ‘Big Three’ auto companies, countless supporting companies drive good jobs in local economies all across the nation. These are hard working men and women struggling to support their families and communities in the midst of this global economic crisis. Congress must act now to support a bridge loan – not a bailout – for America’s auto industry.”

Given the urgency of the situation and the need to counter misinformation about the vital role the domestic auto industry plays in the U.S. economy, The Engine of Democracy coalition was formed to give voice to the six million people whose jobs are directly or indirectly tied to the health and vitality of domestic automakers. With minimal publicity, the interactive website, www.TheEngineofDemocracy.com, launched on Monday and received more than 15,000 visitors in just four days, generating more than one thousand grassroots emails and letters to Capitol Hill in support of the automotive bridge loan program.

“The American auto industry has long been our nation’s engine of democracy. In World War II, it turned on a dime and became what President Roosevelt called ‘The Arsenal of Democracy.’ After September 11, automakers responded by slashing prices and loan rates to jump-start a needed economic rebound. With the global economic crisis, now is the time for the government to help automakers help the American economy,” said Carl Galeana, who owns several new car dealerships across the country.

America’s car companies play a crucial role in the nation’s economic engine. Almost 4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product is auto-related, and vehicle manufacturing represents 10 percent of U.S. industrial production by value. According to The Automotive Trade Policy Council, the U.S. auto industry invests $10 billion in this country in plants and equipment each year. In addition, the U.S.-based auto industry is second only to the semiconductor industry in R&D spending – $12 billion last year alone.

“If Congress does not take swift action to prevent the collapse of our domestic auto industry, the already hard hit automotive Midwest will be ground zero, but the economic fallout will instantly spread through local economies all across the country,” said Neil DeKoker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association.

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary, North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including apparel and bed bars.