Forbes has reported that almost one-third of the more than two million vehicles Ford sold in America last year went to fleet buyers, which could be a cause of concern for the American automaker.

While it would appear that it could only be a positive thing that Ford is heavily favored among rental and commercial fleets, it has its downsides as well. For one, fleet operators purchase their vehicles in bulk and normally hold on to them for only a year or two. As a result, huge discounts are given from the manufacturers and the market becomes flooded with used vehicles after a couple of years, reducing residual values.

But the upside is that rental fleets help increase brand and product awareness with potential consumers that normally would never look at that vehicle to begin with. At the same time, a rental car that’s been poorly taken care of could leave a negative impression about a vehicle’s brand.

Ford is likely to be concerned about its fleet sales though, especially as 45-percent of its Focus production is heading to fleet inventories while the car struggles in the retail market. The next few years will be important to Ford, as General Motors and Chrysler continue to improve with great vehicles and larger profits while Japanese automakers Nissan, Honda and Toyota begin to bounce back.

[Source: Forbes]

Tanner Foust recently spent the day at Homestead-Miami Speedway, putting the new Ford Focus ST-R turnkey race car to the test. The Global RallyCross Champion and founding member of the Octane Academy, not to mention Top Gear television celebrity and former Formula Drift champion, came away impressed with what the Focus ST-R could do on the track.

The Focus ST-R is scheduled to make its racing debut at the upcoming Grand AM weekend at Daytona on January 26-27th in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The ST-R is powered by a turbocharged 2.0L EcoBoost engine mated to a six-speed Getrag transmission. Unfortunately Ford hasn’t disclosed how much power the ST-R puts out, but based on the video it appears that the Focus will be quite impressive in its competition debut.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: YouTube via Ford Racing TV]

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Google is all about advancing technology in order to improve our world and lifestyle, and it appears that they also support any other company that’s pro-technology.

The massive search engine turned all-things technology firm was given the keys to the first Ford Focus electric vehicle off the assembly line.

It’ll be interesting to see if Google will be going domestic in continuing to develop their autonomous vehicle technology that’s currently taking place on Toyota‘s Prius. There’s probably a better chance that the electric Focus will be making its way as a Google Street View vehicle though, spying on us and taking unsuspecting photos without wasting a drip of gas or polluting our world.

The day that a fleet of self-driving electric vehicles with Google plastered across the side of them doesn’t seem so far off.

[Source: Engadget]

Ford‘s track-ready Focus ST-R isn’t cheap at $98,995, but it sure comes with plenty of punch as a turn-key race car powered by a 2.0L EcoBoost powerplant. To show off what the hot hatch is all about, Ford Racing and Andy Vrenko took it to its natural habitat – the race track.

The video does a great job highlighting the various features of the race car while blending in clips of it on the track. We also get a great in-depth look at the interior of the ST-R, showing off its Recaro seats and FIA-spec roll cage.

The ST-R is eligible to race in various racing series including Grand Am ST Class, World Challenge ST Class, Canadian Touring Car, as well as European endurance racing events, such as the Nurburgring 24.

GALLERY: Ford Focus ST-R

Watch the video below:

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For decades, we’ve known Ford crate engines to be huge V8 powerplants packing plenty of cubic inches and power. But Ford has been quietly offering a 2.0L inline-four from its old Focus for midget racers but very few even paid attention to that option.

Now Ford has added their new-generation 2.0L Focus engine and looks to add an EcoBoost variant in the future. Ford announced a pair of new V8 crate motors for 2012, adding a 347 pushrod motor based on the historic Boss 302 block. With 363-cubic inches, it packs 500-hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. The other new crate engine is a 427-cubic inch powerplant and is based on Ford’s Boss 351 engine block. With Ford Racing’s X-heads system, it makes 500-hp and 520 lb-ft of torque.

But the new addition of the 2.0L inline-four from the Focus is what’s making headlines, with its 160-hp and 145 lb-ft of torque. The naturally aspirated engine will be complemented by EcoBoost offerings which means turbocharged power for all. The 2.0L EcoBoost for example in the new Explorer makes 240-hp and 270 lb-ft of torque which suddenly becomes a very appealing engine for small race cars to mid-sized boats.

Unfortunately Ford hasn’t announced availability on the EcoBoost crate engines.

[Source: Automobile Mag]

While Microsoft and Ford‘s previous collaboration, MyFord Touch, drew significant criticism from users as well as from Consumer Reports, their latest product promises to be a big hit. Designed for the new Ford Focus Electric, the MyFord Mobile app has earned the International CES Best of Innovation Design and Engineering Award in the software and mobile applications category.

Thanks to the MyFord Mobile app and its use of Microsoft’s cloud computing technology, drivers will be able to keep track of when utilities switch to lower off-peak charging rates so that a charging schedule can be coordinated to minimize electric bills and the Focus’ cost of ownership. MyFord Mobile’s network can monitor the rate schedules of Utility services and transmit that data back to the vehicle via embedded cellular connectivity so that it will trigger the charging process only when the rates fall.

Thanks to navigational data and can also assist in locating the closest charging stations along the driver’s route. It will calculate whether the vehicle’s range can reach the station with the currently available charge and design multi-stop, plug-to-plug journeys to keep drivers from getting stranded.

Available on smartphone platforms Android, Blackberry, and Apple iOS, the MyFord Mobile app, “is designed to help Focus Electric drivers maximize their gasoline-free driving in a worry-free, low-effort way. Drivers can take advantage of information stored off-board to automatically charge their cars at the lowest possible cost and reduce range anxiety with plug-to-plug route planning,” according to Bill Frykman, of Ford Connected Services Product & Business Dept.

Frykman adds, “We’re honored CES has recognized our efforts to use the latest connectivity and cloud technology to augment the capabilities of the car to promote greener driving.”

To say that Ford put a focus on the Focus would be an understatement at this year’s SEMA Show. Nine different, fully customized Focuses were shown off in the Ford booth, with several of them part of a spectator voting competition. Projects ranged from mild to wild, with a plethora of colors being splashed on each creation.

Our personal favorite of the bunch was the Focus by the ID Agency, sporting a custom BASF green paint job with a Wraptivo roof wrap. Ford also leant a helping hand with their official Ford Licensed Accessories bike rack by Thule, adding to the versatility of the new Focus SE 5-Door. The Downforce carbon fiber lip kit was a nice and subtle touch, while we just loved the choice of bolting on 19×8.5-inch HRE Performance C90 wheels. Under the hood, the ID Agency outfitted the 2.0L Ti-VCT four-cylinder with an AEM cold air intake and MagnaFlow cat-back exhaust. A Brembo big brake kit was paired with KW Variant 3 coilovers to give this Focus plenty of braking and handling improvements – not to mention how great it looks. On the inside, Recaro Sportster seats can be found along with custom interior by Top Stitch and a Kicker car audio system by BP Auto Sound.

With so many Focuses to focus on, we decided to make a life easier to taking a photo of each of the information plaques by each car. Feast your eyes on the creations from Bojix Design, ID Agency, 3dCarbon, Capaldi Racing, ROUSH Performance, Steeda, Hot Wheels, Metal Mulish/Rockstar, and M&J Enterprises and let Autoguide know which was your favorite.

GALLERY: Bojix Design Ford Focus

GALLERY: ID Agency Ford Focus

GALLERY: 3dCarbon Ford Focus

GALLERY: Capaldi Racing Ford Focus

GALLERY: ROUSH Performance Ford Focus

GALLERY: Steeda Ford Focus

GALLERY: Hot Wheels Ford Focus

GALLERY: Metal Mulisha/Rockstar Ford Focus

GALLERY: M&J Enterprises Ford Focus

Ford is giving racing enthusiasts a new Focus race car option with their ST-R that debuted at Frankfurt Motor Show. The Focus ST-R race car will feature a powerful 2.0L EcoBoost engine, FIA regulation roll cage, upgraded brakes and track-tuned suspension.

The race-tweaked, production-based ST-R was crafted by the engineers at Ford Racing and will be allowed to compete in a variety of racing series including Grand-Am ST, World Challenge TC and Canadian Touring Car Series. Ford also hopes that teams will pick up the ST-R and use it at notable race events such as the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.

Initially created for American and Canadian touring car racing, the ST-R is available for order from Ford dealers in North America for all race car enthusiasts from seasoned veterans to weekend amateurs.

Because the Focus ST-R is a production-based road race car, it features stock body panels and production parts where possible,” added Allison. “People who buy one will get will get a fully prepared race car that will only need communications equipment and the customer’s decals to go racing. We’ve already had significant interest in this vehicle from numerous established race teams.”

No pricing was announced from Ford’s official press release.

GALLERY: Ford Focus ST-R Race Car

It’s difficult to remember when Ford last had as strong a line-up as it does today, but don’t believe for a second that the Blue Oval team are foolish enough to take a moment to relax. Rather, Ford is set to reveal the most efficient non-hybrid family vehicles, the Focus ECOnetic Technology and the Fiesta ECOnetic Technology, both of which are set for their debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

How efficient are they? The Focus ECOnetic Technology boasts an 1.6 liter TDCi diesel engine capable of an incredible 83.1 mpg, while CO2 seeps out a mere 89 g/km. The Fiesta ECOnetic Technology is an even more frugal 85.6 mpg, exhaling a negligible 87 g/km CO2. Certainly a bit far fetched, but Ford says these fuel economy figures are measured upon the European cycle and not the EPA rating – which would be somewhat irrelevant anyway as we’re not scheduled to get them here.

A slew of innovations are responsible for the ECOnetic Technology’s success, including engine and transmission components that are not only lighter, but cause less friction. The ECOnetic’s 1.6 liter TDCi diesel will come equipped with NOx absorbing technology to reduce CO2 coming out the exhaust. The 1.3 liter EcoBoost engine receives direct fuel injection and benefits from recent advances made in turbocharging. Finally, both the Fiesta and Focus will have a new generation of regenerative charging; an alternator that increases output during vehicle braking or deceleration, converting kinetic energy to electricity without use of additional fuel.

Moreover, Ford adopted innovations such as the active grille shutter previously found in the Chevrolet Cruze to improve frontal aerodynamics. Shift light indicators found in Formula 1 will now be used to alert eco minded drivers when shifting a gear up will continue to optimize their fuel economy.

Expect half of all Ford cars sold in Europe to carry the ECOnetic Technology badge by late next year.

GALLERY: 2012 Ford ECOnetic

Ford is delaying the full launch of the 2012 electric Focus. Initially, the Focus EV was to be launched in 19 markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Seattle. However, plans have changed and the primary launch will be concentrated in California and New York.

Ford’s electrified-vehicles marketing manager David Finnegan said, ”For the first few months of production, we will be concentrating on California and New York,” he said. “Our dealers in those areas will be the first to have their retail orders scheduled and receive the Focus electric. We will be rolling out to the remainder of our initial markets starting in spring 2012.” Ford has yet to set a date for the Focus EV launch in the remaining markets.

[Source: Automotive News]