First News on the Launch of Ford’s First Electric Car

It has arrived. Ford Motor Company’s first all-electric passenger car will be released in 2011. No official date has been confirmed yet, but Ford has publicized that the vehicle will first be launched in select U.S. markets. These markets include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Orlando, just to name a few. Ford stated that this is merely the first stage in their plan for rolling out the Focus Electric and that as demand increase, it will be made available in more cities.

The Focus Electric will be the first of its kind for Ford and it is promising capabilities of “up to 100 miles of zero C02-emissions, gas-free driving on a full charge” *. The motor will powered by a lithium-ion battery. The life of the battery is prolonged by a cooling and liquid heating system. Ford has stated that the price of the new vehicle will start around $16,995 **.

It is also worth mentioning that Ford chose the initial markets because of cooperation and collaboration with local government authorities. One of Ford’s goals is to educate consumers about electric cars and they said that working with the local authorities is the key to making that happen.

For more information about Ford’s Focus Electric follow the links below.



* http://media.fordvehicles.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33570

** http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-15/ford-to-start-selling-focus-electric-in-19-cities-in-late-2011.html

Stress-Reducting Technology While Driving

A new study conducted by Ford and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) concludes that new advancements in vehicle technology have proven to reduce stress while driving.

In a research project implemented over a nine month span, Ford and MIT have proven that technology such as the Ford Motor Company Active Park Assist feature (in the Lincoln MKS) and the Ford Motor Company Cross-Traffic Alert have resulted in a reduction of as much as 12 beats per minute in the driver’s heart rate.

Ford began this study in an initiative to “improve driver focus, wellness and safety”. 1

Physiological changes in drivers’ heart rates were measured while test participants were instructed to undergo instructions from the test administrator such as to parallel park and reverse out of a parking space.

The results of the study showed that with the added technology to assist in these tasks, the drivers were ultimately less stressed demonstrated by their bpm reduction heart rate.

For more information and statistics from Ford about this study please follow the link for the article below.

1 http://www.thefordstory.com/safety/want-stress-free-driving-use-in-vehicle-technology/