ALL-NEW, 2019 FORD RANGER IS FINALLY HERE

After years of watching the world-market Ranger do tricks like towing trains and playing in the mudand generally being awesome, we are thrilled to announce that Ford has launched an all-new, US market Ford Ranger at the 2018 North American International Auto Show!

There’s not a whole lot more for me to add that doesn’t sound like crazy fangirl squeals, at this point. Suffice it to say, however, that I will be following Range-based developments very closely in the coming months. Bronco ones, too, while we’re at it- and, maybe, Ford will recapture some of the magic it used to have when guys like Bob Glidden were flying the blue oval flag way back when. Here’s hoping.

So, until one of us here at Important Media gets a chance to drive the thing or it gets caught cheating on its emissions tests or something, check out Ford’s official press release. I’ve also included 30 high-resolution photos and a PR video of the all-new Ford Ranger, below. Enjoy!

AN AMERICAN FAVORITE REINVENTED: NEW FORD RANGER BRINGS BUILT FORD TOUGH INNOVATION TO U.S. MIDSIZE TRUCK SEGMENT

• Built Ford Tough: Ford answers the call from truck customers looking for an affordable, rugged, and maneuverable midsize pickup that’s Built Ford Tough; torture-tested alongside Ford F-150 trucks, Ranger quality starts with a rugged high-strength steel frame backbone, proven Ford-built 2.3-liter EcoBoost® engine and class-exclusive 10-speed automatic transmission
• Ready for adventure with innovative technology: New features make driving easier and more fun, both on- and off-road; available FX4 Off-Road Package adds protective skid plates, upgraded tires, off-road-tuned shocks and suspension, while Terrain Management System™ and Trail Control™ help navigate challenging conditions; a suite of innovative technologies includes standard Automatic Emergency Braking to help avoid collisions
• Strong new choice for midsize truck fans: Ranger brings American truck lovers an all-new choice; production begins late this year at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant as the U.S. industry sees continued growth in midsize pickups


DETROIT, Jan. 14, 2018 – Ford today reveals the all-new 2019 Ford Ranger for North America, bringing midsize truck fans a new choice from America’s truck sales leader – one that’s engineered Built Ford Tough and packed with driver-assist technologies to make driving easier whether on- or off-road.
Production begins late this year at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant as customer demand is growing for midsize trucks. U.S. sales are up 83 percent since 2014 as a new generation of midsize truck buyers seek more maneuverable, fuel-efficient pickups.
The 2019 Ford Ranger answers the call with an all-new midsize pickup featuring a new exterior design, chassis and power train developed specifically for North American truck customers. Powerful and strong, with a high-strength steel frame, Ranger is equipped with a proven 2.3-liter EcoBoost® engine mated to the only 10-speed automatic transmission in the segment.
“Ranger has always held a special place in the hearts of truck fans,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford executive vice president, Product Development and Purchasing. “The all-new Ranger is designed for today’s midsize truck buyer, delivering even more utility, capability and technology for those who blend city living with more off-the-grid adventures on weekends.”
Ranger comes in entry-level XL, mid-level XLT and high-level Lariat trim series with available Chrome and Sport appearance and FX Off-Road packages, and in SuperCab or SuperCrew cab configurations.


Built Ford Tough



Built Ford Tough is engineered in Ranger’s DNA – from its high-strength steel frame backbone to its frame-mounted steel front and rear bumpers. Ford engineers put Ranger through the same torture testing as the legendary F-150 goes through.
Even its design is tough. Ranger’s muscular body features a high beltline that emphasizes strength, while a raked grille and windshield provide an athletic appearance – designed to aid in aerodynamics and reduce wind noise. Short overhangs are functional off-road for clearing obstacles.
From the rear, the Ranger nameplate stamped in the tailgate conveys strength, and the tailgate itself is designed to handle people and cargo. A rugged steel bumper with an available integrated trailer hitch receiver helps make towing campers, ATVs or watercraft a breeze.
Inside, Ranger blends comfort and functionality with room for up to five people, their gear and accessories. A center stack includes an 8-inch touch screen for the available SYNC® 3 system, while the instrument cluster features dual LCD productivity screens for real-time vehicle, navigation and audio information.
Ranger’s twin-power dome hood houses its 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine designed for efficiency and capability thanks to direct fuel injection, a twin-scroll turbocharger and 16-valve design. For added durability, the engine features a forged-steel crankshaft and connecting rods, and chain-driven dual overhead cams.
“Ranger’s proven 2.3-liter EcoBoost provides a torque target on par with competing V6 engines, but with the efficiency of a four-cylinder,” said Thai-Tang. “When you pair that with its 10-speed transmission, you’ve got one of the most versatile, powerful and efficient power trains in the segment.”


Adventure-ready
Ranger is designed for a new generation of midsize truck customers who head off-road to recharge.
Ranger prioritizes ground clearance to help climb over off-road obstacles. The FX4 Off-Road Package provides additional trail capability with off-road-tuned shocks, all-terrain tires, a frame-mounted heavy-gauge steel front bash plate, frame-mounted skid plates and FX4 badging.
To give customers a great all-terrain driving experience, Ranger’s FX4 Off-Road Package features an innovative Terrain Management System™ similar to the F-150 Raptor’s. It includes four distinct drive modes – normal; grass, gravel and snow; mud and ruts; and sand. The system can shift on the fly to automatically change throttle responsiveness, transmission gearing and vehicle controls to tailor traction, drivability and performance to any given terrain or weather condition.
The FX4 Off-Road Package introduces Ford’s all-new Trail Control™ technology. Like cruise control for the highway but designed for low-speed, rugged terrain, Trail Control takes over acceleration and braking – sending power and braking to each individual wheel to allow drivers to focus on steering along the course.
Power is distributed through Dana® AdvanTEK® independent front and solid rear axles on both 2WD and 4WD models with an available electronic-locking rear axle (standard on FX2 and FX4) for increased all-terrain traction. Ranger four-wheel-drive versions feature 2-high, 4-high and 4-low.


Innovative technology
Ranger incorporates smart driver-assist, passenger convenience and connectivity technologies. Advanced driver-assist technologies include standard Automatic Emergency Braking, while Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Departure Warning, a Reverse Sensing System and class-exclusive Blind Spot Information System with trailer coverage are standard on XLT and Lariat trim levels. Additional driver-assist technologies standard on Lariat include Pedestrian Detection and Adaptive Cruise Control.
Available SYNC® 3 features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, Ford+Alexa personal assistant functionality and optional navigation. An available FordPass™ Connect 4G LTE modem provides Wi-Fi access for up to 10 devices. Available AC power outlets allow for charging of laptops and USB outlets provide more options for passengers to connect. Available B&O PLAY premium audio is specially tuned for the Ranger cab to deliver a rich and engaging listening experience.
Additional features include optional LED headlamps and tail lamps. Optional exterior lighting includes puddle lamps and lighting for the cargo bed, while Ford’s available Smart Trailer Tow connector alerts drivers to faulty trailer connections.

Source | Images: Ford.

2016 Ford Focus RS - passenger ride

“I worked my ass off to make it do that,” says the man to my left. ‘It’ is the hot hatch of the moment, the brand-new Ford Focus RS. And the man talking about it – driving it, typically enthusiastically – is David Put, vehicle dynamics specialist of Ford of Europe.

The grinning Belgian has done a big chunk of the dynamic tuning of the new RS, and right now he’s flicking the car around the damp curves of the legendary ‘Track 7’ handling circuit at Ford’s Lommel proving ground. It looks like fun - a lot of fun, actually.

The car is cornering flat and fast, pulling with huge torque and proper sports car pace down the short straights, and sounding all growly and interesting. That much you don’t have to be in the driver’s seat to tell. But watching Put’s measured inputs carefully, you can see – and feel - exactly what he’s so chuffed about.

The car’s initial handling response and lateral grip levels look considerable; David’s not having to do much at all to get the front wheels running towards apex after apex. But it’s what happens mid-corner, as he begins to feed power back in, that really surprises. There’s a small but perceptible nudge from the outside rear wheel; a friendly little tweak of not just traction but handling impetus, making the car both speed up and turn in at the same time.

Where other all-paw hatches would be beginning to lose their poise, bothering their ESP and running wide as the transmission sends drive first to the harder-working front wheels, the Focus stays neutral. And then it begins to blend into power-on oversteer, as Put unwinds the steering angle and applies a delicate correction.

Four-wheel-drive hot hatchbacks just don’t do that - not in this tester’s experience. You can chuck a VW Golf R or a Mercedes A45 AMG into a transient slide by unloading the rear axle, but what happens when you come back onto the pedal tends to be all very boring and predictable.

This - it would seem from the passenger seat, at any rate, and judging by both the smile on my co-driver’s face and what the ‘seat of my pants’ is telling me – is a four-wheel-drive performance hatch that you can accelerate into a powerslide - that you can steer on the throttle, in other words, like a proper rear-driver. Praise be.

My need to drive the new Focus RS only gets more urgent after that revelation, but it isn’t going to be addressed today. We’re here for an advanced passenger-seat preview only – and an up-close-and-personal review on the engineering effort that has gone into one of the most eagerly anticipated affordable driver's cars of the past few years.

Among the first things to be announced about this new hot Focus was that it’d be four-wheel drive – just like its 1990s forebear, the memorable Escort RS Cosworth. That was among the very first decisions taken by the Ford Performance engineering team, and you can read all about the pioneering technology behind the drive system here.

We knew back at the Geneva motor show this year that the four-wheel drive system in question would have a ‘drift’ mode – and that it would therefore have to be something inherently more trick than the Haldex-coupled norm. We also knew that the RS would develop a formidable-sounding 345bhp.

What wasn’t known was that Ford’s prototypes weren’t quite making that much power back then. The target has been achieved since, of course; it had to be. But using Ford’s 2.3-litre Ecoboost Mustang engine as a basis, it has taken a whole new Cosworth-milled cylinder head and gasket, new cylinder liners, new induction and exhaust systems, a completely new twin-scroll turbocharger and the largest radiator that could be squeezed into the front of the Focus’s engine bay to achieve it.

Ford freely admits that its emphasis was on delivering the car to market for an outstanding price as much as anything – and that some opportunities for saving weight have been passed up. So the car weighs a hefty 1599kg wet, including the EU’s mandatory 75kg for driver and luggage. The four-wheel drive system contributes an undisclosed amount of mass compared with front-wheel drive.

A dual-clutch automatic gearbox would have brought the 0-62mph sprint down a bit from where it currently sits (4.7sec), but would also have added another 30kg to the car – not to mention four figures to the asking price. Besides which, if you option the 19in forged wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres on the car, the Focus RS is considerably faster-accelerating than the manufacturer’s claim.

The four-wheel drive system forced a switch to a different C1-platform rear subframe, which was originally developed some years ago for Volvo – but in order to deliver the rigidity required to handle the forces put through the rear end of the Focus, it’s been braced against the body-in-white in three separate directions on each side.

Above that, the car’s body structure itself has also been reinforced. If you could lift the boot lining, you’d see a thick band of steel designed into the sheet metal, running between the rear suspension towers, that Ford has christened a 'lion’s foot'. Local torsional stiffness has been increased by as much as 200%.

The RS has four drive modes, ranging from Normal at the tame end of the dynamic spectrum to Drift at the wilder end. As David cycles through them, I can feel the dual-rate Tenneco dampers firming up – the ride having started out firmer than, say, a VW Golf R, but still entirely possible to live with. It ends up probably too firm for British B-roads but about perfect for a fairly smooth, low-kerbed track.

Although the RS runs with more negative camber on its front axle than the Focus ST, and with 30% stiffer springs, its overall ride height is about the same. Its power steering is slightly quicker overall than the ST’s, says David – but they’ve junked the variable ratio of the ST for a more predictable fixed one. “With the handling effect of the four-wheel drive system, you just don’t need that extra help to get the car turned in,” explains our man.

From the passenger seat, it’s impossible to be certain about exactly how crisp that turn-in really is and how much adjusting of the RS’s cornering line can be done with your right foot – but it certainly seems to change quite a lot from mode to mode. In Track mode, Put is using no corrective lock at all. But he’s also not afraid to open the taps on the engine’s overboosted 347lb ft of torque long before he’s taken the lateral cornering load out of the tyres – and he doesn’t seem to be contending with any limiting understeer at all.

Later, back in Drift mode, he’ll demonstrate the potential for surprisingly prolonged powerslides around the consistent radius of one of Lommel’s steering pads. It’s quite something to experience - not quite donut after lock-stop-hitting donut but equally, I suspect, something much more akin to the controllability and rear-drive feeling you get from an Audi R8 than an RS3.

The impression stuck in my head as I climb out of the car is one of what, I’m confident enough to predict, must be a remarkable-handling and involving hot hatchback - one of Ford’s greatest yet. That, and the outline of five digits and a symbol, lingering like the halo of a bright light scorched onto your retinas: £28,940. Less than a Honda Civic Type R, less than a Golf R, less than a BMW M135i – all of them considerably less powerful and, on very limited evidence, admittedly, less dynamically talented.

It’s 1600 confirmed UK orders and counting, folks. Let the stampede commence.

Ford Focus RS

Price £28,940; Engine 4cyls, 2261cc, turbo, petrol; Power 345bhp at 6000rpm; Torque 325lb ft at 2000-4500rpm (347lb ft on overboost); 0-62mph 4.7sec; Top speed 165mph; Gearbox 6-spd manual; Kerb weight 1599kg; Economy 36.7mpg (combined);CO2/tax band 175g/km, 30%

2015 Mustang EcoBoost Good For At Least 31 MPG?

The 2.3 liter EcoBoost engine found in the 2015 Mustang is one of the most talked-about motors of the past two years, and we finally have some hard numbers attached to it. The official ratings are 310 horsepower and 320 ft-lbs of torque, which is comparable to the Mustang’s V8 engines of just a decade ago. Now we’re getting the first reports on fuel economy, and it ain’t too shabby.

A post over on reddit from u/noname87scr claims to work at a Ford dealer, where a 2015 Mustang EcoBoost just showed up. He posted the above shot of the engine bay, and says that the Ford rep claimed he was getting 31 MPG on the highway. 310 horsepower and 31 MPG? I’m still set on getting a Tesla, but those are the kinds of numbers that make it a good time to be a Mustang fan, especially after hearing this torquey EcoBoost engine gettin’ it on at the track.

Just wait until the aftermarket gets its hands on this engine too. 400 horsepower shouldn’t take much more than an ECO reflash, a bigger exhaust, and a small shot of nitrous. The tiny turbocharger could also do with an upgrade, pushing well into Mustang GT territory. The EcoBoost engine comes at a $1,500 premium to the base V6, but is some $7,000 cheaper than the heavier V8-powered GT model, adding to my argument that the V8 muscle car is on its way out.

Ford still hasn’t revealed the official fuel economy figures, but could Ford land numbers as high as 35 MPG on the highway? If a Ford rep was really managing 31 MPG on the highway, and was driving it with any sort of gusto, 35 MPG wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

Source: Ford

2015 Mustang EcoBoost Offering $1,995 “Performance Pack”

The 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost will be offered with a $1,995 Performance Pack when it goes on sale later this year, indicating the lofty aspirations for this small turbo engine. No details on what this package will include, but it will most likely borrow bits from the 2015 Mustang GT, including bigger brakes and a tighter suspension.

These modifications would move the performance of the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost in the right direction, though all we’ve got to go on so far is a dealer order form leaked to The Mustang Source. The Performance Pack was previously offered on the Mustang V6 model, adding larger brakes, stickier tires, bigger wheels, The addition of a strut tower brace increased torsional rigidity, and steeper rear end gears helped acceleration.

These are the kinds of modifications I expect the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost Performance Pack to include, and with Ford still remaining mum on specific horsepower figures, it doesn’t do much good to imagine any engine upgrades. The 2.3 liter EcoBoost engine is being slated as the performance alternative the base V6 Mustang, but cheaper to own and operate than the thirsty Mustang GT. Rumors have placed the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost fuel economy at as much as 34 MPG on the highway thanks to features like active grille shutters and an integrated exhaust manifold.

Add to that a bunch of performance-enhancing, go-fast goodies, and you’ve got a car that lets you have your cake and eat it too.

Source: The Mustang Source