When it came to delivering on the promise of last year’s Verve concept cars, Ford Motor Company had to produce something special. So they appealed directly to the people whose ideas mattered most: Ford drivers. These customers called for a practical and affordable car that offered something bold, exciting, and instantly desirable. They got their wish this week in Beijing, as Ford unveiled the new-generation Ford Fiesta at Auto China 2008.

This car infuses some life into the compact category through Ford of Europe’s “kinetic design” approach, adding dynamic visual appeal to the car’s exterior. Here, the Fiesta’s dramatically contoured hood and front fenders, stylishly sculpted headlamps, and sweeping roofline add up to a uniquely sporty take on the five-door hatchback.

Ford backs up this style with hallmark engineering: excellent driving dynamics, a comfortable ride, and an interior that’s isolated from wind, road, and powertrain noise. And the car has been made even more responsive with the introduction of Electronic-Power Assist Steering (E-PAS). So the Fiesta now offers an unusually smooth driving experience for a vehicle its size.

But one of the biggest innovations here is the one you don’t immediately notice: the ultra-high-strength steel used to ensure absolute safety. Specialist steels like boron steel and dual-phase steel give the Fiesta a supremely robust framework, providing unusual structural integrity for a car this small, lightweight, and agile.

The new Fiesta will be customized for markets in Asia, Europe, and the Americas between 2008 and 2010. It’s the first car to emerge from Ford’s Global Product Development System, as the automaker positions itself in a rapidly changing world market. These changes are nowhere more in evidence than in China, where production on the new Fiesta will begin this year at the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Nanjing.

Last year, Ford Motor Company introduced the award-winning Ford S-MAX, a seven-seat sport activity vehicle (SAV). It offered safety, space, comfort, and convenience along with Ford’s excellent driving dynamics and reliability—the full package, essentially. But Ford recognized that seven passengers might be more than some drivers need to carry, particularly in an emerging market like China. So this week provided the perfect opportunity to introduce the new five-seat S-MAX Trend in Beijing.

This take on the SAV combines the driving pleasure of a sedan with the spaciousness of a standard multi-purpose vehicle. It retains the same great drive, flexible seating, and bold design as the S-MAX Flagship, but has two rows of seats instead of three—plus an extra 6.5 cubic feet of rear cargo space and a lower price tag. This brings even more versatility to the adaptive car that’s been such a success in Europe, and positions the model for a wider global audience.

This year, the entire S-MAX range receives extra safety and luxury features. In addition to the standard 2.3-liter engine and a smooth six-speed automatic transmission, rear parking sensors and footlights are now standard across the line. All models also come with anti-lock brakes, and the Ghia and Flagship models have a front-passenger seatbelt reminder and side airbags.

Like the new-generation Fiesta and the Mondeo, the S-MAX features Ford of Europe’s “kinetic design,” adding stylish energy and immediate appeal to the vehicles’ visual appearance. It’s just one more innovation Ford brings to a rapidly shifting global automotive market.

China is the world’s largest emerging marketplace for cars. Ford Motor Company knows this better than anyone: They’ve seen their presence in the country grow rapidly in the last four years, with more than 200,000 vehicles sold in 2007 alone. So there’s a real sense of excitement around Auto China 2008, where Ford will offer a glimpse of the automotive future, showcasing its latest vehicles and introducing some groundbreaking new technology.

At the event, which runs from April 20–28, Ford will be joined by Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover at the recently built Beijing New International Exhibition Center. Together, they’ll display 55 cars in a 1,460-square-meter space, making Ford the largest exhibitor at the show.

In particular, Ford will focus on its offerings to Chinese consumers, including the Ford Mondeo, the Ford S-MAX, and the 15-seat Ford Transit. Sticking to their commitment to “Make Every Day Exciting,” Ford’s exhibition will also feature a few surprises: advanced concept cars that will give a sense of what we’ll be driving a few years from now. (At the Beijing show in 2006, for instance, the concept car Ford Iosis inspired today’s Ford Mondeo.)

Ford will also reveal exciting new technologies that reduce CO2 emissions from its vehicles while allowing them to remain as drivable and affordable as ever. They’ll unveil new engine technology that improves fuel consumption by 20 to 30 percent. And they’ll show a new six-speed automatic gearbox that has all the performance benefits of a manual gearbox—even as it cuts back on fuel consumption and emissions.

And, of course, Ford will open up the floor to comments from consumers, broadcasting their insights on a large screen and making them a crucial part of the exhibition. Expect a comprehensive picture of the openness and innovation that’s ensuring Ford’s success in an increasingly vital market.

As early spring winds whipped New York’s Javits Center, the 2008 New York International Auto Show opened to the public on March 21. Running through March 30, New York’s show has all the highlights from the 2007-2008 Auto Show Season. From Lincoln’s MKS, which kicked off the Los Angeles Auto Show, to the Transit Connect Taxi Concept, visitors to the Ford display have a lot to choose from.

The 2009 Ford F-150 and the brand new Ford Work Solutions share space with the Ford Taurus Crash test model, where visitors can see why Taurus was rated Top Safety Pick in its class by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Crossover fans can see the Ford Edge and check out the “lid” art on the 2009 Flex created by New York artist Tristain Eaton. The Mustang with pink racing stripes shines a spotlight on breast cancer research. Ford announced that it will double its donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure for every “Warriors in Pink” Mustang sold.

Customers curious about concept cars will find the Explorer America Concept, featuring EcoBoost engine technology, and the sleek Transit Connect Taxi Concept. Hybrid and green technology are represented by the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, the Ford Verve Concept, and the Ford Escape Hybrid. The Volvo XC90—a concept car at 2007’s North American International Auto Show—takes center stage at Volvo, and Mazda’s award-winning CX-9 shares the spotlight with the Furai Concept.

Ford’s group vice president for Marketing and Communications, Jim Farley, talked to autoshows.ford.com about the surprise star of the 2008 auto show season: small cars. Between the Verve Concept and Transit Connect, the site’s been buzzing with comments.

“Ford is world class when it comes to making small cars,” says Farley. “And not just cars that are good value. They’ve got great design, they’re fun to drive, they’re premium small cars. We want to leverage and bring this to the United States.” Transit Connect, Verve, and Fiesta are part of this strategy and it’s being well received in the press, the public, and on autoshows.ford.com.

Transit Connect’s engine is also getting a lot of attention, and people are asking: why not diesel? Farley says that though Ford makes world class diesel vehicles in Europe, “the United States emissions standards for diesel are different,” and that challenge might make EcoBoost a better option for Transit Connect than diesel. Farley sees hybrid engines as “a perfect application in Transit Connect,” but the cost—from $5,000-$7,000—can be prohibitive for customers looking for cost and value in commercial vehicles. The Transit Connect that will be available in 2009 gets 19 mpg, but Ford’s looking into hybrid, diesel, and EcoBoost technology for Transit Connect in the future.

Ford is poised to leverage its global presence to introduce proven vehicles to new markets. Premium small cars with an emphasis on design and sustainability are one part of a strategy that people are responding to.

Jim Farley, group vice president of Marketing and Communications for Ford, talked to us about areas where customers “might not be sure” about Ford, but where Ford has proven its expertise. Whether it’s the green strategy behind the EcoBoost engine, the quality behind Ford Edge, the five star safety rating of the Ford Taurus, or the smart technology behind SYNC, Ford’s ready to show its new face to the world.

At the 2008 New York International Auto Show, Ford added to their Transit Connect lineup with a concept car familiar to the New York Cityscape: the taxi. Transit Connect Taxi Concept is “a potential game-changer,” said Mark Fields, president of The Americas. “We’re interested to see how people react.”

With its 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine and automatic transmission, Transit Connect delivers estimated fuel economy of 19 mpg in the city – a more than 30 percent improvement in fuel economy than many of today’s traditional taxis. With 6.5-inches of ground clearance, passengers step through the sliding doors and into the cab instead of sliding into the back seat. With the flat panel “taxi bubble,” passengers will know which cabs are occupied: green if available, orange if occupied.

The Taxi concept also features an infotainment and navigation system that shows passengers their accumulating cab fare; and a scrolling news, weather, sports score and stock ticker. Using the 13-inch diagonal touch screen, passengers can select video and music channels, follow the taxi’s journey on a map or scroll through a list of points of interest along the route and offers payment options: credit, cash, or debit. For the driver, it features customized versions of Ford Work Solutions and Garmin navigation.

Jim Farley, group vice president of Marketing and Communications for Ford, thinks that this concept is another step forward in Ford’s global strategy. “Transit Connect is designed and sold in Europe, built in Turkey, and will soon be available in the United States. This is the future of Ford: reducing emissions, helping the environment, leveraging our assets as a global company.”

Amid the polished, shined, and pampered vehicles on display at the New York International Auto show is the crumpled Ford Taurus that was deliberately crashed into a 1 million pound wall at 35mph. Ford Taurus has been rated Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and Stephen Kozak, North American chief safety engineer for Ford Motor Company. Ford wants show goers to see that “not all cars are equal when it comes to safety. ” He and Ford want to show “why Taurus is the safest rated large sedan sold in America.”

The crash test was conducted at Ford’s testing facilities in Dearborn, Mich., prior to the show. Ford conducts hundreds of crash tests and thousands more simulated computer tests on a yearly basis for its vehicles.

Jim Farley, group vice president for Marketing and Communications for Ford, says that safety is one of the key messages he wants to get across to consumers. “Taurus is the safest vehicle in its segment—the best in its class,” he says. Farley continued that highlighting safety in this tangible way is part of customers seeing “the new face of Ford.”

Taurus models equipped with optional AdvanceTrac® electronic stability control have earned the highest available rating for rollover resistance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Taurus earned five-star ratings from NHTSA for both driver and front passenger in a frontal crash test and five stars for both the driver and rear-seat passenger in a side impact crash test.

In March 2008, the Ford Motor Company, which has dedicated more than $95 million in cash and in-kind contributions for breast cancer education and research for 14 years, announced that it is doubling its contribution to Susan G. Komen for the Cure each time it sells a ’Warriors in Pink’ package for the 2009 Ford Mustang.

“Thanks to the tremendous response from our dealers and customers to the 2008 ‘Warriors in Pink’ Mustang, we knew we needed to continue offering the package, and we’re happy to be able to increase our support for the Cure at the same time,” said Connie Fontaine, Ford Experiential Marketing manager.

Produced in a limited edition of 1,000 units, the Mustang with Warriors in Pink package was designed exclusively in support of Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure. New upgrades for the 2009 package are featured on the Ford display at the New York International Auto Show.

Available on the Mustang V-6 Premium Coupe and Convertible models, the Warriors in Pink package includes a unique grille and will add a pink ribbon and pony fender badge, pink Mustang rocker tape striping, charcoal leather seats with pink stitching, aluminum-spoke steering wheel with pink stitching and charcoal floormats with pink ribbon and contrast stitching.

Coupes also can be ordered with the all-new glass roof option. Three body colors will be available: Black, Brilliant Silver and Performance White.

Tristan Eaton has found another prominent medium to express his creativity – the ‘Cool Lid’ of the new Ford Flex on display at the New York International Auto Show.

Flex, the new Ford utility, is Eaton’s latest inspiration. The 29-year-old urban artist, known for his street art and as founder of the creative agency and toy brand ThunderDog Studios, is using large sheet-metal stampings of the unique Flex white suede-colored roof as his canvas. Created right in front of showgoers on the Ford stand, the large pieces of ‘urban roof art’ will go on display in Ford’s Flex Studio Gallery. Eaton follows in the footsteps of renowned customizers, Chip Foose and Funkmaster Flex, who have already worked their magic to explore the customizing possibilities for the new vehicle.

“Tristan Eaton’s art is as fresh and provocative as the new Flex,” said Usha Raghavachari, Ford Crossover Utility Vehicle marketing communications manager. Ford’s new Flex starts arriving in dealerships this summer and offer eight two-tone roof options featuring two contrasting light roof colors – White Suede and Brilliant Silver.

Eaton began pursuing street art as a teenager, painting everything from urban billboards to dumpsters.
He designed his first toy for Fisher Price at age 18 and has since become a driving force in the world of designer toys. Eaton founded ThunderDog Studios in 2003. The Queens studio is a prominent player in branding, illustration and fine-art-based urban toy development.