Ford is developing inflatable seat belts for back seat passengers (especially children) which will be an option on the 2011 Explorer.

A company that markets products based upon thermoelectric technology is entering the fifth phase of a project that would allow an automobile to capture it’s own engine exhaust and recycle it into electric power.

The original Ford Taurus was a pretty advanced car design wise when it was introduced in the 80’s. Since then the car lost the distinctive futuristic character and eventually blended in with all the other full-sized family sedans. Ford even dropped the name a few years ago feeling that another radical design departure for the car might not resonate with consumers who grew accustom to what a Taurus looked like. Eventually though the company couldn’t deny the equity in the name and brought the Taurus back.

PSFK had a chance to drive the new 2010 Taurus SHO last night. While the [...]

There’s a passionate video response by YouTube blogger Kristina Horner about working with brands. Motivated by some criticism of her work with Ford Fiesta, she argues that for both bloggers and brands to be successful they need to accept that traditional advertising is not-effective (and even rejected) and that publishers like Kristina can find a win-win situation where a brand supports their work without compromise.

If you work in advertising and marketing and are trying to understand the social media space, this video is a must watch. Kudos to the team at Undercurrent who orchestrated the Ford [...]

Jalopnik has put together a gallery of concept cars from a decade ago. Back in 1999, then head of design for Ford, J.Mays decided to try an experiment and work with a designer outside of the company on a concept car. He chose Marc Newson who had been designing furniture and products. He had never designed a car before.
Newson worked with a team of modelers and fabricators at Ford to complete the project. His idea was to create a simple and affordable small car, which in 1999 with gas cheap, was contrary to all the big cars and SUV’s that [...]

If you were in Soho NYC this morning you might have caught a glimpse of a bright green hatchback swerving through the cabs…that was us. The car in question is the new US bound Ford Fiesta already drawing favorable reviews from Europe. The sleek exterior goes a long way to bury the term econobox. The five door hatchback, like the new VW Polo we mentioned previously, has a very refined feel. The small car segment, mostly due to Europe’s influence is undergoing a renaissance. While manufacturers race to bring new alternative energy vehicles to market, small, efficient cars represent a [...]

While it still takes some of the more forward thinking car companies seven years to develop a new car, Ford recently set itself a task to develop a new car in 6 months in order to respond to the market’s rapidly changing needs. Last summer, the motor company created a special Project M team of execs and engineers to develop a new vehicle in record time, the New York Times reports.
The Project M car is planned to be released on a test run of 10,000 units in 2011 and will be positioned as an alternative to a family’s second car. [...]

Global Trends and Futuring Manager, Sheryl Connelly, tells PSFK about how Ford has had to shift its focus in an everchanging market.