Ford Plans to Triple Production of EcoBoost Engines in 2012

Downsizing, direct injection and force induction are the way to go for internal combustion gasoline engines to meet the ever-tightening fuel and emissions standards.

Ford has followed this recipe to the letter with its EcoBoost “family of engines and so far it has paid off nicely, recording 127,883 sales in 2011.

The best-selling F-150 pickup truck is the perfect example. In 2010, all units sold in the U.S. were powered by V8 engines. Last year, more than half of F-150 buyers (56 percent, to be precise) downsized to a V6, choosing either the base 305HP 3.7-liter or the 365HP 3.5-liter EcoBoost.

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FoMoCo Recalling Close to Half a Million Ford Freestar, Mercury Monterey and Ford Escape Models

The Blue Oval has issued two separate recalls that collectively involve nearly half a million vehicles in the States.

The first action concerns 205,896 units of the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans from the 2004 and 2005 model years as they may have defective torque converter output shafts.

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POLL: Which One of These Newly Introduced Compact SUVs is THE Looker?

The 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show has turned out to be THE place to be if you are looking for the latest crop of compact SUVs as no less than three significant debuts took place in the City of Angels including two world premieres, the 2012 Honda CR-V and the 2013 Ford Escape, and one North America presentation, the Mazda CX-5.

And since all three crossovers will compete against each other not only in North America, but around the world as well, we thought it would be good idea to run a poll to determine which is the best looking model. We'll brief you on all three before we give you the chance to cast your vote.

We'll start of alphabetically with the 2013 Ford Escape that will be marketed as the Kuga in other regions, including Europe and China. The 2013 Escape marks a radical departure from the outgoing model not only in looks, but under the hood as well with Ford offering two small displacement turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines with up to 237HP, alongside a conventional, naturally aspirated 2.5L four-pot.

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Watch the New Ford Escape / Kuga SUV on Film

The world premiere of the brand-new 2013 Ford Escape took place on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

We've already brought you a boatload of pictures and all the juicy details that were available at the time, so now we're going to share with you two new videos of the compact SUV, including some B-Roll footage shot on the road and a clip from the media presentation in L.A.

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All-New 2013 Ford Escape Officially Revealed, will be Sold as the Kuga in Europe [109 Photos]

Out goes the old in comes the new. Say hello to Ford's brand new compact crossover, the Escape, which will be a global model replacing among others, the Kuga in Europe.

The new Escape is definitely more modern than the best-selling model it replaces, something that Ford’s design boss, Martin Smith, is keen to stress out: “The Escape’s athletic good looks are no accident”, he says, adding that “we wanted to create the impression of an athlete like a runner or swimmer in the new body – right down to the defined muscles that convey movement and energy.”

The new Escape measures 178.1 inches (4.52 m) in length, 72.4 inches (1.84 m) in width, 66.3 inches (1.68 m) in height, while it rides on a 105.9 inch (2.69 m) wheelbase.

In the U.S. market, it will be available in both front- and four-wheel layouts with three gasoline engines, all of which are combined with a six-speed automatic transmission.

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2013 Ford Escape gets its own iPhone/iPad App while Jim Farley gets Twisty with a Prototype

The man you see pictured above lifting the skirt on the 2013 Ford Escape SUV is Jim Farley, FoMoCo's Vice President of Marketing and Communications who made headlines this past summer after he was quoted in a book saying that he wanted to beat Chevrolet on the head with bat – among other nice things, that is.

The teaser photo is part of the Ford social media team's efforts to create some additional buzz on the brand-new Escape that will be officially unwrapped at next week's Los Angeles Auto Show.

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Ford Teases 2013 Escape SUV's Interior in New Videos

The next generation of the Ford Escape is slowly coming out of the bag as the Blue Oval prepares for the new SUV's world premiere at next week's 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

In the beginning of the month, Ford released the first video of the 2013 Escape showing us how the hands-free power liftgate works. Now, we have two more clips that concentrate on the interior providing us with our first glimpse of the dashboard styling.

Ford also tells us that the compact crossover model will feature the latest iteration of its MyFord Touch interface, which promises to be faster and easier to use.

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Ford Begins Teasing 2013 Escape SUV with Preview of Hands-Free Power Liftback [Video]

Leave it to Ford to begin teasing a new model with random pieces of information and video and/or photo material.

Fortunately though, there's not much time left before the 2013 Ford Escape makes its world premiere at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show that will stay open for the public from November 18 to 27.

Following some revealing details on the new global Escape's engine lineup, Ford today released a single teaser image and a video highlighting the SUV's "segment-first hands-free power liftgate", which opens with a kicking gesture under the rear bumper and without the need to search for the key (though you will need to have it in your pocket).

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