Bond Bad Guy Car Of Choice: Ford Edge Is The New Explorer, Escalade Or Suburban

We just saw Quantum of Solace this weekend. While most might get all googly-eyed at the Aston Martin DBS, gushing over it's sleek sexiness even after it's taken into a wall of a quarry, we took something else away from the new Bond flick. We noticed a Black Ford Edge (with odd hydrogen power stickering) playing the role of the basic bad-guy vehicle of choice rather than a Huge-UV. It's a strange change for us to have to wrap our minds around. More »

Chicago Auto Show: 2009 Ford Edge Sport Live

While we already saw, the 2009 Ford Edge Sport press shots when the embargo let go, we wondered down to find the newly retrimmed Ford just hanging out for all to see. In the flesh, the Edge Sport works pretty well from a design perspective. Looks like the Edge should have been designed this way in the first place actually. Without the heavy trim colors and sporting bigger wheels to match the huge wheel wells, the Edge Sport plays the urban cruiser a little bit better. More »

2009 Ford Edge Sport

If you've been holding off on a brand new Ford Edge because the styling just wasn't sporty enough, have we got good news for you. Tonight at a press event in Dearborn, Ford took the wraps from it's latest trim level of the well received crossover, the 2009 Ford Edge Sport. Featuring some nice design details like perforated alcantera seating surfaces, an 8 piece body kit, smoked headlights, dual exhaust tips, stiffened up performance suspension, and... oh okay, big stinky wheels. The Edge Sport gets polished 20" wheels standard and 22 incher's optional, both wrapped in fat Pirelli Scorpion Zeros. And just because you were already thinking it, no, there are no additional ponies riding under that hood. Expect to see the sportier looking Edge at dealers by fall. Keep it parked here for our live Chicago Auto Show coverage as we bring you all the reveals that are fit to print, er, publish. More »

Ford To Give Brazil An Edge, Still Won't Bring Us Ka

The Ford Edge, probably the best implementation of the gillette-Daveness, is saying hi to Brazil later this year. It's not a bad strategy for Ford as the company has seen an increase of 20.7% in sales there last year and in the American market the Edge has been one of fewer and fewer hits for the company. The Edge also fits well in the niche above the EcoSport, which is smaller than the Escape that the Edge competes with stateside. If the company can capitalize on their large contingent of EcoSport buyers when they look to move up Ford could have another Brazilian hit on their hands. More »

Ford's Custom Crossovers for SEMA

Ford's SEMAfication continues, with a set of contract customs focusing on the company's trucks, SUVs and crossovers. It's just the latest example of the marketing juggernaut the massive Las Vegas aftermarket products show has become. Ford's latest include tuner-tart F-150s from ATS Design, K Daddyz Kustoms and its own Ford Vehicle Personalization team, a Lincoln MKX by Barry's Speed Shop, an Escape from FMS, and Edge from MRT-direct and a Lincoln Navigator L from DeBerti. The main event, at least for those left cold by mix-and-match catalog jobs, involves a 1951 F-Series (rendering above) created for the Make-A-Wish foundation. We'll be there, wearing one of those fruit hats like Carmen Miranda. More »

The Ford Edge Likes To Live On The Edge-Uh...Of Fast-Uh

That's a screen capture from a commercial that apparently aired last night in Northeast Ohio. Who knew the Edge was so fast? And who knew the "class" they speak of wasn't Car-UV's but rather Supercar-UV's? [ via Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat]

I Like To Live On The Edge-UH!

I like to go for miles and miles and miles and miles on Edge-UH! I also like to test new site features.

Ford Edge by H&R

Getting the tuner and customization set to see the Ford Edge as a subject worth messing with will take some effort, though the idea isn't the worst one. The latest is this tuner Edge, made over by suspension supplier H&R to showcase its sport springs, wheel spacers, camber adjustment bolts and other such aftermarket suspension kit. Of course, the Edge could use a bit of lowering, and a bit more taut feel for our own taste, formed by years of riding a scant few inches from the ground. The Edge benefits from a lower stance and more rubber, which gives its oddball geometry a squat muscularity. And somehow, the Edge looks best in a shade of orange, whether this searing Gemballa tint or Ford's own "Blazing Copper" metallic. The kids may not race to get on board, but we'll give it a pound. At least. More »

Ford sales down 19% from July of last year. But hey, crossovers were up 40% — because Ford likes to live on the Edge-uh. [Ford]

Ad Watch: David Mamet Likes To Live On the Edge-UH! Part II

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Ad Watch: David Mamet Likes To Live On the Edge-UH! Part I

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Third Prize Is You're Fired: David Mamet Directs Latest Ford "Bold Moves" Ads

We're adding a little something to this month's sale contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Anybody want to see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is your fired. More »

Ford Likes To Live On The Edge Of Vodcasts

Wait, the Ford Edge has a music vodcast — and it's in the "Top 100" list of vodcasts on iTunes? We don't even know what to say other than we think we're going to go and cry now. – Ray Wert More »

Incentives Like To Live On The Edge Too

Automotive New is reporting FoMoCo's now offering $500 off on the base model of their new CUV to give it a bit more sales "oomph!" Pardon us for being a bit worried here, but wasn't the turnaround effort at the Dearborn, MI based automaker supposed to be "an Edge-based turnaround." Because you know, the Edge is the automaker's "flagship" and stuff. – Ray Wert More »

Would You Like To Buy Bill Ford's House?

The Freep's reporting former FoMoCo CEO Bill Ford Jr.'s selling his house on 17.1 acres of land in Ann Arbor, MI. The asking price is a mere $3.95 million for the David Osler-designed contemporary home built in 1980. And for those of you wondering — no, Bill Ford's not leaving Michigan. Rather, he and his family have moved down the street to another palatial home or mansion of some sort. Somehow we think what with the announcement of Pfizer shutting down operations in the city you might be able to get a pretty good deal on it. And hey, he might even throw in an Edge or two if you're lucky. – Ray Wert More »

Energy Policy: Ford Reveals HySeries Hybrid Edge Concept

Ford's showing off its HySeries fuel-cell hybrid in the nation's capital today, hoping to carve out a new direction in the ongoing battle of the research hybrids. As we mentioned yesterday, the Edge HySeries uses a hydrogen fuel-cell to top off the EV-car's batteries, which can also be charged via plug-in. Ford says the powertrain delivers a combined city/highway gasoline equivalent fuel economy rating of 41 mpg if the full range is used, and 85 mpg at a range of 50 miles per day (the first 25 are drawn from fully charged batteries). The generator can also be paired with an internal-combustion engine, like gasoline or diesel, in place of the fuel cell. Your tax dollars at work. – Mike Spinelli More »

Ad Watch: Do Asian-Americans Like To Live On The Edge, Make Bold Weddings Happen Every Day?

Yeah, we tried to mush in some more FoMoCo ad tag-lines into that headline, but we ran out of room. Regardless, we were actually kind of disappointed we hadn't yet seen this ad, called "Wedding Day," on the air as it's been running since the end of December. But since I guess we're not part of the "Asian-American" demographic Ford's targeting it towards — they must be doing it right. And since none of us are in that specific circle, we turned to our resident Asian-American expert obsessed with gadgets (you know, like Asians are wont to be), Gizmodo's Jason Chen. Chen's mostly famous for that classic Asian-American activity of sticking Nintendo game systems down his pants. Our IM transcript is below the jump. – Ray Wert More »

Spy Photos: Ford Edge HySeries Hybrid

One frequently overlooked tech story from the Detroit show — other than the Jeep waterfall — was Ford's HySeries fuel-cell hybrid system, which powered the company's Airstream van concept. Rather than calling on the cell to power the all-EV car's electric motor directly, like most hydrogen vehicles, this system uses it only to top off the lithium-ion batteries that provide juice. Ford's already ported the hybrid drive, which includes a plug-in function, to an Edge crossover, which showed up on the streets of DC ahead of the city's auto show this week. As these shots indicate, local pols likely got to see where went the Department of Energy grant, with which Ford developed it. – Mike Spinelli More »

Fun With FoMoCo PR: We Like To Live Life On The Edge

The automotive power-towers scattered across the Metro Detroit region are filled with people whose only job is to make people think sky-blue-pink thoughts about the vehicles sold by their company. These people — are people who need people to love them, and although they're known by different names at each company, their job is one and the same — to be public relations professionals. So, on a semi-regular basis we'll spend some time with these overpaid underworked overstressed PR pros in order to mock everything they hold dear talk with them and learn about their social lives products. In this, the first of what will hopefully be a plethora of episodes, we're talking with FoMoCo PR staffer Whitney Drake about Ford's "flagship," the Edge. While fending off the local yokels walking between us and the camera we'll ask her all sorts of penetrating questions about her job, her likes, her dislikes and whether she lives life on the edge. If, after the fluff stuff is done and there's time, we may even get around to asking her about FoMoCo's newest pumpkin CUV. – Ray Wert More »

Ad Watch: Living On The Ford Edge Of Buildings

There's somethin' wrong with the world today I don't know what it is Something's wrong with our eyes

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Deliver Them From Bankruptcy: Ford Starts Shipping Edge Crossovers

And Saint Mulally (with Sir LeClair and of course Sir Fields) raised the Ford Edge up on high, saying, More »

Breaking! Ford Announces The Sharp Sting Of November's Unrealistic Expectations, Sales Down 10%

You know, we understand it's important to reach for the moon, but it's probably best to have realistic expectations when you're still working on that whole turnaround plan thing. Like for example, take FoMoCo, who just released their November sales, down a whopping 10% from month-to-month levels a year ago. It's probably not a good idea to have your senior sales analyst, George Pipas, saying things on your sales call like

"were our sales expectations [for the month of November] realistic? Frankly, no..."

That's normally a bad thing. What else is a bad thing? How about truck sales down 12.9% for the month, hitting a year-to-date drop of 14.4%. Luckily, their car sales were down too — 2.6%. The folks from Dearborn are calling that a disappointment. I'd have to agree. Somehow I think that maybe if they'd had the Edge this month maybe they could find a way to have held on to the #2 spot in US sales — frankly, I don't think they've done that. – Ray Wert More »

When Did "Consistency" Overtake "Quality" As Job One With The Ford Edge?

FoMoCo's still parroting the line that "the manufacturing process and the supply base aren't to the level of consistency and stability we'd like to see" as Ford's manufacturing boss, Joe Hinrichs, said to trade pub Automotive News when he was again asked what's up with the delay of the new Ford Edge. Yet AN's learned it's got more to do with the quality level of the parts coming in to the manufacturing center in Oakville, Ontario — as opposed to, you know the consistent nature by which those parts are coming in. Specifically, the parts they're having a problem with are outlined in: More »

Dream A Little Dream Of Lincoln: No Mr. Badge-Engineering, We Expect You To Die!

Of course, any event starting with the promise of shooting live ammunition and ends with martini's can't be all bad, and Lincoln's event to promote the latest ad campaign for FoMoCo's luxe nameplate didn't disappoint. Reilly Brennan, editor of the online-only magazine of the Road which is always Winding, and I had the opportunity to drive the new Lincoln MKX and MKZ, the badge-engineered kissin' cousins to the Ford Edge and Ford Fusion — in a day-long event Lincoln called Dirty Harry Day "My Dream is to be a Secret Agent". The event, as we explained yesterday, was a day of "danger" and "daring" — most of which had the potential to come from firearms-related injuries at the hands of auto pundits given large guns without any sort of training. Luckily, no one was maimed or injured, well, except for maybe the ego of Detroit News's Bryce Hoffman, who appears to be cowering in fear of a paper target. Although we'll have more on the ad campaign and the drive reviews soon, all of the hilarity from the day's big and bold event at the firing range is in the gallery below. – Ray Wert More »

Breaking! FoMoCo Tells Dealers Its Pushing Back Launch Of Ford Edge And Lincoln MKX

The Dearborn-based automaker informed dealers today that the Edge-based recovery of FoMoCo cited by Mark "Movie Star" Fields was going to have to wait just a little bit longer. Joe Hinrichs, FoMoCo's veep for NorAm manufacturing, claims that they're going to need a few more weeks to iron out some "supplier issues." Hinrichs was quick to point out that quality's still job one at FoMoCo, this problem's more about the consistency of the product going out. Umm, wait a second — let's parse that press flack comment. It's not the quality, it's the consistency. So technically it could be the consistency of the quality that's holding things up, right? This makes me feel real good about driving one of those new in-consistent Lincoln MKX's tomorrow. – Ray Wert More »

Pricing! GMC Professionally Grades 2007 Acadia CUV At A Starting Price Of $29,990

You'll need to be a "professional" if you want to apply for a lease or purchase deal on GMC's new crossover hotness, the Acadia. The General's new CUV is nothing if not pricey at a starting price of $29,990 for the FWD base unit. While certainly not as many ducats as FoMoCo's new Mercury MKX (that starting price of $34,795 still gives us a double-take, plus a quick jaw-to-the-floor) it's still more expensive than the Ford Edge (pricing in at a comparably inexpensive $25,995) by almost $4,000. But for that price, you'll get a few nice standard features on top of the requirement that you chain down your car at night else it float away on that warranty thing. The base model comes with six air bags, including head curtain side-impact and of course, dual chrome-tipped pipes. Rowr! Full release with the details after the jump. – Ray Wert More »

Happy Trails, Mark Fields: FoMoCo To Ride Current Product Plans Into Sunset Or 2008, Whichever Comes First

At the Ford Edge drive event yesteday (yes, we're assuming our invitation to attend was probably lost in the mail) out in SanFran, Ford Prez of the Americas, Mark Fields, told reporters that FoMoCo's not going to be rushing anything new to market and the atoumaker plans to stick with current product plans through 2008. As Fields put it:

"We have to stabilize the business right now...we have to pick our shots on where we want to go out, and we have to get the business back to consistent profitability. Sometimes if we rush things just for the sake of time, there's a tendency to cut corners...I want to make sure that we're very careful about that and not let the organization get ahead of itself."

Umm, Mark? It's a bit difficult for the organization to get ahead of itself when it hasn't moved to a new product plan. But hey, the really hilarious comment from Fields was: More »

Monday! Monday! Monday! Ford Edge Preview Webcast

Ford figured out a way for the rest of us to experience a press junket, sorry drive event, without having to make small talk with writers from medium-market newspapers (c'mon, we kid the car-covering newsies from Hartford). This Monday, Ford President of the Americas, Manuel NoriegaMark Fields is hosting a webcast and product walkaround of the Edge. If you weren't aware, the Edge is a really big deal for Ford, and it needs to make every exposure count. That's why you should round up all the mommies you know and tell them Oprah and Martha Stewart are giving away free Laura Ashley bedding online. And give them the deets below. More »

Crossover SUV to Vegas: Ford's SEMA Show Utes

Yes, exactly. A "cred" infusion. That's what FoMoCo's latest family haulers need (like a backseat child needs a stomach flu). The above rendering hearkens the handiwork of aftermarket supplier H&R Special Springs of Bellingham, Washington; the two on the next page — an Edge and a vaguely suave Lincoln MKX — are by Newport Beach, California mod shop 3dCarbon. All three will be unveiled at the SEMA show later this month. You're right, this need not happen. [Thanks to Dave for the tip.] – Mike Spinelli More »

Breaking The Bank! Lincoln Prices MKX Starting At $34,795

FoMoCo's Lincoln brand's released pricing on their new CUV hotness, the MKX. The base model will start at $34,795 and the AWD model hits the showroom floors at $36,445. Our first reaction, after the obligatory bugs bunny double take, rubbing of the eyes, and yelling of "Zoinks!" was to question the reasoning behind the MKX's almost $10,000 differential in price from the Ford Edge, it's badge-engineered CUV-cousin. Other than fine corinthian leather, what do you get for the money you work hard for? Well — you actually do seem to get a significantly upgraded interior and...umm...hmm...well...we're not so much sure what else. All the other stuff we'd normally point to like nav system, heated seats, sunroof, etc. all comes added atop that base price. So apparently, the extra $10K gets you a pretty new interior, a non-razor-blade front end, and a pretty little badge on the exterior which says "Lincoln." Money well spent. Full press release after the jump. More »

Pricing! Ford Pegs Edge CUV Base Sticker At $25,995

FoMoCo's released pricing on the product the Dearborn-based automaker's already called the "key" Bold Move to fiscal stability. That's right, it's the Ford Edge — the CUV with a Gilette-blade on the front-end, and you can get it into your grubby little hands for just $25,995. And in this "under $26,000" SE package, you'll get such amenities described in the release as a "center console," an "audio input jack" and of course the aforementioned "Bold exterior styling" sometimes known as "Hi, I'm Dave." Although the thought of a car with a price tag of $26K touting the "center console" as a key standard feature left us feeling pretty wary, the rating numbers for the standard 3.5-liter V6 with 265 hp and 250 lb.-ft. of torque (still expected to be in the mid-20's range for highway driving), and the AWD capability of the SEL edition did manage to perk us up a bit. Full release after the jump. More »

The Ford Edge And Lincoln MKX: FoMoCo's Sales Dream Or Reality?

We stopped by Ford's media site today, we were greeted with the above graphic (obvs that we added the "WTF?" part) and a press release proudly beating its chest over FoMoCo's entry to the CUV market — the Ford Edge and the Lincoln MKX. The graphic proudly states "Ford has an edge on growing CUV market." The only problem is that neither the Edge nor the MKX have made it to market yet, so wethinks maybe the only Edge FoMoCo's talking about is the razor-sharp horizontal line representing sales of the not-quite-out-yet CUV at Ford. But hey, because Jalopnik's always willing to help, click on the jump to check out the version of the graphic they should have used — plus a copy of the press release talking up a segment they're not yet in. More »

Will the Oval Survive? Ford's Crucial Next Launches

AutoWeek runs down the next three 2007 product launches from Ford, gauging them in terms of crucialness in the company's plan for rebirth. These launches are, in order of importance, the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator and 2008 F-Series Super Duty. Get our take after the jump. More »

Is Ford Working on SVT Edge, Fusion?

According to Ward's Auto World, Ford's formerly erstwhile special victims vehicles team SVT may be planning to make over the Fusion and upcoming Edge crossover. Mark Fields — Ford's boy wonder and EVP — recently reclaimed SVT from the land of the doomed, saying the team's adventures had been scaled back but not abandoned as had been rumored. Fields had told Wards', that one performance Mustang and one performance truck would remain in the SVT lineup; one tier of three in Ford's approach to performance vehicles, including what Fields called "personalized performance" vehicles and its racing programs. That means the Fusion and Edge models might end up being offered with some SVT-like options rather than necessarily wearing the full SVT gown. [Thanks to Dave for the tip.] More »

SVT to Pull Lazarus Manuever?

Igor was kind enough to send over a bit from Ward's detailing FoMoCo's possible plan for a revitalized SVT, including Fusion and Edge models. Makes sense to us, considering there's already a Mazdaspeed 6 they could cannibalize for parts. Apparently, their will be some kind of SVT truck of type unknown to sell alongside the SVT-badged GT500 Mustang. More »

It's Electric, Eh?: Ford to Build Hybrids in Canada

Man, how easy it is to default to the stereotype when we're writing about Canada. With that in mind, we'd like to offer a couple of news items from the Great White North: 1.) Somewhere in Canada, a man named Neil just cracked open a beer. 2) Ford of Canada will build hybrids at its Oakville Assembly Complex west of Toronto beginning in 2010, including volume production of its Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX hybrids. That plant is already undergoing a $1 billion upgrade that will allow it to produce multiple models on separate platforms. In the two crossovers, Ford will employ its full hybrid system, which like Toyota's can drive the vehicle's wheels using electric power alone or use the electric motor to assist the gas engine, like in GM's and Honda's mild hybrid systems. Also, just like at Toyota's Canadian plants, Neil will not be allowed to drink on the job. More »

Exercises in Cross-Branded Synergy: Ford and Gillette

Ray over at DetroitWonk busts out with something so amazing, we can't believe we didn't think of it. So like, the new grilles on the Ford Fusion and the to-be-unveiled-later-today Ford Edge resemble nothing less than Gilette's Mach 3 razor, right? So, to thicken the plot, Gillette's announced a five-blade razor called nothing less than the Fusion. Ray calls it an opportunity. We call it a conspiracy. We'd make some crack about getting Motorola's line of RAZR phones involved, but we haven't had enough coffee yet, so think witty thoughts amongst yourselves. More »