Ford Focus and Boss Mustang are 10Best for 2012

Car and Driver Magazine's 10Best cars for 2012 includes the Ford Focus and Boss Mustang. Focus, editors say, has "one of the best front-wheel-drive chassis on the road right now, supple yet precise, and it allows the Focus to get around many more expensive, more powerful, more overtly sporty cars on a twisting stretch." It is "as much sports sedan as economy sedan." Also giving pricier luxury marques a run for their money is the Boss Mustang, Car and Driver says. Built off the Mustang GT – already "near perfection" – the Boss Mustang creates a new standard for muscle-car makers. Click here for the full article.

Ford volunteers take part in season of giving and sharing

The Ford Volunteer Corps dispatched hundreds of Ford employees and retirees into local communities in Southeast Michigan to help feed the hungry on a Ford Accelerated Action Day. MODEL Teams of Ford volunteers joined with nonprofit hunger relief agencies to collect and sort food, cook and serve meals, and pack food boxes for people in shelters and missions. In addition, the Ford Volunteer Corps held a Winter Coat and Jacket Drive to help keep children and families warm during the winter months.

Della DiPietro  |  ddipietr@ford.com  |  313.720.8095

Ford expands its commercial vehicle offerings

Ford Motor Company, the best-selling commercial vehicle manufacturer in the U.S., will grow its product lineup in 2012 with new vehicles to meet the rapidly changing needs of its commercial customers. A new road Ford is building at its Michigan Proving Grounds is designed to ensure that the upcoming Transit, which will eventually replace the venerable Econoline, will be able to withstand the rough use such vehicles are subjected to. The Super Duty F-650 gas model, a class-exclusive in the medium-duty truck segment, can provide municipalities a more affordable option in a robust truck adaptable for various purposes – saving an average of $8,300 compared to the F-650 diesel.

Mike Levine  |  mlevine5@ford.com  |  313.323.6854

2013 Cobra Jet Mustang builds on its legacy

The 21st century Ford Cobra Jet Mustang has carved its own legacy at drag strips across the country and now Ford Racing has revealed the 2013 offering. With more than three seasons of testing, racing and customer feedback, the new Cobra Jet marks the evolution of the factory-produced turnkey race car. Designed for NHRA Stock and Super Stock competition, this new Cobra Jet offers two 5.0-liter Ti-VCT engine options and is better than ever, featuring the latest drag racing technology for greater speed and consistency.

Henry Platts  |  hplatts@ford.com  |  313.248.8812

A look back at Twin Cities Assembly Plant

For close to a century Ford has been a part of the Twin Cities, where for the last 26 years the compact Ranger pickup rolled off the line. Though production at this historic site in Minnesota will soon end, the legacy of pride and quality in the Ford brand there remains strong. Since the current Twin Cities Assembly Plant formally opened its doors in 1925, the plant has proved it could take care of itself – forging power from a hydroelectric dam and manufacturing its own glass from silica mines. Over the years it has adapted to the times, stopping production during the Great Depression and manufacturing military vehicles for World War II. When production there ends Dec. 16, the plant will have turned out several million Ford vehicles.

Marcey Evans   |  mevans13@ford.com  |  313.322.9211