In December, Ford Motor Company's U.S. sales that include the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo brands, totaled 139,067, down 32.4 percent compared with a year ago. Despite the decline, Ford estimates that the market share of the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands were 14.6 percent in December, up 0.7 of a point versus a year ago. For the full year, FoMoCo's sales were down 20.7 percent to 1,988,376, from 2,507,366 percent a year ago.
Less than a month's time after the unveiling of the Ford Ranger MAX Concept at the Thailand Motor Expo, and the first photos of the revised 2009 Ranger pickup truck have surfaced on the internet. These pictures, courtesy of the Thai-based Fordclub forum, reveal that the European / Asian market 2009 Ranger picks up several design cues from the prototype model including the 'in-your-face' three-piece chrome grille, the domed hood and the headlamp design. We are not aware of any other details, but expect to see an official release in the next few weeks. Hit the jump for more pictures.
Source: FordClub
A host of new options as well as new model variants are now available for the 2009 Transit. In particular, Ford has introduced the Transit Double Cab Utility Chassis as a Special Vehicle Option (SVO) featuring unglazed second row cab doors with the rear seats removed. The 'Utility' will be available to order next spring, with prices to be announced nearer the on-sale date.
For those that require dual usage from their vehicles to move both crews and equipment, there's the new Transit Double Cab-in-Van (DCIV) range. The new front wheel drive, medium wheelbase, low roof model comes with a choice of three 2.2-litre TDCi powertrains – 85PS, 115PS, 140PS, and a GVM of 2800kg and a payload of 903kg to 915kg. In the UK, it is on sale now, priced from £17,420.
Ford has also added a shift indicator light (SIL) on the standard equipment of all diesel engine models while a Thatcham approved, Category 1 alarm, is now available as an option priced at £175.00 on all Transit double chassis cabs. Finally, the eight- and nine-seat Transit Tourneo is now available with a light tint glass option priced at £80.00.
While we'd like nothing more than to see the new 2009 Focus RS tackling the corners of the famous Nurburgring race track in Germany, for the time being we'll have to be content with static footage of Ford's fastest ever European production model. In this promotional video, Ford gives us an exterior tour of the 305HP three-door hatchback that will go on sale across Europe in March 2009.
Spectators at the final stage of day two at last weekend's Wales Rally GB had the chance to see Ford's highly anticipated Focus RS in motion as former double World Rally Champion and ex-Ford WRC driver Marcus Gronholm took the 305HP hatchback for as spin at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Before showing off the new Focus RS, Ford also gave spectators a blast from the past with a parade of previous generation RS models including the first Escort and the Sierra Cosworth. The new flagship Focus RS which goes on sale in Europe early in Spring 2009, is powered by a turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine producing 305HP and 440Nm peak torque. Follow the jump for the video or click here to check out our gallery with 42 photos of the production RS in blue.
