Have you ever wondered exactly how many jobs and dollars your car contributes to the United States economy? If so, keep reading.

A new website called JobsPerCar is a great way to find out how much good you’re doing for the economy simply by the car you drive. In fact, it’s so new that it just launched last week!

And from what I can tell, it’s a very interesting and informative website. It’s the Consumer Reports of its kind. It not only determines how many jobs each individual car creates, but it also tallies up the number of job each automaker creates for the nation. Here are a few examples:

• Ford cars have a JPC rating of 81. This number is calculated by using the total number of cars sold by a company and dividing that by that company’s workforce. By purchasing a Ford, you’re helping contribute to a workforce of more than 80,000 jobs.

The website also provides information about how many factories each automaker has in the United States, the percentage of domestic materials used in a particular model and much, much more. You can even compare between companies and models to see which one is better for the US economy if that makes a big difference in the vehicle you choose to purchase.

JobsPerCar.com is a great resource to use before you go to the dealer to buy a car. If you’re unsure about which one you want, the website can help you make your final decision. Besides, picking the best car means finding one that’s good for your surroundings, too. Who doesn’t want responsible member of citizen of their country and their community?

Yesterday, I mentioned in my blog post that my wife and I rented a Ford Focus a couple years ago when going to a wedding. After that, I found this article about the automaker increasing the production of this popular model.

In April of this year, the Ford Motor Company announced that it was increasing production of its Focus brand by 30 percent this year. Ford is doing this to respond to the increasing demand for this popular and hot-selling vehicle. Its recent redesign and the SYNC system assuredly have something to do with its popularity, too.

The latest incarnation of the current Ford Focus began coming off the assembly line in 2007. During the first three months of 2008, the automaker already sold more than 49,000 units. That’s nearly a 25 percent increase over the same period from last year! That’s why the automaker decided to make more of these Ford cars.

With the boost in production, this means there will be 245,000 units of this model rolling off the assembly line this year. It currently claims about 7.5 percent of the small car market in the United States. In 2007, however, Ford was only producing about 191,000 units and the Focus only claimed a little more than one percent of the same market.

This news is also great for the workers at the Wayne County plant that produces the Focus. The 2,800 workers will likely get an opportunity to work some overtime and even weekend shifts throughout the year. With the recent downturn of the economy, everybody can get all the help they can get!

Remember when the minivan craze started in the early to mid-1980s? I remember it because my parents bought one of those in 1988 – just two years after it was brand new. And when I got my driver’s license, that wonderful vehicle became mine and stayed mine for several years.

But there’s a new craze going around and many former minivan lovers are taking note. If you’ve heard of the Ford Flex, you probably know what I’m talking about.

But Ford isn’t touting this as an alternative to the minivan. In fact, marketers seem to be going out of their way to separate it from its minivan cousin. They use words like “car-based vehicle” and other vague terms for those who have been scared away from the “family feeling” of driving a minivan. Actually, one of the only things that distinguish it from an actual minivan is a sliding door on the side.

But that doesn’t mean the Ford Flex is a bad vehicle. In fact, it’s one of the better Ford cars on the market if you want something that can hold a lot of passengers (up to 7) while still maintaining a sportier feel.

Whether you were ever a fan of minivans or if you’ve just despised them, the Ford Flex is designed to fit your tastes. Check one out today and make the choice for yourself.

In recent years, New York City has been trying to phase out its fleet of taxis to make room for hybrids and other more efficient vehicles. But did you know the Ford Escape hybrids outnumber the other eco-friendly taxis by hundreds?

Right now, there are about 850 Ford Escape hybrid taxis transporting people all over the city while helping to create a cleaner environment. The nearest competitor to the Escape is the Toyota Highlander. But there are fewer than 100 of those on NYC roads today.

It all started around May of last year when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that he would like to have only hybrid taxis on the streets of the city by 2012. As New York has phased out Ford’s Crown Victoria models as the most common choice for taxis, the automaker has strived to keep its share of vehicles on the metropolitan city’s roads.

But Ford isn’t the only beneficiary of hybrid taxis. Taxi drivers also appreciate the hybrid options. Much of the cost needed to maintain a taxi falls on the driver’s shoulders. According to analysts, most taxi drivers who operate Ford Escapes can save upwards of $6,000 a year. That averages out to about $30 per shift!

So far, drivers are enjoying the Escape hybrid taxis. The first group of these popular vehicles has logged nearly 200,000 miles in only 18 months. And the only major complaint is that the back seats are a bit cramped when there are more than three passengers. Dearborn is also working on other hybrid Ford cars to send to NYC, including hybrid versions of the Fusion and the Taurus.

Now if they could only do something about that traffic!

After a long, successful run, it seems as though diesel fuel is on the way out, according to Kelley Blue Book. It seems that 40 percent of people surveyed indicated that they would opt for a hybrid car.

Enter the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid, an SUV that will have the trees hugging YOU for a change.

The Escape hybrid is a compact-class SUV. It recently received a full makeover and a new body design to keep it looking good and help it slip through the wind. The Escape already consistently brought home awards for being one of the best SUVs on the market – this model isn’t going to disappoint fans, either.

A recent powertrain upgrade brought 230 horsepower motion to the Escape, and Ford has added a six-speed automatic drive to make riding down the highway even easier than it was before. The front end was revised and lowered down, and a new tire design improved aerodynamics and stability. The less resistance your Escape has, the more you save on fuel.

There’s even a capless fuel-filling option included, to make those times that you do have to fuel up fast and convenient.

The inside design is sleek and fitting for busy entrepreneurs on the go. A center console box big enough to fit a laptop with removable bins takes the stage, and the impressive fit and finish of the interior makes the Escape look good inside and out.

Safety features on the Ford Escape include traction control, stability control and even a reverse-sensing parking system. The rest of security is perfect, with anti-lock breaks, front seat side airbags and a full-length head curtain airbags with a rollover sensor.

This hot SUV outclasses all the rest with its new technology, great looks and stunning performance. There’s no need to drive a gas-guzzling bulldozer to get power that takes you places - the 2008 Ford Escape hybrid does it all, and it doesn’t leave any nasty emissions lying around either.

In the last few months, you’ve probably read story after story about how Ford is laying off workers and trying to get them to retire early. This is done to match the demand for Ford vehicles with the number of workers making them. Luckily for Ford, though, several foreign markets are selling cars like hotcakes and creating a profit for the automaker.

The Russian market is one example of this. While many North American factories have downsized, the Ford Motor Company is adding workers to a factory in Russia to keep up with the demand for the product in the region. By doing this, Ford increases that country’s production of vehicles by 75 percent!

That’s an amazing feat for the automaker, too. That means the workers will be making 125,000 vehicles by next year.
The Vsevolozhsk plant in St. Petersburg is the facility getting these new workers. Employees there create the Ford Focus hatchback, which has become the most popular imported brand in the country since 2007. The factory will also begin production of the Mondeo, another popular export of the Ford Motor Company.

Russia’s great sales figures are one reason why Ford is looking to the eastern European region to increase sales globally. That particular market sold nearly two million units in 2007, which is about 72,000 more than it sold the year before.

Unfortunately, the North American market isn’t doing that well. But the figures do look promising. With any luck, maybe Ford’s domestic market will perform as well (or even better) than the ones overseas.

Last week, Motor Trend magazine announced the winner of its annual “Pony Expressed” competition in the April issue. And it’s no surprise that one of your favorite Ford vehicles took home the prize.

That’s right. The 2008 Ford Shelby Mustang won the comparison test when pitted against other brands like the Saleen and Roush on performance and value.

Amy Boylan, president of Shelby Motors, said the company has learned a lot during the time it has been manufacturing quality cars:  “Every lesson we learned while earning our stripes over the past 46 years is built into these pony cars.”

Motor Trend officials conduct their competition by assembling their own models of the Shelby, Roush and Saleen brands. They create a base of each vehicle with optional upgrades and tire/brake packages. Then they take them out on the streets and design competition courses.

The Shelby was the clear winner this time. In the Figure 8 competition, the Shelby Mustang had the best acceleration and highest speed while maintaining control. The fade-free brakes, crisp turns and gripping ability made it stand out from the Roush and the Saleen. The Shelby’s appearance also impressed the test officials.

According to Matt Stone, executive editor at Motor Trend, the Shelby GT had the “most cohesive package, delivering the best combination of components, style and bang for buck.”

Check out a Shelby Mustang GT today and see why it’s an award-winning vehicle.

If you’ve been thinking about taking one of the faster Ford vehicles for an exhilarating spin on Germany’s Autobahn, think again.

The environmentalists have dealt a blow to fun-lovers all over the world. Until now, thousands of race car enthusiasts and all-around speed-lovers could take their fastest cars to this famous roadway and push them to the limits. With no speed limit, they didn’t need to worry about getting tickets or losing their licenses. You might even be surprised to know that the Autobahn has one of the lowest rates of car accidents, too. See what happens when you give people a sense of personal responsibility?

But all of that is about to change. Due to concerns about the environment, global warming and the latest disaster of the week, officials are putting a speed limit on the once-limitless roadway throughout Bremen. They set the  limit, 120 km/h, to create a cleaner environment.

I would probably never go to Germany just to get on the Autobahn and see how fast my car can go. But the story still distresses me. What’s next? Are the police going to issue two tickets when you get caught speeding, one for the actual traffic violation and one for adding to air pollution? Or are they going to give you a ticket for taking the “scenic route” instead of finding the quickest route to your destination? I know these possibilities might sound crazy, but who would have ever thought Germany would impose a speed limit on the Autobahn?

Everybody keeps talking about how bad the United States economy is right now. Some say we’re in a recession. Others point to the housing crisis as a sign of something big to come. And the rising gas prices sure aren’t helping.

But despite these problems, two Ford vehicles, the Edge and the Focus, have shown a huge increase in sales during the month of March. In fact, Ford sold more Focus models last month than it did in any other month since August 2005! Compared with the same periods from a year ago, Focus sales have increased 35 percent in the entire first quarter and 36 percent in March. These figures have helped the automaker regain is share in the competitive small-car market.

For the Ford Edge, sales figures were up 35 percent last month as compared to March 2007. But more impressively, sales were up more than 50 percent in the first quarter compared to last year’s first quarter. The California market accounted for 10 percent of those sales in 2008, but retail sales along both coasts doubled when compared to the first quarter of 2007.

According to Jim Farley, Ford group vice president, the growing sales reflect the fact that “customers who haven’t traditionally even considered our products are starting to warm up to Ford and is just an indication of more to come.”

If this trend continues, Ford just might fight its way back to the top position in the automotive industry. With all of the work the company has been doing, no other automaker deserves it more than Ford.

How cool would it be to drive around town in a car that looks almost exactly like an official police vehicle? Many motorists would give you respect (although some would give you the finger). You’d see them tap their brakes when they see you coming and nobody would ever pass you on the freeway, even if you’re going 45 mph.

Recently, a Las Vegas man tried the same thing with his Ford Mustang. Being a huge fan of the movie The Transformers, he modified his car to look exactly like the evil Decepticon named Barricade. He didn’t just do it for himself, though. His seven-year-old son really enjoys having a full-scale prop from one of his favorite movies sitting right in their driveway, too.

Jessie Vigil, the man who accomplished this time-consuming task for his kid, went about it legally, too. Before starting the modifications, he called the local sheriff’s department to see if there were any laws against it. The only law the authorities could find that even remotely related to the situation was one forbidding the act of impersonating an officer. In Vigil’s case, this wasn’t a problem because the Las Vegas police don’t use Ford vehicles (or at least Mustangs) for their fleet. Vigil also learned that the police force sells their vehicles without repainting them, so there were many cars on the street that closely resembled a police car. Besides that, the light bar looked “totally fake,” making Virgil’s car more of a conversation piece rather than an imposter.

So when you’re passing Ford vehicles in Vegas and you see one that looks like a Mustang police car, don’t ask the guy inside for help. He’s likely a huge movie buff with a lot of time on his hands.

If you’d like to purchase a Ford Mustang, please visit our Ford dealership in Missouri or our Illinois Ford dealers.