Sunset Ford Dealer Blog

There’s nothing wrong with driving a truck. In fact, most truck drivers take pride in their ride. The only problem some of them are having lately is the price of filling their tanks. Luckily, though, there are some ways you can save money on your fuel costs even with a truck. Here are five tips for spending less at the pump and enjoying your truck more.

1. Make sure the gas cap is tight. When the gas cap is loose, fuel can evaporate through the small opening. In fact, statistics show that drivers lose about 145 million gallons of gas overall through loose or missing gas caps. That’s a lot of gas!

2. Use fuel with lower octane. Unless your truck’s owner’s manual actually says to use premium, it’s probably not necessary. You might not even need it if the manufacturer recommends it. See how your truck runs on midgrade or regular for a couple tanks. You could be saving about five bucks each time you fill it up.

3. Turn off the air conditioning. Instead of using the A/C, park your car in shady spots and drive with the windows and the vents open. The A/C can often decrease your fuel efficiency by as much as 10 percent.

4. Take care of your truck. Engines run more efficiently when you take care of them. That means you should be making the scheduled oil changes, tune-ups and other preventative maintenance procedures.

5. Keep the tailgate up. The guys on Mythbusters did an experiment to see which was better for gas mileage – leaving the tailgate up or down. They found that leaving the tailgate down caused more drag than leaving it up, causing the truck to be less efficient. If you’ve been arguing with your friends about that concept, now you know who is right.

If you want to enjoy your Ford trucks but you’ve been hesitant about driving lately because of the gas prices, fear no more. With some very simple tips, you can save money on fuel and enjoy your truck as much as you want!

If you’ve spent any time in Washington, D.C. or simply noticed what the government officials are driving, you’ve probably noticed some hypocrisy. While the lawmakers are passing legislation to force auto companies to increase the fuel efficiency of their vehicles, many senators and representatives are driving the biggest SUVs they can buy.
That is, until recently.

An energy bill that passed through legislation last year requires House members to lease only vehicles that emit a minimum level of greenhouse gases. But lawmakers aren’t happy about this decision. In fact, many of them are downright angry about it. Some of the biggest offenders include Texas Republican Joe L. Barton and Representative Elton Gallegly. Barton even argued that the SUV that he drives is made in the district he serves. Apparently, he doesn’t get the point of the legislation!

The man who fought for this amendment to the energy bill was Representative Emanuel Cleaver II, a Democrat from Missouri. He just felt that if lawmakers were serious about the environment, they should be doing everything they can do to help, too. And he can back it up with his actions, too. He drives an Econoline that was once an airport shuttle. He uses it as a mobile office, though. And the great thing is that it runs on cooking grease!

With the new guidelines, the Environmental Protection Agency determines which vehicles lawmakers can lease. The organization will have the list by the end of the year, but it will likely include several Ford cars, including the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid, just to name a few.

Personally, I’m happy to see some government officials get a taste of their own medicine. For the last few years, they’ve been passing laws and telling us what we should and shouldn’t drive. But it just doesn’t seem to apply to them. But if we, the taxpayers, are footing the bill for their leased vehicles, they should have to drive what WE tell them to drive! Am I right?

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?

For economy-friendly Fords, please visit our Illinois Ford dealership or our Missouri Ford dealerships.

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!

To purchase your new Ford Focus, please visit our IL Ford dealerships or our Missouri Ford dealership today.

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!

For your new Ford Escape, please visit our Ford dealers in St. Louis, Missouri or our Ford dealer in Illinois.

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.

For your new Ford Escape hybrid, please visit our Ford dealer - Illinois or our Ford dealers in St. Louis, MO today.

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?