Ford 2012 Annual Report Download - page 19

Ford Motor Company | 2012 Annual Report 17
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
17
The independent car safety organization, Euro NCAP, named the Focus Europe's best-in-class small family car,
while Focus also became the industry's first vehicle to earn four Euro NCAP Advanced Technology Awards, being
recognized for Active City Stop, Lane-Keeping Aid, Driver Alert, and Forward Alert. Features such as Speed Limiter,
Torque Vectoring Control, Traffic Sign Recognition System, All-Seat BeltMinder® and Power Child Locks also have
been introduced in Europe on Focus, C-MAX, Grand C-MAX, Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy.
Smart. We recently completed our seventh consecutive year participating in the International Consumer
Electronics Show ("CES"), which many media say is becoming more important than ever to automakers. At the 2013
show, Ford Chief Technical Officer Paul Mascarenas and Vice President of Engineering Hau Thai-Tang introduced the
Ford Developer Program, the automotive industry's first smartphone app software development program. The program
allows for those outside the company with innovative ideas to work with Ford to create compelling and valuable new
features and services for our customers at an unprecedented rate. Using SYNC AppLink™, drivers are able to connect
their smartphones and control their favorite mobile apps simply using their voice.
We continue to work on the future of the connected car, having introduced the Ford Evos Concept to North
America for the first time at the 2012 CES. The Evos Concept showcases a dramatic four-door, four-seat fastback
concept with a state-of-the-art lithium-ion plug-in hybrid powertrain that previews our vision for customer-focused,
intuitive technologies. Driver engagement technologies explore a seamless enhancement of the driving experience
and smart electrified powertrain. Technologies use online data to check for potential travel routes and to set the most
efficient braking, steering and suspension settings with efficient and enjoyable powertrain settings, and to reserve a
charging parking spot at the driver's destination. We also built on our power of choice fuel-efficient powertrain
momentum by showcasing and offering drives of the Fiesta with EcoBoost 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, Fusion
Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid - which was named Official Car of CES at the 2013 show.
Building upon our demonstrated strategy to globally democratize our technology, Fusion and Explorer launched
with a full suite of driver-assist technologies, each leading their respective segments. With features including Lane-
Keeping Aid, adaptive cruise control and active park assist, both vehicles help drivers with a new level of convenience.
Lane-Keeping uses a forward-facing camera to monitor the lane markings ahead and warn drivers if they are drifting
outside, and will even nudge the car back into the correct lane if the driver does not immediately respond. Adaptive
cruise control features radar that tracks the vehicles ahead of you and keeps pace and maintains a safe distance,
adjusting as necessary to the speed of traffic. Active park assist helps drivers minimize the stress associated with
parallel parking. Using sonar, the car can identify an appropriate parallel parking spot and then assist the driver by
automatically steering the car into the spot while the driver maintains control of the throttle and brakes. Additionally,
the new Lincoln MKZ introduces Active Noise Control ("ANC"), which helps manage the sounds passengers hear
inside the car. Using elements of the audio system, ANC technology will block out unwanted engine and road noise,
helping improve the overall in-car experience.
We also are celebrating the first anniversary of the new Ford Silicon Valley Lab, which opened in 2012 in
downtown Palo Alto, California. Our lab employees are working closely with local universities including Stanford, new
startup companies, and leading innovators such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.
Leveraging key new technologies across multiple regions and on global platforms helps drive tremendous scale
and efficiency savings that can be reinvested, allowing us to have the freshest showroom in the industry. In 2012, we
showed growth in nearly every aspect of our business, with 25 new vehicles launched around the world. We expect to
grow even further in 2013, driven by having the freshest products in the business - the average age of our global
product lineup improves again this year compared with 2012.
Our aggressive freshening cadence and relentless focus on efficiency is producing results that are greater than our
major global full-line competitors. Our global programs continue to offer bold, emotive designs, high levels of quality,
fuel economy leadership, top safety ratings, innovative technologies, and greater feature content than higher-series
competitive offerings, which will allow us to reduce brand discounts and increase revenue across our portfolio. This
overall combination of cost efficiency and revenue enhancement that is being realized from One Ford and our global
product strategy will help us continue to profitably grow and Go Further.
For more information visit www.annualreport.ford.com