"Honey, that's not a Prius"

It may still be a few seasons away, but there is a ton of buzz surrounding the new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid from Ford Motor Company. What’s that? You have not heard of the C-Max before? Well, good thing that we have been given some facts to clue you in:

- The 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid will start at $25,995 when it goes on sale this fall, said Ford Motor Co. on Thursday.

- A Ford spokesman told Inside Line that the shipping charge and options pricing on the C-Max Hybrid have not yet been set.

- The base 2012 Toyota Prius V Two, the chief competitor of the C-Max Hybrid, starts at $27,310, including a $760 shipping charge.

So, comparison shopping, anyone? This is a welcome reprieve for shoppers looking to buy a new Ford hybrid in Cincinnati, OH. Many people have not been given much of an option when it comes to hybrid vehicles other than the industry-gobbling Prius, but now Ford is offering a huge opportunity for potential customers an American-made high volume sales hybrid.

Now, the EPA has not yet released the fuel-economy numbers on the C-Max, so there will be some rumors swirling until it is certified – but with an output of 141 horsepower and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery, the C-Max is poised to make a giant dent in the noticeably bigger hybrid vehicle market. We have already begun to take orders for the new model, so don’t be afraid to visit our Facebook page and let us know what you think about the new hybrid from Ford.

Alongside the extra space and improved gas-mileage, every Ford C-Max Hybrid will ship with Ford’s highly-praised MyFord Touch infotainment system. As part of its technology package, the C-Max Hybrid will also ship with its hands-free tailgate technology. Approach the car with the wireless key fob in your pocket, wave a foot near the rear bumper, and the tailgate will automatically open for you.

“It’s so cool!” As overheard by one of our professional salespeople. This is not the only innovation Ford has produced with hybrid vehicles recently, however, Remember our recent blog post on Ford’s electrified vehicles?

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Ford Gets the F-550 in the Game

It started off as a sweet-looking concept truck on the showroom floor of the Chicago Auto Show. Sitting there, waiting for it’s turn to get off of the bench and into the game, the Ford F-550 concept rescue truck thought it would never get the chance to spring into action, but then – on April 3rd – this concept vehicle got its chance to test its meddle in the real world.

The Ford F-550 Super Duty Rescue Truck was created to demonstrate extreme rescue capabilities in dire situations. This particular situation, a series of devastating tornadoes that ripped through Arlington, Texas, overwhelmed every fire-rescue department in the region. Many neighborhood streets were filled with debris raging from roofs to cars – and the large firetrucks facilitating the rescues could not get through. That’s when Brad Snyder, vice president of marketing at New Scope Marketing in Grandbury, Texas, got a call from the Arlington emergency services director asking for help. The director had known that Snyder had advised Ford Motor Company on building extreme rescue vehicles and was now in need of something for the rescue efforts going on around the city.

“We never intended to put it into service.” Snyder said.

Now, this is not your ordinary Ford truck in Cincinnati, OH. The F-550 is powered by Ford’s 6.7-liter Powerstroke diesel engine – solid and powerful enough to move around and around rubble caused by the massive tornadoes. Snyder himself got behind the wheel to lead the effort; and utilized the thermal imaging devices installed in the truck that can pickup a person’s body heat nearly half a mile away. Snyder also used the big lighting rig on the truck to light both sides of the street when searches for survivors.

“We assisted with tagging houses and making sure no one was still inside some of them,” Snyder said. All told, Snyder helped with more than 100 houses in the Arlington area.

The other cool thing about the F-550 is that it comes equipped with a full generator big enough to run a house, as well as an entire host of emergency medical machines. The truck also provided food and water to victims and emergency personnel. The Doppler Radar also came in handy when preparing for another round of storms. In order to make sure that the area was safe, keeping an eye on the weather was key because after the first round, there was no more shelter.

Now, with all the features available, you can buy the F-550 for the bargain price of $150,000. Obviously, we don’t carry this rig at our dealership, but we are thankful that Ford was there to help victims of the tornado. For now, the F-550 will return to the showroom, but it will be called into action if the situation calls.

We can’t offer the F-550, but for the best deals on America’s best-selling truck. the Ford F-150 in Cincinnati, OH – check us out.

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The Trends are Shifting - We are Listening

Do you remember your first car? Odds are, if you were lucky enough to get a hand-me-down from your parents as you were steamrolling through adolescence, you can clearly remember the manual transmission. But, wait a second, you’re not really sure if manual transmissions exist anymore except for diesel trucks and semis, right? Luckily, we are experts in this sort of thing and we can give you a little bit of an education the next time you’re shopping for Ford cars in Cincinnati.

There is no doubt that car-shopper are falling back in love with their manual transmissions. I bet you’d never expect to see “Stick Shifts Rule Once Again!” in the headlines, but that is exactly what the trend in manual transmissions is showing. The surge in manual transmission requests is especially interesting, considering a 10-percent decrease in new models offering stick shifts in the past five years – this according to USA Today. Lo and behold, manuals accounted for just over 6.5-percent of new vehicles sales in the first quarter of 2012 – the highest rate since 2006.

The “shift” (ha, literally) in popularity has come as a complete surprise to customers, as well as Ford, who has stated that demand for manual transmissions in the Ford Focus is nearly 10-percent – more than double the original estimate. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself though, remember that just over a decade ago the take rate for manuals was still running at 8-percent. We are still faced with the inevitable demographic shift as Millennials, born after automatic transmissions became dominant, grow up. Hopefully, we can keep the manual tranny around as long as possible…for the kid in us…you know?

Want to weigh in? Check out our Facebook page and give a shout to let us know what you think about the manual transmission. Do you miss it? Do you love it? Should we start our own “Save the Manuals” campaign?

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Anti-minivan enthusiasts unite!

We know that Ford customers have been accustomed to the brand’s leading-innovation in performance, looks and technology…but, this is ridiculous. The all-new 2013 Ford Flex has surpassed the imagination of many Ford enthusiasts by offering a 3.5-liter V6 and third-row seating. Don’t let the previous bottom-line sales scare you away from getting to know the funky cousin to the Ford Escape. Ever since its launch in 2008, the Flex has been mostly known for its ‘boxy’ style, but its high-level of comfort, refinement and usability have made it a main-stay for anti-minivan families. We discovered that many people looked at the Flex and said “Well, it’s a great vehicle for a great price, but we just can’t get past the styling.” Well, we dared those same customers to sit inside he Flex and take it for a spin – the results were unanimous – these people wanted to buy the thing.

We noticed that instead of denying the weirdness of the Flex, Ford has actually embraced it as their “red-headed step-child”. It may not bring as many sales as the Ford Escape in Cincinnati, but it creates a model for the brand that can be sold as the alternative to the norm. The big change this year has to do with the look of the Flex – you may have noticed in the above picture that the Ford badge is now missing and has been replaced with the Flex fascia. And out back, there is standard dual exhaust and an available rear appliqué cool-looking addition.

The one thing that makes the Flex even more appealing is the new exterior colors. As we know, color is something Ford has been playing with for years; some successful, while others failed miserably. You can pick from nine colors, including the new options of Ruby Red, Deep Impact Blue and Kodiak Brown. What is your favorite color? Personally, we prefer the Kodiak Bown, considering this is a beast of a vehicle.

Technology is another biggie for the Flex. For starters, SYNC, is available with the new-generation of MyFord Touch, with improvements customers specifically asked for, making it faster, easier to use, and with a cleaner display. Safety technology is also on tap, with the Flex gaining the availability of auto world’s first production inflatable seat belts for rear-seat passengers. There’s also an available radar-enabled adaptive cruise control (ACC) and collision warning with brake support and Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with cross-traffic alert. These technologies help with avoiding potential accidents, using radar to detect the relative position of other vehicles and warn the driver with a combination of visual and audio alerts.

No matter your orientation toward the styling of the Flex. If you are human, and just happen to be looking for the Ford Flex in Cincinnati, you need to come see us. Say the magic word and we will make sure to get you the best deal you can find. If you don’t believe us…then why are we the number-one volume Ford dealer in the area? Well, come to the front door and we will prove it to you!

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Ford has found a way to SYNC with Social

It’s something most of us do every hour day – check out Facebook. Well, what if you could make your driving experience more social? According to Mike Castrucci Ford of Alexandria, this is the question that Ford tackled in its 24-hour “hack-a-thon” at the Facebook Campus. During the event, programmers developed “Just Play” an unbelievable app that could change the way we listen to music in our New Ford vehicles in Cincinnati, OH.

The logic behind the app is pretty simple – you’re driving along and you can’t decide what song or station to listen to. Fire up your Ford Sync database and open Just Play; the app is linked instantly to your Facebook profile and starts playing the favorite music of your friends via Spotify. If you get bored with the current selection, you have the option to skip to the next song – just as you would with an iPod.

Just Play is in its early stages of development and is not scheduled for release in the near future, but getting your new Ford vehicles with SYNC in Cincinnati is the first step to achieving the new breakthrough in social technology. Ford also notes that technological innovations like Facebook integration, GPS navigation, voice recognition, and other new technologies open SYNC to a whole new world of possibilities. Mike Castrucci Ford of Alexandria even asked their Facebook fans to weigh in on the new app here.

According to Julius Marchwicki, Project Manager for Ford SYNC, “A typical customer will change his or her phone three times before changing a vehicle. The way I look at it is, with tech like SYNC, people can update the way they interact with their vehicles without having to change their cars.”

Needless to say, Ford tech engineers are confident that SYNC technology will be around a long time. Ford has always been on the cutting edge of in-vehicle technology and the Just Play app proves that they have a lot more up their sleeve. Visit Mike Castrucci Ford of Alexandria for the best deals on all new and used Ford models in Cincinnati, OH.

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