The rapidly changing face of automotive engineering and design, driven by the political and environmental need to break away from a dependence on fossil fuels has led to different visions for the future of vehicle powertrains. One of those visions lies in hydrogen fuel cell technology, an avenue of development being brought to fruition by the Ford Motor Company through the platform of the Ford Focus FCV.

Ford refers to its Focus FCV as a Generation 3 hydrogen vehicle because the company has been experimenting with other cars in the genre for ten years, principally the Ford P2000. The Ford Focus FCV derives its power from a Ballard 902 Fuel Cell, Proton Exchange Membrane Stack placed in the trunk of the car. The 5000 psi hydrogen tank (4 kg / 8.8 lbs) has two-inch thick aluminum walls encased in Kevlar and carbon fiber to withstand forces from both impact and crushing pressure.

Read more about the Ford Focus FCV.

The maximum points haul enabled Ford to create rallying history by scoring points on 100 consecutive rallies, a feat never achieved since the WRC was launched in 1973.

After dominating Friday's opening leg to hold first and second, Hirvonen and Latvala deliberately eased their pace in the final few metres to drop down the leaderboard to gain better road conditions yesterday. A lower start position meant they avoided the huge disadvantage of being first and second on roads covered by slippery loose gravel. Instead, they benefited from the cleaning process of the cars ahead, who swept stones from the surface to leave a cleaner and faster line on which to attack.

Ford's Finns rocketed back to first and second yesterday morning and attacked hard to build as big a lead as possible over championship rival Sébastien Loeb, who swept the roads, in third. Hirvonen and Latvala had the unwanted 'cleaning' role today, but the buffer was big enough to hold off a determined charge from Loeb during the final 31.03km speed test to claim the team's second 1-2 of the season.

Contact(s):
Daniel Jarvis
313.845.2709

• Ford Focus sales are gaining momentum, with three consecutive months of year-over-year retail sales volume increases.  February sales are on track to trump February 2007 retail sales.
• Ford’s strategy of simplifying the Focus vehicle line, along with offering affordable industry-first SYNC technology, is paying off.
• Nearly 40 percent of the 2008 model year Focus units sold during the past three months included SYNC.  SYNC-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles sell nearly twice as fast as those without.

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 28, 2008 – Young buyers hungry for new technology and strong fuel economy are driving higher retail sales of the new 2008 Ford Focus.

Focus’ retail sales have been up year-over-year for the past three months – and February retail sales also are tracking above year-ago levels.  The small car’s sales were up 18 percent in November – the car’s first full month on the market – followed by a 9 percent increase in December and 33 percent in January. 
  
“Younger buyers are very interested in technology like SYNC.  In addition to strong sales, we’re seeing the average age of Focus customers coming down,” said Samuel De La Garza, Ford’s Focus Marketing manager.  “These customers also seek style, fuel economy and a high level of quality, reliability and feature content – all of which Focus delivers in spades.”

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