Don’t miss this chance to test drive your favorite Ford and raise money to “boost” the Grandville K-12 Band program! The Drive 4 UR Community event will be held on Saturday, October 19th at the Grandville Lowes parking lot (4705 Canal Ave SW, Grandville) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The goal is to raise funds for the Band for k-12 and Ford donates $20 for each test drive up to $6000! The more people who turn up for a test drive means the more money the program will raise.

Ford’s Drive 4 UR School and Drive 4 UR Community events are a fun, engaging way to help schools and organizations raise money to support their activities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVyyUnQhYvs#t=16

Check out this awesome video that shows the 2015 Ford Super Duty stacked up against its competitors in a towing competition. What an outstanding truck! Ford just released this sneak peek of the new 2015 Super Duty, and we’ve got the early scoop on the big changes you’ll see when the truck arrives in dealerships!

Making huge headlines is the Power Stroke® engine: The V-8 turbodiesel receives a turbocharger for improved power and performance, and that extra oomph will be backed by a new fuel pump and injectors, and a new temperature control system is designed to maximize everyday performance. These engine enhancements pertain to the Power Stroke in every Super Duty model.

Other upgrades include ones made to the F-450: 19.5-inch wheels are now the standard rims, and new color choices are Magnetic, Caribou, and Bronze Fire.

Now, if the King Ranch is your pick of pickups, know that it gains a new exterior look – it can be had in a new Caribou two-tone paint scheme. Inside, things get more Southwestern-looking, featuring a new Mesa Brown leather and Running W brand.

“Through premium materials and thoughtful execution, we strived to make the 2015 Ford Super Duty King Ranch have a look and a feel as authentic as the ranch itself,” said Doug Scott, Ford Truck Group Marketing Manager.

On the heels of ArtPrize, we found this article from Ford Social on what makes for great design in vehicles timely and interesting. Just like Grand Rapids’ public art festival, Artprize, some designs seem to capture the imagination of the public above all others. Over the years at Borgman Ford, we’ve we’ve watched the strategic design team roll out many iconic hits. Check out this article to learn about the “One Ford” philosophy of design, then stop by to drive one 😉

By Tori Tellem

What makes a particular design great? OK, that’s sort of a trick question, because design is very subjective. Take art: Two people can look at a painting and have a very different reaction to it.  Two people can look at architecture, and one may have an emotional connection while the other feels nothing. Styles of clothing either appeal or don’t.

Now think about the challenges with car design. It’s got all of that — it has to look “right” to the eyes, cause an emotional connection and be appealing. Then it’s about making that “look” speak to the masses, and often on a global scale. Your vehicle needs to not only stand out in the crowd, but also make that crowd think about buying the same vehicle for themselves. It’s also about creating an iconic design, recognizable worldwide, easily identified even by those who don’t own one.

“Great design is defined by purpose, simplicity, emotion and, above all, honesty,” explained Freeman Thomas, Ford Director of Strategic Design. “Great design must have a soul and a philosophy. Ford is about great design.”

The One Ford philosophy about design has to do with vehicles sharing characteristics that will appeal to consumers on all continents. “I consider the Stahl House, the 1965 Ford GT40 and the 2014 Ford Fusion Energi to be three significant representations of these values,” explained Freeman. Stahl House, which is considered an iconic example of modern architecture, has much in common with Ford. “Its design transcends social class. It was a case study about creating affordable housing with aspiration. Its simplicity is humbling,” Freeman said. Ford vehicles have simplicity in design,  yet also push boundaries.

The concept of Ford design is to create that appeal, no matter how the vehicle will be used. Whether consumer-oriented or for motorsports, mpg or mph — the vehicle needs to have a design that strikes a chord and gets attention. Freeman also said, “It’s about looking at something and feeling as though it’s so much more. The Fusion Energi is a car that visually looks so premium and so expensive. It is a plug-in hybrid so it is explicit in its conscience and purpose, yet it has that irrational desire – it’s a gorgeous car.”

Truck fans who love the F-150 but are looking for alternative-fuel options, will have a host of reasons to get excited for the 2014 model year. The 2014 Ford F-150 will be available with an engine having the ability to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Not only is this new fuel option for the Ford F-150 in addition to a line of efficient conventional gasoline engines, including the 3.5-liter EcoBoost® V6, but it also makes the F-150 the only half-ton pickup on the market that can be ordered directly from the automaker with an engine able to run on LPG or CNG.

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The newest Ford Escape is out in the wild! Read this article from Ford Social about the refreshed vehicle’s sight-seeing trip to Hawaii.

The mood was one of elation. Writer Jeff Wise, photographer Jonathan Kane and videographer Tim Cothren had just gotten word that they were headed to Hawaii to take a 2014 Escape on an unforgettable three-day journey.

The assignment was for My Ford magazine, and the goal was simple: Go witness the magic of the Big Island and capture it in a way that brings readers face to face with the beauty of an epic Hawaiian road trip.

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For years, Ford’s quality interiors resulted from worldwide studies where customers tested various parts, documenting their preferences, which influenced future design choices.

But quality can be difficult to express in a concrete, data-driven way. “I like this material more,” or “This button feels too slippery” are statements, but it is hard for a person to enumerate why exactly either of those is true with a number.

Without measurable data, further improvement becomes difficult after a certain point. That’s why the process of producing the perfect interior at Ford has gone futuristic, thanks to a robot named RUTH.

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Borgman Ford is a big fan of Ford’s new technologies, especially the impressive EcoBoost! We haven’t had a chance to check out Ford’s EcoBoost Challenge, but this Ford Social article guest written by Tom Fong gave us a nice little taste of the event!

The Ford EcoBoost Challenge toured nearly a dozen major metropolitan areas across the nation in 2013, including one that I attended in the Los Angeles area. Specifically, the event was held in the Rose Bowl Stadium parking lot in the hills of Pasadena, one of the most famous venues for college football.

Guests were able to drive several EcoBoost-powered vehicles, including the 2014 Ford Fusion and 2014 Ford Escape. I was encouraged to drive these Ford vehicles as if I were from an automotive magazine doing a review of braking, steering, ride quality and acceleration. I was given the opportunity to compare the driving experience head-to-head with the competition.

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One of the first road tests on the 1903 Ford Model A was published in “Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal” in August of that same year. The review included, “This latest of American wagons offered leaves very little indeed to be desired. There will undoubtedly be advances in the art, but there will never be any wagon much more comfortable for its passengers than the Ford.”

Yet here we are in 2014, and “Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal” probably couldn’t have predicted what those advances and comfort levels would one day be! Although the Model A is gone – unless you count Bill Ford purchasing the oldest surviving 1903 Model A – the sensibility to remain the cutting-edge automaker in design, engineering and technology is still the foundation of what drives Ford. This has come in the form of electrification and fuel economy innovations as well as a global design language. Perhaps the most “futuristic” (for 1903!) Ford accomplishments have been in the way of connectivity and safety-assist features.

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If you’re wondering where the Ford Atlas concept vehicle is these days, here are some shots from the road as the Atlas kicked off its summer tour in Cleveland. In the main rotunda of the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, the truck was in excellent company, parked next to a pristine 1907 Ford Model K. Side-by-side, the two vehicles visually covered more than a century of toughness and innovation.

The Ford Atlas concept was first revealed on January 15, 2013, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), where it garnered attention with its bold looks and innovations.

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You know how to drive a car. But do you know how to drive a performance car? Ford wants to ensure that you do, and that’s why it’s offering complimentary driving instruction to owners of the new 2013-2014 Ford Focus ST and 2014 Ford Fiesta ST through the Octane Academy Driving Experience!

The driving program was inspired by “Octane Academy,” the competition TV series with pro drivers like Ken Block and Tanner Foust. On the show, amateur drivers compete for an opportunity to launch their own racing careers, with the pros putting them through the paces to determine a winner.

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