Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Ford gives men 'trip of a lifetime'
The associate pastor was perusing Ford’s website in June, researching prices for an Explorer, and came upon a contest that posed the question, “If you had a Ford Explorer for a week, what would you do and where would you go?” He decided, on a whim, to give his 250-words-or-less answer, saying he would take his fellow pastors to Alaska.
“I didn’t expect anything to happen from that because who does expect anything from that?” Sterger joked. “But four weeks later, we got a call from Ford.”
The company, as part of its “Go. Do. Adventures” campaign, thought the weather was too bad in Alaska, but opted to send them for “the ultimate vacation to the Grand Canyon.” So in mid-November, Sterger, 55, and four members of Calvary’s leadership — Anthony Ippolito, 34; Mike Ippolito, 32; Phil Wojcik, 22; and Daniel Vasquez, 33 — flew to Arizona for a five-day adventure that turned out so much more valuable than they could imagine.
They went hot-air ballooning over Sedona, saw the south rim of the Grand Canyon and enjoyed a lavish dinner in Flagstaff. All along, they drove a brand-new Ford Explorer and were filmed for a national Ford commercial set to air in 2012.
But the craziest part of the trip came on the second day.
The group knew something seemed off when they met with a film crew of 30 people, including Ford and another with Outside Television. That’s when Kirsten Gum, the host of “Treasure Hunter” on the Travel Channel who was hosting part of a documentary of the experience for Outside Television, arrived and told them they needed some competition for their next adventure.
Their challengers had familiar faces. Calvary Chapel’s Rich Daubenspeck, 42, Ron Meyer, 53, Nate McNeil, 24, Rob Rodriguez, 38, and David Coyle, 42, had kept secret for six months that they would be joining the other group in Arizona for the documentary and commercial.
It was fun, but tough, keeping mum. The other group would keep telling them about their upcoming adventure and they had to bite their tongues and say, “We wish we were going,” Coyle laughed.
The original group, the red team, and the group that came later, the white team, competed head to head on a 2-mile mountain bike ride, 7-mile kayak trip and 1.5-mile hike for a prize of $5,000 for the charity of their choice. Both teams agreed, no matter who won, the Salvation Army would get the money. (The red team proudly noted they won.)
The group presented the check to local Salvation Army members last week.
“You guys do such good work in the community,” Sterger said. “When people call us and they don’t know what to do, we give them the number to the Salvation Army and we know they’re going to get taken care of.”
Salvation Army Capt. Jose Borrero said the money can help the Vineland organization buy more equipment, have more food available and train more people so they’re available when an emergency arises.
“People don’t know how much this $5,000 can do for the Salvation Army and community of Cumberland County,” he said. “We really want to thank Calvary Chapel for what they did.”
“It was definitely the trip of a lifetime,” McNeil said.
Anthony Ippolito loved singing “America the Beautiful” at the bottom of the Grand Canyon before they kayaked on the Colorado River.
Coyle spoke about how beautiful the state is.
Mike Ippolito said even after the trip, the best moment came when they presented the money to the Salvation Army. “I know I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time to give them the check,” he said.
“It was cool to be able to give back when you’re given to,” Vasquez added.
The travelers agreed they’re thankful for the experience, which Daubenspeck dubbed “a chance we couldn’t fathom.” They recounted their favorite moments of the trip after services recently, laughing as they recalled the film crews calling them “the talent.”
Sterger loved the experience, but noted he secretly wished he could take home one of the Explorers. Each team had an Explorer to drive between destinations, but the experience was the $5,000 prize, not the vehicle.
Now that the adventure is over, he’s back to looking for a new car.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Ford debuts Focus Electric 2012
It’s been what seems a long time in coming, but Ford recently pulled the wraps off its brand new electric vehicle, (EV) the Focus Electric.
Yes, production of the sporty, five-seat hatchback has gotten underway at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, MI. This is the company’s second EV following the December 2010 rollout of the Ford Transit Connect Electric – a small commercial van also manufactured in Wayne.
Ford is boasting that the new Focus is expected to be the first first five-passenger EV with a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) - one mpg-e more than its rival: the five-passenger electric Nissan Leaf.
Ford also claims that, due to some new battery and charging innovations, the Focus will take a full charge using a 240 volt charger in about three hours. That’s half the time it takes for an equivalent charge of the Leaf. If there’s no time for a full juice up, Ford says an hour on the hose will add 30 miles to the car’s range.
Under the hood the Focus is powered by a 23 kW lithium-ion battery pack connected to a motor capable of providing about 130 horsepower. That’s enough get up and go to give the Focus a top speed of about 84 MPH and a range of around 100 miles.
Ford says the advanced battery system uses an active liquid cooling and heating thermal management system to regulate the temperature in the battery. This feature helps to maximize battery life and driving range.
The car also features Ford’s interconnected driver system called MyFord Touch as well as a mobile phone app called MyFord Mobile.
Sales of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric will begin shortly and because initial production of the 2012 model year will be limited, the Focus Electric will be available only in 19 metropolitan areas including Atlanta, Houston and Austin, Texas, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, Orlando, Florida, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Portland, Oregon, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, Virginia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
The first deliveries are scheduled to take place in California and New York, followed by the other initial markets during the second quarter of 2012.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
David, congratulations on your new Ford F-250! We are happy to have helped you.
"I had a great experience working with Dwight at Ford of Fairfield. I got a great price, he made sure I got the maximum discounts, didn't hide anything from me and allowed me to understand the numbers so we could make this purchase work. There was no going back and forth between the managers checking each and every decision, he pretty much called the shots and got me out of there in less time than an ER room visit....which is rare in a dealership. Folks are very friendly there as well, it was one of the best car purchasing experiences I've had. (New f250 owner)
D.Borges"
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Motor Trend picks 2012 Ford F-150 as its Truck of the Year
Motor Trend magazine named Ford's 2012 F-150 its Truck of the Year, edging out the Nissan NV commercial van, the Ram HD Laramie Longhorn and the Toyota Tacoma.
The magazine's editors presented the award Monday to Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, at a ceremony at the company's headquarters in Dearborn.
"We are proud to receive this award and even more pleased that our F-150 customers have additional validation of their choice," Fields said in a statement.
With 516,639 trucks sold in the U.S. this year through November, the F-150 is again the nation's best-selling vehicle.
Motor Trend tested versions of the pickup with a 5.0-liter V8 engine, but it was Ford's 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine that helped capture the award.
Ford officials now expect 45% of F-150 buyers to select the EcoBoost V6.
Truck owners traditionally have expected their rigs to be outfitted with a V8 engine, but Ford's EcoBoost V6 is changing that perception.
Automakers are pushing for better fuel economy in the pickup segment, where muscle had been measured in displacement until volatile gasoline prices and a shaky economy changed priorities for many consumers.
The EcoBoost-equipped F-150s average 18 m.p.g. in combined city and highway driving, according to federal government ratings, compared to 14-17 m.p.g. for eight-cylinder models.
The turbocharged V6 gives the truck more towing power than the larger 5.0-liter V8.
"It mastered every task we subjected it to, acing our instrumented tests at the proving grounds and swaying opinions during our real-world road evaluations," Motor Trend editor-in-chief Ed Loh said of the F-150 in an announcement.
Each year, the staff of Motor Trend assesses a field of contenders for the Truck of the Year Award.
The weeklong process includes a full complement of performance tests, both with and without payload, on straight-aways and twisty mountain roads, as well as in day-to-day driving.
Trucks are evaluated against six judging criteria, resulting in a final winner.
The F-150 also took top honors from Motor Trend in 2009, 2004 and 1997.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Take advantage of awesome incentives at Ford Fairfield
Monday, December 5, 2011
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