Bob ROCO Romeo

  ·          The process of developing a new vehicle from drawing board to showroom floor used to take more than five years ·          Computer-aided design (CAD) and engineering (CAE) help accelerate this vehicle development ·          Ford engineers still test vehicles all around the world and in some of the harshest environments New vehicle development can involve many hundreds of prototypes and thousands of staffs at facilities around the world, with new vehicles taking many years to go from the drawing board to the showroom floor. New vehicles have become more sophisticated and feature-rich than ever before, and model line-ups are ballooning. The current Ford Ranger and Everest are perfect examples of how product lines have grown in complexity, with a considerable number of variations covering choices in powertrain, driveline, suspension style and bod...

The Ford Ranger has received the highest award for quality in the midsize pickup segment in the US; according to the 2020 JD Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) report. The Initial Quality Study, now in its 34th year, is based on responses from 87,282 purchasers and lessees of new 2020 model year vehicles in the US who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study took place from February through to May 2020. The JD Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) takes an updated look at the problems owners are having with their new vehicles, including those related to new technologies. The study, redesigned this year, measures components that fail and features that are difficult to use, hard to understand or don’t work the way owners want. Initial quality is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. “The Initial Quality Study is the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality and, year after year, automakers app...

Limited production, a Le Mans-winning, 7.0-litre V8 engine and an 800-kilometre test of Goodyear’s latest performance tyres. These were the main factors that introduced the first Shelby Super Snake to the world. As a result, that 1967 Shelby Super Snake became the genesis for the first Ford Mustang-based muscle cars that Shelby American has now built into a pantheon of loud, extreme and exclusive Mustangs. It’s on World Snake Day, 16 July, that Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) chooses to pay homage to Carroll Shelby’s first-ever Super Snake, as well as the models that have since followed suit. Shelby’s determination to push the performance envelope and make a name for himself has long provided Mustang owners with a higher footing when it comes to outright performance and looks. The Shelby Super Snake is one of the most well-known nameplates of them all, created more than fifty years ago and going from strength to strength. The year 1967 was a dominant period in Ford’s ...