Ford Hires Santos, a Virtual Soldier Turned Into Worker

After GM announced its R2 space robot, how long could it be before the Blue Oval had something futuristic to show off? Ford recently introduced Santos, a new virtual-reality stress-testing digital man.

Santos, derived from the Department of Defense's Virtual Soldier Research program, is Ford's next stage of virtual work assistance. He works in a simulated Ford factory and measures the effects of real-world stress by combining a "complete biomechanical muscular system" with "predictive dynamics".

Ford ergonomics technical specialist Allison Stephens thankfully explains it in layman's terms:

"Creating the safest and most ergonomic way to build a vehicle is a trial-and-error process – in recent years technology has allowed this process to happen in the virtual world. Santos takes this to a new level. He can perform a task and tell us whether over months and years it will cause back strain, for example, and we can make adjustments until we find the optimal way to get the job done."

As soon as testing is complete, Santos will be put to work helping find new, helpful ways to keep people safe and healthy.

By Phil Alex

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New Ford Fiesta Rated at 40mpg Highway and 29mpg City, See How it Compares with its Rivals

The official EPA (that's short for Environmental Protection Agency) numbers for Ford's highly anticipated new Fiesta are in.

According to the agency's calculations, the 2011 Fiesta with Ford's new six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission achieves an EPA certified 40mpg highway and 29mpg city (equal to 5.9lt and 8.1 lt/100km respectively).

The five-speed manual transmission model is EPA rated at 37 mpg highway and and 29 mpg city.

As you can see for yourselves in the list we compiled below, the automatic Fiesta's 40 mpg/highway, is 5 mpg better than the Honda Fit and the Toyota Yaris.

Both the automatic and manual transmission variants of the new Fiesta are equipped with the same naturally-aspirated, 1.6-liter Duratec Ti-VCT four-cylinder petrol engine that delivers an output of 120-horsepower.

The U.S.-spec 2011 Fiesta goes on sale in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles in a few weeks time with prices starting from $13,995, including destination charges, for the basic sedan model.

Make/model	EPA CITY / HIGHWAY
	Manual (mpg)	Automatic (mpg)
2010 Chevrolet Aveo 1.6L	27/35	25/34
2011 Ford Fiesta 1.6L	28/37	29/40
2010 Honda Fit 1.5L	27/33	28/35
2010 Hyundai Accent 1.6L	28/34	27/36
2010 MINI Cooper 1.6L	28/37	25/33
2010 Scion xD 1.8L	27/33	27/33
2010 Suzuki SX4 2.0L	23/32	23/30
2010 Toyota Yaris 1.5L	29/36	29/35

New Ford Fiesta Takes on a Lamborghini Gallardo, Lives to Tell the Tale [Video]

Ford's looking to make a big statement with its upcoming Fiesta, and it seems like the new-age consumer-driven marketing has been a success. Now, the gurus behind the campaign have come up with a new one.

Recently, they put out a challenge to the public: come up with different tests to help assess the Fiesta and see how it stacks up against some major players. This one pits the upcoming Fiesta hatch against a Lambo in some real-world (and Fiesta-centric) tests.

It's a tad cheesy, but you should still be able to enjoy the show. Video after the break.

By Phil Alex

Ford UK Launches Sporty Fiesta S1600 Limited Edition

European consumers (and soon enough, American buyers too) are patiently waiting for Ford to launch a hot ST or better yet, an RS version of the latest Fiesta hatchback powered by one of the firm's new EcoBoost turbo engines. But until that time comes, Ford is trying to lure enthusiasts with the launch of a sportier-looking version of the Fiesta.

Called the Fiesta S1600, only 650 of these special Fiestas are being created for the UK market with pricing set at £16,645. So what's the deal with this limited edition version of the Fiesta?

Well, nothing in terms of performance. Based on the Fiesta Zetec-S, the S1600 is offered with a choice of two engines, the standard 120HP 1.6-liter petrol and 95HP 1.6-liter turbo diesel units.

As with the standard Fiesta, the S1600 is also offered with an optional performance package from Mountine that boosts output to 140HP, lowering the car's 0-60mph (96km/h) sprint time from 9.9 seconds to 7.9 seconds.

On the outside, the S1600 package includes a body-styling kit with a unique front bumper with flared lower valence panel, extended side skirts, large rear spoiler and rear diffuser, finished with 17-in, white alloy wheels (16" for the diesel).

The car is available exclusively in Frozen White or Performance Blue, with contrasting motorsport stripes.

As for the interior, the S1600 gets alloy pedals and Quickclear windscreen, heated, stitched leather sports seats with standard side-airbags, leather steering wheel, handbrake cover and gearknob, plus Motorsport-branded floor mats and scuff plates.

New Ford Fiesta Overtakes VW Golf as Europe's Best Selling Car in Q1

The newest generation of the Ford Fiesta has become Europe's best-selling car, pushing the Volkswagen Golf into second place in both March 2010 and year-to-date sales, according to the latest figures from JATO Dynamics.

Ford sold 68,630 Fiestas in March 2010, representing a 25.8% increase in sales over March 2009, and 11,785 more than Volkswagen's second-placed Golf.

In the first quarter of the year (January-March), Europeans bought 140,496 Ford Fiestas (+21.7%) and 135,048 VW Golfs (+10.4%).

Beyond the Fiesta and Golf, small cars dominated the list with the best selling models in Europe in first quarter of 2010.

The most improved car in the month's top ten was the new Opel/ Vauxhall Astra, which saw a 42.9 sales rise in March, helped greatly by a 75.9% increase in the UK, where it was the third best-selling car.

As well as securing the top spot with the Fiesta, Ford also managed to finish first in the March brand chart, with 1,818 sales more than Volkswagen, whilst also closing up the year-to-date gap to its German rival which topped the Q1 charts with 372, 205 units (+7.8%).

As for the national trends, aside from Germany that saw a hefty drop in sales in march (-26,6%) and in the first quarter (-22.8%), all other major European markets posted sales gains for both March and year-to-date 2010, compared to 2009.

Via: JATO