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Ford Investing $550M to Retool SUV Plant to Produce Focus Small Car and EV

Green Car Congress

Ford Motor Company is investing $550 million to transform its Michigan Assembly Plant into a flexible manufacturing complex that will build Ford’s next-generation Focus global small car along with a new battery-electric version of the Focus for the North American market. Earlier post.) The 2.866 million square-foot plant was built in 1957.

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Ford opens new Silicon Valley research center; focus on connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, big data

Green Car Congress

This could help lead to more affordable and effective ways to manage car-sharing initiatives, or park vehicles remotely as a new form of valet parking. In addition, Palo Alto-based engineers are expanding their research to develop sensor kits to gather information from bicycles and other common forms of transportation in urban areas.

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Ford announces Smart Mobility plan; 25 initial projects

Green Car Congress

Projects include: Big Data Drive, Dearborn, Michigan. The outcome could be a more affordable and effective way to share or park vehicles using a remote “valet.”. The approach helps consumers who can’t afford a car but want the benefits of owning one. City Driving On-Demand, London. Rapid Recharge & Share, Dearborn.

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A 100 m.p.g. truck? A Bright IDEA | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

For years now, inventors and sellers of electric car conversion kits have been blasting traditional automakers for not providing the 100 m.p.g. Whats more, businesses can also afford to spend a little more on their vehicles until the cost of the technology falls. The 100 m.p.g. That can add up to millions of dollars fairly quickly.

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Xerox Parc’s Engineers on How They Invented the Future—and How Xerox Lost It

Cars That Think

The first personal computer developed in the United States is commonly thought to be the MITS Altair, which sold as a hobbyist’s kit in 1976. At nearly the same time the Apple I became available, also in kit form. Collaboration with several universities has led to a kit for integrating new chips into working computer systems.

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How Carmakers Are Responding to the Plug-In Hybrid Opportunity

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

Before we were saying it will be an awfully long time before we can get the costs down so people can afford it, but actually if you offset the fuel costs, people can afford it." ( Green Car Congress ). We can give America an affordable car that gets 100 miles per gallon. Bloomberg ). But its ready now. We can do this.

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