Save the Date- celebrate Jenkins and Wynne Ford’s 50th birthday

Event 1: July 7 at 5:30pm Come hungry!
Jenkins & Wynne Ford celebrates 50 years of business
and gives away a 2010 Mustang to local soldier

TN’s largest Ford Lincoln Mercury store, Jenkins & Wynne Ford, celebrates longevity and loyalty to the Ford brand. The Ford Franchise was born in Clarksville in April of 1959. To date, Jenkins & Wynne has been family owned and operated since 1953. Representatives from Ford Motor Company will be presenting a plaque recognizing Jenkins & Wynne’s success over the past 50 years. Customer Appreciation Day will also take place to recognize our loyal customer and loyal employees (retired and current).
To see complete history of Jenkins & Wynne, go to: http://www.jenkinsandwynne.com/

SPC Kory Chesher, of Ft .Campbell, will take delivery of his custom-ordered 2010 Shelby GT500 on the evening of July 7. Ford sponsored a nation-wide contest to win a brand new 2010 Ford Mustang. SPC Chesher entered the contest by writing an essay and won. Essay is available upon request.

Event 2: July 16 5pm-7pm Come hungry!
Be one of the 1st to see the new 2010 Ford Taurus at our New Car Premiere Event.
We will have 2010 Mustang, 2010 Fusion and 2010 Taurus for you to take a sneak peak.

Questions?
Email: jenkinsandwynne@yahoo.com or call 931.245.5297

"Cash For Clunker" Bill Passes

NEW YORK, June 19, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Congress passed the Automotive Stimulus bill "Cash For Clunkers" on Thursday, marking the first real legislative stride towards an auto industry recovery, announced CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com, an organization that is leading the campaign to educate the public about the bill. Cash For Clunkers provides up to $4,500 to car owners who trade in their present car for a more fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative. The bill is being called a legislative "trifecta" because its passage stands to ignite a much-needed recovery in the auto industry, save car-owning households money, and improve the environment on a national scale.

Cash For Clunkers works by providing a $4,500 voucher for car owners whose present car gets less than 18 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency. Drivers who buy a car with a 10 MPG improvement over their previous car qualify for the entire $4,500 voucher, while those who choose a car with a 4 MPG improvement qualify for a $3,500 voucher. SUV and truck owners also qualify for the program but fall under slightly different qualifications. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com provides all of the information regarding the program on its website. Spanish speakers can find this information translated on dineroporsucarcacha.com.

The official name of the program is C.A.R.S. - "Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program" (http://www.consumerassistancetorecycleandsaveprogram.org/) - and is Title XIII of Bill H.R. 2346. The program will receive an initial allocation of $1B funded by the US government as a part of a War appropriations bill. The program time length is 7/1-11/1 and will be implemented by the NHTSA which has 30 days from the approval of the bill to post all program details online.

In addition to advocacy groups like these, Cash for Clunkers drew support from local car dealers who see the program as an opportunity to boost not just their own businesses but regional economies which are heavily dependent on car sales. In addition, parts of the private sector have stepped up to promote the bill (http://www.consumerassistancetorecycleandsaveprogram.org/). One of the innovators of the Cash For Clunker voucher is Paragon Cars, one of the largest dealers in the country. "While Paragon's own Cash For Clunker program has a local or even regional effect on the economy and environment, the country on a whole needs a congressional initiative like this bill to make both the serious economic and environmental impact we need," said Brian Benstock, one of the partners at Paragon. New York's Paragon Cars (http://www.paragoncars.com/) took a lead in educating the public about the bill by creating an information site for New York residents (http://www.cashforclunkersny.com/) but also designed and implemented a program to offer their own vouchers to car buyers who trade up in fuel efficiency at Paragon's New Yorked-based Honda-Acura dealership. Paragon declared that it will continue to offer its own vouchers to buyers, in addition to the vouchers provided by the bill.
CashForClunkerHeadquarters.com is leading a national effort to certify eligible car dealers and equip them with the right communication plan and campaigns to reach and help qualifying consumers in their market. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com also received an important push from Hispanic American celebrities like Dancing With The Stars' Cristian de la Fuente and Ugly Betty star Angelica Vale. Both stars expressed their support for Cash For Clunkers as a way to boost the economy and help the environment but also as a way to make an important financial impact on the hundreds of Hispanic American communities whose livelihoods are tied to the auto industry.

Cash For Clunkers

Cash for Clunkers Bill Gets $1 Billion in Funding--

June 12, 2009 - The House and Senate have agreed upon a $1 billion appropriation for the Cash for Clunkers bill. The one billion dollar funding is part of a much larger $106 billion dollar wartime spending bill.

The Cash for Clunkers bill is NOT yet law as the finalized bill must be passed by Congress. It is expected that a vote could come next week. President Obama has already told US consumers that he supports the measure and would sign it into law.

Stay posted because the bill seems very likely to pass....

Limited Funding = Limited Time
Since the funding is only 25% of what was originally requested, the bill may only be able to provide vouchers for consumers for a limited time. The thought seems that lawmakers wanted to get the bill started and that the one billion dollars could hold the program until the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30, 2009.

Democratic supporters of the bill are obviously pleased with the compromise and commitment to fund the program. A final vote is expected next week.

Connect with a Local Dealer
Consumers are encouraged to connect with a Participating Dealer if they are interested in purchasing a car this summer before the funding runs out.

Ford Rejects Big Cuts in Dealer Network

DEARBORN, Mich. — The Ford Motor Company says it will not match big dealer cuts made by General Motors and Chrysler, and expects to benefit from the elimination of nearly 2,000 competing showrooms.

The company’s director of North American sales, James D. Farley, said in an interview Monday that Ford had been pushing steadily to consolidate its dealers, rather than trying to end contracts or let them expire. Ford has reduced its dealer network by 700 since 2005, leaving it with 3,700 nationwide. Mr. Farley declined to specify Ford’s targets for additional reductions, but said they would be small compared with the cuts by G.M. and Chrysler.
Last week, Chrysler, which is in bankruptcy, said it would terminate nearly 800 dealers, or 25 percent of its total, by next month.

G.M. said it would cut 1,100 dealers next year in the first phase of a plan to reduce its dealers by 40 percent, to about 3,600 from 5,900.

Ford is not accepting any government bailout money, in contrast to its two crosstown rivals. It is taking every opportunity to highlight the difference, even as it searches for ways to match some of the cost-cutting structural changes at G.M. and Chrysler.

Mr. Farley was particularly critical of the Chrysler plan, noting how it would affect millions of consumers with little warning.

“It seems very abrupt and unplanned,” he said. “You don’t orphan four million customers overnight without some fallout.”

Some of those customers, primarily those in rural areas, will migrate to Ford dealerships, he said. “It really depends on how G.M. and Chrysler handle these orphan owners,” he said. “If they don’t give them a lot of attention, it will result in consumers going to other brands.”
Chrysler has asked its bankruptcy judge to approve the immediate closing of its dealerships at a hearing in early June.

The company said it would try to help affected dealers sell their inventories, an estimated 44,000 vehicles, to surviving Chrysler dealers.

Mr. Farley said the way that was handled could affect the overall market for new cars in the short term.

“We are very concerned how they are going to handle those 44,000 units,” he said. “It’s like a liquidation sale now, and the biggest issue is whether they will cut prices to move the inventory.”
He said Ford would not offer greater sales incentives to match any price reductions that may result from the sell-off of inventories at G.M. and Chrysler. G.M. and Chrysler have said that by reducing the number of dealerships, the surviving showrooms will sell more vehicles, make more money and be able to invest more in dealerships and service.

“We don’t think it’s productive to just get rid of rural dealers,” Mr. Farley said. The cuts at G.M. and Chrysler were partly focused on smaller and rural dealers. Chrysler dealers are expected to protest the closings in bankruptcy court. G.M. has not completed plans for dealer reductions. It said last week that it was simply informing 1,100 of its dealers that their franchise agreements would not be renewed next year, and that further decisions on the timing were several weeks away.

By then, G.M. could be following Chrysler into bankruptcy. The company is under a June 1 deadline set by President Obama to restructure its operations and reduce its debt, or be forced into a bankruptcy filing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19ford.html?_r=1

2010 Fusion Hybrid and 2009 Escape Hybrid make Kelley Blue Book’s list

Editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com named the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid to its 2009 list of “Top 10 Green Cars.”

“This recognition says strong things about Ford as a hybrid manufacturer,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com.

“What we really like about both the Fusion and Escape Hybrids is that they do everything great hybrids should do – in terms of providing excellent fuel economy – but at the same time, they drive like conventional vehicles.”

Nerad says fuel economy was just one of the factors editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com took into consideration when selecting this year’s list of “Top 10 Green Cars.”

“We go beyond fuel economy and powertrain, and we look at things that people generally look at when buying any car, such as comfort, convenience, safety and value for the money,” he said.
Ford Hybrid Marketing Manager David Finnegan says winning two of the 10 spots on kbb.com’s “Top 10 Green Cars” list for 2009 demonstrates Ford’s versatility as a hybrid manufacturer.
“We are continuing to expand our portfolio to offer consumers a wider range of alternatives,” said Finnegan. “The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid provides 41 mpg in city driving and 36 mpg on the highway*, making it North America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan.”

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Nerad says the Ford Fusion is “getting better with age.”

“We’ve always been fans of the Fusion platform, and while this isn’t a completely new vehicle, it has been more extensively redone than most cars are in mid-cycle, which has left it looking great both inside and out,” he said. “But we’re even bigger believers in the Fusion after seeing and driving the new hybrid version.”

Nerad says he is particularly impressed with the Fusion Hybrid because it drives like a conventional vehicle while still delivering outstanding fuel economy.

“We love the way it drives, and the Fusion Hybrid handily out-economizes both the Toyota Camry (EPA estimated 33 mpg city/34 mpg hwy) and the Chevy Malibu (EPA estimated 26 mpg city/34 mpg hwy),” he said.

Another factor that distinguishes the Fusion Hybrid from other hybrid vehicles is SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide, a unique instrument cluster execution that helps coach drivers on how to optimize the performance of their hybrid.

“It brings driver engagement to a whole new level by providing drivers with information that helps them achieve the greatest possible fuel economy,” said Finnegan. “The gauges can be customized to show various status elements, including the charge level of the battery or how efficiently you’re consuming fuel.”

In addition to smart technology, the 2010 Fusion Hybrid offers a variety of advanced safety features. The vehicle received a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and delivers available segment-exclusive safety and driver-aid technologies, such as Ford SYNC® with 911 Assist™ and Blind Spot Information System with Cross-Traffic Alert.

Further enhancing its “green” sheen, the Fusion Hybrid features sustainable interior materials including seats that are made from eco-friendly fabric and filled with soy-based seat foam.
2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

The 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid earned a spot on kbb.com’s inaugural “Top 10 Green Cars” list last year. This year marks the brand’s second consecutive win.

“We think the Escape Hybrid is a terrific value on the hybrid scene,” Nerad said. “We like its footprint and its compact size. It’s easy to drive around town and yet comfortable for long highway trips. We’re just fans of the vehicle all the way around.”
Nerad singled out the Escape Hybrid’s braking system as an example of why he thinks the vehicle is a winner.

“A lot of times with regenerative braking, there is an odd feeling to the brakes when the vehicle transitions from electric to gas, and that is not present in the Escape at all,” he said. “It feels terrific as you’re braking – just like a conventional car.”

The Escape Hybrid provides 34 mpg in city driving* and – like the Fusion Hybrid – features comfort-designed seats with soy-based foam that substitutes for petroleum-based products, and seat fabrics are made from post-industrial 100 percent recycled materials.

“Customers can be environmentally responsible and still have a vehicle that provides the utility of an SUV and is fun to drive,” said Finnegan.

(http://www.thefordstory.com/green/2010-fusion-hybrid-and-escape-hybrid-kbb/)

Ford Truck Plants to Build Electric Cars

By Nick Chambers

Amidst one of the auto industry’s largest wholesale shifts in modern history, the Ford Motor Company is investing $550 million to turn a factory that was dedicated to making large and fuel-hungry sport utility vehicles into a modern and scalable small-car plant that will eventually produce an all-electric version of the Focus.

The Michigan Assembly Plant, known as one of the world’s most profitable manufacturing sites during the S.U.V. boom of the 1990s, was once the hub for the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The plant is expected to begin building the new Ford Focus next year, followed by production of the all-electric Focus in 2011.

The electric Focus will be Ford’s first all-electric passenger car for the mass market. In addition to the electric Focus, the company plans to sell an electric version of its Transit Connect commercial vehicle in 2010.

Ford has previously promised that they will deliver four new electric vehicles to the American market by 2012.

“The transformation of the Michigan Assembly Plant embodies the larger transformation under way at Ford,” said Ford’s president and chief executive, Alan Mulally, in a statement. “This is about investing in modern, efficient and flexible American manufacturing. It is about fuel economy and the electrification of vehicles.”

The electric Focus is part of a larger strategy announced by Ford in January to develop electric vehicles for North America quickly using its global reach and capability to keep the cars affordable.

In addition to the Michigan Assembly Plant, Ford is retooling two other factories to build new cars in the face of global market changes. The company’s Cuautitlán Assembly plant in Mexico is slated to begin building the new Fiesta subcompact early next year, and its Louisville Assembly plant in Kentucky is also expected to begin producing small vehicles based on the Focus platform beginning in 2011.

“We’re changing from a company focused mainly on trucks and SUVs to a company with a balanced product lineup that includes even more high-quality, fuel-efficient small cars, hybrids and all-electric vehicles,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas. “As customers move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, we’ll be there with more of the products they really want.”