Ford Everest 2015 News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published its latest round of safety recalls, with models from Ford, Mazda, BMW, Kia, Audi, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini affected.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of safety recalls, with models from Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Mazda, Toyota and Ford affected.

No recall for Ford Everest or Ranger ute: fire was caused by a loose battery cable.

In June, Australians bought more new cars than in any single month in history, yet Ford sales were down by 17 per cent. Year-to-date, the slide is even worse.There isn't a major brand that is losing market share at the same rate. Or one that has slipped in share for as long as Ford. Sales have been in decline for more than a decade.In 2004, more than 135,000 Australians bought new Fords. This year, it's on track to be roughly half that number.And that's only half the story. Look more closely at the figures and the picture is bleak for the brand that twenty years ago topped the sales charts.How will sales improve when the brand has trimmed its line-up in the biggest segment of the market?Everybody assumes the sales slump is tied to the impending death of the locally-made Falcon and Territory, but the company's local products aren't the biggest problem.Sales of locally-made Fords are down 9.5 per cent year-to-date. Compare that with the imported Mondeo (down by almost 60 per cent), Focus (down 54 per cent) and Fiesta (down 32 per cent).Which makes this week's decision to drop the cheapest model from the Focus line-up all the more puzzling. How will sales improve when the brand has trimmed its line-up in the biggest segment of the market?There are promising products on the horizon, with Everest and Mustang due this year, but products aren't Ford's problem. Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo are all cars most brands would love in their line-up, but the Ranger is the only one that sells.Ford used to be labelled the Falcon car company. It's now in danger of becoming the Ranger car company.Ford says market share isn't everything and it is building a profitable business. But surely there's a point when the showroom traffic slows to a level where profit suffers?

Ford has set its sights high as it pitches its new seven-seat Everest SUV against the dominant Toyota Prado.

Watch Ford put the new Everest SUV's drivetrains to the test in the searing heat of the Arizona desert.Ford tested the new Everest's off-road capabilities in the Simpson desert, but when it came to testing the engine performance, only the searing heat of the Arizona desert would do.Internationally, the Everest will be available with the same 2.0-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder petrol engine seen in the Falcon or the 2.2-litre four-cylinder or 3.2-litre 5-cylinder turbodiesels used in the current Ranger ute.In the 40+ degree conditions, Ford ensured the 2015 Everest engines could deal with variable fuel quality and put its high-speed tow durability to the test.       

Watch the Australian-engineered and designed new Ford Everest SUV get put through its paces during development in the Simpson Desert.The new Ford Everest SUV was designed and engineered in Australia for Australian conditions.With that in mind, Ford decided to test prototypes in the most realistic way possible, by spending a few days in the Simpson Desert simulating a recreational 4WD in the Australian outback.The main aim of the testing was to ensure the Everest's 4WD and terrain management systems were up to the task of navigating the desert's sandy conditions.The test also gives us our first look at the Everest SUV's coil-spring Watt's linkage rear suspension in action.

Australia’s car manufacturing industry may be closed by the end of 2017 but there is a bold new export hope: design and engineering talent. The Ford Everest SUV was created in Broadmeadows but will be made in China. The first ever Australian-designed car to be made in China was unveiled in Beijing overnight.The new Ford Everest family-sized four-wheel-drive was designed and engineered from the ground up in Broadmeadows, on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, in a small building behind the Falcon factory that will fall silent in October 2016.The top secret project is a sign of things to come as car manufacturing comes to an end and Australia becomes an exporter of talent -- helping create cars that will be made overseas.“The Everest is proof of the incredible design and engineering talent we have in Australia and within the global Ford team,” said Ford Australia spokesman Martin Gunsberg.Ford Australia already employs more designers and engineers than it does blue-collar factory workers -- about 1100 versus 850 -- and will become the biggest automotive employer of people with such skills once Holden and Toyota also close their factories in 2017.The Everest is due on sale in Australia next year priced from about $45,000.It will put a seven-seat, heavy-duty four-wheel-drive within reach of families now that the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol are priced beyond the $61,884 Luxury Car Tax.As Ford joins the growing trend to global vehicles, the Everest models sold in Australia will be sourced from a factory in Thailand because Ford believes the Chinese production line will barely be able to keep up with demand there.The Australian-designed and engineered Ford Everest will also be sold in more than 40 countries across the Asia-Pacific, India and Africa.“The Ford Everest will help to expand our product footprint in the region,” said Trevor Worthington, vice president, product development, Ford Asia Pacific."I've always had the view that Australian designers, Australian engineers, Australian scientists are a very talented pool of people who make the best use of (limited resources)," said Worthington.As well as being capable off-road, the Ford Everest is equipped with such hi-tech features as radar cruise control, a blind spot warning system, automatic lane-keeping, and cross-traffic alert (which warns the driver of approaching cars when reversing out of perpendicular parking spaces).The Everest will also automatically dial 000 after a crash -- if a mobile is paired -- in which an airbag has been deployed.Meanwhile, anyone who doesn’t want to leave civilization too far behind can charge a lap top through the Everest’s 240-volt power outlet in the second row, while 12-volt outlets in the front console and in the second row let drivers and passengers charge multiple gadgets at the same time.Likened to being the Swiss Army Knife of cars, another 12-volt outlet in the cargo hold can be used to run devices like air compressors when camping.

New Australian-developed Ford Everest SUV will make its first appearance in production form on November 13. Ford has given us our first look at the production version of the upcoming Everest SUV, with a single image and the above video to whet our appetite ahead of a full unveiling at a special media event in Beijing on November 13.  Those hoping for new details will have to wait until then however, as the image and video show little more than we’ve already seen in the Everest Concept shown at Ford’s 'Go Further' event last August and current 'Guess Who' ad campaign, along with several sightings of several disguised development mules. Aside from a peek through the radiator grille at the production-ready radiator support panel and aircon condenser, the headlights, grille and bumper details appear identical to the concept version.Due for a 2015 arrival in local showrooms, the seven-seat Everest large SUV is the work of Ford’s Asia Pacific design and development team in Melbourne, and has been developed for several markets in the Asia Pacific region.As suggested by CarsGuide’s earlier spy pics, this development has included global durability testing with significant time spent in the Australian outback.“After five years and 4,500 man-years of design and development work, we’re going to redefine what customers can expect from an SUV.” Ford Asia Pacific development Vice President Trevor Worthington said in a statement. According to Ford’s Melbourne Design Centre boss Todd Willing, the Everest is a response to customer feedback from each key market due to receive the new model, while aligning with Ford’s global design language.  “This is our vision of a large, seven-seat off-road vehicle that exemplifies how Ford’s “One Ford” vehicle philosophy can apply for a vehicle created for Asia Pacific,” Willing said. “The Everest is also further proof of the world-class design expertise here in Melbourne. Many of the talented team who worked on Everest – and continue to work on other Ford vehicles – have been educated right here in Victoria.”Based on a shortened version of the ladder-framed PX Ranger utility's platform, the Everest wears a wagon body to create an off-road capable rival to the likes of the Isuzu MU-X, Holden Colorado 7 and Mitsubishi Challenger. Like its existing rivals, spy photos of the Everest also suggest it will swap the Ranger’s leaf spring/live axle rear suspension for a more comfortable and off-road friendly coil spring/live axle arrangement. The Everest is also expected to boost refinement levels to rob sales from the top-selling Toyota LandCruiser Prado. Ford’s press material boasts that the Everest will come with ‘premium smart features’, which likely include the windscreen-mounted driver alert and possible autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system sighted on some mules. If so, the Everest will be the first in its segment to offer such safety technology.A redesigned dashboard has also been seen sighted, which includes a unique centre-stack with the multimedia screen relocated from the Ranger’s dash-top location.Different door trims are also expected, along with a revised steering wheel with larger multifunction buttons.Spied development mules also suggest the Everest will come in at least two trim levels, with a high-spec model with 18-inch wheels, projector headlights and mirror-mounted indicators to suit private buyers, and a 17-inch wheeled lesser-equipped model to suit fleet and commercial users. A price-leading two-wheel drive version is also possible.The Ranger’s 2.2 and and 3.2-litre turbodiesel engines are also expected to appear under the Everest’s bonnet, with a choice of six-speed manual and torque converter auto transmissions.The Everest’s styling is expected to preview the facelifted Ranger due in 2015, and Australian Everests are expected to be sourced from the same Thai facility as local Rangers. 

The secret (and some not so secret) models that will power Ford, Holden and Toyota when their factories close.