The company on Thursday opened 45 new sales and service outlets in 35 locations, including Rohtak, Sonepat, Rourkela, Agartala, Gulbarga, Tirupur, Jabalpur, Sagar, Thanjavur, and Solarpur. Two years ago, Ford launched 28 new dealer facilities across 24 cities on the same day, announcing that it was preparing for a volume play. With the roll out of 45 outlets on a single day now, the company’s pan-India network has expanded to 230 sales and service outlets in 123 cities. At present, over 40 per cent of the sales and service network of Ford is in tier 3 and tier 4 cities.

Boneham said though Ford Figo was planned as a niche player for upper segments, it had helped the company make inroads into smaller towns. With Figo and the upcoming launch of Ecosport, a compact crossover, the company seeks to strengthen its presence in the compact car segment. The company also plans to expand its export basket during 2012 targetting North America.

The pickup in activity on assembly lines did not appear to hurt the quality of vehicles produced. A J.D. Power and Associates dependability survey of 2009 model year cars found that 25 of 32 brands improved their scores.

Toyota (TM) brands such as Lexus, Yaris, Prius and Tundra, took the top dependability spots in eight segments. Ford (F) won in three segments, helped by the Fusion and Explorer SUV, while General Motors (GM) and Nissan (NSANY) each won in two segments.

In intraday trading, Toyota was up more than 3%, and Honda (HMC) was rising more than 2%. Ford and GM shares were mixed, ranging between slightly up or down. Nissan was up 1%.

The 6.8% surge in motor vehicle output pulled overall manufacturing forward by 0.7% last month. Those increases were offset by declines in mining and utility production, as the mild winter cut demand for heat and power.

Utility stocks like Southern (SO) and American Electric Power (AEP) were down less than 1%. Energy giants Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) were little changed.

The January industrial production report was in line with other data that showed February factory activity in the New York area expanded for the third month in a row, hitting the highest level in more than a year.

The rebound in manufacturing has been a pillar of the economic recovery, and despite the retreat in mining production last month, the energy sector has been another driver of growth.

Booming oil and gas exploration has also lifted other sectors of the economy such as nonresidential construction, manufacturing and services.

Manufacturing’s use of its total capacity grew to 77.4% in January, the highest since March 2008. Continued increases could put pressure on manufacturers to expand facilities, buy more equipment or hire more.

There are a few other nifty features Ford’s applied to this Shelby GT500 rendition–keep reading to see it all in the official Press Release from Ford.

New 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible Helps SVT Mark Its 20th Anniversary of Delivering High-Performance Vehicles

New Ford Shelby GT500 convertible makes its debut at the Chicago Auto Show, serving as the celebratory vehicle of the 20th anniversary of Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT)

The newest Shelby GT500 convertible with the optional Performance Package is nearly 3.5 seconds faster than the outgoing model at Sebring International Raceway. The 5.8-liter supercharged V8 with 650 horsepower, Bilstein electronic adjustable dampers and new Brembo brake system are key enablers for the improved performance

SVT has produced more than 210,000 cars and trucks during its 20-year history, with more than seven different nameplates that include the Ford GT, Mustang Cobra R, SVT F-150 Lightning, F-150 SVT Raptor, Shelby GT500KR and the soon-to-be-launched Focus ST

CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2012 – The official launch of SVT came during the 1992 Chicago Auto Show with the unveiling of the 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra and SVT F-150 Lightning. Now Ford returns to Chicago to celebrate its past and look to the future with the 2013 Shelby GT500 convertible.

In honor of SVT’s anniversary, a commemorative lighted sill plate will be used in the 2013 Shelby GT500 to celebrate the many years of performance vehicles. The 1993 SVT Mustang Cobra offered a 235-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 engine, which demonstrates just how far the products have come in 20 years. The 2013 Shelby GT500 with its 650-horsepower V8 marks the latest offering from one of the oldest and most successful automotive performance groups in the world.

“The Shelby GT500 convertible is every bit the performer that the coupe is,” said Kerry Baldori, SVT Global Performance Vehicles chief engineer. “All of the significant changes we made in the program were instrumental in delivering a convertible that could really shine on the track but can still be driven on a daily basis.”

The 2013 Shelby GT500 convertible with the optional Performance Package is faster around a track than the outgoing model. The new convertible shaved nearly 3.5 seconds off its lap time at Sebring International Raceway compared to the 2011 and 2012 models.

Keys to the improved lap times are the power boost from the new 5.8-liter supercharged V8 producing 650 horsepower, as well as the SVT-designed Bilstein electronic adjustable dampers available on the Performance Package and the all-new chassis tuning.

Accessed on the dash with a simple push of a button, normal mode gives customers a more comfortable ride over road irregularities. Sport mode is all about performance, delivering improved response time on the track and less body roll while cornering with reduced pitch under braking. The upgraded dampers allowed SVT engineers to tune the convertible more aggressively for the track, while still being able to maintain desirable on-road manners.

A new Brembo brake system also is a key enabler in boosting the performance of the convertible. The new brakes offer drivers enhanced stopping power to help keep their car under control, while new six-piston calipers in front along with larger front and rear rotors further improve braking performance. More aggressive brake pads also help the car achieve high deceleration and further robustness for more driver confidence.

Similar to the coupe, the convertible will be offered with a Performance Package that also can be upgraded to a Track Package, complete with an external engine oil cooler, rear differential cooler and transmission cooler for further durability.

20 years of high-performance innovation
Each of the more than 210,000 SVT vehicles produced since 1993 has been designed and developed with the four SVT attributes in mind: Performance, Substance, Exclusivity and Value. These hallmarks still guide the brand’s vehicle development today.

“In the past 20 years, SVT has engineered world-class mid-engine supercars, front-wheel-drive performance cars, rear-wheel-drive muscle cars and high-performance on-road and off-road pickup trucks,” said Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief engineer. “There is no other performance house in the world that can match that diverse résumé.”

Since 1993 more than seven different SVT vehicles have been produced, including several versions of the Cobra and Shelby GT500, the F-150 Lightning performance pickup and F-150 SVT Raptor, the SVT Contour sports sedan, plus both three- and five-door versions of the SVT Focus. Special SVT Mustang Cobra R models were made in 1993, 1995 and 2000.

SVT has joined with Team RS in Europe to form the Performance Vehicles Group to devise a strategy for all future global performance Ford cars. The resulting Focus ST is Ford’s first truly global performance car, giving drivers around the world the opportunity to share the exhilarating performance, excellent handling, addictive sound and sporty design Ford’s ST badge represents. The Ford Fiesta ST Concept also signals the next step in Ford’s global performance vehicle strategy and hints at how a future Fiesta ST model might look when it joins the Focus ST in the global small car portfolio.

2013 Ford Shelby GT500
The ultimate Ford Mustang – Shelby GT500 – raises the bar high on performance by delivering 650 horsepower and a track-tested top speed of more than 200 mph. The 5.8-liter supercharged V8 aluminum-block engine produces 650 horsepower and 600 lb.-ft. of torque, making it the most powerful production V8 in the world.

Nearly every part of the powertrain has been optimized for producing the additional horsepower, including a new supercharger, new cross-drilled block and heads, updated camshaft profiles, a new carbon fiber driveshaft and upgraded clutch, transmission and axle.

And nearly every gear on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 has been revised to manage the torque and use more of the power in a way that makes it more driver-friendly.

The 5.8-liter, supercharged V8 kicks out 650 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque and is stopped by upgraded Brembo brakes. There’s a selectable dual-mode suspension system that allows the street racer to switch from sport to normal driving at the push of a button.

At a time when many Americans are more concerned about fuel economy than raw power, the high-performance Mustang is expected to deliver mileage just better than the EPA gas-guzzler range. Top speed is 200 mph — well above interstate speed limits.

“We want to deliver something for everyone, fuel-efficiency, sports — something we can offer everyone … a complete product line,” Hua Thai-Tang, Ford’s director Advanced Product Creation and Special Vehicle Team, said at the auto show press preview.

The GT500 is expected to be available early this summer, he said, adding that the muscle car — the fastest production Mustang ever made — was for the car enthusiast in your social circle. It features cross-drilled block and heads, quad exhaust pipes, updated camshaft profiles, a carbon fiber driveshaft, upgraded clutch, transmission and axle from Ford’s Special Vehicle Team.

The grill sports a Cobra badge. Oh, and it also has white racing stripes.

The 2013 GT500 is a far cry from the first Mustang SVT, a 235 horsepower 1993 Cobra introduced at the 1992 show.

Ford’s SVT tuners have produced 210,000 vehicles in the division’s 20-year history.

That 1993 Mustang generated 285 pound-feet of torque and turned a quarter mile in 14.5 seconds. The Shelby GT500 convertible adds 100 horsepower from the last SVT Mustang with the optional performance package.

Ford showed the coupe version of the Shelby Mustang GT500 at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

“Congestion is one of our biggest problems in Toronto and the only way to make it better is to get people out of cars and into rapid transit…. Only subways are rapid,” said Mr. Ford, standing at Eglinton and Victoria Park avenues, the gateway to Scarborough’s big-box saturated “golden mile.”

The news conference, held at rush hour, fired up his allies against other politicians who think the $8.4-billion Eglinton-Scarborough-Crosstown to be built by the province should not be entirely underground.

TTC chairwomen Karen Stintz has led efforts to revert back to the cheaper Transit City-style option for the Eglinton LRT that would see it raised to ground level in the eastern, more spacious suburbs and the money saved (estimated at $1.5-billion to $2-billion) put to other transit projects. The Mayor maintains it would be “very difficult or impossible” for the province to put any savings to another line. According to infrastructure magazine ReNew Canada, the Eglinton line is the most expensive infrastructure project in Canada.

For now, a narrow majority of Torontonians appear to be siding with Mayor Ford, according to a recently released report by Forum Research. Citywide, 55% of those polled agreed that the line should be completely buried. In Scarborough, the margin is 63%. “Based on this data, Mayor Ford has the support of a majority of residents for building the Scarborough portion of the Eglinton LRT underground, particularly among those residents living in Scarborough and North York,” said Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff.

“The proposed new [surface] rail line into Scarborough is ridiculous,” said Councillor Gary Crawford at Wednesday’s press conference. “As the Mayor said, just look behind me,” he said, pointing to slow moving traffic on three lanes in each direction.

The Mayor is pushing hard for council to ratify the agreement he struck with the province that will see most of the line, from Black Creek Drive to Kennedy Road, buried, and the Scarborough RT converted into light rail. He said it will come to council for a vote in April. The line is slated to be complete in 2020. That it is not technically a subway — but an underground LRT — is beside the point. People “don’t care,” as long as it runs underground, said Mr. Ford.

While the eastern portion of the line is sparse and LRT-friendly at the moment, Councillor Michelle Berardinetti said she has major development proposals coming in along the corridor that will turn it into a Yonge and Eglinton by the end of decade. Transit planning should be done with that in mind, said Ms. Berardinetti.

All the big US and foreign manufacturers reported higher year-on-year sales last month, except for General Motors, whose sales fell 6 per cent as it cut back on incentive spending in a bid to improve the profits it earns on its cars and trucks.

GM, the US market leader, estimated that light vehicle sales for the overall market came in at an annualised rate of 13.5m to 13.6m in January, on a par with industry sales in December and in line with its own full-year estimates for 2012.

The market data attested to revived consumer confidence in the US, where car sales collapsed in 2008-09. North America is now re-emerging as a source of growing sales and profits for automakers as they face declining demand for cars in Europe and slower sales growth in emerging markets.

Ford Motor, the second-biggest producer by sales, reported a 7 per cent gain in sales on January 2011.

“The industry kicked off in January, producing solid sales versus year-ago levels,” said Ken Czubay, Ford’s head of US marketing, sales and service.

Ford said that sales of its F-Series trucks, America’s best-selling vehicle, rose 8 per cent, but noted that smaller vehicles were selling well too. The Focus small car and Escape small sport utility vehicle accounted for half of Ford’s volume growth in January.

Chrysler, majority owned by Italy’s Fiat, reported its best January sales in four years, up 44 per cent on a year ago. North America now accounts for more than half of Fiat and Chrysler’s combined 4m-plus sales, and the US group on Wednesday reported an operating profit of nearly $2bn that propped up higher earnings at its Italian parent.

In another good sign for carmakers’ profitability, analysts said that manufacturers were offering lower incentives on their cars.

TrueCar.com, which tracks car pricing, estimated that incentives from carmakers fell in January after rising for four months. The group said that the average transaction price for light vehicles was $30,512 in January, up 6 per cent on January 2011.

Chrysler, which has a history of selling cars at unprofitable discounts, had the lowest spending on incentives in the fourth quarter of last year of any time in the past two years, according to Edmunds.com, the US car buying website.

Don Johnson, GM’s head of US sales operations, said the carmaker was spending about 3 percentage points less on incentives than it did a year ago.

“GM has a tough year-over-year comparison as the company did not match its high incentive spend from last January,” Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell said.

The automaker will post a one-time gain of about $13 billion after it eliminates a tax reserve created in late 2006 when Ford was in the early stages of a turnaround under Chief Executive Alan Mulally.

The tax-related boost may push Ford’s 2011 net income to more than $20 billion, its best annual profit since 1998, when it earned more than $22 billion during the SUV boom and after it spun off its stake in Associates First Capital Corp, a consumer and commercial lender.

The elimination of the tax reserve, known as a valuation allowance, reflects Ford’s confidence that its financial prospects have improved markedly under Mulally, who is credited with steering Ford from collapse.

Excluding the one-time gain, Ford is expected to earn $1.84 per share for 2011, according to the average analyst estimate provided by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. This would mark Ford’s third straight annual profit under Mulally.

Analysts, on average, expect Ford to report an adjusted profit of 25 cents per share for the fourth quarter. Revenue is expected to be a little more than $32 billion.

“The quarter will shed light on the sustainability of, or potential for improvement in, North America automotive pretax profits,” Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson said in a research note.

In late 2006, Ford created the valuation allowance because it forecast losses in its North American, Jaguar and Land Rover operations that made it impossible to take advantage of some deferred tax assets. Eliminating the valuation allowance also means Ford will pay taxes at a higher rate.

Now nearly six years into its comeback, Ford has reached a new juncture in its recovery that centers on preserving the value and profitability of top-selling models like the Fusion midsize sedan and finding a successor for Mulally, now 66.

NASCAR officials worked with representatives of its four auto manufacturers to try to make the Sprint Cup car more closely resemble each manufacturer’s production cars.

Ford’s Fusion was a joint project between the Ford Design Center and Ford Racing.

“We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return ‘stock car’ to NASCAR,” said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing. “I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to re-engage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways.”

The 2013 Ford Fusion mirrors its production car. It is the third time Ford simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The first dual launch came in 1968 with the Torino, the second was in 2006 with the newly introduced Fusion.

The 2013 Fusion has a redesigned silhouette and an identifiable front end grill. The overall proportion of the race car now reflects proportions of the showroom Fusion, and the race car has brand and design cues in the side of the vehicle.

“It’s a pretty sexy looking race car,” said driver Greg Biffle, who was behind the wheel of the Fusion for its unveiling and turned laps in the car around Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“My blood is flowing right now. I am really excited. I can’t wait to start racing them and testing them.

Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have not said when they will unveil their 2013 cars. NASCAR allowed the four automakers to remodel their race cars to make them more brand identifiable, and Allison is certain the new cars will stand apart.

“The cars will not look anything like each other,” Allison said. “The car’s identity, the car’s definition, it happens at eye level. Every car will now look identifiable as its production sibling.”

At last week’s 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ford dubbed its concept “the car that cares” and showed a mock-up of a dashboard equipped with the Microsoft-powered Sync “infotainment” system wirelessly connected to health-related smartphone apps and portable medical devices.

“Sync will be Ford’s key technology supporting activities in the health and wellness sphere,” Gary Strumolo, manager of infotainment, interiors, health, and wellness in the Ford Research and Innovation division, said during a presentation at the CES Digital Health Summit. Strumolo noted that many people spend hours at a time behind the wheel, making their cars a convenient and private environment for delivery of health and wellness coaching. “It’s the only logical place for people to manage their health while on the go,” he said.

That’s an important accomplishment, but remember that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami ended up being an uninvited boon to Detroit automakers because of the resulting shortage of Japanese cars. In the case of Fusion, it meant fewer Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords to fill the top of the category.

Ford says the existing Fusion has racked up these impressive accomplishments:

* Sales have risen by 54% from 2006 to 2010
* 2011 sales are expected to be close to 240,000 making 2011 it best sales year yet.
* Since its first full year of sales in 2006, Fusion has expanded it share in the midsize segment by 5.2 percentage points.
* In 2006, Fusion had sales of 142,502 and 6.7% of segment share. In 2010, Fusion sales were 219,219 for an 11.9% share..
* Fusion’s share has increased from 4.49% in 2007 to 8.22% in 2011 in the East.
* Fusion’s share in the West has increased from 4.31% to 7.34% in the same period.
* Fusion introduced a hybrid version for the 2010 model year, achieving a rating of 41 mile a gallon in city driving.