Autos
– The midsize Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ (formerly the Zephyr) sedans add all-wheel-drive this fall for 2007. Cisco Codina, group vice president of sales and marketing for Ford, says most of those are tabbed for the Midwest and Northeast.
– Ford brings out redesigned and longer versions of its Expedition and Lincoln Navigator full-size sport-utility vehicles this fall. “We plan on gas prices staying high for the future,” Codina says despite the recent delines. “Gas prices and quality are the reasons people buy what they do,” so Ford will produce the SUVs in modest numbers to prevent inventory buildups.
– Base price of the redesigned 2007 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups is $22,705, not including the $900 destination charge. That is for a two-wheel-drive extended-cab with a 4.8-liter V-8 and 4-speed automatic transmission. Crew-cab versions start at $26,100 with the same engine and transmission and standard stability control. OnStar and tire-pressure monitors are among new standard features. The pickups are due in showrooms in early November.
Rail
– With new-four armed safety gates and other improvements, 126 miles of track that stretches north from Springfield is ready to whisk passenger trains about 30 m.p.h. faster than they now travel. But more than a decade after Illinois set its sights on high-speed rail, trains are still chugging along at their usual 79 m.p.h., throttled as officials re-evaluate new safety technology to ensure faster trains can coexist with freight trains and cars that cross the tracks.
Motorcycles
– Harley-Davidson will buy a longtime supplier of cast motorcycle wheels and hubs from Australia. The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker did not release financial terms of the deal with Castalloy, which has supplied Harley with parts for more than 20 years.
FYI
– Ford recognizes it has too many dealers for the volume it has and hopes to whittle the dealer count so those who remain open are more profitable and more likely to order larger numbers of vehicles from the factory. “In Chicago, six Ford dealers have closed this year and we didn’t name anyone to take over the point,” says Cisco Codina, group vice president of sales and marketing for Ford. “We are working with dealers to trim the numbers more but we don’t have a target or set number or of dealers to close,” he says.
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Quick Trips are compiled from the notebooks of Jim Mateja and Rick Popely, and from Tribune news services.
