Ford Reports

Looks like a visit to Pike's Peak wasn't enough for Ford's Fiesta-based rally cars. Sweden's Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution will be bringing three cars to ESPN's X Games, two under the Rockstar Energy Drink banner. Kenny Brack drive the first car, while Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan will pilot the other two. All three will meet Rally America Open Class specifications.

Brack won the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series champion in 1998. Brack retired from racing in 2006, but he still drives in certain events. Foust is a two-time winner of the Formula Drift Pro Drift Championship, as well as a silver medalist at the 2008 Summer X...

Ford announced last week that it will add 16 more suppliers to its Aligned Business Framework (ABF), bringing the total number of suppliers in the ABF to 82. The company has a goal of eventually having 750 global suppliers as it consolidates its overall supplier network in light of the turbulent economy.

The company wants to have 850 production suppliers--down from around 1,600 at the end of 2008--by the end of this year. As recently as 2004, the company had about 3,300 suppliers. ABF membership is restricted to suppliers of certain key components, so not all of the eventual group of 750 suppliers will be ABF members.

Some of the suppliers...

Ford is one of three companies--the other two are Nissan and Tesla--that will be receiving loans from the federal government in an effort to boost the development of fuel-efficient vehicles, according to Automotive News. Ford will receive $5.9 billion, while Nissan will receive $1.6 billion and Tesla will receive $465 million.

The money will come from the Energy Department, and it is only available to viable companies and any cars that qualify must be made in the United States. The government is now talking to Chrysler, since that company has emerged from bankruptcy, and preliminary discussions have been started with General Motors, in...