While consistently a dominant brand, Toyota has lost significant ground to Ford in consumer regard over the last two years, according to Consumer Reports' 2011 Car Brand Perception Survey. Now, the two brands rank a close first and second in overall perception, with Ford having a clear advantage in the factors that matter most to car shoppers: Safety, quality, and value.

The scores in our survey reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green. Measuring across those categories gives us the total brand perception and does not…

LAS VEGAS - Saying that Ford Motor Company is "fully charged," Alan Mulally, the automaker's chief executive, unveiled a fully electric version of its 2012 Ford Focus compact car during a keynote address Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show here.

Nearly simultaneously in New York City, the company's chairman, William Clay Ford Jr., was making a similar announcement.

"Our vision is unique and compelling, and we offer powerful choices," Mr. Mulally said in a brief interview after his remarks. "This vehicle will be in production by the fourth quarter of this year, and it will be followed in 2012…

FORD F-150 WITH TORTURE-TESTED ECOBOOST ENGINE FINISHES 2010 TECATE SCORE BAJA 1000 IN 38 HOURS

• F-150 EcoBoost? race truck, with an engine that has the equivalent of 10 years of rugged use, finished the grueling Baja 1000 in just over 38 hours, traveling 1,061 miles
• The same stock EcoBoost engine endured the equivalent of 150,000 harsh user miles on the dynamometer, then was installed into a new 2011 Ford F-150 to work as…

• Ford and the City of Seattle will work together to develop consumer outreach and education programs on electric vehicles as well as share information on charging needs and requirements to ensure the electrical grid can support the necessary demand.

• The partnership between Ford and the City of Seattle also includes working with state and local governments around permitting, support for electric vehicle tax incentives and future legislations or regulations.

• Over the next two years, Ford…

According to a study by the trying-for-first-in-the-phone-book AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, one in six fatal crashes - nearly 17 percent - involves a drowsy driver. That's about four to five times higher than previous studies have found.