Ford Edge Pricing Set at Below $26,000

Ford Motor Co. said its most important new-product launch of the year, the 2007 Ford Edge, will debut at a price for the front-drive version below $26,000.

The 2007 Ford Edge SE features a base manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $25,995 for the well-equipped front-wheel-drive model and $27,645 for the all-wheel-drive model. The Ford Edge SEL adds niceties like a chrome tipped dual exhaust, a six-disc CD changer, and fog lamps. It starts at $27,990 for front-wheel drive models and $29,640 for all-wheel drive models.

Ford is counting on the Edge to attract incremental sales to the Ford brand, as well as work to hold on to former or soon-to-be-former Explorer and Expedition customers who have been fleeing full-size truck-based SUVs for more fuel economic car-like crossover SUVs. The Edge, built on the platform of the Mazda6 and Ford Fusion, features a 3.5-liter V-6 engine with best-in-class 265 horsepower mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Its highway fuel economy is anticipated to be in the mid-20s.

Ford is also hoping that it can launch the Edge without sales incentives for at least the first year on the market to prove to Wall Street and doubters of its restructuring plan that it can introduce high-volume products that can sell well at retail without hefty incentives. So far, the struggling automaker has done well with the launch of the Fusion sedan and Lincoln Zephyr (renamed MKZ) sedan. But it flubbed the launches of the Ford Five Hundred and Freestyle crossover in 2005.

Among the Edge's direct competitors will be the Mazda CX-7, Honda Pilot, Nissan Murano, Hyundai Santa Fe, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave.-Jim Burt

We preview the Ford Edge

Toyota Sets 2008 Sales Goal Near 10M

Toyota wants to sell almost 10 million vehicles worldwide in 2008-a number which could vault it above General Motors to make the company the world's largest automaker. Toyota, already the world's second-largest automaker, expects to sell 9.8 million vehicles in 2008, which could pass General Motors, which sold 9.2 million vehicles last year and is facing a severe slump in truck and SUV sales, as are the other domestic brands. Toyota says it sold 8.13 million vehicles in 2005 and expects to sell 8.85 million in 2006; its market share this year will pass the 13.8 percent it marked last year.

Calif. Sues Automakers For Global Warming

The State of California is suing six automakers-GM, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Honda and Nissan-for damages linked to the emissions from their vehicles. The lawsuit, Reuters reports, charges that the emissions from those vehicles is leading to global warming and is causing the state millions of dollars in damages and is harming its natural resources. The state is also trying to cut the amount of emissions allowed in vehicles sold in the state by 25 percent, but the government is countersuing there, claiming that the state's efforts are merely a way to dictate fuel-economy laws, which are set by the federal government.

TheCarConnection tells you all about "green machines"

TheCarConnection Drives: 2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec

Diesels are changing - and Mercedes says its latest diesel is the cleanest for sale in the U.S. Benz says its new E320 with the BLUETEC diesel provides "outstanding driving dynamics, unprecedented efficiency and impressive environmental compatibility." With its prodigious 388 lb-ft of torque, it offers owners the rare combination of V-8-like performance (zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds), four-cylinder economy and up to 700 miles of range-better on all counts than a similar-size gas V-6-while showing little overt evidence of dieselness. Do we concur? Find out as we take the Bluetec for a drive inside TheCarConnection.

TheCarConnection Drives: 2007 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150

The event is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and it's right up with Bike Week in Daytona if you're into the Harley-Davidson thing. In its 66th year, the event draws 500,000 people to the western side of South Dakota. This increases the state's population by 75 percent, and literally transforms towns like Sturgis, Spearfish, and Deadwood into temporary HOG heaven or hell, depending on your point of view. 

It was this classy environment that Ford chose to introduce its latest edition wearing the Harley-Davidson shield. Unlike so much of what happens in Sturgis every August, this new 2007 Ford relies on tasteful custom touches to make the scene. No flaming skull graphics. No naked chicks airbrushed in perfected detail. Damn.

FROM THE SOURCE headlines from the latest press releases

Chrysler's First SUV is Industry's First Full-Size SUV With Trailer Sway Control

Name	Symbol	Last	Change
Autobytel, Inc.	ABTL	3.07	-0.03 (-0.97%)
Autoliv Inc.	ALV	54.17	+0.38 (+0.71%)
AutoNation Inc.	AN	20.50	+0.27 (+1.33%)
ArvinMeritor Inc.	ARM	14.05	-0.03 (-0.21%)
American Axle & Mfr. Holdings Inc.	AXL	17.47	+0.04 (+0.23%)
Ballard Power Systems Inc.	BLDP	5.32	-0.20 (-3.62%)
BorgWarner Inc.	BWA	56.61	+1.59 (+2.89%)
Cummins Inc.	CMI	113.85	+1.17 (+1.04%)
DaimlerChrysler AG (ADR)	DCX	49.99	+0.70 (+1.42%)
Dura Automotive Systems	DRRA	0.34	+0.01 (+3.03%)
Eaton Corporation	ETN	69.64	+0.97 (+1.41%)
Ford Motor Company	F	7.75	+0.09 (+1.17%)
General Motors Corporation	GM	31.77	+0.37 (+1.18%)
Gentex Corporation	GNTX	14.36	+0.26 (+1.84%)
Goodyear Tire & Rubber	GT	14.69	+0.20 (+1.38%)
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR)	HMC	32.91	+0.36 (+1.11%)
Johnson Controls Inc.	JCI	71.31	+0.33 (+0.46%)
Lear Corporation	LEA	20.38	-0.12 (-0.59%)
Magna International Inc.	MGA	73.24	+0.68 (+0.94%)
Motorola Inc.	MOT	25.25	+0.32 (+1.28%)
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR)	NSANY	22.58	+0.22 (+0.98%)
Sonic Automotive Inc.	SAH	22.93	+0.51 (+2.27%)
Siemens AG	SI	85.69	+0.64 (+0.75%)
Sirius Satellite Radio	SIRI	3.96	+0.10 (+2.59%)
Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR)	TM	107.29	+0.93 (+0.87%)
TRW Automotive Holdings	TRW	24.42	-0.08 (-0.33%)
Tower Automotive Inc.	TWRAQ.PK	0.06	+0.00 (+2.56%)
United Auto Group Inc.	UAG	22.60	+0.49 (+2.22%)
Visteon Corporation	VC	9.60	+0.03 (+0.31%)
XM Satellite Radio Hold.	XMSR	13.53	+0.22 (+1.65%)