Nanaimo, BC Dealership Blog » Mustang

Raising Money for School with Drive One 4 UR School

Karen Ann — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:35:28 +0000

Woodland Secondary School Basketball Team raised $1,820 with a total of 91 test drives taken in a number of New Ford and Lincoln products: Check out our Facebook Photo Album of the event!

As seen in the Nanaimo Daily News:

Nanaimo’s Steve Marshall Ford raised more than $1,800 for the Woodlands Secondary School’s senior girls basketball team in a unique fundraiser held last weekend.

The “Drive 1 4ur School” fundraiser saw the car company give $20 to the basketball team for every test drive that was taken in their cars during the event.

Carl MacDonald, coach of the basketball team, said there were 91 test drives taken and he really appreciates Steve Marshall Ford and the company’s contribution to the team.

Sherdan White, the company’s promotions manager, said the idea was to put more people behind the wheels of Ford vehicles in the hopes they will buy.

FREE Vancouver Canucks Jersey!! Get some Canucks fever!

Karen Ann — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:28:50 +0000

Updated with new video, thank you Nanaimo. All 100 Jerseys are gone, and we have food and money for the Salvation Army piled up!!

Updated with new video the morning of Thursday, April 28th.

We wanted to show our incomparable support for the Canucks, find a way to help our local food bank, and have some fun during the play offs that are happening right now… Steve Marshall Ford Lincoln acquired 100 Canuck jerseys!

We are giving away a Canucks jersey (no purchase necessary) to anyone who brings in a non-perishable food item or a monetary donation for the Salvation Army and test drives a new Ford or Lincoln vehicle on April 28th or 29th.

That’s it! So easy (and rewarding) to Make a Difference in Nanaimo! Get your FREE Canucks jersey:

Bring a non-perishable food item, or a monetary donation, for the Salvation Army
Test drive a new Ford or Lincoln vehicle
There are only 100 jerseys

Limit: One per household. Must be 19 or older.

Impress Your Valentine with These Cool Date Night Features from Ford

Karen Ann — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Just about everyone remembers the car they rode in on their first date. Was it a convertible with a great sound system, or a boat on wheels with lots of space? Whatever it was, both men and women agree that cars can make or break that first and often memorable impression. “A person’s car is most definitely an extension of themselves,” said Ellen Fein, dating expert and best-selling co-author of The Rules. “You often get one chance to make a right impression, and your car is one of the first personal things your date sees about you.”

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the all-important role that cars play in modern romance can’t be overlooked. And it’s not just the make and model of a car that matter. The features inside your ride can have a considerable impact on the setting and mood.

and not with this Ford American Idol commercial

Cramping My Style

Take interior space, for example. Cramped, tight spaces can really put a damper on a comfortable “car date.” But you don’t have to have a big car to get some elbow room.

The all-new Focus from Ford brings small car interior space to a new level, rivaling larger vehicles. It offers more shoulder room than an Audi A4 and more front headroom than a Toyota Camry. In the spacious second row, the new Focus provides more hip room than the Audi or Toyota.

Sweet sounds

There’s nothing like good tunes to spice things up. Music is essential on a date. Wouldn’t it be even better if you could simply ask your car to select the song your date wants to hear from your custom playlist on an iPod or MP3 player?

Ford’s next-generation voice control can interpret a single voice command, such “USB, play artist, Lifehouse” to change a song if the mood calls for something soft and slow. Connectivity for portable devices and media players, are available through two USB ports, three RCA jacks (video, right and left audio) and SD card reader.

The setting gets even better when the songs are played on a premium Sony® 10-speaker audio system with subwoofer found on most Ford models.

Careful component matching and tuning for the vehicle has ensured that the premium sound system delivers outstanding sound quality. System performance is enhanced by the center speaker, which provides highly authentic staging, while the subwoofer ensures that bass sounds have a full, rich quality.

Mood Lighting

Almost as important as mood music is mood lighting.

Ford’s advanced ambient lighting system uses LED technology to provide precise pools of illumination in the foot wells, cup holders, door handle releases and map pockets. The driver can choose between seven different accent colors and set the brightness level to suit his or her mood.

A search mode can also be activated, switching the lighting to a bright white color, helping occupants to find misplaced objects within the car.

The right kind of lighting, such as Ford’s new LED Crystal Blue interior lighting, ensures consistent levels of color and brightness are delivered in the right places and at the right times to set the right mood.

Roof with a view

If gazing at the stars is your idea of a romantic car date, you can while staying warm, dry and bug free while viewing from the inside of your car. Several of Ford’s crossover and sports utility models can be equipped with the panoramic Vista Roof. The large glass moon roof provides a grand view of the sky.

The roof features a large glass panel. The oversized front panel provides open-air touring. Close the forward roof and the enormous skylights allow natural light to flood the cabin while protecting it, and you, from the elements. Or sky-gazing on a hot, sunny day? Twin power-operated cloth shades can be closed simultaneously to block nearly 100 percent of ultra-violet rays.

Chillin’

Need to keep beverages chilled? Ford’s Flex cross-over vehicle boasts a class-exclusive refrigerated console that is mounted between the second-row captain’s chairs. The available refrigerator can cool up to seven 12-ounce cans, four half-liter bottles or two 20-ounce bottles from room temperature to 41 degrees in a little more than two-and-a-half hours – 40 percent faster than a standard home refrigerator.

Intimate Interiors

Attention to detail, including the look, touch, feel and operation of all controls, features and surfaces also help define the setting. Materials that feel luxurious to the touch, comfortable seats and a welcoming interior contribute to the appeal and allure of any interior space, including a car.

For example, Ford uses authentic chrome plating on the interior trim parts, such as door handle release, rather than painted coatings to improve the look and feel of its car interiors. Optimizing the softness and feel of key customer touch points, such as the steering wheel, door armrests and center console, also provides an overall feeling of comfort and style.

Peace and Tranquillity

An ideal date night is one without distractions or disruptions from noise generated by the external environment, such as traffic noise, pedestrian chatter, and other business taking place outside of the car.

Soundproofing cars to shut out distracting outside noises offers both privacy and tranquillity inside.

Windshields with a special acoustic layer and thicker side and rear glass on Ford cars and trucks significantly reduce high-frequency noises. Sound-absorbing carpets and self-expanding foams also help absorb sound, as well as help maintain a more consistent sound level distribution inside the vehicle.

So while your Ford car can help set a mood, it can’t guarantee a second date.

Hot Wheels Colour Changer Life Size Mustang

Karen Ann — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:23:44 +0000

Hot Wheels is unveiling its first-ever life-size colour-shifting Ford Mustang to Canadians from coast-to-coast this summer.

Hot Wheels Colour Shifters cars use thermochromatic paint – a revolutionary colour memory technology that creates multi-coloured changes with icy cold or warm water – adding a new element of excitement and surprise to the classic Hot Wheels car.

You can turn the Mustang White from Blue!!

To celebrate the last day of school and to kick off the Hot Wheels Colour Shifters Road Trip, Hot Wheels revealed its life-size colour-shifting Mustang on Tuesday, June 29th at Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto.

Kids, parents and car fanatics who attended the launch event were able to change the colour of the car, play with Hot Wheels toys and will also receive a special Hot Wheels collector booklet, T-shirt and more.

While the tour doesn’t actually make it to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo or Victoria, it does hit Vancouver on Monday, August 23 at Douglas Park Community Centre and Coquitlam on Sunday, August 29 at Toys “R” Us.

For the tour schedule visit shiftthecar.ca

To see someone else have fun with the car visit Another Thought on EverythingMom.com

Ten New Cars Jalopnik Is Thankful For

Karen Ann — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:11:46 +0000

American Thanksgiving is a month late, at least our neighbours have some great things to be thankful for!

Of Course the newest Ford Mustang made the Jalopnik list!

History of the Mustang

Karen Ann — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:33:35 +0000

While not necessarily timely (it being winter and all), we present to you the history of the Mustang.
Click here for the high resolution pdf.

2010 Ford Mustang GT in The Driver Magazine

Karen Ann — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:11:14 +0000

A great article came out in the fall The Driver Magazine, outlining exactly how great the newest Retro Mustang is, this time a Cover Story…

Says Justin Pritchard:

“Turns out that the 2009 Mustang Bul-litt[sic] was a good indication of how the 2010 Mustang GT would handle, too. Suspension modifications have been carried over, and the 2010 GT feels sharper and more precise than other Mustangs in recent memory.”

Owner’s Manual and Towing Guides

Karen Ann — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:15:53 +0000

Towing Guides for Ford vehicles are available on-line.

Whatever your towing need is, there is a Ford vehicle to fill it. With many years of RV and towing experience, Ford has earned a reputation for providing quality and reliable RV products.

The Towing Guides are designed to provide helpful information about towing with Ford. For additional towing information pertaining to your Ford vehicle, refer to the vehicle’s Owner Manual.

The Owner’s Manuals are also available online!

Now you can get all the information you need from the very important Manual right at your computer, including setting your clock (it’s almost fall), programming your radio stations, towing and hauling capacities, and your service maintenance schedule!

Kid Parallel “Drifts” his Power Wheels Mustang!

Karen Ann — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:19:01 +0000

BCAA Rewarding Customers for DrivingElectronic Stability Control Equipped Vehicles

Karen Ann — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:25:59 +0000

An excellent and new way of rewarding smart and safety savvy consumers, BCAA introduced a 5% discount on collision premiums for vehicles with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). So now driving a Ford or Lincoln can immediately save you money!

2009 and 2010 Ford and Lincoln Vehicles equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) include the Focus, Fusion, Taurus, Mustang, F150, Super Duty, Explorer Sport Trac, E-Series, Escape, Edge, Taurus X, Explorer, Expedition, Flex, MKZ, MKS, MKX and Navigator.

Press Release:

Electronic Stability Control – or ESC – can help prevent a collision, and maybe even save your life. Now, for the first time in Canada, ESC can help save money on your auto insurance, too. BCAA Insurance is introducing a five per cent discount on collision premiums for vehicles equipped with ESC – an innovative way of rewarding customers for choosing the added safety and peace of mind provided by ESC. ESC is a computer-controlled safety device that monitors the vehicle’s direction compared to the direction of the steering wheel. When the vehicle is in a skid, or if the tires spin, the ESC system will automatically apply braking to certain wheels and may cut engine power to help the driver regain control. The ESC system can actively prevent and reduce skidding conditions and wheel spin before the driver becomes aware of the problem.

Passive devices like seatbelts, airbags, and child seats help drivers and passengers survive a car crash, but the safest vehicle is the one that does not crash at all, explains BCAA Auto Insurance Product Manager, Heather Prizeman.

“By offering a discount we hope to encourage more drivers to select a vehicle equipped with this technology,” says Prizeman. “In addition to being a proven safety device, ESC makes good economic sense, as ‘losing control’ is one of the leading causes of road crashes in Canada.”

“We feel customers with safe driving practices – technical or otherwise – deserve to be rewarded with lower premiums,” adds Prizeman.

According to Canadian crash data from 2000-to-2005, vehicles equipped with ESC were involved in approximately 30 per cent fewer severe crashes due to loss of control. Based on this data, if all passenger vehicles were equipped with ESC, there could be 255 fewer deaths and 1,440 fewer people seriously injured on our roads each year.

The U.S. Department of Transportation was so impressed with ESC that it is requiring all new cars sold in the U.S. to be equipped with ESC by model year 2012. And Transport Canada is currently working on regulations that will require ESC on all new passenger vehicles in a similar timeframe.

Currently, only five per cent of Canadians have vehicles equipped with ESC, but it is available as a relatively inexpensive option on many models. When buying a new vehicle make sure to ask if it has an electronic stability control system, or if it’s available as an option. It appears under various trade names, such as StabiliTrak, Advance Trac, VSC (vehicle-stability control) and ESP (electronic-stability program).

BCAA will be the first insurance provider in Canada to offer a discount on collision premiums for vehicles equipped with ESC. For more information on ESC, please refer here.

Ford Surpasses Honda in Quality

Karen Ann — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:42:55 +0000

In the first quarter of 2009 Ford improved 5 percent in initial quality: with 5 (five) segment leaders it is not a surprise that Ford Initial Quality is surpassing Honda and remaining a “statistical” tie at the top with Toyota. The 4 vehicles are the Ford Mustang, Ford Taurus, Ford Taurus X and the Ford Ranger with the 5th being Mercury Milan (a mid-luxury vehicle similar to both the Ford Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ).

Check out our new vehicle inventory to find your perfect Ford or Lincoln!

Via: CNN Money and Canadian Driver

Ford Press Release:

DEARBORN, April 17, 2009 – Ford Motor Company, continuing its rapid quality improvement, surpassed Honda in initial vehicle quality for the first time and reached new levels of customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, a new survey shows.Ford is also statistically tied with Toyota at the top of the industry when it comes to initial vehicle quality, according to the 2009 U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) survey conducted quarterly for Ford by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

“This is truly a significant accomplishment for us,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford group vice president, Global Quality. “Honda and Toyota have claimed bragging rights for years, but now we are seeing our hard work pay off. It’s evident in study after study.”

The latest GQRS survey measured 2009 model year vehicle initial quality in two categories: the number of “things gone wrong,” and customer satisfaction with vehicle quality in the first three months of ownership.

In the first quarter of 2009, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles saw things gone wrong fall by 5 percent to 1,228 per 1,000 vehicles, significantly better than Honda’s 1,422 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles and statistically equal to Toyota’s 1,150.

In addition, the survey shows that Ford Lincoln Mercury improved two percentage points to 79 percent in customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, which puts Ford’s domestic brands in a tie with Toyota and Honda for industry leadership.

“Ford’s commitment to quality is really paying off as they continue to rival Honda and Toyota on both initial quality and customer satisfaction with the quality,” said Donald Pietrowski, president, RDA Group.

The following models led their respective segments in the survey:

Ford Mustang – initial quality and customer satisfaction for sports cars
Ford Taurus – initial quality for large cars
Ford Taurus X – initial quality for crossover utilities
Mercury Milan – initial quality for midsize cars
Ford Ranger – initial quality for compact pickups

The new 2009 Ford F-150 recorded quality levels that equate to less than one problem per vehicle, as did the Taurus, Taurus X, Fusion, Milan, and Edge.

“We are energized by the continuous improvement we are seeing on both initial vehicle quality and customer satisfaction,” said Fowler. “This survey validates the hard work and dedication to quality from Ford employees, suppliers and dealers. We will keep the momentum going as we strive to become the clear global quality leader.”

The GQRS study is conducted on a quarterly basis with scores assessed from survey responses collected from owners of vehicles purchased within specific short-term time frames.

New vehicle owners are asked to report any defects or issues as well as rate their satisfaction with vehicle quality on a scale of 1 to 10 across an array of vehicle systems and features.