2014 Ford Escape Se on 2040-cars

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Total auto recalls already on record pace in 2014

If you've noticed that there have been more recalls than usual this year, you may be on to something. According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US market is on pace to break a record for recalls. In 2013, 22 million cars were recalled. We're only a third of the way through 2014, though, and we've already halved that figure, with 11 million units recalled. That's wild.
Considering the past few months, it shouldn't be a surprise that General Motors is leading the charge, with six million of the 11 million units recalled coming from one of the General's four brands. Between truck recalls, CUV recalls and the ignition switch recall, 2014 hasn't been a great year for GM.
Other recall leaders include Nissan (one million Sentra and Altima sedans), Honda (900,000 Odyssey minivans), Toyota (over one million units in a few recalls), Volkswagen (150,000 Passat sedans), Chrysler (644,000 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs) and most recently, Ford (434,000 units, the bulk of which were early Ford Escape CUVs). So while it's been a bad year for GM so far, its competitors aren't doing too well, either.

Ford recalling 205k Edge and Lincoln MKX units for possible corrosion

After the horrible weather last winter, it's hard to look forward for the season to return this year. For those readers in much of the country, the snow is going to be flying soon, and with it comes salt on the roads. That means Ford's regional recall for the 2007-2008 Edge and Lincoln MKX arrives at the perfect time because they are at risk for corrosion.
The campaign covers 204,448 examples of the models in 21 states, plus the District of Columbia and some provinces of Canada. In total there are 186,024 vehicles in need of repair in the US and 18,424 in Canada.
According to Ford, it's possible for the area, "under the reinforcement brackets where the fuel tank is mounted" to corrode. If this happens, there might be a gas smell in the vehicle or even a fuel leak could develop. In fact, the automaker reports that one fire could be related to the problem but no injuries or accidents are reported.

Ford reveals new rapid prototyping and low-volume production techniques [w/video]

It's called "F3T," and that stands for Ford Free-form Fabrication Technology. The process that The Blue Oval has developed means being able to sidestep the weeks-long process of tool-and-die making when engineers want to construct a new part, allowing them to fabricate a three-dimensional part from a two-dimensional sheet of metal in just hours.
While F3T is being developed it is limited to "low-volume prototyping or even low-volume niche vehicles," but the next step is to evaluate it for use in Ford's global manufacturing facilities. You can find out more about it in the video and the press release below.