Author Archives: brownbrosfordlincoln

About brownbrosfordlincoln

I have spent the last 19 years in Automotive Sales all with Ford, first as Sales person, moving on to Sales Manager at 3 different Dealerships and now into a new role in Business Development at Brown Bros Ford Lincoln. I've always prided myself on knowing my product, believing in putting the customer first, believing in my product and believing in where I work. Brown Bros. Ford Lincoln in Vancouver is the provinces largest Ford Lincoln dealership and after 13 years here I believe the best! Ford continues to be on the right track and yes my personal car is Ford, 99 Contour SVT purchased here!

2013 Fusion = Safety, Style, Technology, Comfort

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Could James Bond step out?

It’s been quite a wait but the all new 2013 Fusion is slated to be at Brown Bros the week of October 22nd.  Fusion has been a top safety pick for 3 years running, is the number one selling car in it’s class and it seems the gap is about to widen.

Safety plays a large part in this car as Ford offers what most people think you can only get for the price of 3 or 4 Fusions!  I think this is very important since our kids will also be driving (or so they hope).  In 2010, more than 4,500 young drivers were involved in fatal car crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the U.S..  AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety found that drivers ages 16 to 17 are involved in seven times as many crashes per mile driven than drivers in their 40s, 50s or 60s & I would think the numbers would be pretty much the same in Canada.

8 airbags are standard.

Advance Trac to help the driver maintain control in poor driving conditions.

Brake Assist to give you more braking when you need it most.

Driver Alert which monitors driving performance & assesses driver alertness & will give a warning when needed.

Lane Keeping System  which monitors the lane marking and tracks the car.  If it wanders you get an alert and will even help steer the car back into the lane.

Adaptive Cruise Control it uses radar to scan for slower moving vehicles and adjusts speed accordingly.

Collision Warning which can warn the driver and will pre-charge the brakes for added braking force.

Blind Spot Information System it uses radar to sense vehicles in your blind spot and gives warning in your rearview mirrors.

Cross traffic Alert also uses radar and if a vehicle or person is approaching behind the vehicle a warning is given.

Forward & Reverse Sensing to see what you can’t

My Key allows parents to program limits on the vehicle’s speed and audio volume & encourages seat belt use by programming in a constant chiming sound if passengers don’t buckle up.

The systems above go a long way in trying to make us safer.  I don’t have room for all the details on the systems, but if you want more detail, give me a call or email. Some of these systems are only available though on the top two Fusion models.

Ford has streamlined the model selection down to three.  Entry level is now the “S“, but it’s anything but entry.  Standard equipment includes:

168 hp 2.5 L  4 cyclinder engine with variable valve control, battery with run down protection, 6 speed automatic transmission with overdrive, sequential sport shift, speed-sensing electric power-assisted rack-pinion steering, air conditioning, speed control, power windows, remote power door locks with 2 stage unlock and illuminated entry, tilt/telescopic steering, internet access, wireless connectivity, 6 way driver seat adjustment, 60-40 folding rear bench seat, AM/FM, CD/MP3, delay-off headlights, automatic headlights, seed sensitive wipers & low tire pressure warning.

The “SE” kicks it up a notch and adds: 10 way power driver seat with power lumbar, keyless-entry keypad, heated power mirrors with puddle lamp and Integrated turn signal, compass, outside temperature indicator.

If you want it all, there is the Titanium model which includes among other things: aluminum brake & accelerator pedals, ambient lighting, decklid spoiler, dual chrome exhaust, dual zone climate control, fog lamps, leather heated seats, driver seat memory (3 settings), 10-way power driver & 2-way power passenger seats, passive entry with passive start, rear view camera, remote start, reverse sensing, Sony premium audio (w/12 Speakers), SYNC® with MyFord Touch® which is voice activated

Available engines include the 168 hp 2.5 litre 4 cylinder, the 178 hp 1.6 litre Ecoboost 4 cylinder and the 240 hp 2.0 litre ecoboost 4 cylinder.  Oh, and did I mention best in class fuel economy???

Of course also on the way are the Fusion Hybrid and the Fusion Energi Plug in Hybrid.  More on those at a later date.

Brown Bros. Going Green

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How would like to achieve approximately 166 miles per gallon? 

Welcome to the 2012 Focus Electric.  It has arrived and is now available to you. 

Some ”cool” stats. 

–If electricity was gas, this car would cost (at todays’s rates) $3.75 to fill and drive 160 kilometres. 

–fuel ratings of: 1.7L per 100 km in the city, and 2.0L per 100 km’s on the highway (since it’s electric its the equivilant taking into consideration electricty costs)

–100% of power is available as soon as you touch the accelerator, it’s quick.

Inside and outside it is a Focus, no weird  quirky looks.   Fit, finish comfort remains the same.  It looks pretty much the same to most people, except a different front grille, no gas door at back and no exhaust pipe.  Same interior as well which means it’s roomy. 

Other key features about the Focus Electric:  It can be charged in as little as 3 – 4 hours at 240 volts, 18 – 20 hours at 110V.  Along with fuel costs being cut substanially, maintenance costs also take a BIG drop.  There are way less moving parts and no oil changes, air filters, fuel filters, spark plugs, mufflers, you get the idea.  Over the life of the vehicle you are expected to save up to $2,200 in maintenance costs.  Over 5 years based on $1.30 per litre of gas you will save $6,673 in fuel costs. 

It also has a very smooth transmission since it only has one forward gear.  Regenerative braking also helps extend the range of the Focus Electric as it re-captured the energy from braking and stores it in the battery pack for future use.  You can set up the dash display to just about anything you want, including butterflies to promote efficient driving.  It can tell you the range of the vehicle, any surplus energy along with the usual entertainment and navigation screens. 

No Tailpipe!

 

There’s an “app” for that!  The Ford EV (electric vehicle) app for your smartphone allows you to monitor the vehicle.  You can:

Receive an instant vehicle status report.

Remotely perform key functions , like precondition the battery pack.

Monitor the state of charge and current range.

Receive alerts when it has finished charging or requires charging.

Locate a charge station and program the route.

Remotely program charge settings and download vehicle data. 

Also on the horizon will be the Transit Electric, Fusion plug in hybrid, and the C-Max Hybrid and Energi.  Ford can really do cool and efficient!

“Track Day” with Brown Bros Ford Lincoln

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It’s nice to give back, to show your thanks.  Once a year Brown Bros gets the opportunity to do that for our customers that have purchased a high performance SVT product.  Now it’s Shelby’s and Raptors.  In earlier days it was Cobra’s, Focus, Lightning and Contour SVT products.   

Since 1996 we have been holding “Track Day” out at Mission Raceway.  Our customers get a day of instruction, with in car track time to learn about their vehicles and how to handle them.  Oh yeah and to have one heck of a lot of fun.  We hold it in conjunction with Morrissport Advanced Driving  which specializes in a variety of automotive-based services.  Again, it’s our way of saying thank you and we’re the only ones that do it.  That combined with our own High Performance Centre with on site Dyno is some of what makes Brown Bros. the largest Ford Lincoln dealership in BC.

Here’s a pictorial of our latest event this past Monday September 10th.  Great weather, great company, great food and most of all a great time.  Thanks to all who participated!!

Getting our early morning instruction of the do’s and don’ts on the track.  Below, taking to the track!

Tim Brown taking to the track in his Ford GT (geez that thing is fast).  Some people got rides, I missed out :(  

During the lunch break, while we were enjoying some excellent food, Tim did some hot laps in his Boss 302 “S” . 

Again, it was great for us and we hope our customers had as much fun.  We look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Brown Bros. gets a Taste of ST

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When you take a look at the amount of traffic on our roads today and combine that with the clamp down by police and ICBC on having a little fun on any open road, you can kind of lose your passion for driving.  Just be part of the sheep going from point A to point B. 

Thank goodness for Ford.

They have seen fit to deliver to us a lot of excitment in a small package.  It’s called the Focus ST (sport technologies) and packs a turbocharged 252 horsepower punch!  I drove one a week ago and it is the most fun I’ve had behind the wheel since 1999  when I took delivery of a Contour SVT. 

Ford has this car bang on.  The drivers dynamics fit perfectly.  It looks great.  Sounds great.  Feels great.  Handles great.  Goes great.  Great value.

Looks great:  Specific 18″ wheels, nose with a functional splitter, HID headlights with LED signature lighting, rear spoiler, and a “cool” look centre exhaust.  Don’t forget the ST badging.  Still though, subtle

Sounds great:  ST comes equipped with a sound symposer box that enriches the sounds emanating from the engine.  It pipes those sweet sounds into the interior when you’re under throttle.  Want different music? 10 speaker Sony sound system. 

Feels great:  Get in and drive and you feel like you become part of the machine.  It just feels right.  Controls are where they are supposed to be.  Standard leather Recaro seats are keeping you in place.  You input and the car responds immediately, it seems to love it.  Yes all the creature comforts are there as well including available moonroof and navigation. 

Handles great:  Unique european inspired suspension.  Goodyear F1 tires.  Variable ratio rack & pinion steering which is electric power assisted.  Torque vectoring control with 252 hp it keeps the car pointed straight no torque pull.  Three modes to the electronic stability control, standard, sport or off. 

Goes great: 252hp turbocharged 2.0 litre 4 cyclinder.  270 ft pounds of torque at a low 2500 rpm!  Also has overboost available for up to (I believe) 15 seconds.  Think of Indy cars with their boost to pass button. 

Great value:  MSRP starts at $31,649 and is so well equipped that there are only three options.  Upgraded stereo, moonroof and navigation.

When we had the chance to drive it we compared it to the GTI and the Mazdaspeed.  The GTI was pure vanilla. Too quiet, too plain inside and out, too slow and too pricey. Average handling with lots of body roll.  Maybe VW wants you to step up and buy the “R” now.   

The Mazdaspeed is a nice car but very raw.  Very quick, comfortable, well equipped.  Some didn’t like the styling (the hood) but I did.  Price is more expensive than the ST (apples to apples).  It’s drawback was handling and low end torque.  We found the rear end snaky and the engine didn’t want to pull out of the corners until the revs went up.  We also found it strange that the intercooler sits on top of the hot engine rather than below it where the Focus has it’s.   

Know more;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WlD2FXexKkU

Fun in a ST: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgsS3zMrlEs&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eF4gDvJa_I&feature=player_embedded

Allocation on the ST is very tight with just 500 this year coming to Canada.  Brown Bros Ford Lincoln is getting two.  If driving is what you like to do, this is the right ride, at a helluva bang for the buck.  Remember, speed limits are in place, but do we really have to slow down for the corners????

Going Further with Ford

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Ford has just recently changed it’s motto to: “Go Further”.   After my experience with them this week I now understand the new motto and it certainly fits.  My problem though is so much to say and to few words to say it. 

We spent a day at Pitt Meadows airport for what Ford calls a “ride & drive”.  On a closed test track we got to experience new models about to be introduced along with the competition in it’s class.  This time we were looking at and driving the 2013 Fusion and Fusion hybrid along with the C-Max Energi and the Focus ST. 

In every category Ford has raised the bar! 

We tested Fusion (the #1 seller in it’s class) against the new Camry, Sonata, & Optima. 

We tested Fusion hybrid and C-Max Energi against Camry hybrid, Volt and Prius. 

In fuel economy, technology, handling, safety, convenience Ford wins.  If you are in the market, please wait.  The Fusion and C-Max are only a month away.  The Fusion hybrid is capable of 105 kph on electric power alone!  No one else is even close.  The C-Max achieves 47 mpg 3 better than Prius, has much better acceleration and a way more refined everything else. 

The more you learn, the more fascinating it is.

Bill Ford is an environmentalist.  Ford has managed to increase it’s fuel efficiency across the brand by 20% since 2007 with the goal being at least 5% improvement per year.  Tailpipe emmisions have decreased by 15%.  4.5 million metric tonnes of carbon are gone. Ford has recycled 4.1 million tonnes of old carpeting used in new vehicles in various ways.  The company has committed to reducing water consumption in engine testing by 25%, a world leader.  The two largest living green roofs are on Ford manufacturing plants.  Ford paint technology has won awards for 3 straight years as the cleanest by turning the paint fumes into energy.  Ford is currently looking at using shredded money, dandelions, coconuts and corn and sugar cane. 

Ford has been producing Hybrids since 2004 in the Escape  and millions of batteries have been used for those hybrids.  If you are unsure of the reliability of a Hybrid, the battery failure rate out of millions is .02%.  Ford is going to give customers choice with normal gas engines, the Ecoboost lineup with smaller displacement motors that are turbocharged ie F-150 and Escape.  Full hybrids, plug in hybrids and all electric vehicles.  They will all be at Brown Bros Ford Lincoln in a couple of months.  Again, since 2008 Ford has introduced more than 14 fuel saving technologies. 

The new Fusion and pretty much all of Fords lineup is 85% recyclable and used 85% recycled materials to be built including old carpeting, old blue jeans, soybeans, plastic pop bottles  and recycled tires. 

When you’ve been in the business for many many years, it’s very hard to be wowed, not because you don’t want to be, but you’ve seen so much.  These new products, the Fusion, Fusion hybrid and the C-Max, they really wowed me.  I couldn’t believe the fit and finish and the level of comfort combined with performance all at a Ford price. The list of features even on the entry level car is surprising.  I’ve included the link.

http://www.ford.ca/app/en/fo/year/2013/vehicle/fusion.html

The biggest WOW factor though was the Focus ST. 

If you like to DRIVE a car, this is the car you have been waiting for, again at an affordable price.  The most fun I’ve had driving a car in years.  We’ll get into it next time.

Invest in YOUR Business

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When times are good it’s easy to sit back and look for growth in your business.  People spend their money and hopefully they’ll come and spend some of it with you.  

What happens though when the economy falters?  Some businesses just wait and hope, some will cut back staff and services, a few will look to improve the way they do business. They’ll look for customer service improvements, invest in their business and hope they see a return.

Brown Bros Ford Lincoln has done the latter.  We are reaching out, trying to improve the customer experience and trying hard.  We’ve undergone a multi million dollar renovation.  We’ve looked at and brought on board new systems, invested in new equipment and invested in new people.

Our Service Department is a case in point.  We have expanded our two convenient locations, our main facility at Main and Marine and our devoted diesel and performance shop on Sherbrooke St just blocks away.

We thought our customers would like us to open Saturdays, so we did.  We needed a covered vehicle drop off area for customers, so it was added.  We maintained our free service loaner policy and added a shuttle service with a devoted driver as well.  For customers that want to wait, large HDTV, wifi, comfortable chairs and free coffee.  Our exclusive Loyalty Rewards program was added.  Competitive pricing was kept as well.

Apparently customers have agreed with us about the changes because they keep coming back.  To meet demand, Phil Poon our Service Manager has needed to add two more factory trained technicians bringing the total to 27.  Those 27 technicians average more than 13 years of experience each.  Also joining us are another receptionist, cashier and one more Service Advisor.  All in all, 5 new people have been hired to meet a 15 percent increase in business over the same period last year.

If you read the business section of the papers every day it can be hard to find a  positive story or outlook.  Here’s one, look after your customers and they will come to your business.  Brown Bros. is seeing growth when service intervals in vehicles have been cut in half or less.  Maybe more businesses need to look at improving customer service as a way to grow rather than cutting back at the first sign of economic trouble.

Meet RUTH, Ford’s Newest Employee

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I came across this post from Engadget.com and thought it was definitely worth sharing.  The amount of effort that goes into producing new cars these days is simply remarkable and Ford has moved to the forefront, in engineering, technology and eco-friendliness. 

Filed Under Robots, Transportation

Ford wants you to meet its touchy, feely interior quality robot, RUTH 2.0

By posted Jul 17th 2012 9:22AM
 
That’s RUTH. In the end, she really amounts to a big robot am with six joints, but Ford clearly has a soft spot for the faceless employee. First utilized in Europe, the Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics (Ruth) is currently at work helping to tweak the interiors of the company’s 2013 Fusions, turning data collected from customers across the world into the hard to define concept of “quality,” touching the trim, pushing buttons and turning knobs in the interior of the vehicle, in order to help provide what Ford says is, “the same type of quality they might feel if they were to buy a high-end luxury car.” The version of the arm dubbed Ruth 2.0 is currently being used by Ford alone in North America, and the company has extended her quality checking to include seat comfort in the vehicles. Check out a video of the long arm of the car company after the break.
 

Rebuilt Brown Bros History

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You’ve heard me talk in the past about history and how Brown Bros Ford Lincoln has a long one in the area (66 years now).  Part of that history is the many vehicles that come and go through our doors.  One of the vehicles though came 42 years ago and stayed.  A Grabber Blue 1970 Bronco. 

From the day this vehicle arrived it was used as our Service truck.  We ran out with it to do minor maintenance for our customers.  As time went on though it kind of got forgotten though it was still occasionally put to use.  

In 1996 two Brown Bros employees decided to take on a project.  The restoration of the Bronco.  I don’t think Mark Korst or Chris O’Neill knew what they were getting into, but the 2 year journey began. 

Years of sitting outside left the box rusty as was the engine!

Rusted floorboards, another sign of sitting in the rain.  The vehicle beginning to be stripped.

Chris O’Neill & Mark Korst (when they had hair) beginning the two year restoration journey.

 

Frame off and just down to engine.  Then the bare frame.  Every nut and bolt and every piece disassembled. 

Then it was time to bring the Bronco back to a new life.  Everything was powder coated, everything was essentially done in house by Brown Bros. 

Paint booth ready to go.  Time to reassemble body to frame. 

Back to being “better” than new.  All original including the paint colour & the hand painted lettering.  Chris & Mark tried to find the original painter for the lettering. 

1970′s simplicity.  A “3 in the tree” tranny.  The floor shifter is for the 4 wheel drive.

Facts about the 1970 Bronco & Mark Korst even managed to keep the original build sheet!

The Bronco has become part of our dealerships history.  It sits in a place of pride in our Ford showroom.  It’s something special, that two employees took on the task and got other employees involved, all on their own time, because they cared.  It’s also something special that the group of people that worked on the vehicle 16 years ago, still work at Brown Bros Ford Lincoln today.

Accidents Get You Thinking…..

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Accidents do get you thinking.  When you finally get behind the wheel again, as you’re lying in bed trying to fall asleep and in your dreams.  It’s replayed over and over and over complete with enhanced audio and definitely in high def!

• In B.C., on average, more than 51,000 people are injured in crashes at intersections each year.
• About 60 per cent of all crashes in B.C. take place in intersections — that’s 241 every day.**

When you are sitting at a red light at the front of the line and the light finally goes green, what do you do?  Are you looking straight ahead when you start to accelerate?  I don’t.  Before my car moves, I look left, then right to make sure no one is making a last dash through the red. 

If you’re sitting at an intersection about to turn right on a red light do you always check the sidewalk on the right to look for pedestrians first before you make your turn? 

As I approach every intersection on a green light I’m constantly checking to make sure no traffic looks like they will run the light or that no one is going to turn into my path. 

According to I.C.B.C.I’m doing it right.  Our insurance corporation says:

When approaching a traffic light
• Even if the light is green as you’re approaching the intersection, assume it could change to yellow. That way you’ll be able to stop in time.
• One way to anticipate the light changing: check the pedestrian signals. In many newer intersections, the crosswalk signal will change from a white figure to an orange hand just before the light turns yellow, or will count down the seconds left before the traffic light changes.
• If the light changes to yellow as you approach the intersection, check your mirrors and look around.  Slow down well in advance of the crosswalk.
• Only go through a yellow light if it’s unsafe to stop.
• Don’t change lanes in an intersection.

When stopped at an intersection
• Always leave sufficient space between you and the vehicle in front — a good rule is to leave enough space so you can see its wheels (about a car length).
• Keep your wheels straight when stopped, even if you’re waiting to turn.
• When the light turns green, check that the intersection is clear before you move forward — and that no one is running the red or jumping the green (counting to three works well).

It strikes me as funny when my wife is in the car.  She’ll be enjoying the scenery and ask me about something we’ve just passed.  She doesn’t seem to understand that I’m looking at traffic way down the road in front of me always monitoring conditions before they happen.  Down the road, to my right and left and in all my mirrors.  It’s constant and I really don’t have time to check the scenery.  Driving is a full time proposition it gets my full attention. 

I’m a firm believer that every driver on the road should have to spend time on a motorcycle.  Motorcyclists very quickly learn to never trust any vehicle, that the conditions all around you can change in an instant and to be prepared for it.  Motorcyclists have to pay attention all the time, it’s too bad all drivers don’t do the same.

It’s always better to take an extra 5 minutes to get home safely than it is to spend two months or longer recovering from an accident.  I also know (the pain is still there) that no matter how careful I think I’m being, it’s still up to the other driver to equally pay attention.

Holiday Road Trips

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Hopefully summer will actually get here soon (fingers crossed) and that means time for the family holiday.  For my kids and I that always meant camping in the Okanagan or driving to Calgary to visit relatives.  The big trick was to do it trouble free.

Those trips meant staying stocked up on goodies to munch on in the car and lots of planning with games and sing alongs to keep the “boys” occupied.  It’s never a lot of fun to hear the old refrain of, “Are we there yet!” or “How much longer?” of course all done in a bored whiny way.  Ah… the good old days. 

My how the times have changed!  These days, we have DVD’s built into the headrests, good for hours of entertainment.

 

Want to play games, no problem anymore.  Forget looking for out of province licence plates, now just plug in your XBox, PS3, or Wii and the kids are set. 

Keep your car ready to go.  Our Service Manager, Phil Poon, has a few tips for your road trips.  Check your tires before you leave, make sure the tire pressure is correct all the way around.  check the tread depth at the same time.  The last thing you want at freeway speed is a flat tire.  Don’t forget to check your spare! 

Check your brakes and the fluid.  Being able to stop is a good thing!

 

  It’s a good thing to check your coolant too.  check the colour and make sure the levels are where they are supposed to be.  Same thing with the oil.  You don’t want to be broken down looking for repairs in a small place like Spuzzum. 

If you’re towing make sure you also check your transmission coolant.  it will be working overtime!

There is a lot to check to make sure your trip is fun, worry and trouble free.  Most things you can check on your own.  If you are at all unsure though, please don’t risk it.  Many Service Departments will know what to check. 

Brown Bros offers a summer special for only $69.95.  Which includes inspecting everything we’ve touched on and more.  You can call them for details: 604-301-2807 or 604-301-2808.

My dad should have taken my advice.  He was famous for betting against our car.  How long we could drive on empty.  The gas gauge won a lot of those bets!  Overheating on the hottest days in the Okanagan stranded on the side of the road waiting for the car to cool down all in the days before cell phones.  I still remember getting towed in to Spences Bridge on one trip, spending an entire day there in scorching sun while we waited for the car to be repaired to the tune of a few hundred dollars.  My Dad’s exploits were fun looking back, but when I go on a trip, no thanks.  I’ll take trouble free everytime and I hope you do too.

When you’re on the road, please keep an eye out for motorcyclists and cyclists! Be safe