Less than six months after Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company president and CEO, revealed the new Figo to India, the first production model was driven off the assembly line today with the Minister of the State of Tamil Nadu, D. M Karunanidi in attendance.

Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India; Raj Nair, Ford vice president of operations for the Asia Pacific and Africa regions; Sandip Sanyal, Ford’s executive director of operations for India, and nearly three thousand employees of the newly expanded facilities were on hand to take part in the Job 1 ceremony.

Following the Figo Job 1 ceremony, the group inaugurated the new engine facility that manufactures the exclusive 1,2-litre petrol engine for Figo.

Both the car assembly and engine manufacturing facilities in Chennai have undergone a major expansion to establish Chennai as a major hub for the entire Asia-Pacific-Africa (APA) region. Ford’s nearly US$500-million commitment over the past two years means that the facilities serve as the latest examples of Ford’s global manufacturing processes and have incorporated several new technologies for Ford and India. As an example, in the body and paint shop and on the assembly line, sixty-six robots have been added to ensure higher quality and a new 3-Wet high-solids paint technology applies a smooth, glossy finish without oven curing between coats. A first for India, the new process is environmentally friendly and reduces volatile organic compounds by 20 percent.

“Figo is a great example of the role Ford will play in the future of India,” Shri. Karunanidi said.

The vehicle will be equipped with a standard 1,2-litre petrol engine developed exclusively for the Indian market. Ford’s class-leading, fuel-efficient Duratorq 1,4-litre diesel engine will also be available. Both models will be equipped with manual five-speed transmissions. The chassis has been thoroughly retuned for the Indian market with a more compliant suspension tailored for local road conditions.

The new compact car underscores the importance Ford has placed in the burgeoning Indian automotive market as well as throughout the region. While Figo will be manufactured primarily for Indian consumers initially, the new model also will be exported to other countries, including South Africa, as early as mid-2010.

Source: Ford SA

It looks a bit like a racing game in a video arcade, but the driver wears headphones. The object of this high-tech drive down the digital highway? Perfect the sound quality inside a future Ford vehicle long before the first prototype is ever built.

Ford Motor Company is the first North American automaker to utilise the Virtual Vehicle Sound Simulator to fine-tune sound inside a vehicle’s cabin, part of a continuing effort by Ford to deliver industry-leading quietness and refinement with minimal noise, vibration and harshness.

The Virtual Vehicle Sound Simulator can shave valuable time and cost out of the vehicle development process. Calibrating cabin sound in the virtual world reduces the amount of real-world testing needed in the wind tunnels and on the test track once vehicles reach the prototype stage.

The new Virtual Vehicle Sound Simulator technology gives Ford sound engineers capabilities similar to their visual counterparts, who are doing groundbreaking work with virtual reality and animation software – creating immersive experiences that allow designers to virtually sit in vehicles during the computer design process.

With the audio technology, engineers also predict sounds based on digital drawings of the vehicle and then combine those sounds into a realistic simulation. For the first time, engineers can hear what a vehicle would sound like under different road conditions, at various speeds and in a range of gear and throttle conditions as the simulated vehicle shifts, accelerates and decelerates.

Previously, Ford engineers would test the sound quality of specific components one at a time, playing back and measuring the sound of each component under a single drive condition. Now engineers can hear the way a vehicle’s interior sounds in real-time under dozens of drive conditions simply by clicking through them. Ford engineers also can make comparisons against competitive vehicles with a simple click of the mouse.

Ford is now able to eliminate mistakes up front, reduce the need for prototyping, shorten the time to market, and produce a product with improved interior quietness, while providing vehicle sounds that are more engaging for the customer.

A number of improvements in sound-deadening technologies and materials on Ford vehicles help block the noise outside. Advancements in materials, such as expandable foam pellets strategically placed in the doors, headliner and pillars, can improve sound-deadening efficiency by up to 20 percent. Interiors are quieted further with hood insulators, inner and outer dash absorbers, sound-absorbing carpet, improved ceiling baffles, additional sound absorption in the trunk, and new interior and headliner materials.

Other ways Ford engineers build interior quietness into the 2010 lineup include:

Acoustic laminated windshields that feature a layer of sound-absorbent vinyl sandwiched between two sheets of glass; Improved body/door sealing to reduce wind noise; Expandable stuffers in the fenders and pillars; Constrained layer damping material on the entire floor to reduce road noise, especially generated by the tyres; A re-tuned air induction system for a more refined powertrain and sound.

Adapted from Auto123