Ford Wins Auto-Brand Popularity Contest at Edmunds.com

Popularity may be fleeting when it comes to superlatives in high-school yearbooks, but with vehicle sales, a popular model can have a lasting effect on an automaker's bottom line. For the millions of car shoppers who visited Edmunds.com last year, no other auto brand had more top-viewed vehicles than Ford, as 10 of the automaker's models were recently honored in the inaugural Most Popular on Edmunds.com Awards.

The 2014 Most Popular on Edmunds.com Awards were determined by car-shopper consideration during the 2013 calendar year -- in other words, the total number of unique monthly visitors that each model attracted to its inventory and research pages on the Edmunds.com desktop site. In addition to traditional brand favorites like the Ford F-150 and Mustang, several of Ford's cars and SUVs also earned Most Popular Awards by finishing in the top three of their respective segments, including the recently redesigned Ford Escape, Fiesta and Transit Connect van, as well as the Ford Expedition, Explorer, Taurus and Focus.

"Ford's leadership in the Most Popular Awards shows just how far the brand has come in building a well-rounded lineup that not only appeals to American buyers with capable trucks and SUVs, but also with compacts subcompacts and anything in between," said John Melkonian, general manager of Stoneham Ford, a Massachusetts Ford dealer. "A decade ago, the folks at Edmunds.com would have probably laughed if someone told them that Ford would be a sales leader in the small-car segments, but the automaker has been focused on developing the efficient-yet-responsive models that modern drivers want. And that push for incredible fuel economy has even rubbed off on its larger vehicles."

Ford's smaller cars aren't just winning over visitors to Edmunds.com, but the site's staff as well. Six of the automaker's subcompact, compact and midsize models were recently named Top Rated Cars by the Edmunds Testing Team, standing out among the more than 200 new vehicles that the auto researcher evaluates each year. After showing off their skills on a standardized road-test loop and taking to the Edmunds.com test track for controlled performance evaluations, the 2014 Ford Fiesta, Fiesta ST, Focus, Focus ST, Fusion and Fusion Hybrid all received "A" ratings when compared to competitors in the same price and size segments. 

Stoneham Ford Helps Stoneham High School Add New Water Filtration System

With more than $20 million raised for local schools and community nonprofit organizations, Ford's Drive 4 UR School and Drive 4 UR Community fundraising programs have been hugely successful as we look to give back to our drivers and our homes. During our annual "Drive 4 UR" events, each Ford dealership gives $20 to local schools and organizations for each qualified test-drive that occurs during the event. It's a great way to get people excited about the newest Ford models, while also advancing our communities as a whole.

Stoneham Ford has proudly contributed to this total through our Drive 4 Ur School campaign benefitting Stoneham High School. Now, we're happy to reveal that our donation of more than $3,000 from our event last October has helped provide Stoneham High School students with a new water filtration system that will help keep students happy and healthy, while reducing plastic bottle use and making the school more eco-friendly. Students elected to have the donation spent on the new water filtration system, which will be installed in place of a broken water bubbler this coming spring.

"We're happy to hear that Stoneham High School is putting the donation from the Drive 4 UR School event to such good use," said John Melkonian, general manager at Stoneham Ford. "We know that the Stoneham community is a huge part of what's made us so successful, and giving back to our schools is a great feeling."

We're always looking for ways to give back to the community at our Massachusetts Ford dealership, and when our commitment to our community also encourages Ford fans to come test-drive our cars, trucks and SUVs, we say that's all the better! 

Ford Gains Most Market Share Among Automakers in 2013

Ford recently announced that it was America's best-selling auto brand for the fourth consecutive year in 2013, but perhaps the most telling news is that it accomplished that feat while also gaining the most market share of any automaker. Though Ford's F-Series was again a big factor as the country's best-selling vehicle for the 32nd year in a row, annual sales records from recently redesigned vehicles like the Ford Fusion, Fiesta and Escape also played significant roles in the brand's impressive growth.

With its U.S. market share increasing by about a half a point in 2013, Ford more than doubled the gains of its main competitors while also being the only auto brand to surpass 2 million units sold. Boosted by their 2013-model-year redesigns, the Fusion midsize sedan and Escape compact SUV each moved more than 295,000 units, resulting in year-over-year sales increases of 22 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the Ford Fiesta subcompact rode the success of an all-new 2014 model to sell 25 percent more units than last year. Despite the introduction of next-generation pickup trucks from competitors, the Ford F-Series saw its sales rise by 18 percent in 2013, totaling 763,402 units.

"Ford's resounding success last year came from both reliable standbys like the F-150 and progressive new designs on cars like the Fusion and Fiesta," said John Melkonian, general manager of Stoneham Ford, a Massachusetts Ford dealer. "The automaker's emphasis on fuel-efficient vehicles has been instrumental to its revival in recent years, but its refusal to sacrifice style and driving fun in the process has been equally important."

Ford's turbocharged and direct-injected EcoBoost engines have gone a long way toward enabling that engaging-yet-efficient performance. In the Ford Fusion, buyers can opt for a 240-horsepower 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder that returns up to 33 mpg on the highway or a 1.5-liter EcoBoost that nets up to 37 mpg. On the other hand, the smaller Fiesta is available with an award-winning 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder rated at 45 mpg on the highway or a 1.6-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder on the ST performance trim that churns out 197 horsepower while still achieving up to 35 mpg.