PT Cruiser, Motor Fan Clubs. Ford Motor Company
PT Cruiser
The PT Cruiser is a front-wheel drive 5-passenger vehicle, classified as a truck in the U.S. by the NHTSA for CAFE fuel economy calculations but as a car by most other metrics. Chrysler specifically designed the PT Cruiser to fit the NHTSA criteria for a light truck in order to bring the average fuel efficiency of the company's light truck fleet into compliance with CAFE standards. A turbocharged GT model was introduced for the 2003 model year. A convertible was introduced for the 2005 model year.
The PT Cruiser is manufactured at Toluca Car Assembly in Toluca, Mexico. On March 8, 2006, DaimlerChrysler announced that it had built 1,000,000 PT Cruisers at the Toluca plant since February 14, 2000. The PT Cruiser was also assembled in Graz, Austria, for global markets (outside North America) in 2002, using the production code PG. European PT Cruisers built in 2001 or from 2003 onwards are built in Mexico under the PT production code. The American version features a 2.4 L four-cylinder gasoline engine. In addition to this standard model, a 2.2 L four-cylinder diesel engine built by Mercedes Benz is also available in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. A 2 liter engine (D4RE) was available outside the U.S. It produces 140 hp (100 kW) SAE at 6500 rpm with 130 ft·lbf (180 N·m) of torque at 4800 rpm.
When initially introduced, demand for the car was, in many cases, much higher than dealer supply, seeing customers put on waiting lists. Anticipation of the car was high, making for a debut that was among the most successful in company history.[citation needed]
In 2001 Car and Driver acknowledged the PT Cruiser on its Ten Best list and the PT Cruiser also won the North American Car of the Year.
Motor Fan Clubs
A car club or automotive enthusiast community is a group of people who share a common interest in motor vehicles. Car clubs are typically organized by enthusiasts around type of vehicle (e.g. Corvette, Mustang), brand (e.g. Jeep), or similar interest (e.g. off-roading). Traditional car clubs were off-line organizations, but automotive on-line communities have flourished on the internet.
The internet accelerated the growth of participation as online communities attracted large numbers of members. The internet encouraged and fostered the development of many clubs centered around specific vehicles, including niche makes and models.
Unlike traditional clubs, the content of most online communities are open to all for free. This has facilitated their growth, and made them a resource for potential owners or newbies. Larger online communities report registered members in the hundreds of thousands.
Internet communities typically provide features such as forums, content databases (which include vehicle specifications, driving characteristics, repair information, and car tuning advice), Instant messaging services, photo-sharing, and commercial services (such as for sale by onwer listings, part supplier directories, and referrals to mechanics and car dealers).
Ford Motor Company
Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.
Ford is currently the fourth-largest automaker in the world based on number of vehicles sold annually, directly behind Volkswagen. In 2007, Ford fell from second to third in US annual vehicle sales for the first time in 56 years, behind only General Motors and Toyota. However, Ford occasionally outsells Toyota in shorter periods (most recently, during the summer months of 2009). As of 2008, Ford has become the second largest automaker in Europe (only behind Volkswagen), with sales that occasionally exceed those in the United States and large markets in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Ford is the seventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2008 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2008 of $146.3 billion. In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. Starting in 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. Five of Ford's vehicles ranked at the top of their categories and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.