Ford has confirmed that the EcoSport SUV, which was officially introduced at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi, will be coming to ASEAN markets. The vehicle is the third of eight all new global One Ford vehicles destined for the region by around 2015.

Developed by Ford’s Development Center in Camaçari, Brazil, the EcoSport sits on the company’s global B-segment platform, which will provide the basis for a family of vehicles expected to eventually represent two million units annually.

Ford has big plans for the vehicle, and says that the SUV is a significant linchpin in its plans to achieve its goal of increasing worldwide sales by nearly 50% by mid-decade to eight million vehicles a year, of which 60% to 70% of sales is expected to come from the Asia Pacific and Africa region.

No introduction dates have yet been bandied for the EcoSport in the ASEAN market, but the company says that it’ll be produced at Ford Thailand Manufacturing’s facility in Rayong, Thailand.

Ford has premiered its all-new EcoSport compact SUV at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi, India. It’s the second model to bear the name, the first-generation model being launched in Brazil in 2003.

Despite the debut, Ford is essentially introducing the vehicle in stages – the exterior design is the first aspect of the EcoSport to be previewed, with Ford saying that more details are to be released in the coming months.

Indeed, there’s not much technically on the EcoSport beyond the fact that the Indian launch vehicle wears the company’s new 1.0 litre three-cylinder EcoBoost mill, in 120 hp and 170 Nm form. The engine is the first EcoBoost unit to be introduced in India.

Exterior-wise, the SUV features Ford’s new global design language, with a short, raked hood and distinctive profile. Modern, oblique headlamps frame a high-mounted trapezoidal grille, which gives the vehicle a signature Ford face.

Design cues include a steeply raked windshield, as well as blacked out B-pillars that unify the side glass into one elegant shape, to help convey a clean, modern profile.

The rear of the vehicle features a large rear window, which wraps around to the sides along with distinctive taillights. A signature visual cue is the spare tyre, which is attached to a swing-out door.

While the interior remains to be seen, the company says that the cabin will feature the same levels of craftsmanship, material quality and quietness as found in its other new-generation global products found currently.

The choice of India for the vehicle’s global debut is in line with the company’s view of the growing importance of that market; the EcoSport is the second of eight products Ford plans to bring to India by 2015.

The EcoSport – which will eventually be sold in nearly 100 markets worldwide – will be produced at ultra-modern, flexible assembly plants in India and Brazil, as well as other markets to be announced at a later time.

Live photos from New Delhi thanks to Motorbeam.com and Ford APA.

Ford has debuted the 2013 Ford Escape at the Los Angeles Auto Show – the SUV enters the North American market next year in both front-wheel and 4WD guise, with three four-cylinder powertrain choices to pick from – a normally-aspirated 2.5 litre as well as 2.0 and 1.6 litre EcoBoost versions.

The new Escape will also feature globally – it will be known as the Ford Kuga in Europe and China, with unique powertrains and features for those markets. Set to make its international debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the vehicle is slated to be introduced in China next spring.

In terms of outputs, the 2.5 litre NA unit will offer 168 hp and 226 Nm, while the 2.0 EcoBoost will have 237 hp and 338 Nm, and the 1.6 EcoBoost 173 hp and 240 Nm. All three engine choices are mated to a SelectShift Automatic six-speed, which for the EcoBoost mills are specially calibrated. The gearbox features revised gear ratios and a new torque converter for improved driving feel and smoother shifts.

The vehicle features more cargo volume behind the first and second rows than the outgoing Escape, and Ford says that it has driving dynamics that make the drive experience more engaging on-road, with a new Ford Intelligent 4WD System providing even better traction off-road. It’s also nearly 10% more aerodynamic than the current Escape, as well as 20% stiffer in terms of overall body structure.

Inside the cabin, improved materials and execution highlight the interior, and the list includes a soft-touch instrument panel, wrapped, padded and stitched door armrests and the elimination of exposed fasteners in the glove box and sun visor pivots, among others. Versatility in cargo carrying continues the roll – the car has an available two-position load floor, which can be configured to allow the choice of maximum luggage volume or a flat load floor.

Among the tech features is a hands-free power liftgate that allows quick and easy access to the cargo hold. The liftgate is enabled by motion technology – a gentle kicking motion under the centre of the rear bumper activates, unlocks and raises the liftgate when the driver has the Escape key fob, allowing quick and easy access to the cargo area without needing to set down packages or dig out keys. The same process closes the hatch.

Elsewhere, there’s a panorama Vista sunroof, active park assist, a sensor-based Blind Spot Information System with cross-traffic alert, SYNC with MyFord Touch in the mix, as well as an enhanced Personal Safety System with new safety belt technologies and seven airbags.

A host of exterior colours abound, led by Ginger Ale, an earthy metallic tone. There’s also Ruby Red, White Platinum Tricoat, Frosted Glass Metallic, Deep Impact Blue and Kodiak Brown, along with Tuxedo Black, Sterling Gray Metallic, Ingot Silver Metallic and Oxford White.

‘Tis the season to be draped in yellow – you’ve seen the Dodge Charger SRT8 Super Bee and the Challenger SRT8 392 Yellow Jacket, and now, here’s the 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302. The edition – and the Boss Laguna Seca – features a heritage-inspired School Bus Yellow paint job that honours Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Trans-Am championship car prepared by Bud Moore.

The Boss 302 also features a new, reflective hockey stick graphics package, which gets its first modern application on a production car, the company says. The reflective stripes – which follows the classic hockey stick motif by going over the fender and extending down the body panel – come to life when lights hit them, similar to how they did in 1970 on the Mustang Boss 302.

As for the Boss Laguna Seca, this one delivers race-ready suspension, aerodynamic details and a removed rear seat, and features new Sterling Gray accents and black paint offerings, complemented by hockey stick stripes and a grey interior rear cross-brace.

Grey is also to be found on the front grille, mirror caps and rear pedestal spoiler on this one, while Laguna Seca rear badging and unique two-tone gray and silver wheels round out the version’s exterior accents.

Compared to the base Mustang, the front end of the Boss offers a more powerful design with a more prominent grille, as well as a more powerful splitter and functional hood extractors. The car also gets new signature lighting, with standard HID headlamps and LED-surround taillamps.

Elsewhere, the grille features removable covers where fog lamps would be – for improved cooling on track days, the covers can be easily removed with a screwdriver. Additionally, the rear end features a high-gloss black panel that connects the taillamps, which have a smoked finish.

The 444 hp and 515 Nm Boss has a race-inspired clutch, with upgraded friction materials, and a short-throw, close-ratio six-speed manual. Power is delivered to a 3.73-ratio rear axle using carbon fibre plates in the LSD to improve handling and longevity, though an optional torque-sensing (Torsen) LSD is available, coupled with Recaro front seats.

The Boss also gets a revised suspension, with adjustable shocks and struts, higher-rate coil springs all around, stiffer suspension bushings and a larger-diameter rear stabiliser bar, and the Boss models are lowered by 11 mm in front and 1 mmm at the rear compared to the Mustang GT.

In line with the suspension upgrades, the Boss 302 wears lightweight 19-inch black alloy racing wheels in staggered widths, wrapped by Pirelli PZero 255/40 front and 285/35 rear rubbers. Four-piston Brembo calipers and 14-inch vented rotors up front and Boss-specific high-performance pads at the rear round off the items list.

Ford’s smallest petrol engine, the 1.0 litre, turbocharged, direct injection three-cylinder EcoBoost has been officially launched – Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally did the honours yesterday.

Developed by Ford’s UK engineers, the engine will debut in Europe in early 2012, first on the new Focus, before making its way into global markets. In Europe, it will also feature in the C-MAX and Grand C-MAX as well as the upcoming B-MAX, which begins production in the middle of next year.

Two output versions of the engine will be available, as we reported in July, with a slight variance in the output numbers for the production units – there’s the 125 PS and 170 Nm version, which goes into the Focus, as well as a 100 PS variant.

Ford has developed a special high-tech line at the Cologne Engine Plant to build the engine, and the plant is set to build up to 350,000 units a year of the new powertrain. European production capacity is expected to increase to up to 700,000 units per year when the company’s new engine plant in Craiova, Romania, opens in early 2012.

The company says that in the years ahead, it anticipates production to expand outside of Europe to deliver a global capacity of up to 1.3 million 1.0 litre EcoBoost engines per year. Closer to home, it seems probable that the engine will eventually make its way into the Fiesta, though exactly when remains to be seen.

Ford is set to join the SEMA fray with its own boarding party, with the Fiesta among the motley crew. The event will see three pimped up examples of the hatch, reworked by tuning houses M2-Motoring, Gold Coast Automotive and Aaron Vaccar.

The M2-Motoring Fiesta features in its kit list an Injen Technologies cold-air intake system and DC Sports cat-back exhaust, and there’s also a Wilwood big-brake kit and Megan Racing coilovers in the mix. The exterior shade is the boldest of the trio, with a candy purple finish by Status Motorsports rather unmistakable.

Elsewhere, a 3dCarbon body kit and upper roof spoiler round off the externals, and interior treatments include an upgraded Jensen Mobile Audio Power sound system and Audiovox flip-down touch-screen monitors.

As for the Gold Coast Automotive Fiesta SE, it gets juiced up with a Jackson Racing Rotrex intercooled supercharger, and the brakes get pumped as well – the car wears a Wilwood four-piston front, two-piston rear brake system. Appearance offerings include an APR Performance rear wing and custom front splitter, 3dCarbon body kit, Socal SignWorx graphic wrap and Gold Coast Automotive mudguard flare kit.

Lastly, the Fiesta, as interpreted in an Aaron Vaccar Signature Series form. Among the items to be found on this one are a Weapon-R Secret Weapon air intake, Wilwood Dynapro six-piston big brake kit and Advanti Racing V3 Vago 17-inch wheels.

Meanwhile, the exterior features a BASF custom bright silver matte metallic paint job, while the interior delivers plenty of upgrades including Portage Trim red leather upholstery, Bride Vios III racing bucket seats and MB Quart Onyx Series speaker and amplifiers.

Yet another full-scale vehicle replication with LEGO bricks has come about, and this one is of a Ford Explorer. The bright red LEGOLAND Florida edition Explorer is set to be the lead display at the new 150-acre LEGOLAND Florida theme park in Winter Haven, near Orlando.

Crafted by 22 Ford employees in Connecticut, the ‘vehicle’ is made up of 382,858 LEGO bricks, and those numbers translate into a rather hefty beast – the structure is supported by a 348 kg interior aluminium base, and with all the bricks in place, tips the scale at 1,203 kg.

The vehicle ‘rolled off’ the line at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant earlier this week, and will now make its way to Florida, where it will be loaded on to a trailer with transparent sides and serve as a display at the theme park, which opens on October 15. In 2004, a life-sized LEGO replica of a Volvo XC90 was built, also for a LEGOLAND, this one in California.