One of the Most Fuel-Efficient Crossovers Available

The 2013 Ford Escape is "one of the most fuel-efficient crossovers available," according to the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sns--2013-ford-escape-gets-33-mpg-highway-scion-f-20120425,0,4298032.story

Ever wonder how cars get designed? Ford shows off the VR they use to test out designs: http://www.buffalonews.com/business/article804923.ece

The 2013 Ford Taurus gets a bit of a makeover just two years after the introduction of this generation of Taurus. For full details, check out the story at Automobile magazine.

NASCAR fans, how do you feel about Penske switching to Ford?

Penske racing team set to switch to Ford cars: http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/7633498/penske-racing-switching-ford-dodge-2013

Road Trip Activities for Kids

 

Going on a road trip this Spring?  Keep the kids calm and happy by trying out a few of these road trip games:

Hunting for Bottled Treasure

Create a self-contained buried treasure game that your kids can do together. In "Bottled Treasure," you fill a 2-liter bottle or other plastic container about three-quarters full with rice or birdseed. Then add a variety of small household objects such as paperclips, buttons, marbles and different colored toy Army men. Be sure to keep track of how many objects you put in and what they are. Most importantly, seal the container tightly so you don't get rice or seed all over your car.

Your kids can then shake the bottle and try to find all of the treasures you "buried" in the bottle. If you've got a long trip ahead of you, they can also guess what the objects are. Once they've found everything on the list, reward them with a treat, like choosing the music for the next hour.

Fun With Maps

Maps are not just essential for knowing where you are on the road; they can also be the source for many great car games. Another plus to using map-based games is that you can teach your children map-reading and geography skills.

Give your children each a map and let them mark it up to help them keep track of where you are in your journey. Let them color, draw on it, highlight your route or use stickers to help them create their own personalized mementos of your road trip. As you pass different towns and landmarks, they can note them on their maps.

Older children can maximize their map-reading skills to figure out how many miles you have left until your next stop, and they can also calculate how long it might take to get there based on your speed.

Counting Cars

When you have younger children who are learning their colors and numbers, your fellow drivers on the highway can provide the perfect opportunity for them to practice. Come up with fun, yet age-appropriate challenges like being the first to find five green cars or 10 semi trucks. Engage older children with guessing how many of a certain type of vehicle you'll see in 10 minutes. Let the winner choose the next DVD or hour of music.

If you're traveling with teens, make the game a bit of a surprise. Have everyone in your family choose a color and when you find 10 vehicles of that color, you have to provide a reward for the family. Whether it's dessert at dinner or a family activity like mini-golf, it's a way to engage older kids who may want hide behind their iPods and cell phones during the trip.

Looking for more ways to keep the kids engaged as you hit the road?  Check out the full article here:  http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/destinations/road-trips/10-noise-free-road-trip-games-for-kids.htm

Reba McEntire will Perform at the War Memorial March 14th

“An Evening With Reba” will bring the reigning queen of country to Johnstown at 7:30 p.m. March 14 at Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 326 Napoleon St.
War Memorial general manager Michael Silva said McEntire’s show is being made available through a partnership with a local business, McAneny Brothers Inc. of Ebensburg.
“Ticket sales are going really well,” Silva said. “There are a few left to sell, so now is the time.”
McEntire earned her 64th Top 10 hit and her 35th No. 1 song with the lead single, “Turn on the Radio,” from her current album, “All the Women I Am.”
McEntire has sold more than 56 million albums worldwide, taking the lead as the female artist with the most Recording Industry Association of America sales certifications in country music history and more No. 1 albums than any female in the genre. McEntire’s string of No. 1 hits spans four decades and Billboard, Country Aircheck and Mediabase have recognized her as the biggest female hitmaker in country music history.
The multi-platinum recording artist was recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and earned an Academy of Country Music Career Achievement honor.
She has won 15 American Music Awards, 13 Academy of Country Music Awards, nine People’s Choice Awards, six Country Music Association Awards and two Grammy Awards. McEntire began her musical career in 1974 when she sang the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma. She released her first album in 1977 and as other albums followed, McEntire got her first No. 1 single in 1983 for “Can’t Even Get the Blues.” McEntire’s first honors came in 1984 when she won a CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year and an ACM Award for Top Female Vocalist of the Year.

Read more: http://tribune-democrat.com/events/x290305077/Reigning-queen-of-country-to-play-arena

 

Ticket information:

Tickets: $57, $67, $77, plus facility fee.
Information: 536-5156, (800) 745-3000 , ticketmaster.com or warmemorialarena.com.

DealerConnection Vehicle Showroom (VSR) for Ford and Lincoln Debuts

FordDirect, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its franchise dealers,  launched a new web 2.0 platform, based on SiSTeR's Technologies' VSHOC and Publisher platform, DealerConnection Vehicle Showroom (VSR) for its Ford and Lincoln dealers. FordDirect VSR seamlessly integrates with a dealer's digital marketing or social media platform including blogs, Facebook and their YouTube pages so that consumers can search the most current new and used vehicle inventory without clicking out of their original destination.

The service will be available to all 3,500 Ford and Lincoln Dealers that have DealerConnection websites, and offered for no additional charge to dealers that currently have both DealerConnection Elite and DealerConnection Premier Advanced Inventory Service (DCPAIS) web services.

The VSR's unique interactive filtering and keyword search functions provide users with their desired selection in real time. Furthermore, unlike other video inventory tools, VSR switches automatically to an HTML 5.0 version for users who access it via a smart phone or tablet to maximize the users' experience and the dealer's ROI.

DealerConnection VSR maximizes the effectiveness of a dealer's digital marketing and social media platforms and enhances the user experience by offering consumers the ability to not only search for a new vehicle by make, model and price, but can also submit an inquiry directly to the dealer or refer a vehicle to others without ever leaving the digital or social platform. VSR also automatically displays the desired vehicle on the dealer's website for visitors who come from YouTube and, if such a vehicle is sold, lists of similar vehicles are displayed, saving the users from the annoying "search again" issue.

"We are finding that consumers are turning to social media and other digital platforms to initiate their research for a vehicle purchase, so it's important for Dealers to capture their attention with the most current information in an interactive way," said Valerie Fuller, COO of FordDirect. "DealerConnection Vehicle Showroom provides consumers with an enhanced online experience so that they can find the vehicle that they are looking for and be able to connect with a dealer without the hassle of having to visit numerous websites."

A recent study from Autoguide.com states that 2.4 million in-market shoppers used Facebook in some way to make a vehicle purchase decision. In addition, 58 percent of consumers are likely to mention their new car and/or buying experience via social media and 82 percent of mentions about car purchases on social media are positive.

For more information, visit www.forddirect.com/dealercenter .