Ford are currently trialing technology in the UK to reduce time spent sitting at a red light. Information on traffic light timings from a roadside unit display is used by the technology called Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory to advise the driver of the best speed to travel to arrive at a green light. Over the next two years, trials will take place in Milton Keynes and Coventry on both public roads and closed circuits. The technology is being trialed by Ford to help show the benefits on connected car for UK Autodrive – a publicly funded £20 million project and the nation’s largest self-driving and connected car trial. The aim of the project is to develop vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies which will lead to a much less stressful and time-consuming driving experience, as well as improving fuel efficiency. As a nation we can…

 The Ford Fiesta topped the list of the UK’s most popular used cars in April with 11,297 units sold. In second place was the Ford Focus with 9,308 units sold last month, according to figures from Motors.co.uk. Vauxhall cars took third and fourth slots with 7,180 and 6,623 sold respectively. The Volkswagen Gold was in fifth position with 6,063 units sold. Also in the top 10 was the Nissan Qashqai, Vauxhall Zafira and Insignia, BMW 3 series and Volkswagen Polo.   Top 10 Position Make Model April Sold Rank difference MoM 1 Ford Fiesta 11,297 0 2 Ford Focus 9,308 0 3 Vauxhall Corsa 7,180 0 4 Vauxhall Astra 6,623 0 5 Volkswagen Golf 4,063 0 6 Nissan Qashqai 2,964 +3 7 Vauxhall Zafira 2,734 +1 8 Vauxhall Insignia 2,730 -1 9 BMW 3 Series 2,577 -3 10 Volkswagen Polo 2,427 0 – See…

Ford Retail is targeting ex-armed force personnel to fill sales vacancies. The factory-owned dealer group teamed up with Talent Q, an employee assessment firm. Talent Q conducted a study of 205 sales executives at Ford Retail and compared their results on personality against their sales profits, volumes and customer service rating over a four-month period. The study found that the best sales employees were open communicators with strong verbal reasoning skills and an ability to build rapport. However, those who rated highest for customer service were strong in empathy and were supportive, relaxed and consultative. “Our philosophy is to create customers for life, not just make an initial sale, so we need to recruit well-rounded people who can perform well in both the sales and the customer service aspects of the role,” said Ford Retail HR director Sharon Ashcroft. “We’ve started to attend careers…

Ford will sell its forthcoming Mustang and top-end Vignale models exclusively through a small number of metropolitan based Ford Stores from summer 2015. The Blue Oval is piloting its new Ford Store retail concept at two of its flagship outlets; Peoples Cars in Bootle and Ford Retail’s Edgware Road site in London. The Ford Stores will see participating showrooms display all of the brand’s expanding car and van line-ups with dedicated areas for the all-new right hand drive Mustang and Vignale-badged models, the brand’s new luxury sub-brand, which will be available on the new generation Mondeo as well as the S-Max. “There will be some product exclusivity for the Ford Stores. Mustang and Vignale will be the preserve of the Ford Stores,” said Ford chairman and managing director Steve Ovenden. Ovenden confirmed that measures would also be in place to facilitate customers wishing to…