Automakers have to perform a veritable high-wire act as they balance the burgeoning need to reduce the carbon footprints of their products with their long-standing need to make money.
Like fleet-wide fuel economy standards, the tightrope is steadily rising while the economic winds are blowing the companies asunder, with consumer demand gusting one way, toward gas-guzzling SUVs, and the threat of polluter penalties billowing in the opposite direction. It’s a delicate situation and one that doesn’t seem to be getting easier for the industry, but more on that later.
Let’s start with a bunch of gas-powered vehicles that don’t how to handle their fuel.
Welcome to your Friday Jr. edition of the Daily Drive-Thru.
Ford to recall more than 90,000 cars for fuel pump issues
The Ford Motor Company will recall more than 90,000 vehicles to repair issues with fuel pumps as well as an additional 23,000 SUVs to replace defective power window technology.
The Dearborn automaker will call back 88,151 vehicles, including Chicago-built 2013-15 Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKS and Ford Police Interceptor sedans, as well as 2013-15 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT SUVs built in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, to replace fuel pump control modules that can prevent engines from starting or cause them to stall without warning. Additionally, Ford will recall 2,472 Transit vans to replace fuel injection pumps that can have a similar effect on engine performance. No injuries have been reported in relation to either issue.
Meanwhile, Ford also will launch a safety compliance recall for roughly 23,000 2017 Ford Escape SUVs to update their power window software. The software in question can cause the windows to close too quickly, according to Ford, though no injuries have been reported in relation to this malfunction.
