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How South America designed the Ford Ka

The Ka Concept was shown at the São Paulo auto show in Brazil in November 2013, and was revealed in production form last week. It marks the first time the Ka has reflected the broader brand homogeneity of the 'One Ford' design strategy, and continues the Ka's shift in direction from the distinctive original.The new car is the work of Ford's South American design studio in Camaçari, Brazil - its second 'One Ford' car, following the EcoSport. But while the crossover enters a new segment, the 17-year history of the Ka nameplate in Brazil gives an insight into how the demands of the local market have taken precedence over design iconicity.

2011 Ford Flex goes Titanium

Taking a page from its SEMA playbook, Ford is rolling out a top-of-the-line, semi-blinged-out people hauler for 2011, the Flex Titanium. It's dressed up for a night on the town, or a trip to soccer practice, and was devised by Ford product gurus who noticed most Flex customers tend to take high levels of content in their vehicles. The Flex Titanium has a unique black chrome-finish grille with Flex badging on the edge of the hood--a cue straight from SEMA models in 2008 and 2009.

SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.