f-series

Ford is expanding a recall of its popular F-Series truck line because of faulty airbags that can deploy unexpectedly and possibly lead to injuries, federal regulators said Thursday. The expanded action now includes some 1.2 million trucks from the 2004 through 2006 model years.

Ford Motor is recalling nearly 32,000 recent-vintage pickup trucks and crossover vehicles in two separate actions to fix fuel leaks and electrical shorts that may lead to fires, according to a notice posted Wednesday on the National Highway Traffic Safety site.

Ford reported Tuesday that its sales in February rose 14% compared to a year ago, in part due to strong sales of the revamped Ford Explorer sports-utility vehicle, the Fusion midsized sedan and the Ford Escape compact SUV. Total sales for the month hit 156,626.

Ford is recalling 144,000 F-150 pickup trucks to repair airbags that may deploy without warning, a defect that has led to dozens of injuries, safety officials say. The federal government had pressed Ford to recall the pickups, but this recall isn't as broad as regulators wanted.

Faulty interior door handles may allow the doors to pop open during a crash. The recall involves F-150 pickups from the 2009-10 model years equipped with chrome interior door handles.

Some 3,000 workers at Ford Motor's (F) truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., have been idled because of a shortage of parts needed to manufacture engines installed in the company's popular line of pickup trucks. The workers will be on temporary layoff for about a week, The Detroit News reported. The...

The nation's second-largest automaker reported a healthy year-over-year sales increase that was led by strong demand for the Edge crossover and the F-Series pickups. Overall, Ford enjoyed its best month of retail sales in 2010.

Sales at Ford Motor rose 24% in November compared to a year ago as demand surged for a wide range of the company's products, the automaker said Wednesday. For the month, Ford said it moved 147,338 vehicles off dealers' lots, up from 118,536 in November 2009.

The U.S. automaker reported a $1.7 billion profit on strong demand for its revamped line of products, despite a lackluster economy. Continued growth at its Ford Credit finance unit also helped push profits higher.

Ford Motor reported Tuesday that sales of its vehicles rose 33 percent in December compared to a year ago. Sales for the full year, however, were down 15 percent compared to 2008. In the last month of the year, each Ford brand saw improved sales, and the company increased its domestic market share by a full percentage point.