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DEARBORN, MI – Ford enters 2012 with plans to further reduce the amount of water used to make vehicles and continue showing efficiency is not only inherent in its vehicle lineup, but also in its manufacturing practices.

A new goal calls for Ford to cut the amount of water used to make each vehicle 30 percent globally by 2015, compared with the amount of water used per vehicle in 2009.

Ford is also developing year-over-year efficiency targets as part of its annual environmental business planning process and has established a cross-functional team spanning several divisions to review water usage more holistically.

“Water remains one of our top environmental priorities and our aggressive reduction target helps ensure continued focus on this critical resource,” said Sue Cischke, group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.

Ford’s latest water reduction initiatives are designed to build on the success the company has had with its Global Water Management Initiative that launched in 2000. Between 2000 and 2010, Ford reduced its global water use by 62 percent, or 10.5 billion gallons. That’s the equivalent of how much water 105,000 average American residences use annually, based on figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

If Ford meets its goal of reducing the amount of water used by 30 percent between 2009 and 2015, the amount of water used to make a vehicle will have dropped from 9.5 cubic meters in 2000 to approximately 3.5 cubic meters in 2015. One cubic meter is equal to 264.2 gallons of water.

Leading by example

When it comes to water, drought and extensive population growth are just two of many challenges in places such as Mexico’s Sonoran Desert, home to Ford’s Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant. The plant produces the Ford Fusion, Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ.

Production at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant doubled between 2000 and 2010. However, water usage at the plant dropped during the same period by 40 percent.

“We applied innovative technology to our Hermosillo plant to reduce water consumption, minimize impact on the community and build vehicles in a more sustainable manner,” said Larry Merritt, manager, Environmental Quality Office.

To reduce water use, a membrane biological reactor – a biological water treatment system – was installed. The complex system is able to make up to 65 percent of the plant’s wastewater suitable for high-quality reuse elsewhere in the facility or for irrigation. The water treatment system also is being used at Ford plants in Chennai, India and Chongqing, China.

More technology, less water

Another approach is to cut the amount of water necessary to complete a task – a strategy afforded by the use of advanced technologies and processes.

“As we invest in new and existing facilities globally, our water strategy prioritizes sustainable manufacturing technologies,” said John Fleming, executive vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs. “This disciplined approach allows us to make significant progress in water reduction and other environmental efforts over time.”

For example, several of Ford’s engine plants around the world are using Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) machining, also known as dry-machining.

This technology lubricates the cutting tool with a very small amount of oil sprayed directly on the tip in a finely atomized mist, instead of with a large quantity of coolant/water mixture. The process saves hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and oil per year. By eliminating the coolant/water mixture, dry-machining eliminates the need to treat and dispose of an oily waste stream.

Dry-machining also is delivering significant benefits in energy use, waste production, quality, working conditions and costs. For a typical 450,000-unit line, more than 280,000 gallons of water can be saved annually.

In the U.S., the dry-machining system has been implemented at Ford’s Livonia Transmission Plant, Van Dyke Transmission Plant and Romeo Engine Plant. Ford also has implemented the system at a number of transmission and engine plants in Europe and applications in other plants around the world currently are being considered.

Tracking success

Before Ford launched the Global Water Management Initiative in 2000, many facilities had little ability to even track water usage. The picture is very different today.

When the initiative started, Ford engineers developed software to predict water usage. Another kind of software was developed to track water use at each facility and generate a monthly report so successes and potential opportunities for improvement could be identified.

Also, water reduction actions are built into Ford’s Environmental Operating System (EOS), which provides a standardized, streamlined approach to meeting all environmental requirements, including sustainability objectives and targets within each of Ford’s plants around the world.

EOS allows Ford to track its plants’ performance of fundamental water reduction actions such as leak identification and repair, and cooling tower optimization at every manufacturing site worldwide.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year from The Driver!

We will be back in 2012 to cover anything and everything automotive.

DETROIT, MI (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. is recalling nearly 34,000 Sentra compact cars because of a battery cable problem that could cause the engines to stall.

Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that a zinc coating on the cable bolts could be too thick. That can cause a voltage drop that can damage the engine control computer. The documents say the cars can stall while moving and it may not be possible to restart them, increasing the risk of a crash.

The filings appeared on the NHTSA website over the weekend.

The problem affects 2010 and 2011 Sentras equipped with MR-20 engines that were built from May 11, 2010 to May 22, 2010, and from July 8, 2010 to Oct. 25, 2010, according to the NHTSA documents.

Nissan says it will replace the positive battery cables and covers free of charge starting on or before Jan. 23, 2012.

Nissan also is recalling more than 28,000 Juke small crossover SUVs from the 2011 model year. A turbocharger boost sensor bracket can break free from an air inlet tube because of a defective weld, according to NHTSA. If that happens, the vehicles can stall while the engines are idling, raising the risk of a crash, the agency said.

The Jukes were built from April 9, 2010 through May 12, 2011. The company will check the brackets and replace them free of charge if necessary, according to the documents. The recall is expected to start around Jan. 9, 2012.

Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman said that no crashes or injuries have happened because of either problem.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy on Monday, giving up a desperate struggle to stay in business after previous owner General Motors Co. blocked takeover attempts by Chinese investors.

Saab CEO Victor Muller personally handed in the bankruptcy application to a court in southwestern Sweden, ending his two-year effort to revive the carmaker that over more than six decades has become known for its rounded sedans and quirky design features.

The Dutch entrepreneur told reporters he had to pull the plug after GM, which still owns some technology licenses for Saab, rejected a last-ditch financing plan involving a Chinese company.

"That basically was the last nail in the coffin of this beautiful company," Muller said in webcast news conference at the Saab plant in Trollhattan, southwestern Sweden.

The Vanersborg District Court was expected to approve the application later Monday.

"This is the most unwelcome Christmas gift I could have imagined," said Fredrik Almqvist, 36, who has worked at Saab's assembly line for nearly 17 years.

While experts say the company is likely to be chopped up and sold in parts, local officials in the town of Trollhattan, where Saab employs more than 3,000 people, were holding out hope that a new buyer would emerge to salvage the brand.

"Our absolute hope is that the bankruptcy administrator will aim for a solution where the company is sold in its entirety," Trollhattan Mayor Paul Akerlund said in a statement.

Muller used his luxury sports car maker Spyker Cars to buy Saab from GM in 2010, promising to restore its Swedish identity, but the company ran out of money just a year later.

Even as production stopped and salary payments were delayed, Muller fended off bankruptcy by selling the company's real estate and lining up financing deals with investors in Russia and China. He bought time by placing the company in a reconstruction process under bankruptcy protection.

But the deals fell through, blocked by regulators or by GM, which was concerned that its technology would end up in the hands of Chinese competitors.

The final Chinese suitor, Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co., said it pulled out after the last proposal for a solution was rejected by GM over the weekend.

"We were supporting them to the last moment, even up to 1 a.m. this morning we were discussing possible solutions by telephone, but due to GM's position, in the end Sweden's Saab filed for bankruptcy this morning," said Rachel Pang, an executive director of a subsidiary company of Youngman and daughter of Youngman's founder, Pang Qingnian.

Muller blamed the former administrator of Saab's reconstruction, Guy Lofalk, for the collapse of the talks, saying Lofalk had led the Chinese investors to believe they could become sole owners of the company. Muller said he knew that was impossible given GM's concerns about licenses.

"Until this problem arose the relationship with GM was excellent," Muller said.

Calls to Lofalk's office were not answered Monday.

Swedish lawyer and reconstruction expert Peter Smedman said the prospects of selling Saab during bankruptcy proceedings would depend on GM.

"The licenses that GM has are crucial for the value of the company," Smedman said. "If GM doesn't want to let anyone in because they are scared of competition in China, then there is probably not much (value) left."

Originally an aircraft maker, Saab entered into the auto market after World War II with the first production of the two-stroke-engine Saab 92. It soon became a household name in Sweden and in the 1970's it released its first turbocharged model -- the landmark Saab 99.

To auto enthusiasts, Saab was known for its quirks such as placing the ignition lock between the front seats and becoming the first car to have heated seating in 1971.

GM bought a 50 percent stake and management control of Saab in 1989, and gained full ownership in 2000. The aircraft and defense company with the same name remained an independent entity, building fighter jets and weapons systems.

Saab Automobile's sales peaked at 133,000 cars in 2006. After that, sales dwindled to 93,000 cars in 2008 and just 27,000 in 2009, as GM -- itself in bankruptcy protection following the financial crisis -- prepared to wind down the Swedish brand.

Muller stepped in after a takeover attempt by a consortium led by Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg failed. Analysts expressed doubt over Saab's chances of survival under Spyker, which later changed its name to Swedish Automobile.