Ford Transit SportVan – Click above for high-res image gallery
Push comes to shove, the Brits know modern delivery vans better than we do. (Hard to admit, we know.) What we use high-cube trucks, pickups and vans of varying sizes for, they do it all in panel vans. They drive the wheels off ‘em, and the Transit (not to be confused with its kid brother, the ) is the king of ‘em all. In fact, it has for the past 45 years been the best-selling van in the UK. And to celebrate, Ford UK is launching the special edition you see here.
This Ford Transit SportVan is based on the short-wheelbase 260 model and comes equipped with a 140-horsepower turbo-diesel, 18-inch graphite-finish alloys, twin exhaust pipes and a variety of other features, all wrapped up in red with white racing stripes. Only 100 examples will be made, and given the van’s popularity on the Isles, we’re sure they’ll all sell out in a flash. In fact we know they will, since every previous SportVan edition has, including editions in blue with white stripes, grey with silver, black with silver, white with blue and blue with silver stripes.
Unfortunately this is another sport model we’ll have to admire from the opposite shore, but driving back home in an ought to help numb the pain. You know the drill: details in the press release , photos in the gallery below.
chairman Ed Whitacre is readying the world for GM’s Initial Public Offering. The IPO is slated to happen next month and Whitacre has reportedly said that he expects shares to be priced between $20 and $25. That price will likely be achieved via a stock split, with sources saying GM plans to offer shares in a four-to-one split.
This could be good news for at the IPO price. The minimum investment is said to be $1,000 to participate in this program and even that minimum dollar amount could yield solid returns right out of the gate.
It turns out that the Hilux isn’t just a favorite with fans of Top Gear. According to Newsweek, the unbeatable little pickup from Japan is also a vital cog in various insurgent war machines around the globe. With its combination of reliability, affordability, ubiquity and capability, the bare-bones truck has been a favorite with rebel groups of various nationalities since it first hit the scene in the late ’60s. In the more than 40 years since, the Hilux has shown up in conflicts from Nicaragua, Rwanda, Somalia and Ethopia to Pakistan and Iraq. If you’re looking for the automotive equivalent of the AK-47, you’ve found it.
Newsweek even says that U.S. Special Forces has been known to make use of a Hilux or two on occasion in favor of the heavier, more cumbersome and more expensive Humvee. In most war zones, the Toyota has become the modern equivalent of light cavalry – delivering both weapons and troops over rough terrain in quick order. Throw in the fact that a .50 caliber weapon can be mounted in the bed, and the truck’s versatility grows by leaps and bounds.
Head over to Newsweek to read the very interesting full article for yourself. Thanks for the tips, everyone!
Upper Moreland Township moves to make unlocked cars illegal – Click above to watch video
A suburb of Philadelphia is looking into making it a criminal offense to leave your vehicle unlocked. According to NBC Philadelphia, Upper Moreland Township wants to curb a recent rash of personal property thefts from unlocked vehicles by setting up a system of warnings and citations for those that forget to secure their car or truck on the street. Vehicles parked on personal property wouldn’t be subject to the ordinance, but the proposal would have police do spot checks in neighborhoods. Owners of unlocked vehicle would be given a warning by the police on first offense, and if the same vehicle was found to be unlocked within a year, the owner could expect a $25 fine and a citation.
So why are local lawmakers targeting vehicle owners instead of the criminals breaking laws that are already in place? NBC Philadelphia reports that Police Chief Thomas Nestel says that each year, more than 75 percent of thefts are from unlocked vehicles, which in turn means a lot more man hours and paperwork for the authorities than might otherwise be necessary. Meanwhile, local residents are having predictably mixed reactions to the idea of being fined for failing to lock their vehicles. to see the local news spot on the issue, and then weigh in with your own thoughts in Comments.
Audi A1 TFSI – Click above for high-res image gallery
surprised us all when it hatchback packing everything but the kitchen sink…and the S1 nameplate. The reason, according to reports, was that every S model in the company’s history has featured Quattro all-wheel drive, but the PQ25 platform on which the A1 is based can’t accommodate it. At least, not yet.
The UK’s Autocar now suggests, however, that a business case is being made inside the Group to engineer the platform to accept the extra driveshaft. Doing so would allow for proper Quattro-driven S1, but that’s not all. In order to justify the cost, the Volkswagen Polo could get a couple of models driven on all fours, including a Polo R hot hatch to slot in above the Polo GTI and a soft-roader with actual traction to back up its butch styling.
2014 Lotus Elite goes topless – Click above to watch video
made quite a splash at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The automaker grabbed the spotlight by showing off . One of the proposed cars is the Lotus Elite, a 2+2 grand tourer powered by a 611-horsepower, supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine borrowed from the . One surprising detail for this Lotus is its weight. The Elite tips the scales at 3,600 pounds, which is a mammoth sum for anything carrying the company badge. The reason for much of that extra weight may lie in the roof, as the Elite is fitted with a retractable folding hard-top.
Losing the roof creates a whole new perspective for both the driver and people gawking at the car as it passes by. The dramatic lines get a visual boost with the top stowed, since the eye has fewer places to wander. The result is an attractive grand touring car that aims to rival similar offerings from the likes of , and , even if it is a heavyweight by Colin Chapman’s standards.
You can let some virtual wind blow through your hair by watching a new Lotus Elite video clip posted .
2011 Mazda BT-50 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Now that the global has received its debut, has taken the time to show off its take on the mid-sized pickup at the Australian International Motor Show. The Japanese automaker calls its version the BT-50, and it wears plenty of the company’s Nagare design language. Along with the swept nose and headlights, Mazda has thrown in similarly fluid taillights out back that remind us of the units on the . Mazda says that the company was going for a “sophisticated beast” look. We’ve certainly heard stranger marketing claims, but it the image of sasquatch in a suit does make us chuckle.
And what, pray tell, is under that shapely hood? Mazda isn’t saying at the moment, but we’d be surprised if the company didn’t plan to share power plants with the 2011 Ranger. If that’s the case, buyers can expect to choose between a thrifty 2.2-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder with 150 horsepower and 276 pound-feet of torque and larger displacement diesel and gasoline options backed by six-speed gearboxes.
Sadly, it looks like you can forget about seeing the BT-50 in the States. Just like the Ranger, this pickup won’t be gracing our shores in any official capacity. for the press release.
2011 Ford F-150 – Click above for high-res image gallery
As we said shortly after , we think the Dearborn automaker has the very best range of powertrain options in the segment for 2011. One of the engines we are most impressed with is the 3.7-liter V6 that now serves as the base powerplant in the , but until now, we didn’t have final EPA fuel economy figures.
Well, that’s been rectified, as has announced that the 302-horsepower 3.7 will serve up 16 miles per gallon in the city and 23 on the highway in rear-wheel drive models, the latter figure making it the most fuel-efficient full-size pickup on the market. Stepping up the next rung to the 5.0-liter V8 will get you 360 horses and a fine 15 city, 21 highway EPA fuel economy rating, another best-in-class figure.
There are two more optional engines in the 2011 F-150. The top rung, 411-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 will deliver 12 mpg in the city and 17 on the highway. That’s not exactly stellar mileage, and it’s actually one mpg lower in both categories compared to 6.2-liter V8, but we’re expecting much better figures from the 3.5-liter EcoBoost, which matches the 6.2’s 11,300-pound tow rating and 3,060-pound payload.
Sadly, we still have to wait for final EPA mileage certification on the twin-turbo V6 mill. In the meantime, feel free to to read Ford’s latest press release touting its F-150 fuel economy figures.
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Live photos copyright (C)2010 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL and Ford Motor Company
ABC News goes for a spin with one of Google’s driverless cars – Click above to watch video
Google’s autonomous fleet has been clandestinely , and so far, their autonomous autos have been fault-free. One minor incident happened when a car was rear-ended, but the Skynet Google cars have yet to incur any points on their virtual licenses. Earlier this week, ABC News got the chance to go for a spin in one of the tech company’s automated cars, riding shotgun in a computer-controlled .
The engineers from Google explain that the Prius utilizes a series of cameras and a roof-mounted, spinning laser to see what is going on around it. The result is a vehicle which might just be safer than one with a human behind the wheel. However, according to the report, the goal of the system is not to completely remove the driver from the equation, the system is pitched as more of a “super cruise-control” than a full auto-drive system. The theory is that it would be useful for traffic-filled commutes to and from work, and it might be a nice solution to eliminate or reduce distracted-driving. Get a phone call? Hit the Google button and let the car have the wheel while you take your call.
Becky Worley, the news correspondent in the video clip, even gets up the guts to give the Google car a real-life brake test. She steps in front of it as it’s motoring down the road. What happens? The car “sees” her and slams on the binders. Check it all out in the video .
Here in the U.S., the mid-size sedan market is thought to be all but impregnable to newcomers. Ruled for decades by modles that have become icons of the industry, the segment has enjoyed a long and peaceful reign by the likes of the and . But the funny thing about success is that if you’re not very, very careful, it breeds complacency. While the titans of the four-door kingdom have been sleeping on beds of cash made on the innovations of two decades ago, has been busily polishing its reputation and pouring over $550 million into fresh research and development for new and advanced drivetrains for its .
One of the long accepted tenants of the mid-size sedan is “Thou Shalt Have a Six-Cylinder Option.” Ironically enough, this mode of thought arose as a challenge to the previously held belief that if you wanted to move four-doors in America, you had to offer a V8 under the hood. But when Japan’s Big Three proved they could dish out V8 horsepower with six-cylinder fuel economy, the eight-cylinder family hauler all but disappeared from the scene. Now, Hyundai is out to repeat history by debuting a turbocharged four-cylinder designed to rattle the cages of Toyota, Honda and .
has a long history of building high-quality cars and trucks, but the recent recall of over eight million vehicles for unintended acceleration-related issues showed that no company is without flaws. Toyota has since worked hard to correct the chinks in its armor, adding 40 quality engineers in Toyota City and another three chief engineers at its technical center in Ann Arbor to help prevent defects from reaching its customers in the future. At the same time, Toyota is in the process of auditing its most critical suppliers to ensure that quality checks are being properly executed; a process that has uncovered some inconsistency.
Bloomberg is reporting that Toyota has discovered that some of its suppliers aren’t performing as many component quality checks as the company thought. Dino Triantafyllos, vice president of North American product quality, told the news agency that there was a “misunderstanding” as to how many checks were being performed, with some suppliers doing one quality check per year instead of the required four. Triantafyllos feels that the audit is working, adding “these improvements we’re making, if we’d made them two years ago, maybe some of these issues wouldn’t have happened.”
Triantafyllos isn’t alone in his efforts to eliminate future quality problems. The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, led by Hiroshi Osada, is also working with Toyota to improve quality. Osada claims that the problems that led to the recall of millions of vehicles occurred in the design development stage, adding that closer inspection of components “should be able to help prevent quality defects.”
According to Reuters, the Securities and Exchange Commission is set to settle with the former head of the Obama Administration’s auto task force, Steven Rattner. Earlier this year, the SEC charged Rattner with participating in a pay-to-play pension program, but the commission is expected to announce today that the former car czar has agreed to pay a fine of more than $5 million and accept a multi-year ban from the securities industry.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has led an investigation into fraud surrounding the state’s $132 billion pension fund that has resulted in seven guilty pleas. One of those pleas came from the former New York comptroller Alan Hevesi, who was charged with corruption.
Rattner, meanwhile, has been charged with unscrupulous activities associated with Quadrangle, LLC – a private equity fund he co-founded in 2000. The SEC alleges that the investment group gave kickbacks to officials if they directed state pension money into the fund. Since then, Quadrangle has agreed to pay $12 million in fines associated with that scheme. Rattner, meanwhile, missed out on those proceedings because he no longer worked for the fund at the time.
[Sources: , Image: Neilson Barnard/Getty for Fortune Magazine]
Toyota RAV4 – Click above for high-res image gallery
In a regulatory filing submitted on Wednesday, revealed that it has signed a $60 million contract with to develop electric powertrain components for a battery-powered . This agreement states that Tesla will develop the battery, power electronics module, electric motor, gearbox and software for the popular crossover. The filing builds upon an when Toyota and Tesla stated their intentions to partner on the . Tesla’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reads:
On October 6, 2010, Tesla Motors, Inc. (”Tesla”) entered into a Phase 1 Contract Services Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Toyota Motor Corporation (”TMC”) for the development of a validated powertrain system, including a battery, power electronics module, motor, gearbox and associated software, which will be integrated into an electric vehicle version of the RAV4. Pursuant to the Agreement, based on preliminary specifications, TMC will pay Tesla approximately $60 million for the development services to be provided by Tesla. The parties will mutually agree to the final specifications, deliverables and payment amounts and schedule within 60 days of the execution of the Agreement. This amount will be paid in various installments during the term of the Agreement.
Previous reports suggest that a production version of the electric RAV4 should be ready to whiz down the streets by 2012, but we should get a first glimpse of a the at the next month. Hit the jump the read Tesla’s formal filing in its entirety. Hat tip to VFX!
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[Source: Securities and Exchange Commission]
: Tesla inks $60M Toyota deal to supply components for RAV4 EV
2011 Ford Ranger – Click above for high-res image gallery
has finally unveiled the not-for-U.S. . The company has just pulled the sheets back on its compact pickup at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, and there’s no mistaking the newest Blue Oval for anything but a Ford. With its corporate three-bar nose and heavily arched fender openings, the Ranger borrows plenty of cues from the likes of the , but throws in a payload capacity of around 3,300 pounds and engine options with up to 346 pound-feet of torque. The 2011 Ranger will debut in 180 markets with three cab choices, two-wheel and four-wheel drive options and two ride heights.
Under the hood, the most potent engine available will be a stout 3.2-liter Duratorq turbocharged five-cylinder diesel with 200 horsepower and 346 lb-ft of twist, though the company says that there will be a choice of a total of three powerplant options, including one gasoline mill. No matter what engine buyers choose, Ford is serving up six-speed manual and automatic transmissions to handle shifting detail. to check out the full press release for yourself, and no, North Americans, you still can’t have one.
It’s October once again. Soon, children all across the country will be in a sugar-induced frenzy, young women will apply the prefix “sexy” to professions that have no business endorsing skimpy work attire and all of the major networks will proffer an array of neutered horror flicks for one night only. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
Kawasaki has gotten into the spirit of things with its advertisement for the new Z1000. The company has employed one of the most terrifying weapons in the arsenal of horror movies for the spot: the creepy voice over of a little girl.
Throw in a little shaky hand-cam work and you’ve got an ad that’s sure to give your therapist plenty of billable hours in the near future. to have a good look at the video for yourself. Just don’t call us when you hear the whisperings of Kawasaki-possessed children in your sleep tonight.
Motor Trend has been around since 1949, and during that time it has handed out a fair share of awards to various automakers and vehicle models. More recently, the print publication has gone online by way of its web site, Youtube page and various social media networks. One network in particular has stuck a chord with the buff book and it’s choosing to leverage the power of Facebook to of its 2011 Sport/Utility Vehicle of the Year award.
M/T has been steadily rolling out its top 15 contenders, with the announcement of the winner to be made on October 19th, 2010 at 12:01 a.m EST. Why Facebook?
“We want to foster a two-way dialogue with our audience,” said Angus MacKenzie, Editor In-Chief of Motor Trend, “and Facebook was the next logical step to engage our community even further.”
Nembo Motociclette Super 32 Rovescio on the dyno – Click above for high-res image gallery
These days, most of the real innovation in the automobile world seems to stem from an attempt to completely replace the classic internal combustion engine. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t life left in ‘ol Bessy, now does it? Judging by the efforts of Daniele ‘Titus’ Sabatini of Rome, Italy, there’s plenty of new thinking going on.
Called the Nembo Motociclette Super 32 Rovescio, this air-cooled three-cylinder engine uses a single overhead cam and two valves per cylinder. Displacement is said to range from 1850 to 2100cc, and power will be between 160 and 250 horsepower. Nice, but pretty conventional so far. Here’s where it gets different: Unlike just about every other inline motorcycle engine currently in production, this engine is upside-down. In other words, the cylinders are positioned below the crankcase.
Why? According to Sabatini, the engine’s strongest part – the crankcase itself – can be isolated as the bike’s dominant structural frame member. While that’s also generally true of more standard designs, Sabatini believes that the arrangement of leaving the finned cylinders at the bottom completely unencumbered by frame tubes or plastic shrouds is more aesthetically pleasing and can lead to a lighter structure.
Do you agree? Check out the photos in our high-res image gallery below and read through the press release . Then, let us know what you think. Us? Well, you can color us intrigued.
has announced that Dave Zuchowski has been promoted to executive vice president of sales for the company. Zuchowski has been with the Korean automaker since 2007 when he came on board as the VP of sales. Since then, he has helped increase both market share and sales, and he’s also worked to improve the company’s retail network.
The new executive vice president of sales for the company has a long history in the automotive industry. Zuchowski got his start at before taking over duties as vice president of sales and field operations at . The knowledge base he’s built up over the years should serve him well in his new position where he’ll be responsible for everything from sales and market representation to field operations and dealer relations. to have a look at the official brief press release.
[Source: Hyundai]
of America promotes Zuchowski to executive VP of sales
has announced that Dave Zuchowski has been promoted to executive vice president of sales for the company. Zuchowski has been with the Korean automaker since 2007 when he came on board as the VP of sales. Since then, he has helped increase both market share and sales, and he’s also worked to improve the company’s retail network.
The new executive vice president of sales for the company has a long history in the automotive industry. Zuchowski got his start at before taking over duties as vice president of sales and field operations at . The knowledge base he’s built up over the years should serve him well in his new position where he’ll be responsible for everything from sales and market representation to field operations and dealer relations. to have a look at the official brief press release.
