The figures have been tallied for the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. in 2011, and not surprisingly, the Ford F-Series pickup truck is king of the heap once again. Dealers sold a total of 584,917 F-Series units in 2011, beating out the second-place by 169,787 units. The filled out the podium with 308,510 sales, which left the top three unaltered from their 2010 rankings. Fourth place went to the surging , which jumped from its seventh place position last year. Likewise, the enjoyed a jolt in popularity as well. While the aging CUV took the 13th spot last year, the Ford sold 254,293 units to take fifth place in 2011.
That bumped the and its variant to sixth place. Interestingly enough, the duo just barely beat out the by 5,000 units. Were the two Honda models to be split, the Fusion would have easily knocked the Accord further down the list. Likewise, the and teamed up to edge out the for ninth and tenth places, respectively. Head over to for a full chart detailing the top 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. for 2011.
may turn to aluminum body panels on the company’s F-Series pickup trucks in an effort to reduce weight. According to Ward’s Auto, the next-generation F-Series is set to debut in 2014 and will likely feature aluminum fenders and door skins. The news comes courtesy of two unnamed sources close to the vehicle’s development. Right now, the next-gen F-Series is rolling through Ford halls under the name P552, and while the automaker is reticent to go on the record about aluminizing its best-selling model, executives have made it clear that weight-savings is a major priority.
Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s Group Vice President of Global Product Development, has previously said the company intends to cut up to 700 pounds per model by 2019. Ditching stamped steel body panels for aluminum would be a good start. Ford has already dabbled in aluminum hoods on both the F-Series and Explorer, and the material is expected to find greater use across automakers in the near future as companies brace for stiffer Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.
The numbers are officially in for 2011, and once again, , General Motors and sold more pickup trucks than any other model. The Ford F-Series was the top-selling vehicle through November of last year with 516,639 units rolling off of dealer lots. That number handily trounces the in second place with 367,343 units sold. The and fell into third and fourth places, respectively, leaving to fill out the top five domestic automaker-built vehicles, with 218,750 units.
All told, GM took five spots on the list while Ford walked away with four. Chrysler only managed to crack the top 10 with its Ram offerings. Overall, American automakers sold over 1 million pickup trucks last year, proving that in the land of (still) cheap fuel, The pickup truck remains king. for the complete top 10 list, complete with sales figures through November.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has concluded its investigation into vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. The agency looked into a total of 364 reports of shift quality issues supplied by and they’ve reportedly determined that owners have experienced no loss of mobility or any unreasonable safety risk due to the problems. According to Inside Line, Ford identified several possible issues that could have contributed to difficulty shifting, including cold transmission fluid, clutch stay-out at high engine speeds, gear clash and loosening clutch plate bolts in early production vehicles. Ford has since replaced those fasteners with new hardware currently used in production.
The automaker said that the majority of the gear shift issues were due to the transmission not being up to operating temperature while driving and that the problems sorted themselves out after the drivetrain warmed up. Had NHTSA found any glaring issues with the transmission or clutch in the 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustang models, Ford may have been forced to issue a recall.
The finalists for the 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year have just been announced, and this year, the three candidates in each category are as follows:
Car:
Truck:
The above finalists are the result of voting by a 50-member jury of full-time automotive journalists and broadcasters from a (an award category that also includes sport utility and crossover utility vehicles). Eligibility requirements dictate that the vehicles up for consideration must be new or substantially revised for the model year.
The jury will now vote again on these shorter lists, and the winners will be named on the opening morning of the , with this year’s press conference falling on January 9.
was awarded to the and the .
Who do you think should win? Levy your votes in Comments.
If automakers have learned anything from the , it’s that changing a popular SUV nameplate to a crossover platform won’t necessarily hurt the (or ). is hoping to capture that same sort of magic with its – judging by these spy shots, the traditionally body-on-frame SUV stalwart appears to be crossing over for its next generation.
The next-gen Pathfinder will likely be based on Nissan’s FF-L platform that currently underpins vehicles like the crossover and minivan. Our best guess is that this Pathfinder, which will still remain a seven-passenger vehicle, could share many of its bits with the recently revealed . Either way, whatever Nissan has planned for the new Pathfinder will surely be better than the aging, -based model that’s currently on sale.
The new Pathfinder appears to be pretty far along in its development, so we’ll likely see its new CUV shape at the in January. For now, scroll through our gallery of spy shots to get a better glimpse at the Pathfinder’s new look.
Ties don’t typically happen in racing. Other sports, sure, but not motorsports. Because while the issue can sometimes come down to a fraction of a second, someone always crosses the finish line first. And when it comes to championship points, someone always comes out ahead. Well, almost always.
In a stunning, nail-biting end to the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Tony Stewart clinched his third title. But it sure didn’t come easy.
Entering this weekend’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway three points behind his chief rival Carl Edwards, Stewart was at a big disadvantage, starting from 15th place on the grid. He then suffered some major setbacks over the course of the race, dropping one, two or even three laps behind his rivals as flying debris caused damage to the front end of his , causing him to pit an extra two times.
However, Stewart overcame the odds, pulling off 118 passes to catch up with and then pass Edwards for the lead. Over 267 laps, the lead changed a record 26 times, but it was Stewart who took the checkered flag. The win itself, however, wasn’t enough to decide the title, as it left Stewart and Edwards tied for points. The decision came down to race wins, as Stewart’s five wins in the Chase trumped Edwards’ single regular-season win. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was all she wrote.
We have little interest in running into burning buildings, but we can imagine being a firefighter has its perks. For starters, those guys and girls get the chance to pilot some seriously incredible machinery. Superlift, Matchbox and got together to create what could very possibly be the world’s most bad-ass brush truck using a as the base chassis. The truck wears an astonishing 10-inch lift and 41-inch Interko IROK tires. A full tube exo-cage helps protect the PPG “Oh So Orange” paint, and a smattering of lights and sirens ensure that everyone will see this emergency vehicle coming.
A full fire-fighting utility bed, complete with water tanks, pumps and hoses, sits ready to take on brush fires and the like, and a front-mounted water canon means that the Matchbox brush truck can tackle flames going and coming. We dig it.
We love bull bars. A favorite of law enforcement officers everywhere, the bull bar quietly underscores the fact you aren’t just into protecting yourself against future collisions, but that you plan to instigate them. The DeeZee American Guardian seems fully capable of nudging traffic out of its way thanks to its Police Interceptor iForce kit by Rockwell Collins. Extra pushing power comes courtesy of an AirRaid intake kit, Maganaflow exhaust and a HyperTech Max Energy Tuner.
Of course, sometimes it’s simply better to drive over obstacles than through them. With that in mind, DeeZee threw on a six-inch BDS off-road lift kit, massive Goodyear tires and a set of menacing BMF wheels. The rest of the truck is sprinkled with accessories borrowed from the DeeZee catalog, including bed caps, a cargo carrier and a bed rack. for the quick press release.
Chevy Camaro ZL1, BMW 3 Series Diesel/Wagon, diesel boom, Nissan Titan hangs on
Episode #253 of the is here, with Chris, Zach, Dan and Steven Ewing serving as this week’s crew. Topics include the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the 2012 BMW 3 Series diesel and wagon, the coming wave of diesels from other automakers and Nissan sticking with its Titan pickup for a while. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #253:
In the Autoblog Garage
2011 Lexus RX 450h
2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI Autobahn
2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 2011 Ford Transit Connect
Hosts: , , , Runtime: 01:09:21
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The Texas Auto Writers Association has awarded the a slew of honors. The pickup took home the Truck of Texas title by beating out its competitors at the annual Truck Rodeo. The award is the association’s most prestigious honor, but Ford also picked up a few other nods. TAWA named the company’s EcoBoost engine technology its best vehicle feature, and the took home the CUV of Texas badge. Finally, the entire pickup line was named the Truck Line of Texas by the association, making for a pretty clean sweep of the truck competition.
This year, manufacturers entered 48 vehicles into the TAWA Truck Rodeo, and 57 automotive writers turned out to evaluate the trucks and SUVs. When the dust settled, Ford had earned seven awards total, including the best heavy-duty, luxury and full-size pickup trucks.
For its part, saw its products fare well in the competition, too. The went home carrying SUV of Texas trophy, while TAWA awarded its sister, the , the mid-sized SUV of Texas title. Finally, the writers in attendance named the the full-size SUV of Texas.
The is a massive improvement over the last-generation model, and the Blue Oval’s sales tally supports this claim. Ford tells us that the the Explorer is flying off store shelves, with 100,000 units sold so far in 2011. Those numbers are up 290 percent compared to 2010 totals, making the Explorer the fastest-growing mid-size utility vehicle in the country. This is the first time the Explorer has hit the 100,000 mark since 2007, and there are still over two months left in the year.
The Explorer appears to be selling quite well in spite of mixed reviews. While the vehicle came in for 2011 North American Truck Of The Year laurels, it hasn’t fared as well in a number of comparison tests. Cars.com the Explorer sixth in its $37,000 SUV Shootout, and earlier in the year, Consumer Reports ranked the Explorer as the utility vehicle out of 19 models, with complaints centering on the CUV’s MyFordTouch infotainment system.
Ford would likely counter that the company is more concerned with what CUV buyers think, and those customers appear to be giving their vote of approval with their pocketbooks, and they might also note that the Explorer’s model is only hitting the market as a 2012 model now (though it’s already claiming about 15 percent of the model mix). Hit the jump to read Ford’s official press release.
At the 2009 , Vaughn Gittin Jr. wowed us with his . With a full carbon fiber body, supercharged V8 producing 550 horsepower and a custom interior, it was easily one of the coolest modern pony cars we had ever seen. The only problem was that to buy one of your own, you’d need a six-figure sum burning a hole in your “fun money” account. That’s a lot of cash for any car, let alone a . The solution is the , a much cheaper version of the RTR-C that’s actually fairly affordable for the average sports car buyer.
The question you might be asking, though, is whether there is room in the automotive marketplace for yet another specialty Mustang. It seems a new variation comes across our desks at least once a week, and there are already endless aftermarket options for those wishing to build their own personalized pony car. Plus, many of those same Mustangs have well-established names like Shelby, Saleen and Roush emblazoned on their sides, all of whom are legends in the storied history of motorsports (and the Ford Mustang in particular).
Even so, Gittin is hoping to bring something new to the table. As a series champion and one of the most popular figures in Formula Drift, he believes that he can offer something different to a new generation of car enthusiasts. When Gitten first began competing with a Ford Mustang, he felt a disconnect between the car’s aftermarket and the crowds of fans who were attending drifting events. “Since I fell in love with being behind the wheel of a Mustang in 2005, I noticed that most of the aftermarket was offering parts that were so traditional and, for the most part, not really my style – nor most of my generation’s style” he told Autoblog. “I wanted to introduce something fresh and aggressive to the market that would engage a new generation of Mustang owner and appeal to traditional Mustang enthusiasts at the same time.” That vision became a reality at SEMA in 2009 with the debut of his RTR-C and RTR Mustang.
Still, the question remains. Is there room for yet another Mustang tuner to enter the mix? We took a quick spin in an RTR Mustang to help find out.
While has never enjoyed the same stellar reputation for quality as its Japanese compatriots at and , it has lately found itself in danger of acquiring the opposite rep. Nissan’s performance on influential J.D. Power quality and dependability studies has been below average lately, as many of its rivals have improved. Nissan will be launching a new quality plan in November, but Automotive News has the scoop today.
The most immediate change in Nissan’s quality approach is a shoot-the-messenger measure requiring dealers to present car buyers with a two-page quick-reference guide that’s part of 2012 owner manuals. The manual insert will seek to address some of the common threads that have cropped up in J.D. Power survey results. Nissan will also be addressing some of the most frequent customer complaints, like poor shift quality from its new seven-speed automatic transmissions used in products. Nissan tells AN that it is already upgrading the software in the transmissions.
While that’s a start, Nissan has a long way to go to hit its stated goal of having both Nissan and Infiniti brands in J.D. Power’s top three in their respective categories by 2016. Nissan ranked just 24th in the , and managed only 25th in the Vehicle Dependability Survey, according to AN.
Other issues that have bothered Nissan customers include difficulties with HVAC controls, confusing rear wiper controls, and using hands-free phone systems. Kazumasa Katoh, Senior Vice President of Global Quality, said that these kinds of customer complaints are the result of Nissan customers’ embrace of new technology, which can be complicated.
We’ve heard this line rather often, ever since saw its J.D. Power scores plummet almost a decade ago. Yet automakers seem to continue to struggle in designing in-car systems that are simple and intuitive. Earlier this year, Ford’s MyFord Touch system led Consumer Reports to from the and .
Lamborghini Crossover, Four-cylinder small Porsche, Google autonomous cars, Tire scanners in roads
Episode #250 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week Chris, Zach, and Dan are joined by Autoblog Executive Editor Chris Paukert. Topics include the rumor of an upcoming Lamborghini Crossover vehicle, a small Porsche with a 1.9-liter four cylinder, Google’s autonomous cars, and an effort to embed tire scanners in road surfaces to rat you out to Big Brother. Your questions and comments power the last third of the podcast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #250:
In the Autoblog Garage
2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL
2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
2012 Kia Sorento SX 2011 Ford Mustang V6 Coupe
Hosts: , , , Runtime: 01:10:35
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Ford Focus ST, Three-cylinder EcoBoost, Frankfurt anticipation, Jaguar C-X16
Episode #247 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week Chris and Dan are joined by Damon Lavrinc to talk about the Ford Focus ST, a three-cylinder EcoBoost, mull the excitement starting in Frankfurt and ogle the Jaguar C-X16. Your questions and comments power the last third of the podcast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #247:
In the Autoblog Garage 2011 Ford F150 XLT 4X4 Supercab
Long-term MINI Countryman
Hosts: , , Runtime: 01:33:08
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2012 Toyota Camry, Frankfurt Motor Show, Russia to Alaska tunnel, Bentley SUV and hybrid
Episode #245 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week, Chris, Dan, and Zach are joined by Drew Phillips, just back from Monterey. Topics we cover include the 2012 Toyota Camry, concepts we’ll see at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, the tunnel from Russia to Alaska and Bentley hybrids and SUVs. Your questions and comments power the last third of the podcast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #244:
Frankfurt concepts
In the Autoblog Garage 2011 Ford Fiesta SES Hatchback
2011 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ
Long-Term 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
Hosts: , , , Runtime: 01:14:27
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The Bonneville Salt Flats are a place where records are constantly made and broken. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are driven, towed or pushed out to the brilliantly white sodium chloride desert where drivers embark on a quest for high speeds. You can expect to see production cars, motorcycles, purpose-built streamliners and vehicles that look ready to leave the flat plain and attack the sky. One vehicle you would not expect to pull away from the start line, however, is a .
Brent Hajek sees the world a little differently.
The Hajek Motorsports team prepped a 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty for high-speed blasts under the Bonneville sun. The truck is a nearly stock diesel-engined model equipped with the new turbocharged 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8. Hajek Motorsports swapped out the fuel injectors, fuel pump and turbo to get more go-juice into the engine at a greater rate. Inside, a roll cage and five-point harness were added for safety while moonbeam wheel caps attempt to streamline the high-speed brick. Other than the moderate upgrades and sponsor stickers, the Hajek F-250 is a run-of-the-mill production vehicle that can run on standard diesel or B20 biodiesel. There’s no exact number with regards to the upgraded performance figures, but Hajek Motorsports states that it’s pushed horsepower and torque up by 50 percent over the stock engine’s 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of grunt.
What sort of speed does that translate to on the salt flats? A new B Production Diesel Truck record of 171.123 miles per hour, which bests the previous record 166.850 mph held by a Duramax-powered pickup. The Hajek team also filled the truck up with B20 biodiesel and set out to beat the previous record of 130.614 mph. They smashed that one, with a speed of 182 miles per hour. That’s a pretty terrifying good clip for the large pickup. Kudos are in order for Brent Hajek and his team.
Ford’s Vista Roof option has been selling well recently, and the automaker says this is, in part, to the little shot of Vitamin D it gives to drivers’ everyday commutes. The split glass roof also has UV protection comparable to SPF-50 sunscreen, which should satisfy even the fairest-skinned buyers. So far this year, the Vista Roof option is checked on 48 percent of sales, 56 percent of sales and 32 percent of all sales.
The numbers are staggering when you consider that the Vista Roof is a standalone option in most cases, and an expensive one at that. It costs $1,595 to let the sun shine in on the Edge and Explorer, and $1,495 on the Flex. The available all-glass roof on the is the most expensive at $1,995.
The Vista Roof is certainly a great way to work on your tan before you ever hit the beach, but it ain’t exactly your dad’s . for Ford’s official press blast.
While we tend to think of as an American automaker – and it is – the fact of the matter is that it has also been in the British market for longer than most automakers have been around altogether. 100 years, all told, and the company has been celebrating that milestone throughout the year in a variety of ways. And this is the latest.
Called the Centura edition, this special marks the Blue Oval’s centenary in the UK with a bunch of options bundled into one package. To start with, the special Fiesta nods at its forefather in its color options: British buyers can get it in any color they want, as long as it’s black. Panther Black metallic, to be specific. It’s also got a 1.25-liter Zetec four, chrome mirror caps, 16-inch alloys, daytime LEDs and a slew of automatic do-dads.
While hardly the exclusive GT supercar you might expect Ford of Britain to celebrate with, it is decidedly more accessible. And in the end, wasn’t that what Henry Ford envisioned for the motorist? Details in the press release .
Fiesta Centura
originally appeared on on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 07:57:00 EST. Please see our .
