The Auto Blog .ru

No doubt Ford has seen the light shining at the end of its turnaround plan for a while, but now The Blue Oval is getting so close to the daylight it might even be able to smell the fresh air. By the end of 2005, Ford stock was rated so low by the three major ratings agencies that it was floating in the cistern below the basement of junk status. After Mulally came onboard, the company put up everything to get the money to work his plan, from the company logo to its real estate. In order to get it back, two of the three agencies need to rate Ford stock as investment grade, and one, Fitch, has just done so.

Fitch has certified Ford stock as BBB-, the first investment-grade level, and issued a stable outlook for the company and its finance arm. Ford remains just one step below investment worthy with both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, but with “a solid Q1″ predicted by by Citigroup and Morgan Stanley analysts (they expect earnings to match Q1 2011 in spite of European and Asia-Pacific sales doldrums), the final turn might not be far away.

When it does, Ford will have achieved what it laid out as Job One for 2012. As well as getting its assets out of hock, Dearborn will also greatly reduce its borrowing costs. Ford’s head of investor relations, Michael Seneski, vowed in December that Ford would return to investors’ good graces by showing “authoritative and highly credible insight into our automotive business and Ford Credit.” We’re of the opinion that an increasing flow of good products haven’t hurt, either.

Ford no longer junk at Fitch as stock returns to investment grade

We Finally Sample Scion’s Irresistible Lightweight At Home

Five months ago, we flew nearly 11 hours to spend a fleeting afternoon with the highly anticipated Scion FR-S at Japan’s Sodegaura Forest Raceway, a track located just outside of Tokyo. Last week, we were in the air for less than an hour en route to Las Vegas to spend a much longer day with the sports coupe on our own turf.

The FR-S impressed us during our first drive in Japan, but the weather turned lousy and we didn’t have a chance to drive it on public roads at legal speeds. This time, Scion scheduled plenty of seat time on public roads and on a racing circuit, while Mother Nature provided us with excellent weather.

Driving the coupe again in proper U.S. spec on home roads (and under much more favorable conditions) gave us better insight into the naturally aspirated four-seater. Not only did we learn a lot more about the engine, chassis and its driving dynamics, but we were able to finally interact with the FR-S as a daily driver.

It was, in effect, an interesting and informative second date.

Continue reading 2013 Scion FR-S [w/video]

2013 Scion FR-S [w/video]

While we’re not ready to label this the return of the Pontiac G8, count us eager to get behind the wheel of whatever a “2014 Chevrolet SS Performance” turns out to be. Hopefully the appearance of this reference on the OnStar website is more than just a digital placeholder.

Chevy SS rumors have been swirling lately, with General Motors registering the “SS” trademark earlier this month, just days after our spy shooters caught what looked like a hotted-up Impala. Then there’s the NASCAR situation: Chevrolet has said its new entry in the racing series will be both a new vehicle and a new nameplate. We’re guessing that car isn’t going to be the Spark.

So this new OnStar “leak,” if it is such a thing, would point to the Chevy SS being a separate model (you can check it out on OnStar’s site here). If we are reading our tea leaves correctly, the model will be derived from the rear-drive Holden Commodore (the same Zeta architecture that underpins Chevrolet’s law-enforcement-only Caprice PPV), while the brand’s front-drive Impala will get a new, sportier variant. We’d also assume that the long-wheelbase version of the Commodore used for the Caprice cop car would donate its top-level powertrain, the 355-horsepower, 6.0-liter V8.

Maybe we should just press the OnStar button and ask?

Has GM’s OnStar accidentally confirmed the 2014 Chevy SS?

Nissan announced earlier in the month that it would be fielding a factory team in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, piloting a 2012 GT-R. The car is reportedly a Club Track Edition, a race-ready derivative sold in Japan, and our spy shooters have spotted it out in the wild.

The car is only lightly camouflaged, with coverings over parts of the the front fascia, hood, and rear windows. We will admit that your guess is as good as our as to what might lie beneath the wrapping, but given that Nissan has said the only changes from production car to race car are some added downforce in the front and a new rear wing, we’ll just go with “nothing” as our answer.

Nissan GT-R 24h Nürburgring race car caught testing

Toyota’s Tacoma may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but it’s received a mild refresh for 2012, and a new “limited edition” package courtesy of in-house tuning arm, Toyota Racing Development. Toyota showed a preproduction TRD T/X Baja at last fall’s Texas State Fair and then again at SEMA, with the real deal now poised to go on sale in May.

The Baja Series will start at $32,990, plus a delivery fee of $810. That’s for a Tacoma Access Cab model with a manual transmission – the price scales up for automatic-equipped trucks and Double Cab models. The Baja Series package carries an MSRP of $5,015, but you get to subtract $650 in a “factory credit” if you order it, since the Baja’s Off-Road Package is cheaper than the standard Tacoma Off-Road Package. Or to make things simpler, figure the Baja Series Tacoma is going to cost you $4,365 more than the same truck without it.

Besides the kit already included in the TRD Off-Road Package, which is required to get the Baja Series upgrades, the special Tacomas will feature BF Goodrich T/A KO tires (LT265/70R16) with bead-locking wheels, Bilstein shocks (front and rear), a TRD exhaust system, a two-inch front lift, and those snazzy Baja Series graphics.

Toyota has all the details in it’s press release, which you can see if you scroll down.

Continue reading Toyota prices 2013 Tacoma TRD T/X Baja from $32,990*

Toyota prices 2013 Tacoma TRD T/X Baja from $32,990*

Lamborghini Urus, Beijing Motor Show, Scion xB and xD dropped, diesel vehicle sales up

Episode #279 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Chris, Dan, and Chris Paukert are joined by the phenomenon that is Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics to chat about the Lamborghini Urus, the Beijing Motor Show, the end of the Scion xB and xD, and the uptick in diesel vehicle sales. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #279:

• Lamborghini Urus
• Beijing Motor Show
• Scion xD, xB dropped
• Diesel sales up 35 percent

In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Infiniti G37XS Coupe
2012 BMW 328i
Long-Term 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman

Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Chris Paukert

Feedback
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com

Review the show in iTunes

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #279

Autoblog Podcast #279

Honda has been building the Civic in Greensburg, Indiana, since 2008, but now the company’s newest American assembly plant has some variety on its lines. The 2013 Acura ILX joined its mass-market relative at the 2.1 million square-foot facility yesterday.

Honda is building both the standard ILX and the ILX Hybrid at Honda Manufacturing Indiana, which is the only plant slated for assembly of the new compact Acura. Greensburg will continue to build Civic sedans, including the natural-gas-powered Civic GX, both for domestic consumption and export. Since the ILX is based on the Civic, the two cars sharing an assembly line is a natural.

The ILX goes on sale on May 22, at a starting price of $25,900 plus $895 for destination. Scroll down to read the full press release.

Continue reading 2013 Acura ILX production gets underway in Indiana

2013 Acura ILX production gets underway in Indiana

Dreamworks was founded by three Hollywood titans as an independent studio with the aim of making good, and profitable, movies. That didn’t happen. Now the Paramount-owned Dreamworks just wants to make money the Hollywood way: opportunistic copying. It is in talks with Electronic Arts to make a Need for Speed movie, perhaps because it wants its own Fast & Furious franchise, certainly because it is bankrupt of ideas. In either case, Dreamworks is not alone.

Word was that a deal should have been done already, but nothing has been announced. That deal is said to already have a script for the film written by George Gatins, whose borther wrote Real Steel. If the deal doesn’t come off as planned, it’s been said that other studios are waiting in line to chat with EA about the same thing.

If you want to a glimpse of a Hollywood vision of Need for Speed, Michael Bay did the trailer for Need for Speed: The Run last year. To extrapolate the movie, imagine that trailer being fifty times longer, fewer sound effects lifted from Transformers, actors who look like their in-game counterparts but can’t act nearly as well, and explosions. And even more hot women. Scroll down for the vid.

Continue reading Need For Speed video game to become a movie? [w/video]

Need For Speed video game to become a movie? [w/video]

It takes a lot to grow jaded at the thought of a one-of-a-kind, seven-figure, record-breaking supercar, but that’s what’s happened after this many years of special edition Bugattis. The latest: a unique version of the Grand Sport roadster created for the Beijing Motor Show and one lucky (read: obscenely wealthy) customer.

Called the Wei Long edition, this one-off Veyron celebrates the Year of the Dragon. It was born out of the same collaboration with Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur that gave us the previous blue-and-white marbled Grand Sport L’Or Blanc edition. Only this one is white with red trim.

Like what you see? It can be yours for €1.58 million – chump change over two million greenbacks. Scope it out in the high-res image gallery and the press release below.

Continue reading Bugatti unveils one-off porcelain-trimmed Veyron Grand Sport Wei Long edition in Beijing

Bugatti unveils one-off porcelain-trimmed Veyron Grand Sport Wei Long edition in Beijing

Scion has long been labeled as a “youth brand,” so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to read word of parent Toyota turning over the marque’s aging nameplates so quickly. According to Ward’s Auto, Scion is set to kill off its xB and xD models – the first a onetime icon for the brand, the latter an econobox that never truly caught on with buyers (not unlike it’s predecessor, the xA).

A model like the xB was always going to be a love-hate proposition, and indeed, the subcompact sharply divided opinion because of its its t-square styling and funky stance back when it was introduced in 2004. But enough buyers fell enough with its good qualities – remarkable space efficiency, solid fuel economy, ease-of-driving and low pricing that the xB sold surprisingly well, in the process becoming something of a totem for the brand. The second-generation model, which bowed for 2007, seemed to alter all the things that made the original so endearing: the xB grew substantially, had the uniquely sharp corners of its design chamfered off, and it gained more power without adding much in the way of performance because the vehicle had been so radically upsized. Fuel economy dipped, too, as did the xB’s popularity with shoppers. Last year, Scion only moved about 17,000 examples – in its heyday, the xB sold over 60,000 units.

A couple of years ago, Jim Farley, Ford’s vice president of global marketing, told Autoblog that Scion’s intent wasn’t to be a youth brand at all – it was to be an experimental division, an incubator for product and marketing techniques. Farley, as you may recall, was one of the driving forces behind Scion, ascending to the role of its vice president before being reassigned to Lexus. By Farley’s yardstick, perhaps Scion had pushed the xB and xD as far as they could go, and now it’s simply time to test new vehicular hypotheses. Indeed, more recent models like the tiny iQ and FR-S coupe show the brand experimenting in bold new directions… exactly the sort of innovation we can get behind.

Scion xB, xD models getting the axe

Cadillac’s new XTS isn’t just headed to China, it will be built there. The forthcoming full-size luxury cruiser had already been earmarked for production in General Motors’ Oshawa, Ontario Assembly Plant, but the automaker has just announced in Beijing that it will also be built in China with its joint venture partner Shanghai General Motors.

Cadillac is still a relatively small player in China’s premium segment, with just 68 dealers and 30,000 sales last year. However, it’s growing quickly, with March sales up more than 35 percent year-over-year to 2,745 units. Better still, General Motors says Cadillac’s average buying age is very young – just 35 – and it expects to have 120 dealers online by the end of this year to meet growing demand.

The idea of local XTS production strikes us as a smart one, as China is enjoying a swell in demand for luxury cars, and it has always maintained a strong demand for vehicles with large rear seats. Cadillac already has a solid track record building in the communist nation, as it first began assembling the China-only SLS Executive Sedan – essentially an extended wheelbase STS – back in 2006.

Continue reading Cadillac expanding XTS production to China

Cadillac expanding XTS production to China

BMW has created the BMW i sub-brand for its upcoming production plug-in models, which currently include three concepts: the i3, i8 and the i8 Spyder. After keeping that third model away from our eager cameras at the New York Auto Show, BMW finally showed off the i8 Spyder Concept in the metal at the Beijing Motor Show today.

The car itself we’ve already learned plenty about, but seeing it on stage shows once again that BMW is serious about putting cars like these on the road (toned down from the concept’s style, of course, perhaps with something like this). We’re more than ready for the through-the-road, plug-in hybrid that packs a 96-kW (131-horsepower) electric motor in front and a turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine offering 223 hp in back. 0-62 in five seconds and maybe 78 MPGe? Yes, please.

BMW is also making official the “eDrive” name, which is the new catch-all name for all of the electric drivetrain components: motor, battery and motor management system. First hinted at in 2008, the eDrive designation will be used “for the drive technology of all future electric and plug-in hybrid cars,” so get used to seeing it a lot.

Continue reading BMW i8 Spyder takes to the stage bearing eDrive name

BMW i8 Spyder takes to the stage bearing eDrive name

Eterniti Motors chose the 2012 Beijing Motor Show to unveil the Artemis, an engineering prototype of the Hemera SUV Concept we saw at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year. From the looks of things, the boutique automaker has ditched the Porsche Cayenne-inspired front for a fascia that borrows a bit more heavily from the Jaguar playbook. The company says the vehicles on display are currently running prototypes used for testing and that finished examples should be in production by this summer.

Designed to offer buyers new levels of luxury and performance, Eterniti calls the Artemis a Super SUV. The cabin boasts absurd levels of hand-crafted detail, including quilted carpets with lambswool rugs, natural wood veneers with carbon fiber and piano black accents and twin reclining rear seats. Eterniti stitched the SUV’s body from carbon composite and massive 23-inch wheels are standard equipment. Under the hood, a 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 (wonder where they got that?) dumps 600 horsepower to the ground and helps the machine dart to 62 mph in a scant 4.5 seconds.

Buyers may purchase their own Artemis for around $337,785 at current conversion rates, complete with a two-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Eterniti thoughtfully offers insurance and financing for those who don’t have that sort of cash on hand. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Eterniti Motors brings updated Hemera Artemis SUV to Beijing

Eterniti Motors brings updated Hemera Artemis SUV to Beijing

It’s been the better part of a year since we first brought you reports that Victoria Beckham – who had then just signed on as a celebrity “creative director” for the Range Rover brand – was set to get her own special edition of the chic new Evoque. We didn’t know quite what to make of the news then – much less when the British purveyor of luxury SUVs released a teaser just a few days ago – but now JLR has taken the wraps off its glamorous new special edition, and it’s not nearly as gaudy as you might think.

As you can see, the second vehicle released by Jaguar Land Rover’s new Engineered To Order division (alongside the new Jaguar XJ Ultimate) is characterized by matte black paint, which contrasts with the gloss black and rose-gold trim. The interior is finished in vintage-finish tan leather, with mohair floor mats and a microsuede headliner. It also comes with a four-piece set of fitted leather luggage, and a leather portfolio carrying the owner’s manual and bearing Victoria Beckham’s own signature.

In other words, it’s suitably posh for a vehicle resulting from a collaboration between the Land Rover Design team and the pop star who made her name as Posh Spice. Only five examples out of the 200 planned for production will make it Stateside, with no word yet on pricing. We’ll also be keeping an eye out for more images of the luxed-out, matte-finish Evoque when they surface, but in the meantime you can view the solitary pic released so far in high-resolution and delve into the full press release below.

Continue reading Victoria Beckham edition Range Rover Evoque looks suitably Posh

Victoria Beckham edition Range Rover Evoque looks suitably Posh

Bulgarian tuner Vilner has some kind of Luxo-Ray that fires munitions packed with at least two tons of quilted leather and Alcantara, then aims it at just about everything as soon as it can be reloaded. The latest target is the Land Rover Defender Wood, making this the second time in a year that the Defender has come into Vilner’s sights.

Last time they only hit it with one barrel and left the floorboards and cargo area covered in black carpeting. This time they unloaded both barrels, so in addtion to black-and-brown Nappa leather and Alcantara wrapping everything from the sport seats to the third brake light, Vilner’s added leather arm rests, wood paneling underfoot and a new treatment for its 600-watt “Ground Zero” sound system that all but eliminates usable cargo space.

Oh, and the whole thing is soundproofed. So that no one can hear you scream at your passengers to remove their dark-soled shoes and not eat, drink or touch anything.

Continue reading Vilner adds wood paneling to Land Rover Defender

Vilner adds wood paneling to Land Rover Defender

James Bond has driven a lot of noteworthy vehiclesover the course of his long, fictitious career in Her Majesty’s secret service: Bentleys, Aston Martins, Lotuses, BMWs… and those are just the cars. There’ve been countless motorcycles, tanks and trucks as well. And in between high-speed chases across dangerous and picturesque terrain, 007 has streaked across the sky in helicopters, jets and hot-air balloons, above it in the space shuttle. Let’s not forget that Bond is also a commander in the Royal Navy, so he’s also no stranger to speedboats, jet-skis, yachts, warships and submarines.

It’s hard to keep track of it all, so with the latest film, Skyfall, coming out in October, we’re glad to share this tidy infographic that lays out all the Bond vehicles from every movie, plus some trivia and miscellany for the most die-hard Bond fans and automotive enthusiasts. It’s similar to the one we brought you last year, only updated and more comprehensive. Click the image above to view the infographic in higher resolution.

Infographic lays out all of 007’s vehicles

Of course you all know who that man in the picture is, don’t you? He’s Jeremy Clarkson, one of the stars of Top Gear, the BBC’s hilarious automotive variety show. Its 18th series just premiered on BBC America this past Monday, with more new episodes airing Mondays at 8:30 p.m. EDT/PDT.

We include this preamble because the powers that be at the BBC have kindly suggested that if we want to use this photo of their Mr. Clarkson, we do so “for show promotion only.”

Now that we’ve taken care of that, we’ll get on with the news, which of course, pertains to the aforementioned celebrity rankling yet another group in Britain. This time it’s a result of Clarkson’s commentary in The Sun newspaper, calling people who commit suicide by jumping under trains “selfish,” suggesting that trains should be put back on schedule after these incidents as soon as possible. According to a report by Press Gazette, five groups who assist suicide victims and their families have complained to the Press Complaints Commission, stating their belief that Clarkson and his newspaper employer violated a clause pertaining to “intrusion into grief.”

The Sun apologized, according to the report, removed Clarkson’s column from its website and agreeing to train its staff in reporting suicide sensitively, among other concessions.

Given Clarkson’s long history of seemingly attempting to offend everyone in Britain, from its clergy to public sector unions, if not the world (particularly Indians), we wonder if he’ll actually be forced to complete the training. And if he does, we can only imagine what an amazing BBC special that might make.

Sun retrains staff over Jeremy Clarkson suicide jabs

We last saw the Aston Martin V12 Zagato on the floor at the Geneva Motor Show in March. It was hardly an opportune moment to relish the automaker’s stunning new two-seater, however, as we were forced to dodge the crowds while shooting images for our live gallery. Wanting to get a closer second look at the exceedingly rare exotic and shoot a more detailed photo montage, we visited Galpin Aston Martin in Southern California for a private viewing (astute readers may recall that several years ago we visted Galpin’s exclusive “vault room” to check out the Aston Martin One-77).

Beneath this example’s glossy Diavolo Red paint, mounted within the all-alloy aluminum monocoque platform, is the powerful running gear of a V12 Vantage (a car we called “an intoxicating machine masterfully engineered to gratify every emotion in a car enthusiast’s soul” in our V12 Vantage review). In a nutshell, the rear-wheel drive V12 Zagato features a naturally-aspirated 6.0-liter V12 (rated at 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque), a rear mid-mounted transaxle and a traditional six-speed manual gearbox. Ever so slightly lighter than the V12 Vantage, the V12 Zagato will crack the 60 mph benchmark in about four seconds and not run out of steam until about 190 mph. Scroll down to continue reading.

Continue reading Private showing gives us a closer look at the Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Private showing gives us a closer look at the Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Remember the rumors of BMW working on a hot 1 Series hatch just below the 1 Series M? The evidence trail was so faint that we called it “the most speculative sort of specualtion” when we posted on it six months ago. The trail and the car just got a lot hotter now that the very three-door hatch in question, the M135i, has been spotted burning serious gas around the Nürburgring.

Juice will come from BMW’s N55 inline-six cylinder with somewhere around 320 horsepower, and we’re told there will in fact be an all-wheel-drive version to follow. This will put BMW at ground zero of the small luxury hot hatch battle alongside the 350-horsepower Mercedes-Benz A25 AMG and 340-horsepower Audi RS3. That gives us one more thing to remember: even if the Benz comes in at 340 hp there’ll be 1,000 horsepower between just these three cars in a segment best known for frugal luxury, which means the good old days in this segment are still on the way.

BMW M135i caught in a ‘Ring fling

Alfa Romeos were meant to be on sale here after summer, but we all know that’s not happening. Nevertheless, lentamente, Alfa Romeo’s return to the U.S. progresses. According to a story in Automotive News, Fiat was earlier this month granted the U.S. trademark for “Alfa Romeo 4C” for the car and ancillaries. We can at least take that as certain; Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne’s statement that the 4C will go on sale at the end of 2013 we’ll take with a bit more caution.

Maserati is organizing production of the 4C in Italy, and the €45,000 ($59,310 U.S.) coupe is projected to go on sale in Europe early next year. Only 2,500 will be made per annum, and here they’ll give Alfa a much needed halo car to entice less spendy buyers into showrooms and into giving other Alfa models – and the brand itself – a chance.

We know the 4C will eventually be joined by the Dodge-Dart based Giulia sedan and a crossover or two. As for when, well, you can circle late 2013 on your calendar. In pencil.

Alfa-Romeo gets 4C trademarked in the U.S.