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General Motors has suspended production of the Chevrolet Cruze. The automaker’s Lordstown, Ohio facility suspended its third shift entirely and shortened its first and second shifts due to an unnamed supplier issue according to a spokesperson with the plant. Reuters reports GM has declined to elaborate on the nature of the kink in the company’s supply chain, but stressed that the automaker hopes to clear up the issue as soon as possible. The Cruze has enjoyed major success this year, becoming the second-best selling vehicle in its class, second only to the Toyota Corolla.

The Corolla leads the Cruze by a scant 4,000 units, but the Cruze has managed to best both the Honda Civic and the Ford Focus without breaking a sweat. Previously, GM CEO Dan Akerson said he hopes the Cruze will become the best-selling vehicle in its segment by the end of 2011, but its unclear just how the new supplier crunch will impact those goals.

GM suspends production of Chevrolet Cruze due to supplier issue

A little less than a year ago, the Mustang Club of Poland shocked us with an amazing fan-made video documenting some of the organization’s headier hardware. Now the club is back with a different sort of video. The director has managed to direct the entire crowd to craft a Stomp-style musical sound collage made up of the various clicks, chimes, slams, squeaks, roars and honks of a crowd of very stylish ponies. We’d rather watch the cars prowling around the cramped streets and open countryside of Europe, but we still commend the group for what must have been a very challenging video to shoot and edit.

The group says we can expect to see a making-of clip to come along soon as well. In the mean time, hit the jump to check out the new video, and be sure to click back for a little refresher on the club’s first cinematic endeavor as well. You’ll be glad you did.

Continue reading Mustang Club of Poland returns with musical number

Mustang Club of Poland returns with musical number

In Germany, having a reliable car is almost a rite of passage. That is, you won’t be granted passage onto the roadways if you’re car hasn’t passed the government’s strict testing regime.

Called the Technischer Überwachungsverei and generally shortened to TÜV, the organization first gets its hands and diagnostic equipment on your new car after its third year of service, and then again every two years after that. If your car fails its first go-round at the TÜV, it gets sent to a repair shop. If it fails again, it’s off to the great junkyard in the sky.

No wonder, then, that consumers are eager to see the results of the TÜV’s checkups year after year. And for 2011, after 7,779,312 million inspections, the Toyota Prius and Porsche 911 have taken home golden trophies in two different classes.

Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Germany’s iconic sports car was found to be so reliable, even after 10 or more years of ownership – after all, we’d imagine that most owners take extremely good care of their pride and joy. Plus, the 911 employs a design that practically dates back to the dawn of the German automobile itself, which means Porsche has had plenty of time to refine its mechanicals.

If you’re looking for something a bit newer, it seems the Toyota Prius is your best bet. For the second year in a row, the Japanese hybrid hatchback earned top marks in the three-year-old category, beating out the Toyota Auris and Mazda2.

And the worst? The Ford Ka. After 10 years, Ford’s mini-mobile fails its TÜV certification a whopping 38.9 percent of the time. As for the three-year-olds, the Dacia Logan’s 12.7-percent failure rate puts it in last spot.

Porsche 911 is officially Germany’s most reliable car

Turn 10 released the December IGN pack for Forza Motorsport 4 last week, complete with a laundry-list of drool-worthy digital rides for your racing enjoyment. Those start with the beastly Suzuki Monster Sport SX4 Hill Climb Special, which is the same machine that broke the ten-minute barrier at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year.

As juicy as that is, we’re more stoked to get our hands on hardware like the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, the ‘77 Escort RS1800 and the ‘88 Pontiac Fiero GT. Volkswagen fans will be happy to see the addition of the ‘81 Scirocco S, too.

The December pack is available through XBox Live and features 10 new vehicles for the game to collect, race or paint to your heart’s desire. Hit the jump to check out a video of the new cars (and trucks) in action and head over to the Forza Site for more information.

Continue reading Forza Motorsport 4 releases December IGN pack

Forza Motorsport 4 releases December IGN pack

The next in the never-ending list of ‘OTYs comes courtesy of Motor Trend and the buff book’s crowning of the 2012 Ford F-150 as its Truck of the Year.

Aside from the expansive list of standard and optional features, the F-150’s general fitment and polish, and Ford’s claim that you can spec your workhorse in one of 650,000 different varieties, what seemed to win over the Motor Trend crew more than anything else was its drivetrain. And one engine in particular.

While the 5.0-liter V8 was a favorite, after all the judges sampled a Platinum EcoBoost SuperCrew variant fitted with the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, the vote was unanimous. The combination of 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, along with commendable – if not world-beating – fuel economy and 11,300-pound towing capacity was enough to put the EcoBoost over the top. Read all about Motor Trend’s testing and assessment in its official pronouncement.

Ford F-150 named 2012 Motor Trend Truck of the Year

Chrysler left a few fans scratching their heads when the company chose to call its new compact car the Dart. Previous rumors had hinted to the possibility of the resurrection of the Hornet name, but the sporty moniker was nowhere to be found when Dodge showed off a few teaser photos of the Alfa Romeo-based sedan. According to Automotive News, the company built 3.3 million Dart models between 1960 and 1976, and there was a time when nearly every block in the country had at least one Dart sitting on the corner – that kind of hard-earned brand awareness is hard to pass up.

To its fans, Darts were known as affordable, tough-as-nails economical transportation. In many ways, they were some of the longest-lasting vehicles to roll out of Chrysler factories before the company’s quality implosion of the late ’70s and ’80s. Of course, the automaker’s naming decision has its detractors, too – those who think Chrysler is taking a risk by exhuming an old moniker that many associate with dowdy, frills-free motoring.

Click on our poll below to let us know what you think.

View Poll

Is Dodge smart for dusting off the Dart name? [w/poll]

2011 has been a trying year for Toyota, as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the flooding in Thailand have conspired to slow vehicle production and cut into profits. Toyota lowered its profit forecast after the Japan disaster, and now Automotive News reports that the automaker is once again cutting expected profits by a significant margin.

Toyota has cut its forecast by 54 percent to reflect manufacturing issues resulting from the Thailand floods. The company is now expecting to make $2.3 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. In a down economy, a profit is a profit, but this is a far cry from the $10 billion or more Toyota had been earning annually for years.

The revised profit forecast is reportedly less than half of what analysts have expected. The flooding alone will reportedly account for more than $1.5 billion in lost profits. Toyota has also cut vehicle production numbers from 7.6 million vehicles to 7.38 million.

While this is all bad news for Toyota, it’s safe to say that the automaker remains in pretty good shape overall. After all, the Japanese automaker has suffered through two major natural disasters in a matter of six months, and it’s still expecting a profit. When compared to the billions of dollars lost by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler due to man-made factors a few years ago, the situation at Toyota is hardly as dire as it could be.

Toyota sharply lowers profit forecast in wake of Thai floods

We’re inching closer to the December 21 release date of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Based on Stieg Larsson’s global best-seller, the film looks to be just the kind of gritty perfection you’ll need to wash the holiday cheer from your mouth. Bike Exif recently chatted with Justin Kell of Glory Motor Works in Los Angeles, the shop responsible for crafting Lisbeth Salander’s bikes used in the film. While the studio wanted the anti-heroine to have a modern motorcycle, Kell pushed to give the character a bike a 20-something could actually afford, creating a wicked late ’60s Honda CB350 custom for her instead.

Can we get a round of applause for this gentleman?

Kell and Glory Motor Works whipped up a prototype bike to demonstrate to the studio that an older machine could be just as reliable as its newer counterpart, and after getting the go-ahead, the shop had just 30 days to find and build three identical bikes. The crew sourced three low-mile, original CB350s, then stripped and powder-coated every metal part accordingly. New clutches, brakes, wiring harnesses and fasteners were used on all three machines, and each engine was torn down to its bare innards before being cleaned and reassembled.

In order to handle the rigors of movie life, the bikes were also given larger, sealed batteries along with an upgraded charging and starting system. Head over to Bike Exif for a closer look at the motorcycles themselves, and hit the jump to check out the film’s trailer.

Continue reading Building the bikes of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [w/video]

Building the bikes of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [w/video]

This is the start of way too much fun. Ford has just announced that it will offer crate versions of a new naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine ahead of the powerplant’s debut in production engines. Available through Ford Racing, the direct-injection engine makes use of an astronomically-high 12.0:1 combustion ratio to produce somewhere between 160 and 175 horsepower depending on final specification. Torque, meanwhile, sits at between 145 and 155 pound-feet, and Ford says that the dual-overhead cam engine will be available in plug-and-play kits that come with everything you need to drop one into your next project.

This particular engine will be available starting in the spring of 2012, but Ford says that other configurations will follow soon after, including a turbocharged Ecoboost version. We’ll just let you chew on all of the possibilities that little dynamo could offer. At this point, specs like engine weight, block and head construction and whether the engine can be utilized in longitudinal applications remain absent. We’ve pinged Ford for more information. In the meantime, check out the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Ford begins offering crate versions of 2.0-liter four

Ford begins offering crate versions of 2.0-liter four

Amp Electric Vehicles is headed to the Detroit Auto Show next month with a new electric vehicle. The company is keeping the specifics of the model to itself at the moment, but we do know that the next battery-operated offering from the company will make use of an “iconic American SUV” as its platform. If we were the betting types, we’d put our hardly-earned dollars on the company pulling the sheets back on a Jeep Grand Cherokee EV. Amp has already unveiled an electrified Mercedes-Benz ML, and the two heavyweight bruisers share a common ancestry.

AutoblogGreen recently sat down with Amp CEO Jim Taylor, who said that the move to create another SUV stemmed from the fact that some fleet managers simply couldn’t afford the more expensive Mercedes-Benz. In addition, the company wanted to be able to offer a domestic vehicle after abandoning plans for a Chevrolet Equinox conversion.

The company says that the final product will offer 100 miles of electric range or more while delivering buyers the same aesthetics and capability as its internal combustion sibling. Visitors to the 2012 Detroit Auto Show will be able to hop in and go for a ride as part of the show’s Ride & Drive track. Hit the jump to see the full press release for yourself.

Continue reading AMP to bring electrified American SUV to Detroit

AMP to bring electrified American SUV to Detroit

If automakers have learned anything from the 2011 Ford Explorer, it’s that changing a popular SUV nameplate to a crossover platform won’t necessarily hurt the vehicle’s image (or sales numbers). Nissan is hoping to capture that same sort of magic with its Pathfinder – 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 Murano crossover and Quest 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 Infiniti JX. Either way, whatever Nissan has planned for the new Pathfinder will surely be better than the aging, Titan-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 Detroit Auto Show in January. For now, scroll through our gallery of spy shots to get a better glimpse at the Pathfinder’s new look.

Nissan Pathfinder prepares to cross over

Ford has announced a recall of certain Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles after an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A total of 128,616 2010 and 2011 models equipped with steel wheels may have been manufactured with wheel studs that could crack and split over time. If that happens, the vehicle may experience a wheel separation.

According to The Detroit News, the company is aware of a total of 30 wheel separation incidents, one of which occurred on the front of the vehicle. Even so, no injuries have been reported as a result of the defect.

The problem apparently stems from the fact that the mounting pads on the vehicles’ steel wheels may have been faulty from the factory. In addition, the wheel mounting face on rear disc brakes may not have been installed properly. Ford will inspect the rear disc face and replace them as necessary. In addition, the company will replace all of the vehicle’s wheel studs free of charge. Head to the NHTSA website for more information, and click past the jump to view the full recall notice.

Continue reading Ford recalling 126,000 Fusions and Milans over wheel separation concern

Ford recalling 126,000 Fusions and Milans over wheel separation concern

You’ve probably heard the line about modern engines being cleaner than most lawn equipment, but chances are you can’t put a source with that little tidbit. Inside Line recently took it upon itself to put that piece of common wisdom to the test by enlisting the help of an emissions lab in a little internal combustion show down.

Jason Kavanagh and Dan Edmunds pitted the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor against a Fiat 500, a two-stroke leaf blower and a four-stroke leaf blower. Who was left standing as the cleanest of them all when the smoke settled?

Believe it or not, the big-bad Ford took the honor of being the cleanest belle at this ball. Inside Line found that there were fewer hydrocarbons in the vehicle’s exhaust than were present in the ambient air in the emissions lab, meaning the truck was actually cleaning the air as it ran.

That trick actually made the Raptor cleaner than the 1.4-liter four-cylinder in the Fiat, unless you’re only measuring carbon dioxide, which is direct result of the amount of fuel burned. That left third place to the four-stroke leaf blower and dead last to the big two-stroke. Hit the jump to check out the video for yourself.

Continue reading Inside Line pits Ford F-150 SVT Raptor versus… a leaf blower?

Inside Line pits Ford F-150 SVT Raptor versus… a leaf blower?

The Ranger pickup has been an integral part of the Ford truck lineup for decades. But later this month, that will cease to be – at least here in the States. That’s when the very last Ranger will roll off the assembly line in St. Paul, Minnesota. And what do you know, it’s already found a buyer.

The last Ranger has been sold to Orkin, the pest control company that already relies on fleets of white Rangers (and Chevrolet Colorado pickups) with the red diamond logo on the door and all manner of insecticides and other tools of the trade in the back.

“Since 1983, Orkin has used the Ford Ranger as its primary fleet vehicle because it’s a reliable and economical truck,” Paul Youngpeter, Director of Fleet for Rollins, Inc. (Orkin’s parent company) tells Autoblog. “We’re honored that Ford has agreed that we will get the last Ranger, and we’ll put into our regular service rotation before it’s retired to our corporate archives or used for training.”

Orkin says they’ve got enough Rangers to last them for now, and that the company will pick a successor when the time comes. For our part, it seems only fitting to us that a terminated model should be used by exterminators, but one way or another, at least the final Ranger will be put to good use.

Final Ford Ranger to be built mid-month, already sold to Orkin

The 2012 Toyota Camry and 2012 Cadillac CTS have joined the ranks of vehicles that have earned the coveted five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The vehicles mark the 15th and 16th models to nab the top rating under the tougher NHTSA crash test standards enacted for 2011 models. Last year, the 2011 Camry took home four stars in the evaluations. Toyota reminds us that the 2012 Camry is built with high-strength steel to help protect the passenger cell against deflection in the event of an accident, and that the vehicle comes standard with 10 airbags, all of which contribute to the new model’s superior score.

The Fiat 500, meanwhile, didn’t fare so well under the range of crash evaluations. The tiny hatchback collected just three stars overall. The side-impact test was particularly cruel to the Italian compact, with NHTSA awarding the vehicle two stars in that category – a somewhat surprising result considering that Fiat went to the trouble of redesigning the 500 for U.S. crash test compatibility. The 500 finds itself in the company of the Dodge Caliber and outgoing Ford Escape as the only models tested so far to receive the three-star designation.

Fiat 500 nets three-star NHTSA safety rating; Toyota Camry and Cadillac CTS get five

In another sign of its success, Ford has announced that it will be paying out a quarterly dividend, the first time it will do so in over five years. The five-cents-a-share dividend will begin on March 1, 2012.

According to The Detroit Free Press, the move will cost Ford about $200 million per quarter. Ford is the first Detroit carmaker to pay a dividend on common stock since General Motors suspended its dividend in 2008. GM has been paying dividends on preferred stock this year.

Ford’s stock remains just below investment grade, but Ford officials think resuming paying a dividend should help signal the company’s financial strength.

Continue reading Ford reinstates dividend, first one in half-decade

Ford reinstates dividend, first one in half-decade

In a commercial market where “change” is a four-letter word, Ford has a lot of explaining to do.

It is not often that an automaker decides to dump a best-selling vehicle line, one that’s dominated its segment for decades. But Ford’s commercial vehicle team is doing it not once, but twice. Ford had been phasing out its Panther platform for a good five years before it finally ceased production of its Crown Victoria taxi, Police Interceptor and Lincoln Town Car livery offerings in September. Now the company is set to do similarly with its E-Series van, which will eventually be replaced by Ford’s Transit, the venerable European equivalent. Ford divulged a few more details about its commercial vehicle plans at a press event in Dearborn yesterday.

When the final Panthers rolled off the assembly line in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, Ford was left with no direct replacement. Instead, the company plans to sell the compact Transit Connect van in the taxi market, upgraded Tauruses and Explorers as police cars, and a “Town Car” version of the Lincoln MKT crossover to livery operators. All things being equal, these are significantly better products than their Panther-based predecessors, yet in a commercial market where “change” is a four-letter word, Ford has a lot of explaining to do.

Continue reading How Ford plans to phase out the best-selling E-Series

How Ford plans to phase out the best-selling E-Series

It’s that time of year, folks. No, we’re not referring to the oodles of time spent shopping for the holidays, we’re talking about end-of-the-year lists. Kicking things off in the automotive spectrum is industry stalwart Ward’s Auto, which has just released its annual 10 Best Engines list.

Without further ado, here are the award-winners for 2012:

• 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi A6)
• 2.0L N20 Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (BMW Z4/528i)
• 3.0L N55 Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (BMW 335i Coupe)
• 3.6L Pentastar DOHC V-6 (Chrysler 300/Jeep Wrangler)
• 2.0L EcoBoost DOHC I-4 (Ford Edge)
• 5.0L DOHC V-8 (Ford Mustang Boss 302)
• 2.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Buick Regal GS)
• 1.6L DOHC I-4 (Hyundai Accent/Kia Soul)
• 2.0L Skyactiv DOHC I-4 (Mazda3)
• 3.5L DOHC V-6 HEV (Infiniti M35h)

It comes as little surprise that seven of the ten engines on the list feature the most recent advance in power and efficiency, namely direct injection, or that a full half of them are boosted with the addition of either a supercharger or a turbocharger. Perhaps more surprising is that there’s only one hybrid powertrain on the list, and it’s from Infiniti, not Toyota or Lexus.

In fact, there isn’t a single engine from Honda or Toyota on 2011’s edition of the 10 Best Engines, nor are the 1.4-liter/111kW electric motor package in the Chevrolet Volt or 80kW AC motor in the Nissan Leaf anywhere to be found – both of which were on the list in 2010. Also missing? A diesel… any diesel – and there certainly are a few options from the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen from which to choose.

Though its neither direct-injected nor turbocharged, the Pentastar V6 from Chrysler is surely worthy of inclusion, if for no other reason than its single-handed ability to transform any vehicle it’s in from an also-ran to a competitive proposition.

We’ll also give a shout-out to Ford, which earned two spots on the list but could seemingly have garnered another for the excellent 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine in the F-150 pickup. Ward’s has plenty of commentary on why each engine was chosen, and you can read all about it right here. But first, have a look at each powerplant in our high-res image gallery.

Ward’s releases annual 10 Best Engines list

We can’t get enough of the Boss Mustang 302, and it appears Ford Racing can’t, either. Mustang Daily reports that Ford unleashed the newest member of the Boss family at the PRI show in Florida; the Boss 302SX. The Boss 302 concept is called the ultimate track car, and its stats tell the story.

The SX package delivers the updated looks of the 2013 model, and adds a bit more kick under the hood. The overhauled 5.0-liter V8 will reportedly crank out over 500 horsepower due to changes that include the same intake manifold as the 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet.

Mechanical upgrades also include an improved oil cooler, fuel system, adjustable coilover suspension and Ford Racing mufflers. Team Ford also made changes at all four corners with lightweight 18×9.5-inch wheels mated to racing slicks. And of course, Brembo brakes have been added all around and the interior features an FIA-spec six-point roll cage to protect whoever sits in the single Recaro seat behind the wheel.

Keep in mind that the Boss 302SX is just a concept for now, but all we can see is a serious track star that is begging for production.

Ford Racing quietly shows off Mustang Boss 302SX

There’s little question that bringing Alan Mulally on board at Ford was the smartest move the company made in decades, nor is there much debate that credit for the company’s salvation is largely due to his office. But could his number be up?

Having joined Ford in 2006 as an outsider from aerospace giant Boeing, Mulally (pictured above, left) has been on the job for over five years now. And while he’s showing no signs of slowing down, sources indicate he is unlikely to stay on the job beyond another year or two.

The question, then, is who might replace him. Citing internal sources, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Ford has begun putting together a short-list with four candidates: two internal and two external. However, TheDetroitBureau.com has offered a rebuttal saying that the Blue Oval denies beginning such a search.

Either way, at some point, a search will need to begin. Mulally’s case notwithstanding, cases of successful hires from outside the business to the top of a major automaker like Ford have been few and far between, but the company could be forced by shareholders to consider outside candidates as well as internal promotions.

The list, according to the WSJ, currently includes Mark Fields (pictured above at right), currently Ford’s President of the Americas; Joe Hinrichs (second from right), head of Ford’s Asian operations; John Krafcik, a former Ford engineer who now runs Hyundai in America; and Phil Martens, Ford’s former product development chief who now runs aluminum manufacturer Novelis.

Again, for its part, Ford denies that it has begun searching for Mulally’s successor, but prudent management could very well dictate that it must begin looking – whether the much-lauded executive is ready to retire or not.

Ford denies starting search for Mulally successor