Report: Mazda to Cut Ties with Ford and Stop U.S. Production by 2013

Earlier in May, we told you about a report concerning Mazda’s plans to discontinue production of its Mazda6 mid-size model at its joint-venture plant with Ford in Michigan. Today, new reports from both Japan and the U.S. are claiming that Mazda Motors will dissolve its 50-50 joint venture with Ford and stop building cars in the USA by 2013, with the Japanese company already in talks with the Detroit automaker to sell its stake in their car production venture Auto Alliance International [AAI]. Read more »

Ford’s Smallest Production Engine Ever

It took the Ford Motor Company a very long time to jump aboard the turbocharged engine bandwagon for mainstream, non-sport models, but now the Detroit automaker is going full speed ahead with the presentation of a full range of force-fed gasoline powerplants. Ford latest offering is a new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, the company’s first three-cylinder unit and its smallest production engine ever.
Designed by the engineering team at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in the U.K., the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine promises to deliver performance of a larger four-cylinder unit with even higher fuel economy. It employs all EcoBoost technologies, such as turbocharging, direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT).
The Detroit automaker is not yet ready to talk numbers, but Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president of Global Product Development, said the new three-cylinder unit “will deliver horsepower and torque outputs equivalent to or better than most normally aspirated 1.6-liter gasoline engines”.
The new engine, which was first seen in the Ford Start concept mini at the Beijing Show in 2010, and more recently in the Ford B-MAX study at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, will be launched globally in Ford’s small cars and will be available in North America.
“Consumers are telling us they want to buy affordable vehicles that get many more miles per gallon,” said Kuzak. “Our new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will give consumers looking for hybrid-like fuel economy a new, more affordable choice.”
While Ford did not specify which models will get the tiny EcoBoost engine, it is believed that the Ka and the Fiesta will be among the first Ford models to be equipped with the petrol unit.
The company said full technical and application information for the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine will be released in September at the 2011 edition of the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

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Ford’s Smallest Production Engine Ever: The New 1.0-liter EcoBoost Three-Cylinder Gasoline Unit

It took the Ford Motor Company a very long time to jump aboard the turbocharged engine bandwagon for mainstream, non-sport models, but now the Detroit automaker is going full speed ahead with the presentation of a full range of force-fed gasoline powerplants. Ford latest offering is a new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, the company’s first three-cylinder unit and its smallest production engine ever.

Designed by the engineering team at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in the U.K., the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine promises to deliver performance of a larger four-cylinder unit with even higher fuel economy. It employs all EcoBoost technologies, such as turbocharging, direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT).

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Toyota Sales Plunge More than 33% in May, Chrysler Group up by 10%

The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result, Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148 units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.

General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.

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Big Brother is Watching, Well, All of us: U.S. DoT Seeks to Make Event Data Recorders Mandatory

Australian inventor and all-round genius Dr David Warren is widely considered to be the father of the “black box” Flight Data Recorder (FDR). His invention helped make flying safer by giving investigators valuable insights into the mechanical goings-on of a crashed aircraft. What may surprise you is that for the last twenty years similar devices have been installed in our cars.

Event Data Recorders (EDRs) are the automotive equivalent of an aircraft’s FDR. These devices record acceleration and deceleration forces, engine RPM, temperature, oil pressure and a host of other things. After a crash, the information can be recovered and studied, aiding investigators.

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Loder1899 Tunes Into the New 2012 Ford Focus Hatch

The all-new Ford Focus has barely launched in Europe but the German aftermarket specialists at Loder1899 have already created a dedicated tuning package. The company dresses the new compact hatchback with numerous carbon-fiber elements such as the front spoiler lip, matching side skirts installed on the door sills and an RS-style rear apron with an integrated air diffuser. Read more »

2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna car wallpapers gallery

2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna car wallpapers gallery

2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna car wallpapers gallery

Two Anti-Hooning Ads from Different Ends of the Spectrum

In Australia and New Zealand, “hooning” is a term applied to any anti-social and often dangerous behavior behind the wheel of a car. Burnouts, car surfing and illegal street racing all fall under this rather broad definition. And it’s an ever-growing problem. Each year there are more reports like, “Hoons kill innocent driver in Dandenong, say police” and, “Man killed in Burwood Highway 'hoon' crash.”
So it’s obvious that cracking down on hooning is very important to the governments of both nations. Here we have two adverts, one from Oz and one from Kiwiland, that use tactics both old and new to get their message across. The Aussie one plays on that, “If you hoon, you’ll lose your car” message while the NZ one plays on the, “If you hoon, you’ll lose your life” vibe. Who knew that New Zealand’s roads were covered with hidden landmines?
Both are simple and – I think – effective at getting their messages across. And of course there’s a previous-gen Ford Falcon XR6 and Holden Commodore SS to placate the Aussie car enthusiasts. Check these anti-hooning ads out below and leave your comments.

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Hoon Crackdown: Two Anti-Hooning Ads from Different Ends of the Spectrum

In Australia and New Zealand, “hooning” is a term applied to any anti-social and often dangerous behavior behind the wheel of a car. Burnouts, car surfing and illegal street racing all fall under this rather broad definition. And it’s an ever-growing problem. Each year there are more reports like, “Hoons kill innocent driver in Dandenong, say police” and, “Man killed in Burwood Highway 'hoon' crash.”

So it’s obvious that cracking down on hooning is very important to the governments of both nations. Here we have two adverts, one from Oz and one from Kiwiland, that use tactics both old and new to get their message across. The Aussie one plays on that, “If you hoon, you’ll lose your car” message while the NZ one plays on the, “If you hoon, you’ll lose your life” vibe. Who knew that New Zealand’s roads were covered with hidden landmines?

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British Study Reveals the Most Popular Hairdresser’s Car in Real Life

And no, despite what you may have heard or read, the Audi TT ain’t the most popular car among hairdressers – or at least not in Britain. According to a new study made available today by UK women's car insurance specialist Diamond, that title goes to…*drums please*…the one and only, MINI One hatchback. In fact, the BMW Group’s MINI brand had two vehicles in the top five positions.

The UK insurance firm came to this conclusion after looking at data from over 18,000 hairdressers in Britain. The company said the MINI One is three and a half times more likely to be driven by someone working as a hairdresser than everyone else.

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Dirt 3 Gymkhana – Uma voltinha em Londres com Ken Block

Dirt 3 Gymkhana – Uma voltinha em Londres com Ken Block

2013 Ford Taurus

Long relegated as a mid-tier, mid-size sedan, the Ford Taurus was one of those cars that needed a refreshed styling, especially considering the growing number of competitors coming out on the market these days.

Fortunately, the people at Ford seem to have taken the challenge to task by introducing a refreshed and much-improved 2013 Taurus at the New York Auto Show.

Suffice to say, it was a tough task for Ford to shed some of the negative stereotypes given to the Taurus. A lot of people said it was chubby while some had pointed words on the car’s overall design.

For the 2013 model, Ford seems to have addressed a lot of these connotations, giving the car a more appealing look to quiet down its naysayers. While the styling refresh certainly gave the Taurus a more palatable appearance, its the addition of a new engine - a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder turbo engine - that seems to have given the Taurus the right kind of buzz.

The styling package for the 2013 Ford Taurus remains largely the same as that of the current generation, although there are a few styling tweaks done to differentiate it from the existing model, including restyled headlamps, a new trapezoidal grille, a new front bumper, modified taillights that now come with larger LED lights, and a set of new allow wheels.

Inside, changes were also done, albeit in a subtle and discreet fashion. The dashboard has been redesigned to go along with a new steering wheel and a number of new technological additions, including the new MyFord Touch system.

Despite the new details on the car, the pricing for the 2013 Ford Taurus has not yet been announced. If we were to make a guesstimate on the tag, we’ll peg it at somewhere around $25,995, the base price given to the recent Taurus types, including the 2010 model.

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Shelby adds SCCA-ready version to the GT350 Mustang prices and specification

Shelby adds SCCA-ready version to the GT350 Mustang prices and specification
Shelby American has added a normally aspirated version to the 2011 Shelby GT350 lineup. Shedding off the supercharger to abide by the SCCA regulations, the Mustang-based model still keeps intact the full brake, suspension and aerodynamics package.

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish: The Last of San Francisco’s U.S. Dealerships Closes its Doors for Good

Are you in the market for a new car in San Francisco and are considering a product built by America’s Big 2.5? If so, then I have some bad news: the last U.S. domestic automaker dealership has just shut up shop. San Francisco Ford Lincoln Mercury on Van Ness Avenue closed a few weeks ago, leaving some 50 employees out of a job.

Ford Lincoln Mercury presidente Mel Turner told the San Fransisco Chronicle: “We are proud to have served the San Francisco community and will be focusing over the coming weeks on helping employees through this transition and ensuring our current customer commitments are met.”

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2011 Ford F-150 pictures gallery and performance previews

2011 Ford F-150 pictures gallery and performance previews
The Ford recall of 144,000 F-150 pick-up trucks sold in the 2005 and 2006 model years is due to inadvertent airbag deployment.nformation about Recalling Ford Door handles for their F150. Ford will recall regarding 280, 000 F-150 vehicles built between 1/18/2008 as well as 11/30/2009 to examine interior door deals with.