Automotive News

Filed under: Etc., Hatchbacks, Ford, Mazda

As we reported a few days back, Ford has big plans for the bits and pieces that make up the Mazda 2. While the Mazda will have the requesitie joie de vivre known as “zoom zoom,” Ford variants are a go, as well. Automobile posits that naming the Ford version might be a sticky wicket. We’ve recently seen the blue oval return to names with some history, so an all new moniker may be out from the get-go. That leaves us with some greatest hits from yesteryear. Pinto likely won’t work, it’s too old, and those cars are rolling punchlines, anyway. Fiesta? Well, we’re getting closer. The US was graced with the Fiesta back when the Rabbit was a small car, and they were wonderful. Unfortunately, the age problem is still there, and not enough people know what the Fiesta is/was anymore. Staying with F, we can move to Festiva, but we’d rather not. Ka would probably be fine in Boston, but nobody would know what the hell you’re talking about. Conversations would have a real “who’s on first” feel.

“I’m going to move my Ka, or it’ll be plowed in.”

What kind of car is it?

“A Ford.”

Ford what?

“Ka.”

Right, I know it’s a car, but what model?

“Ford Ka.”

On and on it would go. That leaves us with one venerable name: Escort. The original Laser-platform Escorts were a pretty decent stab at a world car once they solved the oil burning issues with the 1.6L engine and funky shifting from the automatic. By 1985, they were decent little cars. It’d be a return to history all around. The Escort ended up swiping a Mazda platform for it’s last iteration (The 91 “shrunken Taurus” model), so taking the Mazda2 and calling it Escort would be a return to the past. Since they’ve brought back the Taurus and Sable names, revisiting other 1980s names sounds reasonable, but please, leave the fashion, music, and hairstyles there.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Buy any word or phrase on this site and thousands of others using Phrase Links™

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Etc., GM, Misc. Auto Shows

Click for one additional photo

Anyone who’s been to an auto show knows that even the displays belonging to non-manufacturers usually have some kind of flashy car featured as the centerpiece. After all, a sweet ride is an easy way to get foot traffic into your booth, and really, that’s the name of the game. You want to get as many eyeballs on your goods as possible. This week at the Melbourne International Motor Show, Hot Wheels has turned to one of the locals — in this case, HSV — to deliver the desired traffic magnet.

The recipe looks pretty simple: take one HSV GTS, add a Hot Wheels wrap treatment to the bodywork, and presto: instant big boy toy to complement the rest of the playthings on display.

[Source: Hot Wheels]

Continue reading Melbourne: Hot Wheels dresses up its booth with HSV GTS

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine

Filed under: Convertibles, Jaguar

Back in 2000, Ford Motor Company was swimming in SUV cash and Jaguar looked poised for a big-time turnaround. Excitement for the brand grew when the Concept F-Type was shown at the 2000 North American International Auto Show. Executive Wolfgang Reitzle even gave the project the green light and then pulled the plug due to a lack of funds. Fast-forward to 2007 and Jaguar has had the worst sales performance in the US of any luxury automaker over the past few years. In fact, Jaguar had the single largest decline in the US auto industry in 2006, with sales dropping by 31%. Only four years earlier Jaguar had US sales of 60,000 units which is three times what the classy cat gets now.

There are several reasons for this steep decline, and the absence of the F-Type in the Jaguar lineup probably isn’t one of them. However, a group of enthusiasts over at JaguarMania are currently circulating a petition to put the F-Type back in Jaguar’s plans. The Jag-fans maintain that the F-Type could compete with the Porsche Boxster in the luxury realm. It was a shame the F-Type never made production back in 2003, but the design now looks like a last-generation XK. We love new products as much as anyone, but in retrospect the Blue Oval bean counters probably got this one right the first time. An all new F-Type would be extremely favorable to us though, especially if it competes at the Boxster’s price-point. The seven year-old design of the F-Type on the other hand would probably only contribute to Jaguar’s problems.

[Source: CoolBrit.net]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Blog advertising

Filed under: Etc.

One of the great things about a sunny summer afternoon is hopping into a pristine car and hitting the open road. The only problem is after a few hours of fun, the windshield is usually covered with little splatters that get increasing hard to see through, and using the windshield washer just makes things worse. Who would have thought that such carnage would make for entertaining viewing? If you ever wanted to see what that mess is comprised of, now is your chance, as the German magazine Spiegel has a series of ultra-closeup shots of bugs that have met their demise with various vehicles.

[Source: Spiegel via WindingRoad]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Create Instant Buzz

Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Ford

Jalopnik got their mitts on these newly-minted Ford Truck spots with Mike Rowe. For those of you who’ve been living under a rock for the last year, Mike Rowe is the host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” a show that would be hilarious just on the strength of Rowe’s comedic timing and commentary. It’s a very “guy thing” show, I doubt I’d ever walk in the room and find that my wife had tuned to it on her own. Of course, the appeal is wide enough that she’d sit down and watch, were it to be on.

Such is the appeal that Ford wishes to garner with the F150. They’ve successfully scrubbed the king of pickup sales behind the ears to great result. The problem is that while the F150 waits until 2009 for a refresh, GM just rolled out the GMT900s, and the Tundra is all-new. Granted, the Tundra isn’t a proven threat yet, and with a goal of 200,000 this year, they’ll probably sell out without dinging F150 sales. Perception’s a funny thing though, and Ford wants to be certain that when people think Pickup, they think F150, hence the revamped ads. We think it’s a smart move, as Mike Rowe has charisma and delivery that should at least amuse us. Whether it will help sell trucks remains to be seen.

Videos after the jump.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Continue reading VIDEO: Ford’s “Dirty Job”: Selling the F150

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine

Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show

When we first saw the Sbarro name on the list of manufacturers due to present during the second day of the Geneva show, it took us a few minutes to recall the name, beyond our bad experiences at the mall pizza joint. We don’t remember the last time we saw one of their concepts, since the last one that stuck out was their 2001 Christelle that was, shall we say, not so aesthetically pleasing. After some digging, we came across their website which has vehicles that date as far back as 1960, with the latest concepts coming out in 2004.

Well, this year they’re coming back big, orange and weirder than ever with the unveiling of the Sbarro Cruise Crosser, a six-wheeled truckish thing based off the Citroen C-Crosser/Mitsubishi Outlander. Little is known about this particular concept, but since Sbarro has a tendency to bring a few different cars to the show, we’ll have to check it out and see what other oddities are on display.

[Source: Autoweek.nl]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Blog advertising

Filed under: BMW, Misc. Auto Shows

Click on the photo of the F1 for a gallery of high-res images of the BMWs at Amelia Island

BMW is bringing two of their most classic endurance racing vehicles to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida next week. The 1939 BMW RS 500 motorcycle that won the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy will make it’s first North American appearance, accompanied by the 1941 BMW 328 that was built for the Mille Miglia, but never ran due to the war.

In addition to the classic racers, BMW will bring two of their modern LeMans winning cars. The V12 LMR was the first full BMW to get an overall win at LeMans in 1999, and was the last car to win LeMans prior to the current age of Audi (including Bentley) domination. However, just a few years before the LMR, BMW power also won LeMans in the back of the fabulous McLaren F1 GTR. In 1995 the F1 GTR finished first, third, fourth and fifth in their first ever attempt.

The BMW press release is after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading BMW goes to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Click here to advertise on thousands of blogs including mine

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupes, Geneva Motor Show, GM

Click image for hi-res photo gallery

We can only hope this Opel coupe comes to the US as the Saturn Whoop-Ass, SAAB Sonnet, heck, we’d even let them call it the Allante II. For now, it’s known as the Opel Gran Turismo Coupe concept. Whatever it gets called is fine with us. It’s sure handsome, and if scuttlebutt is true, it can back up the fast profile with real performance. The coupe is rumored to have a 300 hp turbocharged V6 lurking under the cleanly-drawn sheetmetal. That motive force is distributed to all four wheels, and the underpinnings are donated from the next-generation Vectra. Of course the concept is equipped like the full-boat, optioned up model would be (and then some); so it has all the goodies like a hard-disk based infotainment system, parking assistance, and undoubtedly more. We’ll get to see this car up close and personal at the Geneva show, which is so close now that we’re like 8 year olds on Christmas Eve. For now, we’ll have to be satisfied to gaze longingly at these leaked photos that turned up on Spanish website km77.

[Source: km77 via Motor Authority]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Blog advertising

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show, Supercars

Koenigsegg decided to release images and specs of the two supercars that will occupy their booth at next week’s Geneva Motor Show. First, the CCXR, which is a standard CCX that’s been converted to use ethanol and produces 1018 HP and 780 ft.-lbs. of torque. Those fortunate enough to already own a CCX can have their current vehicle retrofitted with the biofuel mill if desired.

The second vehicle to grace the stand will be the CCGT, which was produced in order to meet FIA GT1 series regulations. As such, the 806 HP supercharged 4.7L V8 has been nixed in order to bring power output down below the 600 HP mark. To do so, they removed the huffers and bored the V8 out to 5.0L. In addition to the HP reduction, the weight had to be increased and the aerodynamics had to be altered in order to meet regulations. Surprisingly, the aero changes produce less downforce than the standard CCGT. Devolving to meet racing standards is nothing new, but it still brings a little tear to our eye.

The press release is after the jump and expect a gallery of both vehicles up before night’s end.

Continue reading Koenigsegg drops a duo: CCGT and 1018 HP biofuel CCXR

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Buy any word or phrase on this site and thousands of others using Phrase Links™

March 1, 2007 — CYPRESS, Calif. — Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., (MMNA) today reported February sales of 9,726 units, up 22% from last February’s total of 7,976.

Blog advertising