The tremendous pressure on the auto industry is rapidly unraveling even the most carefully laid out plans. Fuel economy is king right now, and trucks and SUVs have gone from cash cows to the 6,000-pound albatross around the necks of automakers. Ford has been giving us a steady flow of news regarding its plans to weather this wicked storm, including the decision to switch truck and SUV plants into facilities that can produce fuel efficient cars and the delayed launch of the 2009 F-150. Now we're hearing from Mike Levine at Pickuptrucks.com that the Blue Oval has all but killed the once promising Boss V8 engine program.
The powerful V8 engine was slated to appear on models ranging from the new Mustang to the best-selling F-150 and Super Dudy, but a stop work order has narrowed the Boss' available engine bays down to one model. Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields told Levine that while the program isn't being killed completely, it will now only appear in one vehicle. Levine has heard from three sources that the lone vehicle will be the Super Duty, which needs a more efficient replacement for the 6.8L V10. Ford has already spent a load of cash on the beefy pushrod, so killing the program altogether would have been a tough pill to swallow. Ford was also planning on more than one displacement for the Boss, but with it now only going in the Super Duty, it'll likely only appear in 6.2-liter guise.
Ford will likely move any and all monetary and development resources possible away from the Boss, and into the hands of greener projects like the US-bound Fiesta. The move makes abundant sense given the current realities Ford is facing, but it still saddens us that we won't get to mash the pedal to unleash 400 naturally aspirated ponies any time soon.
Click above for a high-res gallery from the 2008 French Grand Prix.
The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship had its standings mixed up yet again as the world's best duked it out for victory at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.
This year's race could, however, prove the last to be held at the historic track which has hosted the event for the past 17 years. With the facilities falling below the standard demanded of F1 circuits, discussions will now begin on whether the race will continue there next year, move to an alternative location (possibly at EuroDisney near Paris or Bernie Ecclestone's Paul Ricard circuit in the south), or ultimately be removed from the calendar entirely to make room for another race in Asia.
Follow the jump to read how the swan song played out.
To the untrained eye this might appear to be just another run-of-the-mill Audi R8 lapping the vaunted Nurburgring Nordschleife. But a closer look at the details reveal that this may just be the production-ready V10-powered version of the supercar from Ingolstadt.
Firstly, eyewitness accounts relate that the vehicle pictured above has a distinct exhaust note over the V8-powered version. We could take that at face value, or take a closer look at the revised intakes that would be needed to cool the larger engine lest it burst into flames like previous prototypes. The side intakes underneath the blades behind the doors are larger, and the front side grilles underneath the sinister headlamps have two bars instead of one. Audi has several versions of the V10, including the twin-turbo unit in the devastating RS6 and the normally-aspirated version in the latest Gallardo LP560-4, but we'll just have to wait – possibly until Paris – to find out which version has been shoehorned into Iron Man's choice mode of transportation.
GPM. Think you can learn to adapt your mental fuel efficiency calculators from the standard miles per gallon to the European-style gallons per mile? Some say such a shift in the U.S. will help people better understand just how equivalent two vehicles are in terms of burning fuel to get somewhere. Perhaps, but a shift might be happening anyway, and that gasoline consumption in America peaked in 2007.
Click above to view the VW Ragster concept in hi res
With retro rides – from the Fiat 500 to the Dodge Challenger – popping up left, right and center, it would be all to easy to forget the vehicle that started the trend: Volkswagen's New Beetle. Now with ten years on the road since introduction in 1998, the New Beetle is getting a little long in the tooth, but VW is preparing to launch its successor. However, while the current version is available only in two versions (coupe and cabrio), the next iteration may come with a few new twists in the lineup, mirroring the steadily-evolving range of variants of the MINI. That is, if the latest reports are to be believed.
Engineering is tipped to already be underway in Germany, with styling being carried out in California and production confirmed to continue in Mexico. Among the new body styles reportedly under consideration in Wolfsburg are a two-seat speedster version, as previewed by the Ragster concept from Detroit '05, and a potential SUV like the 2000 Beetle Dune concept. The next Beetle is tipped to be based on the current Mk5 Golf/Rabbit, rather than the upcoming sixth-generation platform.
It is time for Neff to put up or shut up. There's a '93 Ford Taurus SHO on Craigslist that will provide him with both the car of his dreams and the ability to handle the extreme driving conditions he faces during Cleveland winters. It's been slightly modified by the current owner, who retained the original bodywork and interior, but then chose to mate them with a '76 Ford F-150 underpinnings. The high-zoot Yamaha motor? Also jettisoned. In its stead, a 460 cubic-inch V8 from a '78 Lincoln takes up residence underhood. Ride height is elevated somewhat over stock, but this should help Neff when it snows, and the new wheel/tire package allows him to avoid traffic by simply driving over it. All this for a paltry $800. This is what we call a complete win-win situation for El Jefe Neff. Commence peer-pressuring Autoblog's Editor in Chief below. Make him do it. Props to Stephen for the tip!
Hundreds of European GT-R buyers, who have put down large down payments on cars that they won't see until next spring at the earliest, have received a small consolation gift from Nissan: a tape measure.
The highly cool GT-R-embossed little box is to be used to measure their heads, so Nissan will know what sized helmets to prepare for them when they show up for their free lessons in how to extract the best from their new steeds at Silverstone or (where else?) the Nürburgring.
That's one good reason to buy from Nissan, rather than from the numerous grey importers of surprisingly cheap second-hand R35s that are already hitting Japanese websites. Thanks for the tip (and pic) Philippe!
BMW's MY 2009 cars will get a new iDrive system with a 40GB hard drive. According to Bimmerfile, the drive allotment will have 12GB dedicated to navigational maps (and 8GB for entertainment and 10GB for your address book, because you've got more friends than music, apparently). With nav maps placed on the hard drive, BMW will no longer be providing a case full of map DVDs. The maps will have the entire US on them, or Europe if you pick up your car at BMW Welt. When things have moved on and it's time to get your maps updated, you'll take your car and your checkbook to a BMW dealer, and they'll install U.S. v2.0.
There's no official obituary for GM's HUMMER brand yet, but haters are lacing up their dancing shoes while lovers wring their hands. Dealers with HUMMER franchises have a lot of skin in the game, so the uncertain future is bound to give business officers ulcers. Not willing to wait around to the bitter end, Milwaukee's Bergstrom HUMMER is planning to move into the same space as the group's Chevrolet store. The HUMMER-specific Quonset hut style dealership building will be toned down and pressed into service as an outlet for Certified used GM vehicles. Other HUMMER dealers across the nation are staring down the same conundrum, being on the hook for that big, rugged showroom, test track, inventory, and staff, while the parent company looks to clamp off bleeders. Some might follow Bergstrom's lead and shove the big trucks into a corner of a showroom dominated by a more stable brand, while others are shipping inventory as fast as they can.
Moving product is a tremendous challenge when the bobbleheads on the nightly news continue shrilly about the price of fuel and you've got a lot full of low-mpg, high weight trucks that happen to be a favorite target of vandals euphemistically masquerading as "activists." Customers that do make it through the door are looking for deals, and HUMMER will spot you five thousand bucks to take an H3, PLEASE. Existing customers are looking to get out of their vehicles any way possible, even if it means a financial hit. The mass exodus isn't solely due to hysteria, when it costs over $100 to fill the fuel tank, it chafes to watch the fuel gauge's precipitously quick drop toward "E." Retail issues aside, HUMMER still offers capable vehicles with a high level of style. If you've got a boat to pull, and want to look like the Governator, an H2 could still be just the thing, and now you'll be able to find one for a song; most likely the blues.
So a couple of weeks ago we asked you to help us identify a mystery car on the set of Transformers 2. Quite a few of you guessed it was some sort of Corvette concept, or the C7 Corvette due in 2010. For those of you who guessed Corvette concept, you were right. The picture above is that concept, and according to speculation it is getting some paint work done in the house of Chip Foose. We don't know if these pics were taken before or after the car's closeup, but we hope it was afterward and that GM is getting ready to actually show us the car. Jalopnik's also got pics of Bumblebee getting paint work done in the same shop. It's a much yellower Bumblebee than the orange one seen on the TF2 set, and word is it could be a Z/28... or it could be a package you'd order from... Saleen? Click the link for the photos and gossip.
Saleen makes new value-oriented Racecraft brand official
Officially Official: 2009 BMW 7 Series
Officially Official: 2009 Ford Focus RS
I want my FPV: Super sedans hit the desert in new TV spot
Happy Independence Day from Autoblog
Track Test: 2008 Roush 427R Trak Pak Mustang
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Porsche Cayman S
First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Traverse
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In The Autoblog Garage: BMW 128i Convertible
