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Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video]

Chris Paukert — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Crossover, Lincoln, Design/Style, Luxury, Deep Dive

Ford's efforts to resuscitate its moribund Lincoln luxury brand began in earnest with the introduction of its 2014 MKZ sedan, a model many labeled as the marque's make-or-break offering. Of course, one model does not a comeback make, and with the MKZ just now starting to trickle into dealers, it will be some time before America's jury of consumers comes in with their judgment. More to the point, it's likely to take better than a decade's worth of products and sustained marketing effort to even begin to figure out whether Lincoln has a shot at redemption or if it will die of Mercury poisoning. After all, rival General Motors has been pouring resources into Cadillac since the late '90s, and if the sales charts are any guidance, it's still probably too early to declare its rebirth a success.

Certainly, a brand with Ford's resources, free of distractions (read: the now-defunct Premier Auto Group and various other side projects) should be able to successfully market a single luxury brand, particularly one with such a rich - if distant - history. Especially now with the Blue Oval enjoying more consumer goodwill than at any time in recent history. So let's all give Alan Mulally and friends a little room to work, eh?

We can start by focusing on the compact crossover seen before you, the Lincoln MKC Concept. Riding atop the same global C-platform that underpins the Ford C-Max, Escape and Focus, the MKC showcar here presages a production small CUV that will stick its distinctive nose into one of the auto industry's fastest-growing segments.

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Lincoln MKC Concept shows real promise [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2014 Porsche 918 Spyder

Michael Harley — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Porsche, Deep Dive

The Supercar Out To Trigger A Paradigm Shift

The Porsche 918 Spyder has top-mounted exhaust pipes in similar fashion to the flare launchers on the original 1966 Batmobile. How bitchin' is that?

Not nearly as fascinating as what lies beneath the coupe's carbon fiber skin.

The all-new supercar, arriving late next year, is the most complex vehicle Porsche has ever designed. The hybrid gasoline-electric exotic features a race-bred 4.6-liter V8 supplemented by two electric motors drawing power from a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack. It boots up like a computer, glides combustion-free like something out of a science-fiction movie and then ignites its fuel-fed engine to blast in excess of 200 mph.

The 918 Spyder's existence is as significant as the Le Mans Porsche 917 and as technologically groundbreaking as the 1986 Porsche 959 - it suggests that hybrid supercars will not only prevail, they will dominate.

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2014 Porsche 918 Spyder originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep Dive: 2013 Range Rover bows in London, diesel hybrid confirmed

Chris Paukert — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Europe, Land Rover, Luxury, Off-Road, Deep Dive

This all-new 2013 model might just be the SUV archetype of the future.

It's been said that if you want to see what an ordinary sedan will be like in 10 or 20 years' time, you should look at an S-Class from Mercedes-Benz. The thought is that as a leader in innovation, safety, and comfort, the executive sedan's features will eventually trickle down to more mundane iron like your average family four door. The same hasn't always been true of its closest off-road equivalent, the Land Rover Range Rover, but this all-new 2013 model might just be the SUV archetype of the future with its major leaps forward in weight, efficiency, capability and luxury.

For starters, as has been previously publicized, the 2013 Range Rover has gone on a massive diet. Thanks largely to its all-aluminum chassis, some 700 pounds has been snipped from the Daddy Rover (some trims save as much as 926 pounds!). Perspective? The vehicle's bodyshell is over 60 pounds lighter than a BMW 3 Series. That's about as sizable a diet as we can remember hearing of a production car from one generation to the next, and this ambitious lightweighting regime shows the way that other SUVs and crossovers will almost certainly have to go in order to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions targets the world over. Despite being much lighter, the bonded and riveted chassis and bodyframe are significantly stiffer than the third generation Landie, which wasn't exactly a creaking hollow. Even the chassis assembly process uses a lot less energy, and with no need for welding stations, the factory is said to be oddly quiet, too.

Continue reading Deep Dive: 2013 Range Rover bows in London, diesel hybrid confirmed

Deep Dive: 2013 Range Rover bows in London, diesel hybrid confirmed originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2012 Subaru Impreza: Deep Dive

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:37:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Hatchback, Subaru, Deep Dive

2012 Subaru Impreza 5-Door - Click above for high-res image gallery

The fourth generation 2012 Subaru Impreza has arrived, and to paraphrase Huey Lewis, the first thing you might notice is that it's hip to be square... er. Underneath its skin, the new Impreza says a few things that Americans aren't so used to - nor so fond of - hearing, like the fact that it has a smaller-displacement engine with less horsepower.

If that's the step backward, though, there are more than two steps forward: It's lighter, faster, more frugal, stiffer, nicer inside, has a better suspension and more interior room, all the while being the same size as the previous generation. Said Carliine Planning Manager for Impreza, Todd Hill, "it's all upside."

We'll let you decide that. But in the meantime...

Continue reading 2012 Subaru Impreza: Deep Dive...

Gallery: 2012 Subaru Impreza 5-Door

Gallery: 2012 Subaru Impreza Sedan

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2012 Subaru Impreza: Deep Dive originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Ford Explorer unveiled, tries crossing over on road to redemption

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Safety, Crossover, Ford, Design/Style

2011 Ford Explorer Deep Dive - Click above for high-res image gallery

UPDATE: When you're done reading part one, check out part two of our introduction of the 2011 Ford Explorer that focuses on new technology, powertrains and fuel efficiency.

In creating the 2011 Explorer, Ford engineers and designers had an enormously difficult task set before them. Ford's President of the Americas, Mark Fields, described the job as "Reinventing the SUV for the 21st century." Despite the near complete collapse of the traditional mid-to-large SUV market over the last several years, Ford still sees a substantial market for the capabilities of these boxy behemoths. Customers just don't want the traditional downsides that accompany these body-on-frame 'utes - specifically, their higher fuel consumption and poor ride and handling.

The new Explorer remains squarely targeted at traditional SUV buyers.

Since its debut some 20 years ago, the Explorer has sold over six million units, four million of which are still traversing the world's roads. Through much of the late-1990s and early part of the last decade, the Explorer was Ford's second-best-selling vehicle behind its F-Series pickups, regularly selling 400,000 units a year. Fast-forward to 2009, and that volume had plummeted to just over 52,000. Even so, Ford believes it still has an opportunity. According to the automaker's vice president of global marketing, Jim Farley, each year, at least 140,000 Explorer owners come back to Blue Oval dealerships looking to purchase new vehicles. And obviously, they just aren't buying Explorers.

When word got out that Ford was developing a new unibody Explorer off the same platform architecture that underpins the Taurus and Flex - not to mention the Lincoln MKS and MKT - many people wondered why Dearborn had elected to develop yet another crossover, especially since the Taurus X/Freestyle had just been killed due to slow sales. This predicament was not lost on Ford's product planners, and their four-wheeled response is a new Explorer that remains squarely targeted at traditional SUV buyers - shoppers that Ford sees as a distinct group from most crossover intenders. Long ago, Jeep proved with the Cherokee and Grand Cherokee that a unibody chassis isn't necessarily an impediment to building a fully capable off-roader, and Ford appears to have taken that lesson to heart, along with targeting big improvements in fuel economy and driving dynamics. Follow the jump to find out if they succeeded.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer

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2011 Ford Explorer unveiled, tries crossing over on road to redemption originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep-Dive: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center, Part Two

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Lexus, Toyota, Deep Dive

Behind the Scenes at Toyota's R&D Center - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's impossible to overlook the negative impact the recalls have had on Toyota's reputation for safety and reliability. Seemingly overnight, the automaker that could do no wrong has been brought back down to earth.

Sales of most of Toyota's lineup have been hit hard, with only fleet sales and big incentives keeping the retail side from looking worse. As we first told you yesterday in Part One of our series, in a move unprecedented in its history, Toyota has opened its doors and invited a small group of journalists into its product development facilities in Toyota City near Nagoya, Japan.

The goal is to show the lengths Toyota goes to test and evaluate its products both before and after they go on sale to the public, as well as to detail how those testing regimes have been altered in wake of their recent troubles. Given the sudden intended acceleration scandal, Toyota has chosen to focus on the work it does to verify the performance and reliability of its electronic throttle control systems. Make the jump for a primer on Toyota's engineering and manufacturing processes and how it's attempting to ensure that sudden acceleration will be snuffed out for good.

Gallery: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center

Continue reading Deep-Dive: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center, Part Two

Deep-Dive: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center, Part Two originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep-Dive: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center, Part 1

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Technology, Toyota, Deep Dive

Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center - Click above for high-res image gallery

The last 18 months have been a particularly painful period for Toyota Motor Company. Starting in early 2009, with the automotive industry facing a global economic recession, Toyota went from one of the world's most profitable automakers to grappling with its first full-year loss in more than seven decades.

As Toyota operations around the world began to slash spending in an effort to return to black ink, quality issues bubbling below the surface for several years suddenly burst open like a ruptured oil well. And while most automakers have faced issues with product quality at various times in their histories, the past year has been especially gut-wrenching for Toyota. The company's ascension to sales dominance was fueled in large part by its reputation for solidly engineered, reliable products with consistently excellent fit and finish. That reputation has now been brought into question.

As 2009 wound to a close, reports began surfacing that Toyota and Lexus vehicles were accelerating out of control, and the syndrome has been blamed for a number of fatalities. A string of related and unrelated recalls began and continue to this day, with the most recent coming just a week ago for a Lexus valve spring engine defect.

In an effort to show transparency and a concerted effort to improve its quality and safety, for the first time in its history, Toyota has invited a small group of journalists and analysts into its research and safety facilities in Toyota City, Japan. As part of that select group of media, in the coming days, we'll have a chance to peek behind the curtain, look at how its products are developed and tested and talk to Toyota executives, including CEO Akio Toyoda as we try to fully understand not only how things went so horribly wrong, but how the automaker plans to get back on track.

Make the jump for Part One of our series

Gallery: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center

Continue reading Deep-Dive: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center, Part 1

Deep-Dive: Behind the scenes at Toyota's R&D center, Part 1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep Dive: Curve Control on the 2011 Ford Explorer [w/video]

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Safety, Technology, Crossover, Ford, Deep Dive

Curve Control on the 2011 Ford Explorer - Click above for high-res image gallery

When the new 2011 Explorer goes on sale later this year, Ford plans to highlight the new unibody 'ute's safety and fuel efficiency. The Explorer will be exclusively powered by four- and six-cylinder EcoBoost engines, which are expected to increase efficiency by 20-25 percent, while delivering the power consumers crave. Expect more drivetrain details to be forthcoming, but before then, Ford invited us out to its Dearborn proving grounds to see what it has in store on the safety front.

Ford confirmed last fall that the Explorer would be the first vehicle to get its new inflatable rear seat-belts, but the latest - and arguably more interesting - feature on the Explorer is dubbed "Curve Control." The system is a software enhancement built on top of the existing roll stability control (RSC) and electronic stability control (ESC) systems, and we had a chance to experience it first hand. Make the jump to find out more.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Explorer curve control demonstration

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Deep Dive: Curve Control on the 2011 Ford Explorer [w/video]

Deep Dive: Curve Control on the 2011 Ford Explorer [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep Dive: Getting intimate with the 2010 Honda CR-Z's powertrain

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:01:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Hybrid, Technology, Honda, Deep Dive

When the 2011 Honda CR-Z hits the streets this Fall, it will feature the latest iteration of the company's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) mild hybrid system. The basic concept of IMA hasn't changed since the original Insight debuted in 1999, but it has been refined to improve performance and efficiency while reducing overall cost.

There's a wide spectrum of hybrids in the market, ranging from low-end, belted-alternator-starter (BAS) mild hybrids to the full-blown power-split strong hybrids at the top. The latter category includes systems from Toyota, Ford and General Motors (two-mode), while Honda's IMA provides a healthy boost in overall efficiency compared to a conventional powertrain, but falls well short of the best power-splits. Read on to learn more about the IMA system and how it's implemented in the CR-Z.

Gallery: 2011 Honda CR-Z Powertrain

Continue reading Deep Dive: Getting intimate with the 2010 Honda CR-Z's powertrain

Deep Dive: Getting intimate with the 2010 Honda CR-Z's powertrain originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Deep Dive: Ford's all-new 5.0 V8

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Technology, Ford, Deep Dive

Ford's all-new 5.0 V8 - Click above for high-res image gallery

A few years into what would become the nearly quarter century-long life-cycle of the "Fox" body Mustang, a fresh engine option revived the moribund pony-car class. It was known as the 302 when it was last seen in the late Seventies, but Ford was giving metric displacements to its motors by 1982 and the Mustang GT was fitted with new 5.0 badges on its front fenders and rear deck.

With an actual displacement of 4,942 cc, Ford was a bit optimistic in its rounding, but no matter. Over the next 14 years, the 5.0-liter V8 grew from a two- to a four-barrel carburetor and later added fuel injection to produce progressively more power and torque. The evolution of the 5.0 made it a legend in the realm of affordable performance and after a 15-year hiatus, during which Ford's 4.6-liter modular V8 served as the heart of the Mustang, the 5.0 is back and looks better than ever. Make the jump for deep dive into at the 2011 Ford Mustang GT's all new powerplant.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0 V8

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Deep Dive: Ford's all-new 5.0 V8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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