Autoblog

It was a big day for MINI news as ABG published a full review of the diesel powered MINI Cooper D that got 47 mpg, and MINI USA VP Jim McDowell told us that the recently announced electric MINI will arrive in the US next summer. We may even get the diesel MINI here in the US. Over in the UK Lightning Car Company took the wraps off its new electric sports car.

• Lightning GT out of the bottle at British International Motor Show
• In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2008 MINI Cooper D [w/VIDEO]
• Electric MINI will be in US customer hands in summer 2009!
• A Better Place-like project for the UK in Brown's agenda
• MINIs in very tight supply, diesel on the way
• Coulomb Technologies announces "Smartlet" public charging stations
• London 2008: Land Rover intros new green technology
• Redesigned Fords to boast best mileage in class
• Cobalt XFE selling faster than planned

more after the jump

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lightning GT.

This month will see the debut of the Lightning GT electric sports car at the British Motor Show on July 23. The nano-titanate battery pack will provide 740-HP and a 0-60 sprint in just four seconds. Those batteries have also been spaced around the car to give it a 48/52 weight balance, which could theoretically give it the kind of handling to match its looks.

The batteries power four permanent magnet brushless motors, one at each wheel, which negates the need for a gearbox, axles, and transmission -- or transmission troubles. Each wheel will also boast independent traction control and regenerative braking. Inside, the car gets all the mod-cons, including A/C, satnav, and leather.

The makers claim a 90-mile range on a ten-minute charge, and running costs will be at least five times less than a car that gets 50-mpg U.S. That is, of course, assuming the car actually makes it to market. If so, and it's priced somewhere close to the Tesla, it should do well.


[Source: Car Central]

Click on the photo above for our photo gallery of the 2007 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson

Ah, how we miss Ford's second-generation Lightning. By infusing an F-150 with 380 HP of supercharged 5.4L fury and selecting suspension components that were up to the task of harnessing such power, the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) redefined the sport truck genre and sent the competition scrambling to build worthy competitors. In 2003, the Lightning gained a big brother in the form of the supercharged crew-cab wearing Harley-Davidson livery, but unfortunately, SVT's run came to an end a year later, and with it disappeared the blown Ford trucks.

Fast-forward to the present - the Harley-Davidson package has transitioned back to the F-150 after a brief flirtation with the Super Duty line-up (featuring one of the most garish paint packages in recent history), and forced induction has yet again found its way back into the fold. Now packing 450 horsepower and the blackest color scheme imaginable, we recently got a chance to spend a few days with what is currently the most powerful pickup truck available.

Click the image above to view the Autoblog Chip Foose interview

Questions remained surrounding the Ford Chip Foose F-150, so we set out in search of answers and found ourselves speaking to the man whose name appears on the truck. A couple of questions and a Chip riff or two later, here's what we learned - the inspiration for the truck was Foose's own F-series, the truck should be available in three or four months (!), and a lighter-weight two-door version might be on its way if Chip's crew has its way. SVT may not be able to resurrect the Lightning, but we think this would be an adequate substitute. Press through to watch us stutter and stammer our way through an interview with the Hot Rod Hall of Famer after the jump.

Many thanks to Petter Terren for allowing us to use the photo you see above. Peter, you see, likes to have fun with his Tesla coil at his home in Australia. His website, TeslaDownUnder, chronicles his electrical exploits in detail.

Your mission today, dear readers, is to come up with witty captions to the pic Peter's shared with us. Post your captions in the comments. We'll pick our favorite (or favorites) and immortalize them with the photo in a new post tomorrow. Have at it!

UPDATE: Thanks to all who submitted!. Comments are now closed. We'll pick our faves and post the results.

[Source: TeslaDownUnder via Digg]

Ford's SOHC 4.6L V8 isn't exactly known for its potential to make big power, and saddling it with over two tons of mass means that Crown Vics aren't exactly feared on the streets unless they're being driven by a police officer. Sal Mennella from Power Surge Performance (a shop specializing in Ford PCM tuning) developed a solution for this problem, however, in the form of a supercharged 5.4L that he snagged from Ford's defunct Lightning sport truck. As delivered from the factory, this engine was usually good for about 330 rear-wheel horsepower - a substantial improvement over the sub-200 RWHP provided by the stock motor.

As if that wasn't enough, the stock Eaton blower was replaced with the substantially more efficient Whipple supercharger to provide more boost. The stock heads and throttle body remain, though, as do the stock cast iron exhaust manifolds. This combination produces nearly 540 horsepower at the rear wheels, as well as a dead-flat torque curve that maintains more than 500 lb-ft over the entire duration of the dyno pull.

This has us convinced that Ford should offer a GT500 version of the CV - just so long as it promises not to offer them to law enforcement agencies.

[Source: Crownvic.net]

For those F-150 fans who are looking for a distinctive sport truck trim package but don't want 4WD and the off-road specific equipment of the wildly popular FX4, Ford is bringing the FX2 to its showrooms this fall.

The package, available on Super Cab and SuperCrew trucks, includes a billet aluminum grill, body-colored accents, a chrome exhaust tip, unique 18" wheels, leather-wrapped steering wheel, captain's chairs with accented stitching, and a special finish on the center stack and gage cluster.

There's no word yet on pricing or whether certain optional equipment (such as the 5.4L V8) will be mandatory. Ford expects that the FX2 will account for a healthy 5% of all F-series sales, or about 45,000 units each years.

More photos below the jump...