39 Articles
Uncertain future for Ford's RWD vehicles, more EcoBoost on the way

It's been a while since we've heard about FoMoCo's development of large rear-wheel-drive vehicles for Ford and Lincoln – no surprise considering the current climate. With fuel prices continuing their upward trajectory and CAFE standards looming on the horizon, Ford is apparently reevaluating the efficacy of offering RWD vehicles in a market starving for fuel efficient whips.

Spy Shots: Toyota/Subaru coupe caught in the wild

AutoExpress may have provided us with a rendering of what the new RWD Subaru coupe might look like, but Winding Road's hired spies have provided the real deal. Shot outside a test center in the UK (amidst white-out conditions), the camo-clad mule is sporting some body panels pilfered from the current Legacy, but with a Toyota emblem in front, a pair of Recaro buckets inside and a shrunken tru

It looks like the Chevy Impala and Buick Lucerne will stay FWD

It looks like the combination of $4/gallon gas and CAFE rules may have finally administered the coup de grace to GM's plans for new rear wheel drive replacements for its big sedans. GM had been planning to replace the Chevrolet Impala and Buick Lucerne with models based on the same Zeta rear wheel drive platform as the Pontiac G8 around 2010. However, it now appears that the front wheel drive Impala will remain in production at GM's Oshawa Ontario plant until at least 2012. The new contract betw

Confirmed: FWD Impala around through 2012

It has been rumored for the last few months that Chevrolet would be soldiering on with a front-wheel-drive Impala for at least the next few years. The recent contract agreement between the Canadian Auto Workers union and General Motors appears to cement this rumor as fact. According

Ford Australia denies American RWD platform development

That didn't take long. After Monday's article in the Detroit News reporting that Ford's U.S. operations were going to be developing its own RWD platform here in the States, the FoMoCo crew from Down Under refutes that story saying, "It's too early to speculate on that." With the dollar not holding up like it used to, the idea that Stateside Ford engineers would develop their own left-h

Ford developing new rear-drive platform in Dearborn

Ford has apparently finally heard the call and green-lighted development of a new global rear wheel drive platform and a family of vehicles to be built on it. However, unlike General Motors, Ford will not rely on its Australian division to do the heavy lifting. Since the collapse of the U.S. dollar has made the United States a low cost country, the development of the new platform has been moved back to Dearborn. The most recent attempt at a rear-drive architecture that debuted on the latest Aust

Enter TCC's Rumormill: GM's RWD plans to include Buick and Cadillac

We're getting a bit tired of trying to keep up with what models GM plans to underpin with a rear-wheel-drive platform. Aside from the upcoming Camaro and the Pontiac G8, no other vehicles have received the divine anointment from the General's higher-ups due to impending CAFE regulations that will supposedly quell any developments on the RWD front.

Entry-level, RWD vehicles coming from VW in 2010

More news on the microcar front comes in the form of "confidential planning documents" procured by Automobilwoche outlining Volkswagen's plan for its rear-wheel-drive compacts over the next nine years. VW considers the launch of its new "Small Family" lineup of RWD vehicles as the most important launch since the Beetle was fazed out in favor of the Golf in 1974.

Hyundai RWD coupe coming to London motor show in '08

During an interview with BusinessCar, Hyundai UK's head Tony Whitehorn finally confirmed what's been rumored for going on a year: the automaker's new RWD coupe will replace the Tiburon. The coupe will take about 50- to 60-percent of the styling cues originally debuted on the Veloster concept and is set to make its world debut at the London Motor Show in July of 2008.

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