Why Ford should have given the Ranger another shot.
It’s curtains for the Ford Ranger. Ford has announced that production of the truck will end sometime next year and that the United States won’t see a replacement. Instead, buyers will be herded toward the F-150, with its new, lower price, its range of fuel-efficient engines and its smart 6-speed automatic transmission.
The reasoning is pretty simple. The new global Ranger is too close in size to the F-150 to be an effective replacement for the small truck that buyers love here in the U.S. Throw in the fact that the small-truck segment has been shrinking significantly over the past few years and you have a recipe for one dead Ranger.
Or at least you do from the corporate point of view. For people who buy and love their compact trucks, there’s no replacement for a small, utilitarian vehicle -- and the void in the Ford lineup left by the Ranger can’t be filled by the likes of the F-150 or the work-oriented Transit Connect. Our guess is that the buyers who have been snapping up new Ranger models will take their business elsewhere rather than pony up the extra cash for a brand-new full-size pickup.
ePower station wagon planned.
Saab is working on its first all-electric vehicle: a wagon based on the current 9-3 SportCombi with a projected range of 124 miles powered by a 184-horsepower electric motor. The vehicle is expected to top out at 93 mph, with a zero-to-60 time of about 8.5 seconds. The ePower wagon will be unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show in advance of next year's fleet trials in Sweden.Initial reports say that Saab's first electric can recharge fully in three to six hours from a plug-in wall outlet; that time reportedly can be cut significantly with a higher-voltage power source. Saab says that the battery pack can operate at full capacity even at temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit -- 10 degrees lower than the operating level of other battery packs on the market, according to the Swedish manufacturer.
Kelley Blue Book says the break-even point for used hybrids is substantially lower than for new.
As we reported a couple of weeks ago, the high cost of most hybrid vehicles may negate the fuel savings for which many buyers prize them, meaning that hybrids may not offer much value -- if they offer value at all. A new study by Kelley Blue Book, however, says that a used hybrid may be the way to go when it comes to bang for the "green" driver's buck.According to Kelley, hybrid vehicles are not retaining their value the way they once did, and are not keeping pace with the appreciation of most other vehicles segments. Combine this with the significant decrease in sales of new hybrids compared with last year -- no doubt due in part to last year's boosted sales from the Cash for Clunkers program -- and it means that purchasing a used hybrid today will be significantly easier on the wallet than in the past.
By Brad Constant
WITH VIDEO -- Red Bull Racing's X1 Prototype, designed by Adrian Newey and tested by Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel, will be included in the Gran Turismo 5 video game set to go on sale in November.
When creating Gran Turismo 5, the Polyphony Digital design team wanted an ultimate car, one not limited by the rules.
"Every race in the world today conforms to some sort of regulations, and every racing car is built to fit within those various regulations," said Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital Inc. "However, the X1 is something new, created from a 'what-if' scenario, a dream we have long held at Polyphony."
The design team asked Newey, Red Bull Racing's chief technical officer and aerodynamic expert, to act as technical adviser and to help create the dream car.
"We all have a dream about pushing the boundaries, where the performance of the car and the experience of the driver take precedence over the rules," said Newey. "As a result, the X1 Prototype is dynamite to drive."
To test the virtual car, Polyphony brought in Red Bull driver Vettel. He drove the X1 around a virtual copy of Japan's Suzuka race course, shattering the real world record set by Kimi Räikkönen in 2005 by more than 20 seconds.
"Adrian's dream car handled brilliantly," said Vettel. "There are few tracks that reward bravery and commitment more than Suzuka, and I can't think of a better way to experience the pace and performance of the X1 Prototype than going through 130R at full throttle."
The second annual summit on distracted driving.
The numbers are sobering: 5,474 deaths -- accounting for 16 percent of all traffic fatalities over the past year -- and 448,000 injuries. And those numbers don't even tell the whole story of the toll taken by distracted driving, as LaHood notes that not all states document distracted driving in their crash reports.
By Diana T. Kurylko, Automotive News
An ambitious plan to increase Volkswagen brand sales in the United States to 800,000 by 2018--up from 213,454 last year--begins with a mid-sized sedan to be built starting early next year in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Later, the new factory will add the Polo small car or a mid-sized SUV--possibly both.
Here is a rundown of VW's product plans through 2013.
The Nismo 370Z is the best sports-car bang for your buck.
There's no contest. Since its redesign, the Nissan 370Z is the best new sports car you’ll find for less than $40,000; it's the poor man’s Porsche of the moment. Its only real competition is the Mazda RX8, a brilliant handler, but without the ponies or the torque to keep up with the Z.
I’m therefore happy to report that an even-better version, the Nismo 370Z -- a factory-tuned scorcher with an added injection of style and performance -- still sneaks under the 40-grand mark with a base tag of $39,910.
The 2011 Ford pickup goes on tour.
Ford's 2011 F-150 is set to arrive soon, and the Blue Oval is giving 20,000 people the chance to get behind the wheel before the truck -- rolling out with a number of new powertrain options -- hits showrooms.First thing first: Let's look at the engine options. There's the base 3.7-liter V6; the much-ballyhooed 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost, reportedly putting out around 400 horses and the same number of lb-ft of torque; a 5.0-liter V8; and the creme de la creme 6.2-liter V8 for Platinum editions.
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Contributors
Clifford Atiyeh has spent his entire life driving cars he doesn't own. Raised in Volvos, he has grown to love fast, irresponsible vehicles of all kinds. He is the senior news editor at MSN Autos and also reports for Car and Driver, Road & Track, The Boston Globe and other publications.
In the garage: 21-speed Iron Horse, 2002 Jeep Wrangler X (not his)
Doug Newcomb has covered car technology for over 20 years for outlets ranging from Rolling Stone to Edmunds.com. In 2008, he published his first book, "Car Audio for Dummies" (Wiley). He lives and drives in Hood River, Ore., with his wife and two kids, who share his passion for cars and technology.
In the garage: 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS, two 1984 Chevrolet Blazers, 2008 Honda CR-V
James Tate learned to drive stick at age 13 in a 1988 Land Cruiser - in La Paz, Bolivia. He's since been a mechanic, on a pit crew and has wrenched on every car he's owned since his first 1989 Honda CRX Si (and won't stop until the car is a 1973 Porsche 911 RS). His work has appeared in Car and Driver, Popular Mechanics, Automobile and others.
In the garage: 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera, 1988 BMW M5
About Exhaust Notes
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