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Fisker gets $528M from the Dept of Energy
2009-09-23 14:08:00
Fisker was awarded a $528 Million Dollar Loan yesterday from the U.S. Department of Energy . That will fund the creation of a line of plug-in electrics. Interesting to note that the car which is planned is estimated to cost $39,900 (after tax credits) - this isn't their existing car, which is a very high-end car in the market and costs well over 100k. It is also projected to save ~821 million gallons of gasoline thru 2016. That's not much in the overall total usage in North America - but it is a good start. What we'll get will be a comfortable modern car that is reasonably quick, offers instant torque, a good driving experience, and the equivalent of extremely high milage. Fisker Automatiove Press Release follows: FISKER AUTOMOTIVE AND US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AGREE TO TERMS FOR $528.7M LOAN Funds awarded to develop affordable plug-in hybrids made in USA At least 5,000 direct and indirect US jobs to be created or saved An estimated 821 million gallons of gasoline...

Drew Barrymore drives Jays electric Ford Focus
2009-09-20 20:14:00
As the very first contestant Drew Barrymore has the best score so far. Yes, dumb. Dumb as the test track, which as another blog points looks like something at a kiddy park. Nonetheless, it was interesting because the Focus seems to be quick, and of course it's completely silent. With a 50/50 weight balance (due to the battery pack in the trunk), it also handles. Jay made the mistake of saying the car was built in Dearborn, which is not entirely true. The final tuning of it was, bit otherwise it's a Ford of Europe Focus (a significantly better Focus than the lame one sold in North America) with a prototype battery pack engineered by Ford of Europe. AT the Frankfirst show last week, Ford introduced nearly the same car, minus the ST suspension, to point the way to the future 2011/2012 production car. The jury is out here at DrivingEnthusiast...
More About: Media , Jay Leno

Jay Leno show tonight - the Electric Focus
2009-09-18 14:12:00
The special one-off electric Ford Focus built for guests to race around Jay Leno 's new test track is a one of a kind car. And not because it's a preview of the electric Focus Ford will sell here in North America in 2011 - it's not. It is a current European-spec Focus converted to full electric power. It is not the Focus we'll see here - that Focus will be an updated version with a new body and interior, based on an updated version of this chassis. It is unique because it's a sporting Focus with electric power built for handling. With the exception of the Tesla and Fisker, the electric cars we have seen to date are pretty dull - and handling was never part of their intent, much less engineering. This one is differnet - it's based on the Focus ST suspension, which normally underpins a very highly regarded turbocharged 5-cylinder drivetrain. With off-the-shelf extra-large brakes added from Ford of Europe's parts bin, plus spome special shock and spring tuning to handle the di...
More About: Show , Tonight , Jay Leno

EcoBoost 1.6 liter engine features central direct injection
2009-09-15 14:22:00
Ford's new 1.6 liter EcoBoost engine features Central Direct Injection, where the injector is located in the top of the combustion chamber, pointing down - rather than to the side as in conventional Direct Injection. The 1.6 liter EcoBoost was announced today at the Frankfurt show, but this detail was not. It is shown clearly in the Ford Press-supplied image below, to the left of the spark plug. Note the corresponding depression in the piston directlyk below. Central Direct Injection, the next step in the evolution of Direct Injection for petrol engines, is also used in the new Jaguar 5 liter DOHC V-8 engine. It's benefits include even more precise fuel metering and burn, yielding better emissions, economy, and performance. 
More About: Ford , Features , Engine , Liter

Ford introduces 3 more EcoBoost engines in Frankfurt
2009-09-15 14:01:00
Ford has released the first details of three more EcoBoost engines. We'll see at least two in North America in the next two model years. Ford Press Release follows: FRANKFURT, 15 September, 2009 -- Ford of Europe is revealing further details of its new generation of Ford EcoBoost high-efficiency low-CO2 four-cylinder petrol engines at the Frankfurt Motor Show, prior to their first production applications in 2010. Next generation high-efficiency low-CO2 Ford EcoBoost four-cylinder petrol engine family unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions reduced by up to 20 per cent compared with conventional petrol engines Ford EcoBoost makes downsizing possible – delivering the performance of a large capacity engine with the fuel economy of a much smaller unit Ford EcoBoost global engine family features direct petrol injection, turbocharging and variable valve timing for maximum combustion efficiency European applications will initially focus on two...
More About: Ford , Engines

REFRESHINGLY DIFFERENT: The MINI Roadster Concept.
2009-09-15 13:53:00
Mini today introduced the Mini Roadster concept. Like the new 2-seat Mini Coupe Concept , it's understood that what is being shown is what will go into production.  In our opinion, tese tgwo concepts make sense since the rear seats of a Mini were always useless anyway, unless you had the smallest of children. Note, however, that these are not "sportscars": the dynamic response of a front wheel drive platform with a now even more nose-heavy stance cannot be overcome. But mileage and performance will increase slightly and the cars will be even more distinct on the road. Mini Press Release follows: Woodcliff Lake, NJ – September 15, 2009… MINI Roadster Concept: fresh ideas for an intense driving experience.  MINI evokes new fascination and a wonderful new experience time and again. For each model in the range offers unique opportunities to enjoy supreme driving pleasure and unmistakable style. Now the MINI Roadster Concept once again sets a ne...
More About: Mini

Ford Statement on Driver Distraction Legislation
2009-09-14 13:24:00
A responsible and realistic statement from Ford on a critical issue. At DrivingEnthusiast.net, we endorse a ban on all texting and a requirement for hands-free voice-activiated support of cell phones. Lets put the distractions away and focus on driving! STATEMENT ON DRIVER DISTRACTION LEGISLATION The following is a statement from Sue Cischke, Group Vice President for Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering: WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2009 – “At Ford, we think driver distraction is a critically important issue. Driver s experience many different types of distractions on a daily basis. Drivers are going to have conversations, read maps and directions, and listen to music while they drive. The most complete and most recent research shows that activity that draws drivers' eyes away from the road for an extended period while driving, such as text messaging, substantially increases the risk of accidents. Ford believes hands-free, voice-activated techn...
More About: Distraction , Legislation , Statement

Momentum Race Group to toss in the Camaro on the Koni Challenge!
2009-09-13 22:46:00
The following press release is no doubt just the first of the Camaro s headed for the Koni Challenge . The major difference between the Camaros and Mustangs racing here and in the Rolex series is the engine - the Mustang has raced for several years with an engine that is not a production engine, against competitors with production engines. Unfair? Yes. Would it have been competitive otherwise? Apparently not, since Ford saw fit to force a non-production engine thru the sanctioning bodies. Of course, just about anything can be made to be competitive - look at the success of the original Saturn cars in endurance racing for several years. The Camaro will do well in a form that corresponds to it's production version. That's fair. Press Release follows: PRESS RELEASE:DALLAS, Texas - Momentum Race Group is pleased to announce it will be fielding a new two car team for the 2009 Grand-Am KONI Challenge competition. Featuring the new Riley Technologies-built Camaro, the team is putting to...

Frankfurt show: Mini Coupe Concept
2009-09-13 22:30:00
The Mini Coupe Concept wil be official introduced this week on the 15th at the Frankfurt show. It is certainly destined for production, with little more than a change to the wheels (typical show car: stuffed to the gills with wheels/tires) and possibly the interior (the stock car doens't have the nice seats or leather dashboard inserts shown in the concept).
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95 Camaro with 3.2 SHO engine swap
2009-09-13 21:20:00
The Yamaho 3/3.2 liter SHO engine is a classic engine - one of the best engines produced in the past 20 years. So good that once their host Taurus disintegrates from simple wear or cancerous salt, the engines tend to survive for another day. Their second lives are in usually other Ford products, ranging from swaps into a Ranger and Focus, as well into small sports cars such as a Miata. There there is the extreme: one SHO engine ended up in an off-road vehicle. This latest swap is probably the furthest afield for a SHO engine. So far afield that it's builder was hounded off the SHO forums where he announced his project. This time the mighty Ford SHO engine gets swapped into a common Chevy Camaro .  The builder gets an A for effort (although we have yet to see the car run) and an A for chutzpah.  The builder is located in Cheektowaga, NY - outside Buffalo. The engine swap started in early 2009. The good news is that, after checking on this own...
More About: Engine , Swap

Mini Two Untamed Frankfurt Teasers
2009-09-12 09:48:00
The Mini Coupe is coming - to be shown next week at the Frankfurt show. Meanwhile, to keep us on the edge of our seats (or scratching our heads), Mini has provided a coupled of concept teasers titled "Two Untamed". They are both fully keeping to the Mini advertising tradition of bizarreness, which has ranged from Dominetrix commercials to the annual April Fools press releases. Most of which you'll find in the archives of this blog. See an index of them all here: http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog /categories/miniCooper/posts.html  "Mirror" "Shine" "Same"
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David E Davis - nuts
2009-09-05 01:06:00
Nutjob rants against everybody and everything. Which will hopefully will be the closing chapter of this egomaniac jerk.
More About: Media , Driver , David , Nuts , Davis

British react negatively to police enforcement mindset
2009-09-04 11:58:00
The following incident is extremely unlikely since the range of police laser is inherently limited. The jet in question would have had to have been closer than the treeline in the photo. And it would have been both illegal and dangerous for the police officer to have used his laser anyway.  But it does highlight the growing public disgust in Britain for police enforcement measures that rely on unmanned measures (photo radar) and equipment with inherent limitations and accuracy only in very narrow scenarios (traffic laser). Many feel that there is a disproportionate reliance on these tools. An increasing number of examples showing their technical faults as well as the poor training and agressive methods of many public officials highlight these weaknesses.  So this article is in itself "true British laconic style". But the question on our minds is when will the Brits stand up to these Gestapo police methods and demand their r...
More About: Police , Mindset , React , Enforcement

The European Honda Accord - what Honda should have done
2009-09-04 01:45:00
Instead of the grotesque Honda Crosstour, here's the car Honda should have given us: the European version of the Accord . Indeed, as shown in early spy photos, this was the mule car for the Crosstour. But wait, doesn't this car look oddly familiar? Yes, it does, because the 4-door verison of this car has been sold here for years as the Acura TSX. Slight change in the grill, bumpers, and badging and you have the same exact car that Acura sells here at a premium price. Honda doesn't have it's own premium chassis (like the Nissan/Infiniti FM platform that is used for the 370Z, G, M, FX, EX, and other platforms here and in Japan) so it has to resort to re-badging existing cars from across the world. It costs very little to do, results in a very high margin, and provides Acura with an entire line of cars. That's one heckuva handsome wagon! And what Accord do we get in the United States? The ever-enlarging (because it just gets bigger and bigger in every rev) Japanese h...
More About: Honda Accord

2010 Honda Crosstour - what were they thinking?
2009-09-04 01:04:00
Too heavy, too tall, too big, too slow, and unbelievably ugly. What was Honda thinking? These ars not the attributes that Honda owners are looking for. What happened to the new Honda styling themes that the rest of the world appreciates? Why does Honda think that gigantic schnozola grills (Honda) or metal blades (Acura) are appealing? Yes, they do set these products apart... we see them coming down the road from far away and wince at their grotesque excess. We just don't understand what Honda and Acura are thinking. No NSX, S2000, RSX, aging and out-dated 4 and 6 cylinder engines, and now styling that not even a mother could like.  We would take a guess that this "thing" and the latest Acura grills were all done by the United States wing of Honda/Acura product planning. Totally out of touch with the Japanese mindset that we have appreciated all along. Honda Press Release follows: 2010 Accord Crosstour Styling Conceals Surprising Versatility Next evolution of ...
More About: Thinking

NY Legislature passes texting ban
2009-08-22 09:31:00
But it's not directly enforcable. It's only a secondary bad - you had to alreadyi have been stopped for some other reason. Read more: http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/7499 44.html Adam Zyglis Cartoon for 7/27/2009 Adam Zyglis, Buffalo, NY, The Buffalo News
More About: Legislature

Jay Leno gets away with it
2009-08-20 01:03:00
Apparently celebrities can get away with anything. Jay Leno hits a deer, wrecks his car, and threatens to shoot a police officer. And gets away with it.
More About: Media , Jay Leno

More information surfaces about the new Ford 6.2 liter V-8
2009-08-19 00:56:00
Code-named "Boss", the all-new Ford 6.2 liter V-8 will be used in variations of the F-150 pickup and the related SUVs. It will not be used in the Mustang and was never planned for use in the Mustang. Instead, an aluminum 4-valve variation was to be used but that has been cancelled - the much smaller Coyota 5 liter is the only other new V-8 engine going forward and that is also primarily a truck engine.  The Boss was cancelled out-right at one point, but then resusitated when the economy was in a false growth curve. Now it's in a very strictly limited production engine, and the 4-valve and 7 liter variations of it have been killed and will never see the light of day. This, the 5-liter Coyote, and the EcoBoost V-6 will replace the existing 4.6 and 5.4 liter engines - which are seriously out-dated and scheduled for end-of-life soon. Note that this is an iron-block engine. Clearly Ford's lack of development funding shows here. It's also a SOHC design, with 2 valves per cylinde...
More About: Information , Liter

Maserati turned into clunker program
2009-08-18 02:48:00
Yes, a 1985 Maserati Biturbo (pronounced "bee-turbo") has been turned in to the cash for clunkers program. Unbelievable, right? No. I remember that way back in 1984, at one of the early 24 hour endurance races at Nelson Ledges, somebody brought one of these to compete. I think it was Car and Driver, although it was a long time ago and I don't remember who it was amoungst all the competitors. So you'd think they'd clean up, right? No. It wasn't the legendary Maserati un-reliability that did them in this time. It was absolutely unbelievable godawful structural integrity. The car flexed so badly in the turns that the gas tank split wide open. Yes, I saw it - I was standing in the middle of the pits as an SCCA Pit Marshall. Even the lowly Pinto (which was a nice little car, except for one little problem) required somebody to hit it in the rear before it might develop a leak (and several competed in these races without issue). But the Maserati delivered a full gusher just from dri...
More About: Program

HST Intl - all-electric Mustang with 1000 ft/lbs of torque and a 0-60 time
2009-08-15 20:51:00
HST International is still here... they changed their domain and didn't have the old one forwarded (dumb!). Go to: http://www.hstintl.com/  Be sure to download the brochure: http://www.hstintl.com/tjaarda_evx.pdf&nb sp; Their announcement last year and demonstration of all electric Mustang (how about a Mustang with 1000 ft/lbs of torque and a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds?) made headlines - as it should. This is the long term future of cars in general... and with the right kind of development electrics could have the same or more performance potential than gasoline powered cars. Let's face it, folks, a move to this technology is coming - and we need to learn how to master it. These folks mastered the art of building one, now lets see how they master the art of staying alive in this economy. Reference: original blog posting and press release: http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog /2008/04/17.html#a2370
More About: Time , Electric , Torque

Gomers and rednecks find employment and humor in Cash for Clunkers
2009-08-15 01:17:00
This is the umpteenth video showing a pair of hicks at a dealer charged with killing a cash for clunkers trade in. These two - if they vote at all - owe a vote of thanks to Obama and Nancy Pelosi for not only getting them gainful (if minimum wage) employment but also for providing a humorous element to their day. Only socialized medicine could make their lives perfect after this! Yes, another clunker bites the dust. How a Corvette ended up like this is anybody's guess. I'll probably have a nightmare tonight of myself waking up at a rest home in 40 years, with a pair of gomer/redneck male nurses pulling the plug on me. What a terrible way to go.
More About: Humor , Employment , Find , Cash

V-12 Jag powered 240Z for sale in Canada
2009-08-15 01:02:00
As first reported here last May: http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog /2009/05/16.html#a2657, a 240Z with a V-12 Jaguar conversion has been running around Ontario, Canada for several years. Now it's for sale http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles- classic-cars-1971-Datsun-240Z-Custom-W0QQ AdIdZ140226516 and it's been cleaned up with new paint, wheels, and removal of the tacky wood inside. Note that this car was originally powered by a a lowly Dodge 318 swap and 4-speed, followed by a 340. Yikes, the implications. Buyers look it over carefully - if it was indeed done well, then this would be a fun car.  If it was, I'd very much like to own it. And, yes, it once had a lowly 318. Could there be any worse choice for an engine swap?
More About: For Sale , Sale , Nissan Z

Speaking of the 2011 Mustang GT...
2009-08-13 04:19:00
Car and Driver came across some interesting Ford test cars recently: http://blog.caranddriver.com/2011-ford-mu stang-gt-an-even-more-potent-track-pack-t o-complement-the-400-hp-5-0-liter/  What to make of this? It takes Ford 5 liters to make 400 horsepower, and the beemer makes 17 more with only 4 liters. The beemer costs a heckuva lot more... but has considerably more capability. The "Track Pack" is attaining mythical qualities that it doesn't deserve at all... it's nothing more than a couple of things anybody making a Mustang into a track car would do (tires & suspension) on their own. In fact, it's less - because it's riding too high, and it has inadaquate brakes. The cure for the front brakes is easy - but there is no cure for the tiny rear brakes. Well, there was, but Ford cancelled it. At least the Mustang GT isn't as poorly endowed as the Taurus SHO, which very literally is "smoking" in road tests - smoking it's brakes as...
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Iacocca Mustang - good for him and bad for Ford
2009-08-13 02:19:00
Have you seen the special 45th anniversary Mustang that Lee Iacocca brought out? This was on his own, apparently without Ford . It’s based on the old ’09 body style, nicely cleaned up. I do appreciate the freedom and what-the-hell attitude embodied in a Mustang, and I do like driving cars like this. I really like this video! The soundtrack choice is perfect - and at the point he lights it up I was clapping (and Sinatra fans will appreciate the reason and timing of that particular point). Good touch of humor at the end. Entirely professional and very well done camera work. And of course a great stunt driver. You can feel how the car catches as it does the 180 in the tunnel - and when the camera pulls back you feel it as though you're there. I'd like to see a documentary on how this video was made. Now for my comments. You'll notice there were multiple takes on the drift thru the intersection - look at all the marks on the pavement. I know that ...

More oddities from the Ford Fiesta agent program
2009-08-11 01:53:00
Can it get any weirder? Can it get any more original? Ford breaks the mold with the Fiesta Agent program. Kudos!!!
More About: Oddities , Program

Ohio S2000 owners contribute to the mid-Ohip IndyCar event
2009-08-09 22:39:00
Ohio S2K owners supplied the cars for the Mid-Ohio IndyCar race today: http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?show topic=714542 30-35 owners were needed to drive the race drivers and other VIPs around the track just before the event started. IndyCar supplied special decals for their cars several weeks in advance.Driving around town for those weeks helped promote the race. And you never know who you are going to run into before an IndyCar event:Each participating member also gets tickets to the event and a special parking area for their cars throughout the event.
More About: Event , Ohio , Contribute , Owners

Edmunds - SHO versus G37
2009-08-04 11:06:00
An old video, but a valid one. The G37 just plain blows the doors off the SHO. And before you complain that they aren't in the same market, keep in mind they will be in the same price range. The braking, skidpad, acceleration, and every measure of the SHO is worse. It's also significantly heavier and it has to have AWD for safety sake. Compromises all around. And then ther eis braking - not only is it poor (and nose-down), all the tests have discovered smoking brakes form as little as back-roads driving. Forget the track, where even if it did have brakes it's bmehemoth size would be a danger anyway. Ford , you shoud have put this on the Fusion chassis.
More About: Versus , Edmunds

370Z - under the hatch
2009-08-03 13:19:00
Thanks to ForgedPerformance.com, we have the opportunity to see what's under the covers in the new 370Z. Forged Performance is building a race car, so everything superfluous has been removed. Note the mount for the silver bar that crosses just behind the drivers seat. As we predicted several months ago, this is not structural at all. It's clearly just a piece of pointless bling. Our other prediction at the time, that somebody would mount their race harnesses on it, hasn't happened yet as far as we have seen on the 'net. But if or when somebody tries it, they will be totally unprotected. Remember that what is commonly called a "harness bar" is not for mounting belts - it is only for guiding belts down to their mount point. Here's the production car - note the silver bar. That's all wasted space... Nissan should have left it off. By way of comparison, here's what a 350Z looks like. Very inefficient.
More About: Nissan Z

Captain Slow and the Capri 2.8 Injection
2009-08-03 01:31:00
Catching up on some old Top Gear episodes today, I came across Season 13 Episode 5. Our three heroes face yet another cheap car challenge - this time a drive to France in three old rear-wheel drive sports coupes (pronounced "coupe-aaa..." in British): a Porsche 944 (Clarkson), a 300ZX (The Hamster), and a Capri 2.8 Injection (Captain Slow , although with a reasonable 160 HP). Several tasks were given, including trying to beat The Stig around a race track. Everybody failed at that, and of course the Capri over-heated (giving me a deja vu moment... in my own Capri, an earlier 1974 model, the over-heating occured in the dead of winter, requiring a major repair in sub-freezing temperatures and a wind chill well under zero degrees). And then there was the braking test: in 200 meters, accelerate to 60 MPH and then brake. If you fail, you run into one of your favorite possessions. Of course, Captain Slow crashed into his own piano and destroyed it. Another test was a ...
More About: Ford , Jeremy Clarkson

Review - PJ ORourke Driving Like Crazy
2009-08-02 04:09:00
Older and wiser do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. We've all made mistakes when we were younger... part of getting older for most of us also means getting wiser and understanding the difference. Not so for PJ. At 62 years old, you have to wonder if he has gotten any wiser. He never looks back at his indiscretions as exactly that. We all had these kinds of "adventures" in our earlier days of the auto hobby... but how many of us have out-grown them and learned from them? P.J. cannot be counted as one - he seems merely to have moved on without looking at them as childish and irresponsible. Some of us, now both older and wiser, came to realize that we didn't need to do everything we did - we just needed to grow up and part of growing up and wising up is recognizing past mistakes and learning from them. If you're a long-time Car and Driver reader like I am (40 years now), you'll recognize many of these stories from many years ago. PJ was never one of my favorite writers - his storie...
More About: Shopping , Gifts , Driving , Review , Crazy