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November car sales numbers are coming in and they’re what you expect them to be — horrendous. Ford is down 31% month-to-month with last year. Toyota fell even further at 33.9% . That's successful compared to GM's 41% drop . Even Honda is down 31.6% . What's going on? Carpocalypse Now is going on, that's what! The entire auto industry is screwed at the moment, and it's not just the U.S. automakers. Since Toyota’s and Honda’s numbers are in the crapper it points to what we've been saying from the start. This is less an issue of a problem with our dear domestic car makers and more of a problem with a lack of desire on the part of consumers to buy from any company. People have either already lost their jobs, ot they're scared of losing their jobs — in addition to their houses and their way of life. When people are that scared, they just don't spend money. It's as simple as that. It also doesn't help there's little in the way of accessible...
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At the same time Ford is unveiling a US plan for profitability packed with cars that we don't want, it’s showing off simple, practical, affordable, utilitarian vehicles elsewhere in the world like this Ford Ranger Max concept. The concept was just unveiled at the Thailand International Motor Expo and features styling inspired by chunky power tools and the kind of practicality that can only come from a reasonable size and frugal engine. But, this isn’t just a reskinned Mazda B-series , this vehicle is said to hint at what the next generation Ranger could look like. galleryPost('fordrangermax', 6, 'Ford Ranger Max'); The official press release follows: "We know Ranger is tough and durable, and Ranger Max adds to those qualities. The show truck does not follow a trend; it sets a new tough style direction for compact trucks," says Paul Gibson, the chief designer of the Ranger Max show truck. "Ranger Max is genuinely tough, and it is a truck that gets the job...
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Ford today announced a plan to turn around its business, claiming it allows them to reach break-even level or profit by 2011. The plan includes building a battery-electric commercial van by 2010 and a BEV sedan by 2011. The focus of the Ford's plan to save its business is to green the automaker by offering a full family of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery powered electric vehicles. The attention-getting portion of their plan is the production of an electric commercial van, we're suspecting might be based on the Ford Transit Connect , for the U.S. market by 2010. This will be followed up by a battery-powered electric sedan in 2011. In order to offer this technology on such an accelerated timetable, Ford's plans call for a $14 billion investment in advanced technologies to improve fuel efficiency and the company is hoping to have $9 billion made available in bridge financing from Congress, though they hope to not have to use it. To prove they mean business, Ford CEO Mulally...
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Finally aware of how bad the not-so-Big Three looked for flying to D.C. for the previous round of "bridge loan" hearings in fancy corporate jets, Ford promises CEO Alan Mullally will be taking a car for the eight-hour trip to Washington, D.C. for the next round of talks. There's no word yet on which Ford product he'll drive, leading to the inevitable question: what will Mullally drive to D.C.? We're pretty sure it won't be a Volvo and, to be fair, we don't know if Mullally will be driving himself. Our best guess is Mullally will take a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid , which allows the company to show off an attractive, fuel-efficient vehicle people may actually want to buy and that supposedly will get 5 MPG more than the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Additionally, it's a lot more comfortable for a long trip than a Fiesta. Remember, this follows mere hours after GM received more negative attention for trying to shut down public tracking of their leased jets in an attempt...
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The moment the Ford Taurus SHOwagon listed on eBay was posted here the bidding for the rare item suddenly jumped up. We thought this was because we're awesome and moved tons of traffic in the power-wagon's direction. No. In fact, the real culprit was our very own Commenter Admin / Cotomer Sevis Rep Pete Gaines . Not only did he drive the price up past its low reserve, he was able to purchase the car for the steal-of-a-deal price of just $3,000. His plans for the sweet new ride? galleryPost('showagon1', 3, 'SHO Me The Money'); galleryPost('showagon2', 3, 'Audio-filed'); Step One: Pete is going to figure out how to get the SHOwagon from its current location in Dayton, Ohio all the way back to Jayhawk country Kansas. Step Two: He's going to find a way to sell and strip all of that weight-adding sound equipment. Step Three: Enjoy. And those awesome green wheels? They're going to stay. We applaud Pete for his bold move. It was truly a stunning...
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As if we're not already overly inclined towards the first or second generation Ford Taurus SHO , an audio company made a rare SHO Wagon and that vehicle is now for sale on eBay . Rather than dropping the SHO 3.0-liter Yamaha V6 and manual transmission into a donor wagon body, this is an original SHO with the wagon body dropped onto it. Stacked with audio equipment and for sale with bids in the low $2,000-range, this could be a steal for someone in the Midwest area. Of course, it needs new paint, has hail damage and was probably driven like a company car. But SHO Wagon! Seller description below. galleryPost('showagon1', 3, 'SHO Me The Money'); galleryPost('showagon2', 3, 'Audio-filed'); Seller Description This is a one-off custom-built fully-loaded SHO station wagon equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, full black leather interior, power sunroof, power windows, power seats, etc. Ford never built a station wagon, so the rear valance/bumper cover...
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As we reported earlier today, Ford is officially looking to sell Volvo , the last piece of the Premier Auto Group. In a better economy we suspect parting with Volvo wouldn't be so easy, but the $4.4 billion the company is probably worth is a nice chunk of much-needed cash for the automaker and, equally as important, it would be beneficial for Ford to subtract Volvo's losses from their overall quarterly performance. Who could buy the Swedish brand? Chinese company Chery expressed interest but may not have enough capital to acquire the automaker. Ratan Tata could make a move but, if he was interested, he'd have probably tried for the brand the first time. Who does that leave? The original bidding war took place between Volkswagen AG, Fiat and Ford, with Detroit winning the prize. VW has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to brands and doesn't need any help enhancing its presence in North America. Fiat, on the other hand, has been looking for a cheap way to get more mainstream...
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If you happen to live in a part of the world where buying a Ford Kuga is an option, you're about to get the choice of better fuel economy speeding towards a stop light or a speedier sprint going away from one. The latest Kuga includes the option of stripping out the all wheel drive for a front-wheel-drive powertrain operated by a fuel sipping 2.0 liter TDCi diesel with either a manual or auto transmission. If you're interested in speed rather than frugality, go for the 197 HP, 235 lb-ft 2.5 liter gas motor with all-wheel-drive and a five speed manual from the Focus ST and you get "scalding" 8.2 second acceleration to sixty miles per hour. If you want, you can also get an automatic with that motor, but why? Full press release with goofy European consumption and emissions table below. galleryPost('09fordkugapress', 3, 'Ford Kuga Gets Upgrades And Downgrades'); FORD ADDS ECONOMY, POWER AND CONVENIENCE TO NEW KUGA RANGE * Three new range additions * 2.0-litre...
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Ford announced today it is officially looking to sell Volvo, the premium Swedish automaker that the company acquired in 1999 and made an important part of its Premier Auto Group (PAG). Oh what a difference a decade makes. Ford paid $6.45 billion in 1999 dollars for the automaker in a fierce bidding war with Volkswagen AG and Fiat. In preparation for a sale Volvo will be made more of a stand-alone company. Volvo was the last of the PAG brands left after Land Rover/Jaguar were sold to Tata and Aston Martin was sold to an investment firm . Why sell the company? In the midst of a bad market the company's slumping sales are a thumb on Ford's already heavy scales. Who would buy Volvo? Why not Volkswagen or Fiat? Both companies could pick it up for an amount we assume is less than $6.45 billion. Press release below the jump. FORD MOTOR COMPANY ANNOUNCES IT WILL RE-EVALUATE STRATEGIC OPTIONS FOR VOLVO CAR CORPORATION DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 1, 2008 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced...
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We just received a hot-off-the-wires report from the WSJ that the UAW is currently in talks with some of the not-so-Big Three to kill the "Jobs Bank" program. The program, a bane of contention by everyone but the UAW and it's membership since the inception of unionized labor at automakers, basically pays workers when they're not working. Good for the membership? Sure. Good for the automakers? Not so much. Good for everyone's image? Not in the least. Although UAW officials and their allies counter the banks have been an effective way to keep a flexible job pool available and allow the companies to implement new technology while reducing overall numbers responsibly. More view that as complete hogwash. Not much is known as of yet about specifics on the discussions. As of now we've only got a wire service report from the Journal telling us: "The United Auto Workers union is in talks with some of Detroit's Big Three auto makers to stop a program that pays idled...
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newVideoPlayer("LincolnDoor_gawker.flv", 506, 423,""); The old disappearing doors Lincoln concept car, a sensation that swept the nation (or at least the internet) back in July, 2007 (a sensation we started right here at Jalopnik ) is now up for sale again on eBay. So for any of you kiddies looking for a Black Friday steal and deal, snap up the 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII Prototype Concept Car with doors that disappear under the car. Be wary however, as this concept car seems to head back to eBay every six months or so. Probably because nobody can figure out how to get that pesky driver's side door to work right. Get it now while you still can because the auction on this one-of-a-kind rarity of a minor internet meme ends at 10:00 PM EST Sunday night. Look at it this way, it's like owning Rick Astley at the start of his second career as a rick-roller . [via eBay ]
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In case you may have missed it back in 2006, Ford released a trio of entries into the uber-boring mid-size sedan category. The just-right-sized triplets were built with the intention of targeting the best in the appliance segment. Alas, sales fell well short of the leaders of the pack — which is why you may not remember. Fast forward to this past week at the LA Auto Show , where Ford dropped cloth on three redesigns for the 2010 Ford Fusion , 2010 Mercury Milan and the 2010 Lincoln MKZ . While the new look on all three may be a “Bold Move™,” all three cars retain the old Mazda 6-derived CD3 platform. So our question is – are the changes more than skin deep? Let’s find out. 2010 Ford Fusion As the sales leader of the CD3 triplets, the 2010 Ford Fusion is the most important of the trio and does its best to pave the way for the new European-derived models that Ford plans to have appear shortly (pending any Carpocalypse-related financial troubles) and the new 2010 Ford Taurus we expect...
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newVideoPlayer("/hillclimb-cars.flv", 494, 371,""); Every once in a while, when looking at no holds barred race cars there comes the engineering equivalent of a facepalm moment. It's that second where we wonder 'Why didn't I think of that?' Like when we discovered how Nic Mann's record-breaking hill climb racer uses a turbine engine from a helicopter auxiliary power unit to drive a turbocharger feeding the 1.7-liter Cosworth four-cylinder a constant stream of boost. To eliminate turbo lag, Nic hooked the turbine to the impeller side of the remote turbo, which can feed the engine at up to 43 PSI. Bonkers is one way to describe it. This of course completely eliminates turbo lag from the compressed intake air routed to the main drive engine. The hybrid engine is hooked up to an even stranger contraption behind it — a Ford Sierra powertrain. The car uses the all wheel drive and transmission from a lowly Sierra, albeit beefed up quite a bit. Unfortunately...
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Everyone's favorite ponytail-ed Ford designer Camilo Pardo has teamed up with the twin-turboizing folks at Heffner Performance for a very special edition of the already special Ford GT . The Camilo Pardo Special Edition includes the typical Heffner Performance twin-turbo kit good for 900 HP and a 150 MPH quarter-mile speed. The differences come with the subtle interior and exterior tweaks that Pardo designed for the car, including concept-style rear bumper and aluminum seat grommets. Full details below. galleryPost('heffpardogt', 6, 'Pardo-n Me); Heffner Performance and Camilo Pardo team for Special Edition Ford GT Heffner Performance is a name that has become synonymous with ultra high performance exotic car tuning. Having already successfully modified Ford GT and Lamborghini Gallardo’s for added performance, the team at Heffner Performance looked to expand their range by teaming with world reknowned artist and Ford GT chief designer Camilo Pardo for a special edition Ford...
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The 2010 Ford Fusion , for those who admired its sharp Gillette looks, will start at $19,270 for the base S model with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine matched with a six-speed manual transmission, just $135 more than the base 2009 Fusion, which isn't as powerful or quite as good looking as the new Fusion . For those wanting to be green, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid will start at $27,270, a little over $1,000 more than the Toyota Camry Hybrid . But that added grand for the Fusion hybrid will supposedly get you an extra 5 MPG more than the 33 city / 34 highway numbers of the 2009 Camry hybrid. The rest of the pricing below. galleryPost('fordfusion2010LA08', 6, 'Ford Fusion Live In Los Angeles'); 2010 Ford Fusion Pricing 2010 Fusion S — $19,270 2010 Fusion SE — $20,545 2010 Fusion SEL — $23,975 2010 Fusion Sport — $25,825 2010 Fusion Hybrid — $27,270 [Source: Ford ]
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