Officially Official: 2011 Ford Fiesta rated at 40 mpg highway
The EPA has finished calculating the fuel economy of the 2011 Ford Fiesta and, as the automaker projected, its new baby has hit 40 miles per gallon. The official numbers from the Feds are 29 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway for Fiestas with the new 6-speed dual clutch Powershift gearbox. Those highway numbers top the ratings for the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit by four and five mpg, respectively.
Fiestas with the base five-speed manual gearbox get a good-but-not-as-good rating of 28 mpg city and 37 mpg highway. All North American Fiestas, for now, are equipped with a 120 horsepower 1.6-liter inline four, regardless of which gearbox is selected. The first batches of Fiestas should be on their way to dealers in the coming weeks now that production has started.
First Drive: 2010 Ford SVT Raptor 6.2 is born to fly
Unless you’re a died-in-the-burlap save-the-planet kind of person, you probably think the 2010 Ford SVT Raptor is freakin’ cool. There’s not a factory truck on the planet that can wing across the desert floor with equal ease, grace and unmitigated speed.
The 2010 Raptor genuinely has no competition In the world of production trucks, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. If you bent the ear of the right Ford engineer, he would admit that the 2010 Ford SVT Raptor was supposed to launch with the 6.2-liter SOHC V8 we’re testing today. The aging 310-horsepower 5.4-liter Triton mill included at launch was never the perfect fit for the radical Raptor. Too tame.
From the truck’s introduction last Fall, everyone knew the all-new iron-block/aluminum-head 6.2-liter engine would be better. But no one knew how much better until now. Read about our wild test drive (and brief flight) after the ummm… jump.
Categories: Auto Review, Car Review, Ford Tags: Ford
Report: Ford adding SuperCrew to SVT Raptor lineup
Ford’s desert-clobbering SVT Raptor is already off to a relatively good start, and things are only poised to get better now that the automaker has shoehorned its new 6.2-liter V8 under the truck’s hood. Adding to that, the folks at InsideLine report that a four-door SuperCrew version of the Raptor is also in the cards, possibly slated to debut later this year.
IL states that mules of what appear to be a SuperCrew Raptor have been spotted near Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. When prompted for a response, a spokesperson for the automaker simply said, “We do not comment on future product.” (We’ve heard that one a thousand times before.) Still, we don’t dispute IL’s predictions, and having four-door functionality only boosts the Raptor’s attractiveness to potential consumers.
2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid boasts luxury plus efficiency, but is it enough
Earlier this week we reported that Ford had plans to repurpose its very well-received hybrid powertrain in the Lincoln MKZ. Makes sense, right? Both the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan (sister cars of the MKZ) benefit from the fuel-sipping mill, and by adding a bit of electric power to the Lincoln lineup, Ford is hoping to attract more buyers into its luxury division’s showrooms. What’s more, since Lincoln vehicles carry higher price points than comparable Ford or Mercury products, the return on this hybrid investment means a larger profit margin for the automaker as a whole.
Well, now it’s official. For the 2011 model year, the Lincoln MKZ will offer the award-winning 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gasoline/electric powertrain from the Fusion and Milan hybrids, good for up to 41 miles per gallon in the city. In doing this, Lincoln aims to compete directly with the recently introduced Lexus HS250h, and since the MKZ will net six more MPGs than the HS, it can safely take the title of most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in America. What’s more, the MKZ is slightly larger than the Lexus, and if Ford plays its cards right, we wouldn’t be surprised if the MKZ Hybrid is less expensive than the HS, as well.
Categories: Auto Show, Ford, Hybrid, Lincoln, New York Auto Show, Sedans/Saloons Tags:
Report: Lincoln MKZ Hybrid will debut in New York Auto Show
When we take a hard look at the current Lincoln lineup, we see some issues. For starters, the Navigator, MKS, MKT, MKX and MKZ aren’t exactly setting the sales charts on fire. Come to think of it, we just listed the entire Lincoln lineup. Okay, so Ford’s luxury marquee can easily be likened to a well-heeled slice of Swiss cheese, but we have proof that The Blue Oval is trying to breath new life into the brand. We loved the MKT, the 2011 MKX looks extremely promising and it looks like the four-pointed star is getting into the hybrid business as well.
The Detroit News reports that Lincoln will debut a hybrid MKZ this week at the New York Auto Show. The MKZ will likely share the same powertrain as the Ford Fusion Hybrid; a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle mill mated to an eCVT transmission, along with an electric motor drawing power from a 275-volt nickel metal hydride battery pack. The MKZ hybrid will be the first battery-assisted model in the Lincoln lineup, giving Ford a luxury hybrid competitor to the Lexus HS 250h.
Read more…
Categories: Auto Show, Ford, Hybrid, Lincoln, New York Auto Show Tags:
