Auto blog

Car and Driver lists 10Best for 2013, same as it ever was

Forgive us for having the distinct feeling of déjà vu, but it certainly feels like we've been here before. By that we are referring Car and Driver and the announcement of its annual 10Best vehicles for 2013. To be sure, it's an impressive selection of cars that combine heart-pounding performance and frugal sensibilities, but it also represents something of a broken record on the part of C/D. We're not so sure that's a flaw, though, as the resulting list is tough to argue with.
Vehicles like the Ford Mustang, Porsche Boxster, and BMW 3 Series have maintained their high-horsepower spots on this list for several years now. Even on the more practical and nimble end, the Honda Accord, Honda Fit and Mazda Miata have not budged. These continued spots are even in light of redesigns for some vehicles such as the Accord, Boxster and 3 Series.
In fact, the only newcomer to the 10Best list this year are the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ twins, which knocked out the Cadillac CTS-V. We think it would have been a huge misstep to have excluded the FR-S/BRZ, even in light of the supercharged Caddy's lamentable departure from 10Best.

Ford starting up 2.0L EcoBoost engine production in Ohio

Joe Hinrichs, Ford's President of The Americas (pictured above), announced today that in late 2014, the automaker will be building the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder at its Cleveland Engine Plant, a move requiring a $200-million investment and the hiring of 450 new employees. European-built Ford products will continue to source this engine from the Valencia, Spain plant where all of these EcoBoost four-cylinder engines are currently built, and the new Cleveland engines will be used for all North American-made models.
Ford is planning to build its popular EcoBoost engines regionally to maximize production capacity and meet customer demand. Last year, Ford sold 334,364 vehicles with EcoBoost engines in the US alone, and that number is expected to swell to more than 500,000 by the end of this year, with global sales expected to total 1.6 million. By 2015, Ford says that 95 percent of its nameplates will offer an EcoBoost engine.
One such vehicle that could be adding an EcoBoost engine, according to Automotive News, is none other than the 2015 Ford Mustang. The report says that Ford could use either the 2.0-liter EcoBoost or an upcoming 2.3-liter EcoBoost in the sixth-generation pony car.

2015 Ford F-150 specs revealed, EcoBoost 2.7L to make 325 hp and 375 lb-ft [w/video]

Our new man Greg Migliore is in attendance at a Ford media event at the Blue Oval's Dearborn, MI headquarters today, and he's reported in with a handful of the 2015 F-150 stats that we've been dying to know. Ford is slow-playing the news release here, but we can still offer up some interesting output and performance figures after half-year of waiting.
We have all be quite aware that Ford's shift to aluminum construction would save a lot of weight for F-150 models, and the results we're hearing now are duly impressive. For instance: in Super Crew trim, a 2015 F-150 is a whopping 732-pounds lighter than was its closest 2014-model-year equivalent. That's like hauling three middle-aged dudes to your bowling alley's league night for free. Polish your balls, guys.
Ford isn't willing to offer up any actual curb weights just yet, but if we take that 732-pound loss and extrapolate with the 5,128-pound curb weight of the 2014 F-150 Super Crew with the 3.7-liter V6, we can guesstimate that 2015 models will measure out in the 4,400-pound range. That's impressive.