A variety of factors, including an economy still reeling from the Global Financial Crisis, high gas prices and the Tōhoku earthquake, are thought to be responsible for the massive price rise.
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“Up until now the Ford Abu Dhabi Team Fiesta RS WRCs have simply featured the Ford logo,” said Will May, Motorsport Marketing Manager for Ford of Europe. “So we’re inviting our Facebook followers to vote for one of several designs we’ve developed under one theme – which is ‘the food that fuels you’."
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Well, it turns out there’s been a slight change of plans as the Detroit automaker just announced it won’t be bringing the petrol-powered Grand C-MAX to the U.S. after all. But not all is lost for fans of the Focus-based minivan as Ford will focus on the five-seat C-MAX in both hybrid and plug-in hybrid formats. The C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid vehicles were previewed at the Detroit Auto Show this past January.
“We know people are hooked on cellphones and texting devices. But there's absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car. It's not necessary. "
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According to the results, the Honda FR-V, a compact 6-seater minivan marketed in Europe and Japan from 2004 to 2009, topped the list with 2,529 owners of the model making 466 accident claims in the past five years, which is equal to a claim rate of 18.4 per cent, or close to one in five.
The company said the Mazda6's replacement for the North American market will be produced at its Hofu Plant in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, adding that the decision was driven by the firm’s “ongoing efforts to increase global manufacturing efficiencies”.
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Designed by the engineering team at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in the U.K., the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine promises to deliver performance of a larger four-cylinder unit with even higher fuel economy. It employs all EcoBoost technologies, such as turbocharging, direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT).
The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result, Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148 units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.
General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.
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Event Data Recorders (EDRs) are the automotive equivalent of an aircraft’s FDR. These devices record acceleration and deceleration forces, engine RPM, temperature, oil pressure and a host of other things. After a crash, the information can be recovered and studied, aiding investigators.
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A recall has been put out for certain 2009-2010 model year Ford F-150s built from January 18, 2008, through November 30, 2009, because of a potential problem with the interior door handles. More specifically, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] said that the interior door handle spring may fracture during normal usage resulting in insufficient spring force to return the handle to the fully stowed position. "In the event of a side impact crash, the door handle spring can fail causing the door latch to open," the government safety agency said in a filling. Ford said that as of January 21, 2011, there are no reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition.
Owners of the affected F-150 models will be notified about the recall that is expected to on or about February 14, 2011.
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This brings up an interesting conundrum: what to do when the sat nav or Bluetooth devices in your car age more quickly than the car itself? Few people this side of Dhiaa Al-Essa can afford to replace their car every six months, so the answer - to automakers at least - is to do the same as software companies: roll out upgrades.
It could be something as simple as the dealership checking your oil and tire pressure remotely to recalibrating the transmission or updating the car's sat nav system. San Francisco based Cisco Systems has even constructed an experimental dashboard out of LCD panels that acts as a giant touch screen: driver's can drag and drop instruments, personalize the look and feel of said instruments and add new functions such as g-force meters.
The obsolescent of in-car technology is becoming more and more of a concern, especially in the light that market research firm R. L. Polk reveals that many of us are keeping our cars for up to 9 years. Advances in computing technology in our car's ECUs and other systems are also bound to cause headaches for automakers in the future.
As Dirk Schlesinger, a senior director in Cisco’s Internet business solutions group explains, "Complexity is killing the industry. We can’t change the silicon fast enough."
Software updates, a common enough occurrence when your car is taken in for a service in this day and age, may soon be rolled out automatically and via the internet or satellite, like they are for computer software.
In the words of Dave Evans, Cisco’s chief futurist: “The car is becoming the most sophisticated piece of computer equipment you own.”
That's as good as maybe, but with technology such as Ford AppLink giving its drivers access to Pandora or Twitter from behind the wheel or GM / Mercedes-Benz's OnStar and Mbrace systems allowing remote support for driver's and their vehicles, one thing is for sure: the future is closer than we think.
By Tristan Hankins
Source: NY Times
Source: Eagle Tribune
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All 14 cars were tracked down and acquired in just two years. The collection includes a variety of models ranging in age from the 1967 Mirage, which was the first Gulf-liveried car to run at Le Mans, to the 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo that competed in the GT2 Championship.
Commenting on the collection, Adrian Hamilton said: “My career has been punctuated by many remarkable cars – eg the one and only Mercedes-Benz 196 Grand Prix car in private hands, some nine Ferrari 250 GT0s, 20 GT40s, seven Porsche 917s and numerous Jaguar C and D-Types etc – but few projects have been as enjoyable and satisfying as this one. Like all racing enthusiasts I’ve grown up with the Gulf brand and it is a tremendous privilege to be able to build such a unique and lasting tribute to one of the greatest names in our sport. I am extremely indebted to my client for the opportunity.”
A total of 12 cars from the ROFGO Gulf Collection by Duncan Hamilton will get their first public outing for all to see at Retromobile, an annual show of classic road and racing cars, which takes place at Porte de Versailles in Paris, from February 2 to 6.
In chronological order the 14 cars are:
- 1967 Mirage
Chassis No.10002 – the first Gulf-liveried car to run at Le Mans
- 1968 Ford GT40
Chassis No.1084 – 4th, SPA 1000 km, Hawkins/Hobbs
- 1969 Brabham BT26
Chassis No.BT26/4 - 1st German GP, Ickx
- 1970 McLaren M14
Chassis No.M14/A2 – 2nd South African GP, Hulme
- 1971 Porsche 917
Chassis No.026 – 2nd, Le Mans 24 Hours, Attwood/Muller
- 1970 Porsche 908/3
Chassis No.12 – Nürburgring 1000 km, Siffert, DNF
- 1972 McLaren M20
Chassis No.M20/3 – 1st, Watkins Glen, Hulme
- 1974 Mirage
Chassis No.704 – 4th, Le Mans 24 Hours, Bell/Hailwood
- 1994 Kremer K8
Chassis No.K8/07/SP – 6th, Le Mans 24 Hours, Bell/Lassig/Donovan
- 1996 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail
Chassis No.022 – 3rd, Hockenheim 4 Hours, Bscher/Nielson
- 2006 Courage C65 LMP2
Chassis No.07 – 7th, Le Mans 24 Hours, Gosselin/Ojeh/Ragues
- 2008 Aston Martin DBR9
Chassis No.007 – 4th in GT1, Le Mans 24 Hours, Frentzen/Piccili/Wendlinger
- 2009 Aston Martin LMP1
Chassis No.DBR1-2/2 – 1st, Asian Le Mans series, Okayama, Mucke/Primat
- 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo
GT2 Championship, Giroix/Goethe
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Via: Autoblog.nl
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