Automotive Trends

      Quick on the draw this afternoon Design Editor Gernand nabbed this shot of what looks like a prototype mule of the Ford Mondeo. What is a Mondeo doing on this side of the pond you may ask? Well, and this is all speculation, but this may just happen to be an early drive mule of what will become the 2014 Ford Fusion / Mondeo. Ford has already stated that the next Fusion / Mondeo will extensively share components in all areas except where specific market regulations demand otherwise. And while Gernand was unable to snap a front end shot, he did say that the front camo seemed to be hiding a Taurus-like nose. Hard to speculate from this angle, and odds are the actual styling for the 2014 model isn’t even close to set. It’s also hard to say what will be under that hood of this car once it comes to fruition in a few model years, but if our money was on the line it would be a pair of 4-cylinders with at least one being an EcoBoost. Ford has already promised to proliferate the EcoBoost tech throughout the line and it makes sense that they would save development dollars and only set up the car for 4-cylinders like what Chevrolet will most likely do with the next Malibu and what Hyundai has already done with the Sonata. Keep your eyes on Automotive Trends and we’ll keep our eyes on the road so you’re up to date on Everything Automotive!

Eat My Soot-Free Ammonia-Treated Exhaust!

       Talk about your one-up! Starting this week Ford will step out from behind that shadow the General was casting with its 6.6L Duramax V8. Ford’s new 6.7L V8 PowerStroke turbodiesel says I’ll see your 397-hp and 765 lb-ft of torque, and raise you to 400-hp and 800 lb-ft of torque. Ah, horsepower wars at their finest! Read more…

      Ford finally unmasked the 2011 Explorer today. About time too, because the slow reveal over Facebook was really starting to try the patience of Executive Editor Dye  (who still hasn’t joined the 21st century with a Facebook page). But now we have the pictures and the story behind them. Click through for our first impressions. Read more…

       You’ve decided you’re ready to buy a new car. You’ve even gone so far as to decide you want to spend your hard earned cabbage on an environmentally conscious hybrid. And because you plan to keep the thing until the wheels fall off you should be able to recoup the premium of the hybrid hardware sometime just short of the Second Coming. That decided, you’re ready to hit the dealerships. But which one do you buy? You aren’t sure you can handle the stigma of Toyota’s Prius. The Honda Insight is way out in left field and has no-features (or soul for that matter). How about the Lexus HS250h Hybrid? That might be alright as it has all the standard luxury car trimmings, but it’s a bit small and was designed by people who think Camrys and washing machines are cutting edge design. Not to mention all those tongue-tying h’s. How about the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid? Read more…

      The news out of Dearborn today is the 2011 Lincoln MKX has officially received its EPA ratings. With its sole engine option, the 3.7L V6, the MKX is rated at 19-mpg city and 26-mpg highway. The 3.7L is the same V6 featured in the base 2011 Mustang–rated at 31-mpg highway in that application. Featuring TiVCT, the V6 produces a healthy 305-hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Like its stablemate, the Ford Edge, the MKX will channel its power to the tarmac via a 6-speed SelectShift (read: equipped with paddle shifters) automatic transmission through either front-wheel drive (wrong-wheel drive) or all-wheel drive. Read more…

      The Chevrolet Volt is probably one of the most hotly anticipated vehicle launches of this decade, and GM is set to deliver on its promise of having the Volt on the road by 2010. That plan is to roll out 10,000 Volts by the end of calendar year 2011, with another 30,000 Volts to follow in 2012. The first units will be available to California, Washington D.C, Austin, Texas and the New York metropolitan areas yet this year. Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the balance of Texas and New York will start receiving units in the first quarter of 2011. The rest of the USA will have to wait about a year for production to ramp up. To make sure that GM’s dealer network is ready for the Volt, GM is requiring special sales and service training, as well as the installation of a 240-volt charging station before a dealership can receive a Volt for retail sale. As with any good thing in life, I guess some things are just worth waiting for. We’ll let you know when we get our first go with a production spec Volt! Read more…

      It’s official! The CTS-V Sport Wagon exists in show car form and has been confirmed for production. The rendering above depicts the show car CTS-V Sport Wagon that will debut at the New York Auto Show. Aside from the extra cargo room and a few more svelte trimmings the Sport Wagon carries all the goods of its sedan and coupe stablemates. Even the 6-speed manual transmission will make the options list; good for putting all 556-hp and 551 lb-ft of torque from the 6.2L Supercharged V8 to the pavement. Another neat piece of trivia is that the New York show car will be bathed in the same Midnight Silver paint that adorned the graceful flanks of the Cadillac Sixteen showcar back in 2003. While we love the color, we assure you that will be the last thing on our minds once we get our hands on this smoking hot estate! Read more…

      We brought you news of Chevy’s limited edition 2011 Corvette ZO6 Carbon a little bit ago, but GM would only share a pair of photos at the time. Thankfully, they’ve remedied that problem. Click into the post to see more detail shots of the Carbon in all its menacing glory! Read more…

      I am sure that many of you will agree, the last thing a Buick needs is less power. As it is Granny backs up the left lane with her blinker going on her way to the hairdresser! Anyways, entering as a late addition to the 2010 lineup is 2.4L 4-cylinder Ecotec. And not just any Ecotec but the same direct injected 2.4L already forging a success story in the Chevrolet Equinox / GMC Terrain crossover twins. The little mill produces a healthy 182-hp and 172 lb-ft of torque, and delivers an EPA rated 19-mpg city / 30-mpg highway in the LaCrosse. The 2.4L will be the standard motor in the 2010 Buick LaCrosse CX and will altogether replace the 3.0L V6 as the base motor for the 2011MY. A Buick LaCrosse CX powered by the 2.4L will start with an MSRP of $26,995. Read more…

      Well its offical. You can have your cake and eat it too. The 2011 Mustang GT equipped with the 412-horsepower 5.0L V8 will return (when driven sans lead foot) 26 mpg. The announcement came this morning, the EPA rating for the 2011 Mustang coupes are as follows: Read more…