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Autoblog Podcast #197 – F-150 powertrains, GM diesel car, hatchbacks, Mahindra, Bugatti Galibier and Nissan’s sold-out Leaf

Filed under: Podcasts, Bugatti, Cadillac, Ford, GM, Jaguar, Kia, Volkswagen, Electric

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Steven Ewing joins podcast regulars Dan and Chris for Episode #197 of the Autoblog Podcast. Items we cover are the newly expanded powertrain selections for the Ford F-150, a potential diesel-powered car from General Motors, the apparently heating-up American love affair with hatchbacks, the just-out-of-reach Mahindra Pik-Up, the definitely unattainable Bugatti Galibier and the rush to pre-order the Nissan Leaf. At one hour, twenty-two minutes, it’s not quite as epic as last week’s extravaganza, and we wrap up by responding to some of your feedback. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #197 – F-150 powertrains, GM diesel car, hatchbacks, Mahindra, Bugatti Galibier and Nissan’s sold-out Leaf

In the Autoblog Garage:

Cadillac CTS
Volkswagen Tiguan
Jaguar XKR Convertible

News:

F-150 Ecoboost Drive
GM will sell a diesel car in the U.S.
Hatchbacks: Who says Americans don’t buy ’em?
Despite uproar, Global Vehicles places its initial order from Mahindra
Bugatti Galibier coming for 2013
Nissan full up with Leaf pre-orders

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Chris Shunk, Steven Ewing

Runtime: 1:22:14

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Autoblog Podcast #197 – F-150 powertrains, GM diesel car, hatchbacks, Mahindra, Bugatti Galibier and Nissan’s sold-out Leaf originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Ford F-150 and its four new engines

Filed under: Truck, Work, Ford, First Drive, Off-Road

Will Pickup Buyers Embrace A Turbocharged V6? They Should, And Fast.

2011 Ford F-150

2011 Ford F-150 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The year is 1977. Jimmy Carter replaces Gerald Ford to become the 39th President of the United States and creates the United States Department of Energy. Apple Computer is incorporated, and the Commodore PET, the world’s first personal computer, is sold. NASA’s first space shuttle is christened Enterprise and performs its initial test flight.

Music lovers welcome Fleetwood Mac’s latest release, the Grammy-winning album Rumours. The Supremes, Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin play their final concerts, and, later in the year, Elvis leaves the building for good. The top grossing movie? Star Wars. On television, Fonzie rather famously jumps the shark.

In the world of automobiles, Porsche introduces the front-engine 928 and Burt Reynolds turns the black and gold Pontiac Trans-Am into an object of desire. And, finally, the Ford F-Series earns its status as the best-selling vehicle line in America. Clearly, a lot has changed since 1977… except, of course, for the Blue Oval, which can still boast that its full-size pickup truck is the number one nameplate in the United States.

Ford has no intention of passing that particular baton to anyone else, and in order to maintain this impressive bit of marketing gold for a 34th straight year, the Dearborn-based automaker is putting four brand-new engines, including a 3.5-liter turbocharged EcoBoost V6, in the engine bay of its F-150. The automaker says 2011 marks “the most significant powertrain upgrade in 62 years of the F-Series.” We, of course, had to verify that claim for ourselves.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150: First Drive

2011 Ford F-150

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Ford F-150 and its four new engines

First Drive: 2011 Ford F-150 and its four new engines originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mike Rowe narrating Ford F-150 EcoBoost web documentary

Filed under: Truck, Technology, Videos, Ford, Celebrities, Off-Road

EcoBoost Documentary

Ford tortures its EcoBoost engine – Click above to watch video after the jump

Ford is itching to show that its 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 engine is tough enough to take whatever F-150 buyers can throw at it. In order to do so, the company has lined up a bevy of torture tests and enlisted Mike Rowe to narrate a documentary on the whole affair. Things will kick off with Ford randomly selecting an EcoBoost engine off of the assembly line to be subjected to the equivalent of 150,000 miles on the dyno. From there, the engine will be bolted into an F-150, where it will head to Oregon to skidsteer logs for a lumber company.

Then, the same truck and engine will head to Homestead Miami Speedway where it will tow two Sprint Cup Ford Fusion race cars around the track for 24 hours at full throttle, stopping only for fuel and tires along the way.

But wait, there’s more.

From there, the engine will be removed from the 2011 F-150 and bolted into a specially prepared race truck, where it will do battle in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. After all of that, Ford will tear down the engine and give the public a look at how things went inside. Sounds like a party. You can hit the jump for a look at the full press release and to check out the first video in the series.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Mike Rowe narrating Ford F-150 EcoBoost web documentary

Mike Rowe narrating Ford F-150 EcoBoost web documentary originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford to campaign F-150 EcoBoost in Baja 1000

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Truck, Work, Ford, Specialty, Off-Road, Racing

2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost Desert Racer – Click above for high-res image gallery

Convincing pickup truck buyers they don’t actually need a big ‘ol honkin’ V8 engine is going to be tough, regardless of how good the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 in the 2011 Ford F-150 may be. We already know that the mill puts out enough power to get just about anything done, but what about its durability? After all, the old-school V8 (never mind that modern Ford overhead cam V8s share almost nothing in common with their OHV predecessors) has been in use since, oh, just about the dawn of the American automobile industry.

With that in mind, Ford is eager to convince potential buyers that its twin-turbo V6 powerplant is fully capable of surviving the rigors of pickup duty. And to prove it, The Blue Oval has some pretty harsh plans for its latest EcoBoost engine, culminating with an entry into the famed Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.

But before that final torture test, that same 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine will be used by a lumber company in Oregon to haul logs weighing thousands of pounds up steep hills. Then, that same engine will tow a pair of Sprint Cup Ford Fusions at full throttle for 24 hours around the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval track in Florida. Then it’s on to Baja, after which it will be torn down and shown off to the public.

Clearly, Ford believes in the durability of its EcoBoost engine, which has already gone through 1.6 million miles (both real over-the-road and simulated miles) of abusive testing. We look forward to seeing how this one particular randomly selected engine performs throughout its upcoming torture testing. Hit the jump for all the details.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150 Desert Racer

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford to campaign F-150 EcoBoost in Baja 1000

Ford to campaign F-150 EcoBoost in Baja 1000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Ford F-150 with Ecoboost puts down the power

Filed under: Performance, Truck, Work, Ford

2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost smokes its tires – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’re still a few days away from being able to share driving impressions of the 2011 Ford F-150 pickup and, more specifically, the Blue Oval’s four new heavy-hauling powerplants for the ’11 season. What we can share, however, are some pictures we snapped while Ford showed off what its truck was capable of.

We’re especially impressed with the latest application of Ford’s EcoBoost technology. As you’re already aware, the 3.5-liter twin-turbo powerplant puts down 365 horsepower and a more-than-ample 420 pound-feet of torque. What those black-and-white figures don’t tell you, though, is how smartly the EcoBoost engine moves the full-size F-150 down the road, even when hooked up to a suitably large trailer.

While we’ll stop short of calling the EcoBoost-powered F-Series a muscle truck, but here’s some pictorial evidence that it’s more than capable of frying the tires off its aluminum wheels. And we’re not just talking about gratuitous burnout photos either. Check the chart.

So… if that’s the Boost part of the package, what about the Eco? Well, we’re going to have to wait for Ford and the EPA to get an official rating published, but Ford fully expects the turbo mill to post class-leading fuel efficiency figures. Speaking of which, Ford let slip a projection indicating that its base 3.7-liter V6 engine will manage 23 miles per gallon on the highway – matching the figure of General Motors’ hybrid pickup twins.

The number crunchers amongst you will find plenty of interesting (and impressive) little tidbits perusing our high-res image gallery below. Here’s a hint: Click on the image to the right and pay special attention to the relative figures posted by both Ford’s base 3.7-liter V6 and 3.5-liter EcoBoost as compared to their competitors. What are you waiting for?

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost

2011 Ford F-150 with Ecoboost puts down the power originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford letting 20,000 people drive EcoBoost F-150 before truck lands in showrooms

Filed under: Car Buying, Truck, Marketing/Advertising, Ford

Test drive the 2011 Ford EcoBoost F-150

Test drive the 2011 Ford F-150 – Click above to enlarge

Ford is ready to show off the 2011 F-150… in fact it’s so excited about it that it wants you to drive one (or four) before the truck arrives in dealer showrooms. The F-150 is receiving a slew of new powertrain options, including the all-new 3.5-liter EcoBoost unit. The twin-turbocharged. direct-injection V6 mill is capable of great power numbers and is rumored to come in around the 400 mark for both horsepower and torque. Also making their debut in the 2011 F-150 are the 3.7-liter V6 base engine, the 5.0-liter V8 and the top-of-the-line 6.2-liter V8 for the Platinum edition truck.

Ford is taking a fleet of trucks on a whirlwind tour around the country and expects to put 20,000 butts in the driver’s seats. The Built Ford Tough Roundup is going to kick off in Texas on Saturday, September 25th, 2010. It will then make a great big convoy across the USA as Texas gives way to Maryland, Georgia, Florida and finally California. All those stops will be hit before the 2011 Ford F-150 checks its on-sale date off the calendar.

If you are interested in checking out these updated trucks for yourself, you can register online at DriveF150.com. If you are on Facebook (at this point, who isn’t on Facebook?), you can sign up by going to Facebook.com/FordTrucks.

This is a great way to give consumers a sneak peak at a new product before it’s for sale. If you plan on going, make sure you get in line early for the EcoBoost, 5-point-0 and the big ‘ol 6.2 because those waits are bound to be just a bit longer than the those for the 3.7-liter.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford letting 20,000 people drive EcoBoost F-150 before truck lands in showrooms

Ford letting 20,000 people drive EcoBoost F-150 before truck lands in showrooms originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NHTSA probing Ford F-150 fuel tank straps

Filed under: Truck, Recalls, Safety, Ford

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun an investigation of approximately 1.4 million 1996-2001 Ford F-150 pickup trucks after receiving 32 complaints that the straps supporting the fuel tank are prone to corrosion. According to NHTSA, in 28 of the cases, one or both straps broke, causing the fuel tank to drop to the ground, which could result in a fire hazard. [Source: Detroit News]

NHTSA probing Ford F-150 fuel tank straps originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Graphics offered for 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Filed under: Truck, Ford, Design/Style, Off-Road

2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor with optional hood graphics – Click above for high-res image gallery

You can get graphics for your Ford Fiesta, Mustang and Taurus, and now the 2011 F-150 SVT Raptor joins the wrapped-up bunch. There will but one customization option: a black hood inspired by the racing Broncos of the 1970s – wilder trucks in wilder days. As well as lending a little bit of old-school-style badass, a side benefit of the new graphic is a reduction of glare coming off the hood. The digital mud bedside graphic available since the Raptor’s debut remains an option. Follow the jump for the press release and see what Ford hath wrought in the gallery of high-res photos below.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor graphics

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Graphics offered for 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Graphics offered for 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 11 Sep 2010 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Officially Official: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gains SuperCrew, loses 5.4L V8 for 2011

Filed under: Truck, Ford, Off-Road

2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor SuperCrew

2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor SuperCrew – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ford’s off-road beast, the F-150 SVT Raptor, has only been on sale for a year, but it’s already getting a few upgrades for the 2011 model year.

Many reports and a few spy shots indicated that Ford had been prepping a four-door SuperCrew version of the Raptor (you know, for when the family wants to do the Baja run with you), and the automaker has officially confirmed the details (again). The SuperCrew’s wheelbase is a full 12 inches longer than the standard Raptor, meaning it should provide a more comfortable ride along the way, and the 5.5-foot box can still haul everything you need when you get there.

Speaking of capability, all Raptors now come standard with more power on tap – the 6.2-liter V8 will be the only available powertrain for 2011 (sad trombone for the people who rushed out to get the 5.4). As we reported earlier, it stands to reason that the 2011 Raptor will get a price increase to account for the larger mill, but it’s a small price to pay for an extra 101 horsepower and 69 pound-feet of torque over the 5.4-liter V8.

From there, the other enhancements for 2011 are purely cosmetic. Raptors can now be had in a new color – Ingot Silver Metallic (pictured) – and matte black accent graphics are available on the hood. These new graphics can be ordered separately from the box side decals, too. Inside the cabin, Ford now offers a standard 4.2-inch LCD display (called the “productivity screen”) in the center of the revised instrument gauges, similar to what was introduced on the 2011 Super Duty.

Dealers will start taking orders for 2011 Raptors as you read this with the first examples hitting dealerships later this year. Ford’s detailed press release is available after the jump.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor SuperCrew

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Officially Official: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gains SuperCrew, loses 5.4L V8 for 2011

Officially Official: Ford F-150 SVT Raptor gains SuperCrew, loses 5.4L V8 for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford F-150 engines for 2011 announced, includes EcoBoost V6

Filed under: Truck, Technology, Ford

2011 Ford F-150 engines

The Ford F-150 is getting a lineup of four all-new engines for the 2011 model year that includes two V6s and two V8s. According to Ford, the entire new engine family will be more fuel efficient than the outgoing 4.6-liter and 5.4-liter V8 by at least 20 percent.

The same 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 found in the 2011 Mustang will be available at launch this fall in the F-150, as will the 6.2-liter V8 from the 2011 Super Duty truck. Then, early in 2011, the F-150 will be the first rear-wheel-drive application of the much praised 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6.

The base 3.7-liter V6 will be rated at 300 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque while yielding a 6,100-pound towing capacity, which matches the Silverado hybrid. The 3.7 liter will be offered in the XL, XLT and STX trim levels only. The high volume engine is expected to be the new 5.0-liter V8, which you can read more about after the jump.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150 engines

2011 Ford F-150 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 2011 Ford F-150 3.7-liter V6 2011 Ford F-150 5.0-liter V8 2011 Ford F-150 6.2-liter V8

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford F-150 engines for 2011 announced, includes EcoBoost V6

Ford F-150 engines for 2011 announced, includes EcoBoost V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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