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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]

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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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First Drive: 2011 Lincoln MKX

Filed under: Crossover, Lincoln, First Drive, Luxury

Lincoln Follows Ford and Takes the Refresh to a New Level

2011 Lincoln MKX – Click above for high-res image gallery

If there’s a sales star of the Lincoln lineup, it’s the MKX. Ford’s luxury arm has managed to move over 100,000 of the leather-lined crossovers since 2006, and that pace doesn’t look to be slowing anytime soon. Lincoln says the crossover market here in the U.S. is bound to swell considerably in the coming years, and since it already represents nearly four percent of the automotive industry as a whole, everyone seems to know that this is no place to cut corners. Fortunately, the MKX is set to enjoy its second refresh since hitting the market four years ago.

Given the vehicle’s significance, it should come as no surprise that Lincoln is using the 2011 MKX as a springboard for its vision of the company’s future. The refreshed MKX benefits from a raft of updates that include many of the changes we saw hit the crossover’s Blue Oval clone, the 2011 Ford Edge. With more power, a quieter cabin and an interior that’s finally becoming of a true luxury brand, the MKX has the makings of a sales winner. We’re just not sure the Lincoln high-rider is far enough away from its kissing-cousin.

Gallery: 2011 Lincoln MKX: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Lincoln MKX originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Nissan and this polar bear want to love you, if you drive a Leaf

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

Nissan Leaf commercial

Nissan Leaf “Polar Bear” spot – Click above to watch video after the jump

As subtle as a box of hammers to the face, global warming’s most iconic animal has taken a starring role in the latest advertisement for the Nissan Leaf. Called, simply, “Polar Bear,” the one-minute spot follows a polar bear on a trek from watching glaciers calve into the sea down south through a city and into a residential neighborhood to find a man about to start his commute. Then, well, you’ll see. Check it out after the jump.

For comparison, we’ve also pasted Nissan’s ad from June about the “New Car,” which highlights the changes the Leaf will bring to the industry, below. This ad shows off the ways the Leaf is different from other cars, including the tidbit that it will be made of at least 30 percent post-consumer material. While “New Car” is all about smartphones and batteries and other tech, the polar bear ad is all emotion. Still, the new spot does miss a chance to show the driver unplugging the Leaf before getting in, which would help get a little bit of that “new car” messaging across. Watch both here.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan Leaf: First Drive

[Source: Nissan]

Continue reading Video: Nissan and this polar bear want to love you, if you drive a Leaf

Video: Nissan and this polar bear want to love you, if you drive a Leaf originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Honda Odyssey

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Honda, First Drive

Honda doesn’t redefine the minivan, they strive to perfect it

2011 Honda Odyssey – Click above for high-res image gallery

Honda did something silly during the launch of its all-new 2011 Odyssey minivan. The automaker built a large autocross-type “track” in the parking lot of San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium and invited journalists to take its latest eight-passenger family hauler for hot laps. It was an interesting “fish out of water” introduction to Honda’s fourth-generation people mover.

Designed, developed and manufactured in the United States, Honda considers the 2011 model an “American Odyssey.” The domestic development team, owners of 46 Odysseys between them, labored to deliver a minivan with distinctive style, greater interior versatility and improved fuel economy. Did Honda build itself a worthy successor and how did it fare on the autocross?

Gallery: 2011 Honda Odyssey: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Honda Odyssey originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Woman gets Kia Soul after passing drive test on 960th try

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Hatchback, Kia, Humor, South Korea

2010 Kia Soul

Kia Soul – click above for high-res image gallery

We like to think of ourselves as pretty determined folk here the United States. After all, our forebearers forged our country out of a wild and unsettling terrain, fought off tyrants, cooked up some of the most amazing inventions of the last century and helped populate a symbol of diversity and freedom renowned the world over. That doesn’t mean that we’d willingly subject ourselves to the DMV 960 times, however. Yet that’s exactly what a Korean woman, Cha Sa-soon, did on her quest to obtain her driver’s license. Despite copious studying, the 69-year-old Cha just couldn’t manage to get past the written portion of the exam.

In April 2005, she began taking the 50-minute, 40-question test once a day, five days week, failing each time. Eventually her pace slowed to taking the test twice a week, but on the 960th try, she managed to get enough of the questions right to pass.

Local news outlets ran with the story, and it wasn’t long before the tale caught the ear of Hyundai-Kia. The company asked people to post congratulatory messages online, and after an overwhelming response, Kia handed her the keys to a brand-new Soul.

We like her style.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Kia Soul

[Source: The New York Times]

Woman gets Kia Soul after passing drive test on 960th try originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Equus

Filed under: Sedan, Hyundai, First Drive, Luxury

The Ultimate Four-Wheeled Value Proposition

2011 Hyundai Equus – Click above for high-res image gallery

If the Genesis sedan was Hyundai’s opening salvo to bring the pain to Lexus, the Equus is a set of leather-covered brass knuckles flying towards the jaws of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It’s a bold move by an automaker riding high on the intoxicating fumes of increased marketshare and boosted brand awareness. But here’s one thing the Equus is not: Phaeton Part Deux.

Click to continue…

Gallery: 2011 Hyundai Equus: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Equus originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima

Filed under: Sedan, Kia, First Drive

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

2011 Kia Optima

2011 Kia Optima – Click above for high-res image gallery

We admit it – we’re genetically preprogrammed to be shallow creatures. Despite our moms’ best efforts, recognizing inner beauty is all well and good, but it’s physical beauty that first puts both people and consumables on our radar.

Exhibit A? The 2011 Kia Optima. You see, while exactly nobody was paying attention, the outgoing Optima actually became a reasonably competitive mid-size sedan. But with the lackluster reputation of its predecessor compounded by styling so banal that it might as well have had “John Doe” as a model designation, the Optima was seemingly forgotten by everyone but fleet managers.

That’s not going to be a problem any more.

Gallery: 2011 Kia Optima: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Nissan Juke

Filed under: Budget, Crossover, Nissan, First Drive

Unlikely Baby Crossover Confounds and Delights

2011 Nissan Juke – Click above for high-res image gallery

Remember the Nissan NX of the mid-’90s? The tiny, econobox-based sportster was as cute as a bug and spent its brief lifespan mixing it up with other long-gone, sporty front-wheel drive affordables like the Mazda MX-3, Honda Civic CRX, Toyota Paseo and even the Hyundai Scoupe. While there were a lot of inexpensive, racy looking coupes back then, most automakers just don’t see any money in that segment anymore. Instead, when they look to spin something off of their entry-level B-class chassis, most veer toward the white-hot crossover segment.

Consider the latest example, Nissan’s 2011 Juke. Come to think of it, this in-your-face city slicker has some startling similarities to the NX. For one, at 162.8 inches long, it’s deceptively small – just 0.4 inches longer than the ’90s coupe. Further, both the Juke and the NX1600 rely on 1.6-liter four-cylinder power. And like the Sentra-based NX, the more emotional Juke is based on the same humble underpinnings that give structure to Nissan’s workaday offerings, in this case, the Versa and Cube. And while the Juke may not be cute as a bug, there’s something downright insectian about its Predator-like mug.

Despite not being a traditional sporty car, Nissan has been talking up its controversially styled mini-ute with many of the same descriptors, so we hopped a plane to Vancouver to see if the Juke could bob and weave its way into our hearts. Follow the jump to find out how it fared.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan Juke: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Nissan Juke originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Infiniti mulling more rear-wheel-drive hybrids

Filed under: Hybrid, Infiniti, Luxury

Infiniti M35 Hybrid

Infiniti M35 Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery

The Infiniti M35 Hybrid won’t be hitting showrooms until Spring 2011, but that doesn’t mean future applications of the hybrid powertrain aren’t already in the works. Speaking with Automotive News, Nissan North America’s vice president of product planning, Larry Dominique, says that the M35’s hybrid drivetrain was designed to fit all of Infiniti’s rear-wheel drive models, not just the flagship M.

Infiniti’s new hybrid system is the first gasoline-electric powerplant solely designed by Nissan (the Altima Hybrid uses a Toyota-sourced unit). Once the M35 launches, we could see new hybrid versions of the G, EX and FX models, though we’d expect those to come long after the initial launch of the M35.

Currently, the market for rear-wheel-drive hybrid sedans is very small, with the Lexus GS 450h and LS 600h, Mercedes-Benz S400 and BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid making up the entire segment. More entries are expected to arrive over the next few years, and Infiniti will surely test the waters with the M35 before electrifying any more models within its lineup.

Gallery: Infiniti M35 Hybrid

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Infiniti mulling more rear-wheel-drive hybrids originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Ford Edge

Filed under: Budget, Technology, Crossover, Ford, First Drive

Sharpened Tech Claws More Than Scratch The Surface

2011 Ford Edge – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you checked Ford’s bloodstream right now, you’d probably find trace amounts of Ritalin floating along with the 5w30. The company is an absolute blur of product development – churning out new models (Fiesta), entirely reworking staples (Focus) and honing beloved and established products (Mustang), into cars that can swing well above their intended weight class. The Blue Oval isn’t sitting around waiting for the competition to guilt it into making its vehicles better. Instead, the company is constantly improving what needs attention, even in the case of the Edge – a crossover that’s had no problem establishing itself as a market force to be reckoned with.

Just recently, Ford announced that 400,000 Edge crossovers have found homes in the U.S. since late 2006, making it king of the high-riding crowd in the process. Ford credits much of that success on the Edge’s styling, which the rest of this crowd just can’t seem to match. There’s no mistaking this five-door with anything in its segment (MKX aside), and that won’t change anytime soon. For 2011, Ford has given the Edge a detailed once over, plopped a few new engine options under the hood and given the interior the kind of remake that doesn’t typically pop up mid-cycle. If the rest of the segment was hoping to catch up, it can keep dreaming.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Edge: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Ford Edge originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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