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V6 offerings make up 50% of retail Ford F-150 sales in April

Filed under: Truck, Ford

ford f-150 ecoboost

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

Ford sold 45,435 F-150s in April, up 11 percent versus the top-selling truck’s April 2010 totals. That’s a solid month for truck sales with soaring fuel prices, but the finer sales details show that truck buyers are very mindful of prices at the pump.

Ford announced in its monthly sales totals release that V6-equipped F-150s accounted for 50 percent of retail sales, up considerably from the 40 percent mix in March. The 3.7-liter V6 offers truck buyers 305 horsepower and 23 miles per gallon on the highway, so it’s not surprising that some owners are opting for the smaller mill.

But the more popular V6 offering is the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which boasts 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. Ford says 75 percent of those V6 sales are of the EcoBoost variety, which makes sense, given the fact that the boosted mill accounted for 36 percent of all F-150 sales in April. The EcoBoost F-150 gets up to 22 mpg on the highway, which is still as good as or better than the other pickup trucks on the market.

Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150: First Drive

2011 Ford F-150

V6 offerings make up 50% of retail Ford F-150 sales in April originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 May 2011 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Mini goes retail with interactive vending machine billboard

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Mini, Canada

Click above to watch the video after the jump

Whether they’re challenging Porsche to a duel, littering the streets with packaging or jiggling some chubby dude’s man boobs, Mini has a certain flair for creativity when it comes to its advertising. The latest chapter unfolds in Canada, where an interactive “vending machine” billboard was projected onto the side of a building near Toronto’s Air Canada Centre (after a Leafs game, from the look of things).

The brainchild of advertising agencies Media Merchants and Taxi, the billboard invites passers by to text their favorite Mini from their phone. After doing so, they’re treated to an animated display showing their choice making its way to the bottom of the virtual vending machine. Unfortunately the public can’t then drive off in said Mini, but it might prompt some Canucks to stop by their local dealership and do exactly that. Follow the jump to check out the video for yourself.

[Source: YouTube]

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Video: Mini goes retail with interactive vending machine billboard originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota FT-86 to be badged as Scion, retail for $25K

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupe, Scion, Toyota, Tokyo Auto Salon

Toyota FT-86 COncept

Toyota FT-86 Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

When the Toyota FT-86 concept was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, we were surprised and delighted at the prospect of an attractive, rear-wheel-drive 2+2 with a $20,000 price tag. Could we just as excited for a $25,000 RWD Scion? We may not have a choice.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyota management told dealers in Las Vegas there will be a production version of the FT-86 badged as a Scion model. The move would help bolster the struggling brand, which has been a bit product-starved of late. There are also rumors of a new price point – as high as $25,000 – and the possibility that the Subaru version will only be available in Europe.

While the report claims the FT-86 will be badged as a Scion, there is no definitive word there won’t be a Toyota variant as well. We’re sure to learn more this auto show season, as reports show that the production FT-86 could arrive at the New York Auto Show in 2011.

Gallery: Tokyo 2009: Toyota FT-86 Concept

[Sources: Wall Street Journal – sub. req., Toyobaru.net]

Report: Toyota FT-86 to be badged as Scion, retail for $25K originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Last Mercury for retail business built on Sunday

Filed under: SUV, Plants/Manufacturing, Mercury, Earnings/Financials

Mercury

Ford is already well into winding down its Mercury line, and the autoamker has announced that the very last of the soon-to-be dead brand’s products built for retail sales was manufactured on Sunday, October 3. The final Mercury Mariner rolled off of the assembly line at the company’s Kansas City facility, putting an end to a brand with over 70 years of history behind it.

Even after the Mariner heads off into the automotive sunset, Ford says that it will continue to manufacture a handful of Mercury models for fleet and government service for a while longer, though mum’s the word on how long we can expect that practice to continue.

Interestingly enough, according to USA Today, most incentives on Mercury vehicles have all but dried up, even as the brand’s August production increased by 120 percent compared to July’s figures. Instead of cash on the hood, some areas are offering no-cost maintenance or similar programs. Even so, Mercury has continued to out-sell Lincoln right to the end – besting Ford’s luxury arm’s sales by nine percent in August.

[Source: USA Today]

Report: Last Mercury for retail business built on Sunday originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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