Production ready Ford Focus RS unveiled
We saw the new Ford Focus RS concept live at the Paris Motor Show and yesterday Ford has unveiled the production ready version, which was already available for orders in the UK, with the first deliveries expected in March. Priced under £25,000, the new RS will be powered by an upgraded version of the 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine from the Focus ST, which will develop 296 hp and take the car from 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds and up to an electronically limited speed of 155 mph (over 160 without the limiter).
The RS will be fitted with an Automatic Torque Biasing limited-slip differential, developed by British engineering specialist Quaife and with Ford's new RevoKnuckle suspension. Other performance upgrades include a new stability control, lowered ride height and bigger brakes, while a very aggressive bodykit (available in Performance Blue, Frozen White and the awesome Ultimate Green paint finish) completes the package.
Saturday
Ford Focus RS Unveiled
Friday
The New Shelby GT500
The new Shelby GT500 based on the 2010 Ford Mustang
With the new 2010 Ford Mustang unveiled about two months ago, it was just a matter of time before we got to see the new Shelby GT500. With its debut scheduled for the Detroit Motor Show next week, the most powerful car to come out of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) is powered by a supercharged and intercooled 5.4-liter dual overhead cam V8 engine which is expected to deliver 540 hp and 510 ft-lb of torque.
Among the new features the 2010 Shelby GT500 sports are: nww gearbox enhancements which allows the car to deliver improved acceleration performance and better highway fuel efficiency, aggressive new exterior design with new functional details, such as the hood extractor to remove heat from the engine and "Gurney Flap" spoiler to tune rear downforce and a new exclusive interior featuring genuine materials such as real leather in all seats, real aluminum on the instrument panel and Alcantara inserts on the seats and steering wheel.
Built at the Auto Alliance International Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, the 2010 Shelby GT500 will be available in dealerships this spring.
More photos after the jump.
Sunday
Mazda RX-8
2009 Mazda RX-8
Mazda's great new RX-8 offers plenty of affordable driving fun at a time when, with luck, gas prices will be staying down
The Good: Price, handling, four-person capacity
The Bad: Lousy fuel economy, small trunk
The Bottom Line: A hot little sports car gets even better for '09
Up Front
The new R3 version of Mazda's 2009 RX-8 sports car is destined to be a classic. It's an upgraded version of the RX-8 that's even sportier than the original yet still relatively inexpensive. It's also far more practical than most sports cars: There is also enough in back to handle a pair of children's car seats, as well as little reverse-opening back doors that provides easy access to the rear. The RX-8 is an ideal choice for shoppers with a family who don't want to settle for a boring econobox as a second car, and the R3 is the best RX-8 ever.
There's just one catch. The RX-8 is the last remaining car on the U.S. market still powered by a rotary engine&and the big downside of the rotary engine is lousy fuel efficiency. The RX-8 is only rated to get 16 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway, matching the turbocharged Mitsubishi Motors' (MMTOF.PK) Lancer Evolution (BusinessWeek.com, 7/10/07) in its gas-guzzling tendencies. In 204 miles of mixed driving, I only got 16.4 mpg in the RX-8 R3. By contrast, Nissan's (NSANY) rival 350Z (BusinessWeek.com, 7/8/08) gets 18 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway.
But, hey, gasoline prices have been plunging lately, and the RX-8 is a marvelous little machine. My test car came in a color Mazda has dubbed "Velocity Red," a metallic crimson flecked with gold that sparkles beautifully in the sun. Add in the bulging front fenders, the big rear spoiler on the trunk lid, and the piano-black highlights in the gray-and-black interior, and the RX-8 is a great-looking car that's sure to cause a stir in the neighborhood when you park in your driveway.
The R-8 now comes in four trim levels: Sport, Touring, Grand Touring and R3. List prices start at $27,305 for the base model with either a stick shift or automatic transmission, rising to $32,600 for the R3 (which only comes with a stick shift). The R3 is basically a Touring model with attitude: It has a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers, 19-inch (instead of 18-inch) forged alloy wheels, a modified front grille, fog lights, heavily bolstered sport seats, an upgraded Bose sound system, keyless entry, and Bluetooth capability. It's the version you want if you like to drive for fun.
The horsepower of the R-8's 1.3-liter rotary engine varies depending on which transmission you choose. With the six-speed automatic, which comes with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, the engine is rated only at 212 hp and redlines at a mere 7,500 rpm. But why choose the automatic when the alternative is a six-speed manual shift? In that configuration, the engine is rated at 232 hp and redlines at an incredible 9,000 rpm. As Mazda likes to say in its ads, zoom zoom.
Unfortunately, one reason the RX-8 seems destined to be a classic is that it may not be around much longer. Mazda, like other carmakers, is getting killed in the slumping auto marketplace right now, and parent company Ford (F) is in desperate shape. There are persistent rumors that Ford is trying to sell its stake in Mazda (BusinessWeek.com, 8/4/08) to raise cash.
Mazda's North American sales fell 35.6% in September, to 16,169 vehicles, and were off 5.7% to 215, 408 during the first nine months of the year. By those dismal standards, the RX-8 is doing reasonably well. Its sales fell by nearly one-third, to just 274 units, in September, and were off 40.6%, to 2,865 units, in the first nine months of the year. But maintaining a model with such tiny sales through the current financial crisis is going to be tough. At very least, I wouldn't be surprised if Mazda eventually replaced the rotary engine with a conventional one that gets better mileage.
Behind the Wheel
I took the RX-8 out for a spin up the west branch of the Lackawaxen River in northeastern Pennsylvania on a glorious autumn day when the foliage was at peak color. I was immediately sold on the car's capabilities.
The rotary engine doesn't have a lot of low-end torque, so acceleration from a full stop isn't great. I clocked my test car at a little under seven seconds in accelerating from 0 to 60. But once you get rolling, the high-revving engine performs marvelously. There's a lot more oomph than I expected, even at relatively high speeds, and it seems to run out endlessly in each gear. The engine has a mechanical whine a little like a giant sewing machine that grows on you as you get used to the car.
The rotary engine's small size also allowed Mazda's engineers to position it further toward the middle than in most cars, giving the RX-8 perfect 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. That, plus the sporty suspension, gives the R3 the quick reflexes of a more expensive car sports car.
However, this isn't the car for you if you want a soft, boaty ride. The suspension is relatively hard, so you feel every imperfection in the road. The RX-8's floor is also set very low to the ground. You're seated down low, so if it frightens you to be looking way up in the air at SUVs and 18-wheelers as you zip past them on the freeway, you won't like the feel of the RX-8. It's a little like driving down the road in an old-fashioned claw-foot bathtub—and being almost as exposed.
The sporty front and bucket-style rear seats have the feel of being situated in a cockpit. The driver's seat is not only heavily bolstered on the sides but has a little hump on the front between your legs to keep the occupant from sliding around during hard driving. There are many appealing and distinctive design touches in the interior, such as a saber-style handle on the emergency brake and aluminum foot pedals.
Another plus for the RX-8 as a family car is that it has excellent four- and five-star government crash test ratings in frontal and side collisions. All versions of the car except the Sport also come with stability and traction control. Side and side-curtain air bags are standard.
The trunk is roomy by sports car standards but only has 7.6 cu. ft. of space.
Buy It or Bag It?
If you don't want to pay up for the new R3, this is a great time to get a deal on a more basic R-8: Mazda is offering $3,500 rebates on the remaining 2008 models on dealers' lots. The '09 RX-8 sells for an average of $29,303, according to the Power Information Network (PIN)—about $2,000 more than the '08. But, given the state of the economy, dealers are giving deals on the '09s. too. PIN estimates that the average buyer is getting about $1,500 off on the '09 RX-8. (PIN, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.)
The RX-8 is priced lower than most competing models (though there's nothing else exactly like it on the market). For instance, Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE) '09 R32 (BusinessWeek.com, 4/11/08) sells for an average of $31,888, $2,555 more than the Mazda, according to PIN. Other alternatives, such as the '09 Nissan 350Z (average price: $32,235), the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ($36,181) and BMW's (BMWG.DE) 128i (BusinessWeek.com, 4/18/08) ($37,273), are even pricier.
To my mind, the RX-8 is a bargain. The 2009 R3 version, in particular, is so much fun to drive that you almost forget about its poor fuel economy.
Thursday
BMW 3 Series based Russian Cardi Body II roadster
BMW 3 Series based Russian Cardi Body II roadster, After making its debut 5 years ago, at the 2003 Moscow Motor Show, the Body II roadster created by Russian company Cardi has finally reached a production-ready status. We agree with the guys from Carscoop, who say the car looks pretty similar to the Ford Thunderbird but, though usually we’re horrified by Russian cars, this doesn’t look that bad. One problem though, it’s pretty hard to tell where’s the front and where’s the rear. As we said, the Cardi Body II is based on the previous generation BMW 3 Series platform and is powered by a 196 hp 2.5 liter petrol engine, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The car also has BMW’s instrument panel, front seats and switchgear. The Russian company says the roadster will be able to go from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6,6 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).
Friday
Volvo pulls out of the Tokyo Motor Show
Last week Ford, along with GM and Chrysler, announced that it would skip this year’s Tokyo Motor Show and now, Volvo management has decided to follows it’s parent company and drop out of this year’s edition of the Japanese show. The reason behind the decision was the costs cut, the Swedish carmaker having better things to do with it’s money that to have a stand in Tokyo.
Fearing a lack of participants, JAMA (Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association) even considered, last week, to cancel this year’s edition of the Tokyo Motor Show. However, the decision was that “the show must go on”, especially with the association receiving support from the Japanese companies, who announced they’ll be at the show, scheduled to take place between October 23 and November 8
Source: Automotive News Europe
