The former American Automobile Association, now known by its acronym AAA, is probably the most recognisable organisation of its type in the world. And with some 52 million members, it’s also one of the world’s largest if not the largest automobile associations in the world. Suffice to say, when the AAA speaks, the world listens. In a recent telephone survey of 1,009 adults in the continental United States, the AAA found that 12.5% couldn’t cover a US$1,000 (€701) car repair bill and 25% couldn’t cover US$2,000 (€1,402) car repair bill. Additionally, 50% of those surveyed are holding on to an older vehicle until the economic climate improves and 25% have neglected repairs or basic maintenance on those vehicles over the last twelve months. Doing so, the AAA says, can greatly increase the risk of major and costly repairs. Marshall L. Doney, AAA’s VP for Automotive and Financial Services explains: “Economic conditions have taken their toll on many Americans resulting in them neglecting their cars and leaving them at increased risk for very expensive repair bills. Many Americans rely on their cars for their livelihood and losing access to them could be financially devastating during an already troubling economic time." "It’s important for drivers to not only continue to maintain their vehicles, but also have a financial emergency plan in place should they be faced with a sudden unexpected auto repair bill,” continued Doney. Of those who can afford the US$2,000 repair bill, 38% said they would pay with their savings account, 20% said they would pay by credit card and 11% would have to borrow money from friends, family, their retirement fund or home equity to pay it. Things are a little less grim for those can afford the US$1,000 bill. 46% said they would pay with their savings account, 22% would pay with their credit cards and 14% would need to borrow money. Such bills are not unheard of with older vehicles, especially those that have been mistreated or improperly maintained. A transmission repair can cost anywhere from US$2,000 (€1,402) to US$4,000 (€2,804) and engine repairs can exceed US$5,000 (€3,506). Similarly, major brake repairs or a new set of tires can pull US$300 (€210) to US$1,000 (€701) depending on the make and model. All in all, the AAA survey should give owners of older vehicles something to think about in the coming months or years of ownership.
On Monday, a rumor spread over the web saying that Ford has delayed the launch of the 2012 Focus Electric in 17 of the initial 19 markets, and that the company would offer a limited number of vehicles only in California and New York by the end of the year, with the remaining markets to follow in spring of 2012. This email from David Finnegan, Ford's electrified vehicles marketing manager, was posted on the myfocuselectric.com forum: "For the first few months of production, we will be concentrating on California and New York. Our dealers in those areas will be the first to have their retail orders scheduled and receive the Focus Electric. We will be rolling out to the remainder of our initial markets starting in Spring 2012, including Raleigh/Durham." On Monday Ford issued the following statement, saying that there is no delay and that the launch in California and New York first was part of the company's plan: “Ford remains on schedule to deliver the initial Focus Electrics by the end of the year. As previously communicated to dealers, the first few months of Focus Electric production will be concentrated on delivering vehicles to California and New York. We will be rolling out to the remainder of the initial Focus Electric markets starting with production ramp up in spring 2012”. The remaining market where the Focus EV will go on sale next Spring include: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson and Washington, D.C.
The feds have opened an investigation into the latest generation of the Ford Mustang to look for possible transmission problems. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration [NHTSA] issued a statement saying that it has received 32 complaints from owners of the 2011 and 2012MY Ford Mustang that were unable to change gears on the car's new six-speed manual transmission. Ford had introduced the new six-speed manual gearbox on the refreshed 2011 Mustang replacing the previous five-speed unit. You can read NHTSA's statement after the break.
National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration Statement: "[The] ODI has received 32 complaints alleging an unexpected inability to shift into gear on model year (MY)2011-2012 Ford Mustangs equipped with manual transmissions. Some reports allege incidents occurred while merging into high speed traffic and others allege that incidents occurred while turning left across oncoming traffic. Some complainants allege that the erratic shifting behavior almost caused a collision with adjacent vehicles. A Preliminary Evaluation has been opened to assess the scope, frequency and potential safety consequences associated with the alleged defect."
If you haven't heard, Ford is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Britain this year. The first Ford to be manufactured in the country was the legendary Model T in 1911. To celebrate the event, Ford is launching a new special edition version of the Fiesta called the Centura and like the original Model T, it too will be available exclusively in a black finish. The Centura is based on the Fiesta Zetec trim level adding several standard features, including chrome mirror and door caps, LED daylight running lights, 16-inch seven-spoke alloy wheels, automatic headlamps and windscreen wipers, reverse parking sensors and a parking camera mounted in the rear view mirror. Power comes courtesy of a 1.25-liter petrol engine delivering 82-horsepower, while the supermini model is available in both three-door and five-door body styles. Ford said that is will build only 1,000 examples of the Fiesta Centura, with pricing set at £13,395 for the three-door version and £13,995 for the five-door. Just 1,000 Ford Fiesta Centura special editions will be available, priced at £13,395 for the three-door version and £13,995 for the five-door. The Ford Fiesta remains the UK's best-selling car with 52,327 sold in the first half of this year. Anthony Ireson, marketing director, Ford of Britain, said: "Fiesta has been a UK favourite its entire lifetime and it was a natural choice to use this great icon to help mark our centenary. With a unique specification and affordable price, the Centura will appeal to thousands of customers, and we anticipate strong demand – who knows it might even become a collector's car one day!"
Remember the murdered-out GT Black Edition concept revealed by Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) at the Australian International Auto Show in Melbourne back in June? Well, responding to what the company describes as overwhelming customer feedback, Ford Australia's in-house tuning division has decided to give the green light for a limited production run of the GT Black Edition. "We were totally blown away by the positive feedback received from fans and show-goers on our Concept," said FPV General Manager, Rod Barrett. "We knew we had a winner with the black paintwork and we wanted to action something immediately. The public spoke and we listened and I am just thrilled we have been able to put the GT BLACK into production so quickly," Barett added. The Black Edition is based on FPV's GT model, itself a high-performance version of the rear-wheel drove Ford Falcon sedan powered by a 5.0-liter supercharged Boss V8 delivering 449-horses (335kW) and 570Nm (420.4 lb-ft) of peak torque. The special treatment starts with Silhouette black paintwork on the body enhanced with matt black stripe decals on the bonnet, rear wing and bodysides. The black paint treatment continues with the fog lamp bezels, the exhaust tips, and the new five-spoke 19-inch alloy wheels finished in gloss black with black wheel nuts. The same color theme continues inside with black leather trim throughout, a black finish around the Interior Command Centre (ICC) unit, tissue box and door spears, and a unique black gear shift badge on manual transmission models. Each vehicle will also feature its own unique build badge and certificate of authenticity. While the concepts study also featured certain performance modifications such as the upgraded suspension and braking system components, FPV did not pass these changes onto the production model. FPV said it will build 125 examples of the GT Black, each priced at AU$74,290 (US$77,675 at the current exchange rates).
The Chrysler Group continues to aggressively market the newcomers in its vehicle lineup with new advertisements. This time the automaker has released numerous television and online spots to tout the new generation of the Dodge Durango SUV, all of which will begin airing this week.
While you can check out all the ads in the videos after the break, we must say that four commercials captured our attention including one that refers to Ferrari to show off the Durango's leather interior, another one that depicts seven Stig-lookalikes running to get into Dodge's SUV, and two spots featuring the 2011 Ford Explorer. For the latter commercials, Dodge used Ford's SUV to demonstrate the new Durango's best-in-class towing capacity. In particular, the Durango V6 can tow up to 6,200 lbs (2,812 kg) while the V8 model up to 7,400 lbs (3,357 kg). That's compared to the Ford Explorer 3.5L V6's max loaded trailer weight of 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg).
Ford's India subdivision announced today that it sold 71,347 units from January 1 until July 31, which corresponds to a 45% increase compared to the same period of 2010 when it delivered 49,131 units. The Detroit firm wants to further increase its presence in the country and has announced the signing of an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the State of Gujarat to invest approximately $1 billion to build two new plants in addition to the one in Chennai, for vehicle and engine manufacturing on a 460-acre site in Sanand. “These are exciting times for Ford in India,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India. “We are investing in the future and reinforcing our long-term commitment to India by building two new plants in Gujarat and by adding the new Fiesta to our portfolio. The new Fiesta is the first of eight new vehicles we will bring to India by mid-decade”. Ford India was established in 1995 and is owned by Ford Motor Company. Until now it operates one factory in Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai, which produces the Figo, the Fiesta Classic, the Endeavour and the new Fiesta which was launched in April this year.
ECU tuning specialist Superchips has released a new software upgrade for the UK market Ford Fiesta Zetec S. In factory tune, the Ford's 1.6-liter Ti-VCT twin independent cam timing engine delivers 120-horsepower. After Superchip's engineers optimize the engine control unit (ECU), the four-cylinder powerplant gains an additional 10 bhp at 5,986 rpm and 13 Nm of torque at 4,390rpm. The tuning firm says that the upgrade is designed to work with either 95- or 98-octane fuel and claims that if driven in the same manner with the standard car, it will retain the Fiesta Zetec S’s 48 mpg combined fuel economy. The ECU remap is suitable for all Mk7 1.6-litre 120 PS Fiesta Zetec S models produced from October 2008 onwards, with pricing set at £249.00 including VAT.
Security consulting firm iSec Partners warns drivers that thieves could exploit smart phone apps that allow the unlocking and starting of cars remotely.
Researchers Don Bailey and Mathew Solnik have hacked the protocols some of these apps use and demonstrated how they can take advantage of them using a laptop. According to Mr. Bailey, the whole process of hacking and improvising the signals these apps send – what he dubs “war texting” – can take as little as two hours. Mr. Bailey will discuss the research at Black Hat Technical Security Conference in Las Vegas this week. Of course, he won’t name the products or provide full technical details of Mr. Solnik and his work until the software makers can patch them. GM, Mercedes-Benz and BMW all use the technology in one form or another. Bailey and his cohort intercepted messages sent between the server and the target vehicle over standard mobile networks. He explains: "We reverse-engineer the protocol and then we build our own tools to use that protocol to contact that system.” Researchers at iSec think this is indicative of a more widespread problem created by the proliferation of “cheap and easy” mobile networking technology. Bailey suspects that security considerations are often minimally addressed, thereby making devices using the technology susceptible to exploitation and misuse.
As we are nearing closer and closer to the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, which will be held for the public from September 15 to 25, automakers are slowly releasing more details about their plans. Today, Ford revealed that it is planning four global product presentations in Frankfurt including "a new design concept" and what the company described as "details of the next Focus performance car". “Ford plans to make a strong statement at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with several very exciting global product reveals and our significantly expanded show stand,” said Stephen Odell, chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe. “We’re excited to be showing customers our best-ever vehicle line-up and a special glimpse of the future,” Odell added. So what cars is Ford planning to show in Germany? Well, the "next performance Focus" will most likely be the production Focus ST that was previewed at the 2010 Paris Show in concept trim, while the other two product premieres could be the new sporty Fiesta ST and the production version of last year's Veratrek concept compact SUV that will replace both the European Kuga and North American Escape models. As for the concept model, your guess is as good as ours, but we wouldn't be surprised if Ford showed a design study for a new member of the Focus family.
Ford is slowly releasing the fuel economy numbers on its latest batch of vehicles to receive the firm's new EcoBoost engines. Following last week's announcement on the 2012 Explorer with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit, Ford today revealed that the 2012 Edge with the same powerplant will deliver an EPA certified 21mpg in the city and 30mpg on the highway. In the Edge, the EcoBoost four-cylinder engine produces 240 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and a 270 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,000 rpm. Power is transferred to the wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission. Ford made note that it currently has 13 model/powertrain variations in its range that deliver an EPA fuel economy rating of up to 30 mpg or more. You can see the models in following list:
- Edge with EcoBoost: 21 mpg/30 mpg
- Escape Hybrid FWD: 34 mpg/31 mpg
- Escape Hybrid AWD: 30 mpg/27 mpg
- Fiesta five-speed manual: 29 mpg/37 mpg
- Fiesta automatic: 29 mpg/38 mpg
- Fiesta SFE automatic: 29 mpg/40 mpg
- Focus five-speed manual: 29 mpg/37 mpg
- Focus automatic: 28 mpg/38 mpg
- Focus SFE automatic: 28 mpg/40 mpg
- Fusion 2.5-liter automatic: 23 mpg/33 mpg
- Fusion Hybrid: 41 mpg/36 mpg
- Mustang 3.7-liter Coupe automatic: 19 mpg/31 mpg
