Monday, 25 April 2011

Review: 2012 Ford Focus Titanium

Ironically named little car, the Ford Focus. While you could surely argue we’re drawing too literal a line between the car and its moniker, we have to chuckle a little when we recall just how far afield Ford drifted with its compact offering over the last several years. Suffice it to say that Ford lost its way somewhere after the original Focus was introduced as a so-called ‘world car’ back in 1999. At the time, the spunky Focus shared the same C170...

Monday, 18 April 2011

Lincoln MKZ Hybrid sales exceeding Ford’s expectations

Given that the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is little more than a gussied-up Ford Fusion Hybrid, it’s not surprising that the gas-electric MKZ achieves the same 41 miles per gallon city and 36 mpg highway rating. Admittedly, we were a bit shocked when Lincoln announced that the MKZ Hybrid starts at $35,180 (including destination and delivery) – the same price as a gas-only front-wheel-drive 3.5-liter V6 model. Perhaps that’s why buyers are snatching up...

Review: 2012 Ford Focus Titanium

Ironically named little car, the Ford Focus. While you could surely argue we’re drawing too literal a line between the car and its moniker, we have to chuckle a little when we recall just how far afield Ford drifted with its compact offering over the last several years. Suffice it to say that Ford lost its way somewhere after the original Focus was introduced as a so-called ‘world car’ back in 1999. At the time, the spunky Focus shared the same C170...

Report: Volvo and Pininfarina end C70 joint venture

Volvo has announced it will take sole ownership of its joint manufacturing facility with Pininfarina. The Pininfarinia Sverige AB plant in Uddevalla, Sweden, only builds the Volvo C70 convertible. According to Volvo, the changeover will take place in 2013, and the automaker will continue to build C70s at the plant. Volvo and Pininfarina have been bedfellows at the plant since Volvo began building C70s in 2003. The car moved just over 4,000 units...

Review: 2011 Hyundai Genesis Sedan V6

Automakers have been carving the luxury segment into finer and finer slices for generations. Territory that once belonged solely to the likes of Mercury, Buick and Oldsmobile is now the fertile hunting grounds of brands from Acura to Infiniti. Thanks to these relative newcomers, buyers without the cash to jump into Bavarian marks like BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi can still plant their derrières on supple leather thrones without having to sell the family...

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Porsche planning Ferrari 458 challenger?

Porsche would like to double its current sales volume, and to do that, the automaker will need to expand its lineup. The Cajun crossover and 918 are still a year or three away, and we’re always hearing talk of a sub-Boxster roadster or even a baby Panamera being in the cards. But what about a new coupe to take on Maranello’s finest? Autocar claims that such a supercar could be on the way, and it would go toe-to-toe with the Ferrari 458 Italia. The...

Infiniti confirms plans to launch in Australia

Infiniti has big plans to expand beyond North America, and Drive reports that the Japanese luxury automaker intends to include Australia in its expansion. The site says that officials at Nissan have officially announced that Infiniti would head Down Under by September 2012, adding that the brand would start off with three stand-alone dealerships in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. When those dealerships launch, there will only be three Infiniti products...