1999 Ford Ranger Xlt Extended Cab Pickup 4.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford upgrade kit takes Focus ST to 275 hp and 296 lb-ft

If you drive a 2015 Ford Focus ST but are already jealous of the 345-horsepower 2016 Focus RS that's on the horizon, Ford Performance has a new upgrade kit that could be a great compromise. Developed by the Blue Oval experts at Mountune, the MP275 setup takes the hot hatch's output to 275 hp and 296 pound-feet of torque when running on 93-octane fuel. Those are gains of 23 hp and 26 lb-ft, respectively. Providing much of the kit's extra oomph is a recalibrated ECU with more aggressive engine mapping. The company claims that the upgrade also improves throttle response, and it keeps the Focus ST 50-state emissions legal. In addition, customers get a Mountune high-flow intercooler, a new air intake, and all of the necessary hardware to mount the components in the engine bay. For those concerned about reliability, when an authorized Ford Performance technician installs the parts, the Focus maintains the factory warranty. The MP275 kit currently retails for $1,900 on the Ford Performance website. For added protection during harsh weather, customers can also get an end cap for the cone air filter for $15. Related Video: Ford Performance Upgrade Kit for 2015 Focus ST Boosts Output to 275 Horsepower, 296 Lb.-Ft. Torque • Ford Performance mountune Focus ST kit for 2015 optimizes performance without sacrificing reliability • Sold through Ford Performance Parts, the kit maintains the base car's factory-backed three-year/36,000-mile warranty • Package adds 23 horsepower and 26 lb.-ft. of torque DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 18, 2015 – Focus ST customers can get more performance out of their vehicle thanks to a new kit from Ford. And on that front, the new Focus ST mountune upgrade kit delivers in spades. The idea of a street-legal, reliable, largely stock 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making nearly 300 lb.-ft. of torque might have seemed ludicrous 10 years ago, but the components of the MP275 Focus ST performance upgrade not only combine to produce up to 296 lb.-ft. of torque with 93-octane fuel, they are designed for maximum reliability as well. "The 2015 Focus ST MP275 upgrade is the latest addition to Ford Performance's vast Focus and Fiesta performance catalog that gives enthusiasts the components they need to take their car to the next level," said Adam Gair, product manager, Ford Performance.

Hybrid, electric campers take center stage at Germany's motorhome trade show

Car companies from all over the automotive spectrum will make international headlines next week by presenting hybrid and electric cars at the biennial Frankfurt auto show. Camper van and motorhome manufacturers got a head start on the rest of the industry by presenting their green solutions at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon. The show confirms electrification is present in the leisure segment, too. German camper experts Dethleffs introduced a plug-in hybrid, pop-top camper based on the full-size Ford Transit van. Called Globevan e.Hybrid, it relies on a 126-horsepower drivetrain built around a turbocharged, 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine. The system can power the camper on electricity alone for up to 31 miles. Adventurers who leave with a full tank and a full charge enjoy 310 miles of driving range, which is an impressive figure for the camper van segment. Charging the battery pack takes 5.5 hours when using a regular household outlet, according to the manufacturer, or three hours when hooking it up to a quick-charging station. Globevan production is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2020, and pricing starts at 75,000 euros, a sum that represents approximately $83,000. EFA-S took electrification a step further. Starting with a Fiat Ducato, a van known as the Ram Promaster in the United States, it yanked out the turbodiesel engine and replaced it with a 140-kilowatt electric motor fed by an 86-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The company pegs the camper's driving range at up to 186 miles, a relatively low figure which hardly reflects how most vacationers use their van. The pack takes four hours to charge, Auto Motor und Sport learned. While sustainable, zero-emissions tourism is difficult to argue against, the Ducato-based camper suffers from two serious setbacks. First, the battery pack makes it so heavy that it can't be driven with a regular license. It's considered a heavy commercial vehicle. Second, its 160,000-euro (about $177,000) price tag makes it twice as expensive as a diesel-burning model, and puts it in the same price range as much bigger, more powerful, and more luxurious models. EFA-S will nonetheless move forward with production in 2020, though it plans to build no more than 30 units. The caravan Salon is not only about hybrids and electric cars, however.

Would you pay $17 a month to give your older Ford connectivity?

When it was first introduced in 2007, there was nothing like the original Ford Sync system, since it allowed car owners to connect and use a portable device better than anything that came before it. And because it was a brought-in/tethered and software-based system, Sync leveraged a device's connectivity and was easily updated. It took competitors awhile to catch up: Toyota Entune wasn't available until 2011, and Chevy MyLink didn't roll out until 2012. But now Ford is the one playing catchup since it stuck with the brought-in strategy while most other automakers were quicker to add connectivity via an embedded cellular modem. Ford initially installed 2G/3G modems in its small fleet of electric and plug-in electric vehicles starting in 2012 so that owners could keep tabs on charging. Embedded connectivity came to Lincoln in 2014, and Ford began adding onboard 4G LTE via Sync Connect to select cars starting with the Escape in 2015. To get more cars connected more quickly, last week the automaker rolled out its FordPass SmartLink solution that plugs into the OBD port of 2010 to 2017 model year vehicles. This lets owners retroactively get onboard Wi-Fi, set up a "geo-fence" to keep tabs on a car's location, receive vehicle health reports and allows remote engine starting and door locking/unlocking using a smartphone app, among other features. But to connect older Ford vehicles will cost owners $16.99 a month for two years, not including installation. Ford throws in 1 GB of data or a 30-day trial, whichever comes first, after which owners have to add the vehicle to their Verizon shared data plan, which supplies connectivity for SmartLink, or establish a new account. (Disclosure: Autoblog is owned by Verizon.) By comparison, GM's 4G LTE data plans start at $10 a month for 200 MB and goes up to $30 for 3 GB, and owners can also add a car to an AT&T shared-data plan. But OnStar doesn't have a separate monthly subscription for the embedded modem or an installation charge, and standard features via the RemoteLink Mobile App are free for the first five years of ownership. FCA's Uconnect Access service also uses an embedded modem to provide similar telematics features for $20 per month following a free one-year trial, while a la carte in-car Wi-Fi is offered for $10 per day, $20 per week or $35 per month.