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EPA says fuel economy test for hybrids is accurate

The EPA says it stands behind its fuel economy test for hybrid vehicles following controversy about the testing process after Ford C-Max Hybrid customers and automotive journalists alike struggled to achieve 47 miles per gallon, the advertised mpg number, Automotive News reports. Ford responded to the issue almost two weeks ago by claiming that a 1970s-era EPA general label rule was responsible for the inaccurate mileage numbers, rerating the C-Max Hybrid's mpg numbers and offering customers rebates. Ford later said it didn't overstate the C-Max Hybrid's fuel economy and that it was surprised by the low numbers.
Ford technically didn't do anything wrong because it was following the general label rule, but agency regulator Christopher Grundler says the automaker was exploiting a loophole when it came up with the hybrid C-Max numbers, and that the testing process remains accurate. The general label rule allows vehicles that use the same engine and transmission and are in the same weight class to share fuel economy numbers, but it doesn't take into account other factors such as aerodynamic efficiency, which affects hybrids more drastically than non-hybrid vehicles. Ford originally used the Fusion Hybrid economy figures for the C-Max Hybrid and claimed the engineers didn't realize that its aerodynamic efficiency would affect fuel economy as much as it did.

Ford Focus ST checks into Jay Leno's Garage

In a change of pace from the high-end vehicles that often appear in Jay Leno's Garage, Ford sends its hottest hatchback (in the US, at least), the 252-horsepower Focus ST, to be featured on Leno's show. Accompanying the five-door hatch is its chief engineer, Jamal Hameedi.
Riding on stylish 18-inch wheels with summer tires and with a spoiler that doubles as a lunch tray, Hameedi and Leno walk us through the finer points of what makes the ST special, which also includes bigger brakes, torque vectoring, a manual transmission and, of course, 252 hp and 270 pound-feet of torque from the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, which is made possible by 21 psi of turbocharged boost.
Watch the video below to see what Leno thinks of the global Focus ST.

Jay Leno is far beyond driven in his 1971 Pantera

Perhaps it's fitting that the band Pantera is known for its heavy metal music, because the DeTomaso Pantera is the automotive equivalent of a metal album. It's short, aggressive and makes a mean sound. It doesn't mess around either, with a Ford 351-cubic-inch (5.75-liter) V8 sending mountains of torque to the rear wheels. This week, Jay Leno takes us on a detailed tour of his '71 to show why it rocks.
There's a regular format to Jay Leno's Garage. It starts with Jay and maybe a guest taking a look at the car and talking about its history, and then they take it out on the open road. However, this video is practically a Pantera buyer's guide. Jay is adamant from the start that the last thing anyone should own is a stock example. To remedy this, he and his guest, the editor of the Pantera Club magazine, take viewers to school about some of the ways to turn them into even better performance machines.
No matter what you do to it, though, the Pantera requires that the driver adapt to it, not the other way around. For example, Jay isn't a big guy by most standards, but he has to cram himself into the cockpit with his shoes off and shirt partially unbuttoned just to go for a drive. Still, once out on the road, it all makes sense with that rumbling V8 and those Italian supercar looks. Scroll down to watch and learn a lot more about this uncompromising '70s performance car.