2014 Ford Taurus Sel on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2016 Ford Focus RS leaked ahead of official debut

We won't officially see the new Ford Focus RS until the Blue Oval shows it to the world at an event on Tuesday, but here it is ahead of time, courtesy of the folks at Evo. As you can see, this is one hot little hatch, and if Evo's story is to be believed, those aggressive looks will be backed up with some pretty serious performance. Power is said to come from Ford's 2.3-liter EcoBoost inline four-cylinder engine, though the magazine's estimate of 250 horsepower seems awfully conservative to us (considering that's less than the current Focus ST). If earlier reports are to be believed, we think the RS will come packing more like 300 hp, if not more. For the first time, the Focus RS will use all-wheel drive with brake-operated torque-vectoring, and Evo says that up to 70 percent of the engine's power can be sent to the rear wheels. Hitting 60 miles per hour will reportedly take less than five seconds. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with a mean-looking exterior complete with the necessary aero bits (notice that wing!), and inside, we can see a beefy set of Recaro chairs. That's really all we know for now, but stay tuned for more when the Focus RS makes its official debut in the not-too-distant future. Related Video:

Weekly Recap: Diesel scandal continues to fuel VW's woes

Volkswagen's woes continued this week when it was delisted from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and stripped of awards. Senators are also lining up to advocate for criminal and civil action against the automaker, and its consumer reputation is in tatters. Put simply, it's been another rough period for VW. Despite this, the company eked out a sales gain of less than one percent in September, though that was well behind the overall market's performance. Sister brand Audi, which sells a diesel A3, was less affected, posting a 16-percent gain in September. Revelations that Volkswagen rigged millions of diesel-powered cars around the world didn't surface until September 18, so the full sales impact of the ongoing scandal won't likely be felt until October. Meanwhile, VW's image continues to take a beating, and an AutoPacific survey found only one in 14 vehicle owners have a positive opinion of the company. Before the scandal broke, three-quarters of respondents had a positive view of VW. The survey also found 64 percent don't trust Volkswagen, though the same number believe other companies are or may also be using cheating devices to pass emissions tests. "The reputation of diesels has been severely damaged, at least for the short term," Ed Kim, AutoPacific's vice president of industry analysis, said in a statement. Despite the lingering malaise, experts believe VW will recover, just as Toyota and General Motors eventually emerged from their own high-profile controversies. "Consumers have proven through numerous recalls that they are resilient and quickly return to their buying habits," Kim said. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Mazda to reveal sports car concept in Tokyo Mazda will bring a curvy sports car concept to the Tokyo Motor Show in October. The automaker is being especially coy with the details, only releasing the dark teaser shot that you see to the right and a cryptic statement that suggests the concept "condense[s] Mazda's entire history of sports-car development into a single model." Immediately, speculation abounded this is an RX-7 and RX-8 successor, though Mazda didn't specify what engine the concept will have. Reportedly, the company is still working on rotary engines. Mazda will have a Cosmo Sport 110S on its stand in Tokyo, which pioneered rotary technology in 1967. Read into that what you will. The Rock pitches Ford service Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, is the new frontman for Ford service.

Ford F-150, Toyota Tacoma top ASG list of most eco-friendly trucks

No one's going to confuse the massively popular Ford F-150 pickup truck with a green vehicle, but at least it performs well in an environmental sense when compared to its brethren. The Automotive Science Group (ASG) took on the odd (to us, at least) task of measuring which pickup trucks are friendliest to the environment and found that the big seller in the Blue Oval's flagship F-series came up big, while the Toyota Tacoma came up, well, slightly smaller. That's a good thing. Among the 245 light-duty trucks that ASG studied, the 3.7-liter V6-powered F-150 won ASG's award for full-size trucks for both regular and crew cabs. Meanwhile, the 2.7-liter Toyota Tacoma, with its fuel-economy rating of 23 miles per gallon combined, had smallest overall life-cycle carbon footprint and won ASG's two mid-sized categories. Finally, the Chevrolet Silverado won best all-around performance in the full-size extended-cab category. The ASG factored in eco-friendliness, price and social performance (which is measured by, "considering the rights of those charged with vehicle manufacture and assembly") to come up with its findings. Sales of Ford's F-Series trucks rose 8.4 percent last year to 74,592 units and accounted for more than a third of the total 2013 sales of Ford and its Lincoln unit. Check out the ASG's press release below. Truck Buyers Faced With "Eco" Options Galore Which 2014 full-size trucks warrant eco claims? 25 March 2014 [Santa Rosa, CA] – With a myriad of eco-branded trucks hitting the North American marketplace in 2014 – from Ford's EcoBoost and GM's EcoTec3 to Ram's latest addition, the EcoDiesel – the Automotive Science Group (ASG) was prompted to offer an objective, scientifically-based assessment to determine exactly which 2014 trucks actually earn their "eco" badge. According to ASG and the principles of ecological economics, a vehicle's eco-rating must be multi-faceted to include both environmental and economic considerations, and so the Group's proprietary rating platform – the Automotive Performance Index – does just that. Using a unique combination of vehicle data inputs that include conventional specifications as well as social, environmental and economic performance indicators, ASG's vehicle assessments empower consumers to make choices based on one's personal principles and financial requisites.