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Ford drops Focus RS teaser ahead of Feb 3 reveal

Ford is trying to get us hyped for the unveiling of the latest Focus RS on February 3 with this new video teaser. The clip showcases the hot hatch doing some big slides in the wet and dry during testing in Europe and the US, and it definitely makes us even more curious about what the Blue Oval has in store with the RS. Even in this short teaser, Ford continues to dress the more aggressive nose of the Focus RS in camouflage, like the previous test cars. Unfortunately, what's going on under all of that concealment remains a bit of a mystery. Rumors suggest the RS likely uses a tuned version of the Blue Oval's 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder estimated to make between 325 and 350 horsepower. A speculated torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system should keep fears of torque steer at bay, and larger brakes on the test mules indicate that bringing it all to a halt shouldn't be a problem, either. We do know that the hotter Focus will be among the "more than 12" vehicles that the new Ford Performance division will develop through 2020, and the RS will come to the US for the first time. However, US-spec RS models will likely be imported from Europe, which will keep numbers here low and will mean prices estimated to be around $30,000 or more. Until the official specs become available, at least enjoy watching this hot hatch's ability to slide.

Chevy Blazer and Easter Jeeps | Autoblog Podcast #576

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Assistant Editor Zac Palmer. They do a rundown of the latest news, including rumors of the Toyota Tundra and Tacoma sharing a platform, Jeep's insane Easter Safari concepts and an upcoming "entry level" performance Ford Mustang. Then they talk about driving the new Chevrolet Blazer and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk, and compare driving the Genesis G70 to the Kia Stinger. Finally, they take to Reddit to spend someone's money on a new crossover. Autoblog Podcast #576 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Toyota Tacoma and Tundra to share a platform? Jeep Easter Safari concepts "Entry level" performance Mustang? Cars we're driving: 2019 Chevy Blazer 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 2019 Genesis G70 Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Here's how Detroit is selling more luxury vehicles than Germany and Japan

Now there's an attention-grabbing headline, eh? Although the answer to the riddle - pickup trucks and SUVs - might be somehow deflating, the numbers involved deserve a going over. According to TrueCar's figures (click on the table to enlarge), six of the year's ten best-selling vehicles in the US that sell for a transaction price above $50,000 are body-on-frame, and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the only foreigner to crack the top five. Every enthusiast knows that pickup trucks are 'Murica's most popular vehicle by a colossal margin, and there have been plenty of reports about the popularity of luxuriously appointed trucks and SUVs, but compare these figures from TrueCar: 70 percent of Chevrolet Tahoe sales have a transaction price above $50K, and The Bowtie is expected to make $3.9 billion in revenue on 66,945 predicted high-dollar sales; 95.1 percent of E-Class sales break $50K, so the German company will make $4.0 billion on 67,006 predicted sales in that pricing sphere. It's about the only time you'll see the Tahoe ranked right next to Mercedes' bread-and-butter sedan. Ram is ahead of those two with $4.2B coming from $50K-plus sales. The Ford F-Series does almost as much revenue as the next three combined, with an expected $10.8 billion coming from sales of trucks over $50K - more than a quarter of the model's total sales, when a base F-150 can be had for about $26,000. Yes, the Germans make a lot more money on fewer sales, but considering the comparison, the bottom line isn't too troubled by such facts. Weighing like-for-like, the full-size Ford walks it in every category; elsewhere, the Chevrolet Silverado outsells the Ram, but the Ram outsells the Chevy by 6.7 percent above $50K. And for all the flak GMC takes over swapping out grilles, the Sierra also outsells the Chevy in the well-appointed segment, 16.1 percent of sales versus 11 percent – the Professional Grade brand is a huge profit center for The General. You'll find more info in the TrueCar press release below. TrueCar finds pickup trucks far outsell premium brands among top 10 vehicles over $50,000 Ford F-Series pickup sales over $50,000 surpass combined BMW 3, 5, 7 Series luxury car sales SANTA MONICA, Calif. (December 10, 2014) - TrueCar, Inc., the negotiation-free car buying and selling platform, finds mainstream pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles dominate U.S.