Ford F-150 EcoBoost V6

With gas prices on the rise again, an increasing number of Ford F-150 buyers looking to save some (let’s not get carried away here…) cash at the pump without compromising on power are turning to the company’s new EcoBoost turbocharged V6 engine. According to Ford, demand for the EcoBoost engine in the F-150 has increased each month since production began in January. In March, one in every four (25%) models sold in the States was equipped with the force-fed V6, increasing to around 35 percent in April.

In the F-150, the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine delivers 365 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque providing a towing capability of 11,300 lbs combined an EPA rating of 16 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. Ford says the turbocharged V6 increases fuel economy up to 20 percent and cuts carbon dioxide emissions up to 15 percent over a comparable naturally aspirated V8 engine.

Ford plans to introduce more turbocharged engines across its lineup within the next two years aiming to produce up to 1.5 million EcoBoost engines globally in a variety of vehicles.

In the second half of 2011, the company will present the first application of its four-cylinder EcoBoost engine in North America, the 237-horsepower 2.0-liter unit in the Explorer SUV and Edge CUV. The same powerplant will also be offered in the revised Taurus sedan, in which it will return a highway fuel efficiency of at least 31 mpg, while it will make its way into the 2013 Focus ST as well.

Two Lamborghini Aventadors Roads around Rome

We've only recently brought you a host of videos from Lamborghini's presentation of the Aventador LP 700-4 in Rome, but we’re convinced you won’t mind us showing more of Sant’Agata’s exotic creation. This time, two new and eye-catching short films of the Aventador surfaced online. The official videos show a pair of LP 700-4s taming the Eternal City's scenic streets as well as the winding countryside roads outside the Italian capital.

So buckle up, turn up the volume and head over the jump to watch the white and orange Aventadors enjoying life in their natural habitats.

Google Dodge Charger Rebels Against Robots in New 2011

The future, as we imagine it now, may be full of robots doing all kinds of things for us humans, including driving our cars. As some scientists over at Google recently proved, driver-less vehicles may become a reality sooner than we expect, so here's what an automaker that produces cars for drivers has to say about this issue.

In the Chrysler Group’s latest commercial for the 2011 Dodge Charger called “The Future of Driving”, we are presented with a gloomy future, in which robots control all aspects of our lives, from choosing our diet and wardrobe to even walking our pet dogs. The hero of the commercial has nothing to say about all these things, but when a robot invites him to sit on the passenger seat of his own car, things get a little bit out of control...

What happens next is easy to imagine, as the commercial ends with the following tagline: “Introducing the 2011 Dodge Charger. Leader of the human resistance.” Scroll down to watch the commercial.

World’s Smallest Caravan

Mobility scooters (or shop riders) are big business in the UK, with close to a quarter of a million of the island nation’s elderly and disabled population using them to get around. In response to a previous untapped market segment, Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has introduced the world’s smallest caravan that can be towed by a mobility scooter.

In what’s perhaps more marketing ploy than real product, ETA’s QTvan is a 2 metre by 0.75 metre (6.6 feet by 2.5 feet) caravan incorporating a full-size single bed, an onboard battery supply, a 19-inch (48 cm) television, radio / alarm clock, kettle and drinks cabinet. It costs £5,500 (US$9,077 / €6,234) and is offered with such extras as roof-mounted solar panels, air horn, satellite dish, central heating and bespoke paint.

What ETA appears to be saying is that if you are an elderly or disabled person with a mobility scooter and are worried about running out of juice or being caught in the rain, buy one of these things. It sure beats camping out for the best spot to see the Royal Wedding procession, right?

Personally, I’m not convinced it’s a real product ETA intends to sell. It is, however, a very clever way for ETA to pimp its £49.99 (US$82.50 / €56.66) a month mobility scooter breakdown and insurance coverage to the British public. And I appreciate the effort the insurer has gone to in making the QTvan, which is a very good – if frankly ridiculous – mobility scooter towable caravan.

Be sure to check out the videos and photo gallery and leave a comment below.

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Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG by Inden Design

Since 2008, Mercedes-Benz has been producing a special edition version of the SL65 AMG called the Black Series that comes with a fixed carbon fiber roof, a wide body kit, an upgraded V12 and numerous other performance and styling enhancements. If you happen to like the look of the Black Series but prefer to keep the retractable hardtop of the standard SL65 AMG, you may want to check out Inden Design’s latest tuning package.

The transformation begins on the outside with a new wide body kit that emulates the look of the SL65 AMG Black series with heavily beefed up wheel arches, new front and rear bumpers, boot lid spoiler, side skirts, and a new hood with twin air vents. The blacked out grille and 20-inch alloys shod in tires size 265/30 up front and 325/25 at the rear round off the changes.

Interior appointments are restricted to the flat-bottom steering wheel in Alcantara with the same material partially covering the top part of the instrument panel.

In European guise, the SL65 AMG’s 6.0-liter bi-turbocharged V12 churns out 612-horses and 1,000 Nm of peak torque, but after Inden Design’s new ECU tune, output is lifted to 680HP, while the German firm also removes the electronic speed limiter.

A new exhaust system producing a more sonorous sound and an electronic module that lowers the ride height by around 45 mm are the final touches of Inden Design’s tune.

Chevrolet Malibu 2013

General Motors is quite serious about selling its upcoming 2013 Chevrolet Malibu on a global scale. So serious, in fact, that the Detroit automaker is making plans to built the mid-size model on several continents. Today, GM revealed that will build and sell the redesigned Malibu sedan in Korea. We’ll remind you that earlier this year, GM Korea announced it is replacing the Daewoo nameplate with the Chevrolet brand for the local market.

Surprisingly, the first country to get the new Malibu won’t be the States, but South Korea with production set to begin in Bupyeong, Korea this fall, followed by Jingjiao, China, at the end of 2011 and then Fairfax, Kansas and Detroit-Hamtramck, in the U.S., in early 2012.

“Adding Korea as a key sales market for the new Malibu further increases the brand’s global presence and continues our growth path while increasing our car offerings to consumers in Korea,” said Russ Clark, Chevrolet Product Director.

GM also said that there’s growing interest for the Malibu in Korea, despite the fact that the midsize sedan has never been officially sold in the country. The Detroit automaker said that members of Malibu-related Internet clubs total about 30,000 in South Korea, despite the fact that the midsize sedan has never been officially sold in the country. However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise for those with some knowledge of the local car culture as there are myriads of dedicated online clubs for all models.

The new Malibu received its world premiere at the New York and Shanghai auto shows last week. It will be sold in nearly 100 markets on six continents, with each region getting specific engine choices. Up until now, we know that North America will get a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 190HP+ and a 2.4-liter ECO unit with the eAssist system delivering 180HP, while China will receive 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter naturally aspirated fours, and a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine.

In addition to the gasoline range, the European market version of the Malibu is expected to be offered with several diesel options as well.

Fast 5 Movie

Fans of all kinds and sorts of the much talked about Fast 5 film went “fast and furious” at a theater parking lot in Detroit before and after a midnight release of the movie on Thursday. Steven Pham, a professional photographer and automotive enthusiast, happened to be one of those early moviegoers and filmed some of the hoonery that went on up until the boys in blue showed up to put an end to the tire-burning games.

We came in contact with Steven and here's what he told us:

"After seeing the trailers for Fast Five, there was a lot of hype in the automotive community. I'm pretty sure every car enthusiast is a fan of the series, if not, then there is something wrong with them. Sure each movie has some sort of unrealistic scene, though I think it adds to the movie in a "wtf, did that really just happen?" kind of way.

Everything that went on in the parking lot outside of the theater before and after the movie was hysterical. Cars revving it up, dozens of people doing burnouts and donuts and to the one guy that was playing the Tokyo Drift soundtrack with his subs. It was like a short film in between all of the Fast and the Furious movie series, except without girls walking around and dancing in bikinis."

So, what do you say? Watch the video and head over to the comments section below to express your thoughts. 

2014 Audi S5

2014 Audi S5

2014 Audi S5

2014 Audi S5

The current Audi S5 coupe is gorgeous, fast, and luxurious, but at over 3800 pounds, it's not dainty. And the upcoming 2010 S5 cabriolet will weigh about 4300 pounds--more than a lot of mid-size SUVs--so forgive us for thinking Audi product planners were being intentionally ironic when they spoke at the car's launch about their green philosophy and success in downsizing. They conveniently neglected to mention weight and focused on their powertrain strategy: a far more efficient supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 replaces the naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V-8 in the S5 cabriolet and S4 sedan for 2010, with the S5 coupe getting the new engine for 2011. These cars are claimed to achieve the same acceleration as the V-8 models while using 20 percent less fuel.

Still, any idiot knows you can only get so far with engine downsizing in a performance car that weighs more than two tons. So we sat down with Michael Dick, Audi's global head of product engineering, and asked him about how he squares the company's stated smaller-is-better credo with the reality of its hefty cars.

We expected to hear some mumbo-jumbo about how safety standards and consumer expectations for features and refinement dictate ever-growing curb weights, but Dick's response shocked us: Audi is currently testing a prototype of the next-generation S5 that weighs 880 pounds less than the current car. He outlined the ongoing increase in the use of aluminum, magnesium, and high-strength steel as a main reason behind the mass reduction. The current TT's chassis is 69 percent aluminum, and the next-generation A6 (probably due in 2011 or 2012) will have an even higher proportion, Dick says. The amount for the next A4/A5/S4/S5 will be higher still when they debut, likely as 2014 models.

Dick also said that the supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 is an "intermediate step" for Audi. The next S4 and S5 will have lighter turbocharged four-cylinder engines. We can look at the TT lineup for direction: the base TT in the U.S. has a 2.0-liter turbo four that makes 200 hp. The TT S has the same basic engine, but makes 265 hp with beefed up internals and a bigger turbo. Future S4 and S5 models will have about 20 percent less weight and up to 30 percent less engine displacement than the current S5, making combined fuel economy in the mid to high 20-mpg range likely.

Lincoln Touts All-Wheel Drive

Not to be outdone by GM and its Cadillac brand, which had recently published some fresh statistics about its all-wheel drive model sales in the States, Ford’s Lincoln division came out with a similar announcement to increase awareness and do some show off. Ford’s premium brand offers all-wheel drive as an option on all five models of its range, including the MKT, MKS, MKZ, MKX and the Navigator.

So far this year, Lincoln says that 72 percent of MKT three-row crossover buyers and 62 percent of MKX two-row crossover buyers have opted for all-wheel drive, while 62 percent of those that chose the large, truck-based Navigator did the same. These numbers drop when it comes to Lincoln’s sedan range as 46 percent of MKS and 25 percent of MKZ sedan customers ticked the all-wheel drive option.

"We're seeing the number of customers choosing all-wheel drive increasing steadily as drivers appreciate the benefits," said C.J. O'Donnell, Group Marketing Manager for Lincoln.

"More than half of our crossover customers are enjoying the reassurance that all-wheel drive delivers, such that once they have experienced it, they don't want to give it up. We see all-wheel drive as a core technology option for the entire Lincoln line-up, both today and for the future."