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Comments
Bingo.
EcoBoost is a hit, it's the best selling engine in the F150 now.
Ford needs to market that name, seriously. I think it carries the marketing value that "Prius" did for Toyota.
GM has a DI turbo in the Solistice/Sky and other products now, but they have yet to put a memorable name on the tech.
EcoBoost is a genius label, implying both green and performance. Ford needs to run with it, talk about it every chance they get, not about GM's bailout.
Me too, though I'll reserve final judgement until I see it in person.
And I am a hatch guy. The Fiesta and Focus look much better as hatches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_mwjaEI_hM&feature=player_embedded
The guy bought an F150, could ask him why, instead they focus on ... the bailout?
Find an EcoBoost buyer and have him talk about the surprising torque or fuel economy.
Las Vegas is better known for its excess than its frugality, but city bosses are turning that image around by trialling a fleet of electric cars, the first of which is GM's range-extended electric vehicle, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The trial will make the city the only government agency in the state to test electric vehicles.
Late last year, General Electric also announced it would be adding the Volt to its fleet, putting in a massive order of 12,000 cars as part of its intended 25,000-strong electric vehicle fleet.
Last month New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the NYPD would be adding 50 Volts to its fleet for use as traffic enforcement vehicles
I think this is a good thing, actually.
Volt performing traffic enforcement. Shoot, even an average driver in an average car should be able to easily evade and escape those guys!
Encourages resisting.
I think it is more a downing of the Other Guy's character, integrity, and trustworthiness moreso than a downing of product. The product speaks for itself.
For enthusiasts like us, that's true.
For the general public, though, that's not the case at all. Marketing is so, sooooo vital.
The Prius is a ho-hum car to drive, but Toyota marketing milked it for a green image many here don't think they deserve at all. They sold, what, 3 million of them? Not to mention the green halo it cast over Toyota corp.
Ask imi what he thinks.
EcoBoost will not sell itself, Ford should be ramming the concept up people's throats again, and again, and again.
Ford has a similar ad for the Edge, saw it last night, and they don't even mention the fact that EcoBoost will be available on that model. Missed opportunity.
Same for the Explorer - though FWD only. MPG matches *the* most efficient minivan. That (low mpg) used to be a trade-off you had to make, but not any more. Ford needs to milk that for all it's worth.
However, if your going to copy a commerical, they probably did choose a good one.
Oh hell, that's a Twilight Zone episode, and the concept was probably considered old-hat even back then!
I haven't seen the Camaro commercial, but I've seen the Subaru commercial, and I think it's pretty cool. I think Subaru is a pretty good example of a maker whose commercials try to sell the car on its own merits, rather than pointing out the flaws in others. I also like the one where the guy goes to the junkyard in his brand-new Subaru to get some personal belongings and pay his final respects to his recently-wrecked Sube. Both of the commercials give the impression that it's a good, safe car that you can trust with your life, or your teenage daughter's, and also plays off a bit on the bond between Man and Car.
I can actually relate to the wrecked Sube ad. I had a '69 Dodge Dart that got totaled, and I ended up buying a similar '68 a few days later. While I kept the wrecked one around for about 2 1/2 years, as a parts car, eventually I was forced to send it to the junkyard. I used to frequent that junkyard alot, and always got a kick out of seeing it still there, although there would be less and less of it, as parts got pulled off of it, so at least I know it was still being put to use, keeping other cars on the road. Then, one day, after about a year and a half, it was gone. Kind of a sad moment. I had pulled just about everything I thought I'd need off of the car, but one day, in that junkyard, I did snag something else. I think it was the rearview mirror, but can't remember for sure.
Here's a cool tidbit about that Subaru ad: the father-daughter combo are actually ... father-daughter! They were so natural behind the camera that Subaru let them go off script, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMl33cENeB4
Subaru's "Love" campaign has helped lead them to 2 consecutive years of record sales, as well as growth in a market that was in a downward spiral.
Here's that Camaro ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuLOCSMS-3k
Meanwhile it's the best selling muscle car, so that campaign surely hasn't hurt.
So yeah, call it a Sonic and you'd better offer one in Blue and have it make that bell sound every time you start it up.
Looks like they heard you....next Summer.
The Focus ST will be sold in over 40 markets including the U.S. and promises stepped up performance and handling over the standard model thanks to suspension upgrades and a 2.0-liter Ecoboost turbocharged inline-4 producing 247 bhp and 265 lb.-ft. of torque.
This car will blow away a Cruze. It remains the reason why GM has a lot of OLD GM baggage remaining after bankruptcy. Too SSLLLOOOOWWW to offer really nice cars! Axe G-8. No Malibu SS. Impala??....zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Regards,
OW
Soon after, toyota invited the world's media to a technical seminar in Japan, where their senior technical officer took great pains to point out the impossibility of litium-ion chemistry for the mobile sector.
Yet the european Prius+ does indeed come with lithium-ion batteries:
http://www.toyota-europe.com/innovation/design/concept_cars/prius_plus/index.asp- x
The latest generation of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive® powertrain found in Prius+ includes a lithium-ion battery pack, installed entirely beneath the second row seating, offering no compromise to the seven-seat passenger accommodation or loadspace of the MPV-style interior.
Perhaps Lutz doesn't speak Japanese fluently, or something was lost in translation, but it shows the editorial liberties he took in his book.
I've been reading about a traction-control based LSD to limit torque steer and I'm skeptical about how well that will work on that Ford.
Close to this one but with the black leather roof!
Regards,
OW
On the torque-steer front, my Optima does it seamlessly at WOT. I'm sure Ford's system will do a great job as well.
Regards,
OW
GM had DI turbos a while ago, they just put them in very low volume models so nobody knows about it.
Ford did tune their EcoBoost motors for 87 octane, though, and my guess a Cobalt SS will ping like there's no tomorrow on anything but premium.
Go Ford!
Regards,
OW
If they put out a Focus with those kind of power numbers, I'll give it a strong look and consideration, as it has my eyebrows raised.
Of course, speaking of time, it's not out yet, so Ford is slow too! I'll believe it when I see it.
By the way, what kind of mileage and efficiency do we expect from Ford's ecoboost 2.0 mill?
While your at it, why not make a PacMan, Qbert, Zelda, and Samus.
I disagree but that's just my opinion. Though I don't find the Cruze ugly. I like them both.
Now that I've covered 2,500 miles and the engine is fully run-in, it's difficult to resist exploiting the noise to the full. But a word of warning to any potential buyers - do this and you'll feel the pinch. Hard driving sees fuel economy drop to about 22mpg, while the overall average returns of 27.1mpg fall behind our Golf GTI's 30.4mpg
Second opinion
I took the fast Ford for a trip to Cornwall. Covering some 700 miles, I got economy up to a reasonable 28.7mpg. My fuel bill was still quite high, but the long, winding roads simply flew by. Despite the number of Focuses I passed along the way, the ST felt special as I spotted only one other example on the road. And it happened to have the same Performance Blue paint as our long-termer!
Regards,
OW
Atlhough, that being said, one of my grandmother's cousin's old-lady friends recently traded her late 90's Taurus wagon in on a new car. And, guess which one she chose? (hint, she displayed a bit of brand loyalty)
I swear, I did a double-take the other day. My grandmother's cousin lives next door to me, and the othe day I see this new Focus pull up in her driveway. Being nosy, I had to peer out the window to see who it was. Imagine my shock when I see a cane emerge, and then this little old lady, who then hobbles across the driveway to the house! Kind of a shock, seeing a senior citizen get out of a car like that!
Corvette
Camaro ZL1
they smoke Ford's best
Regards,
OW
This debuted in 2011. Lutz's time frame was at the beginning of the Volt concept cycle.
Time frames don't overlap.
>Perhaps Lutz doesn't speak Japanese fluently
I doubt that he speaks Japanese. Do you?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
IIRC for Europe only. Link with pic:
http://www.carsmagz.com/2011-chevrolet-cruze-5-door-hatchback/
Lutz was taking liberties and of course didn't attribute the quote to a specific person so that the facts didn't get in his way.
He was intentionally vague. Offering his spin, even.
First, tyota was supposed to have one of the shortest time frames from conception to metal--or is Lutz lying there? Lot, lot less than 5 years! Time for them to hurry up and get a LiH battery into that sucker lest the US company have a lead on them. And that would make good business sense.
I'll have to see if Lutz makes a time reference. If tyota knew 5 years in advance why did they hold a press conference to diminish GM's proposed use of LiH? And say it couldn't be done?
I think it is neat that tyota hurried and came out with an "electric" vehicle after GM. Now they've got an electric, hybrid, gas engine all in one to compete with Volt.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
tyota was supposed to have one of the shortest time frames from conception to metal
Funny, Lutz makes a claim, and then sets about proving himself wrong. LOL
hurry up and get a LiH battery into that sucker
Not just the battery, the whole 3rd row, remember? Not at all a simple swap.
why did they hold a press conference to diminish GM's proposed use of LiH?
Again, Lutz made that claim. Maybe in his next book he'll try to prove himself wrong about that, also.
And say it couldn't be done?
Show me where they said that. Baloney!
Put down the Kool-aid. Read his book for kicks, sure, but you quote from it as if it were factual. He could easily have included actual translated excerpts and named who was speaking, but of course he cowards away from that, because he knew people would call him on it.
He's so vague you can't even challenge his position! How convenient.
That's funny.
How many sales, again?
You copy successes, not failures. I wonder how much money GM has lost on that investment. Sort of like Saturn, you felt good about it, but they never made any money.
Honestly, with full-size pickups offering 879 billion tons of towing capacity, it's overkill for 99% of Harry Homeowners.
GM is probably afraid it would cannibalize some Silverado sales.
On Tuesday, August 23, a lone 2012 Infiniti M35h ripped down the UK's rain-drenched Santa Pod Raceway and sped into the record books as the world's quickest hybrid vehicle.
Driven by Tim Pollard, associate editor of the UK's Car Magazine, and overseen by Guinness World Records, the 360-horsepower M35h dashed down the quarter-mile track in 13.9031 seconds (average of all runs). The quickest run of the day tripped the clock at 13.8960 seconds. In describing the M35h's record-setting run, Pollard stated, "At Santa Pod you could feel the instant torque of the electric motor away from standstill – the car just leapt off the line."
Lest you think it's only quick for a hybrid, Infiniti points out that, in the hierarchy of quick vehicles, the M35h's time puts it on a par with the following performance icons:
1982 Lamborghini Countach S: 13.9 secs
1998 BMW M3: 13.8 secs
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante: 13.6 secs
2007 Porsche 911 Carrera: 13.6 secs
1966 Shelby Cobra: 13.5 secs
1964 Ferrari 250 GTO: 13.5 secs
The M35h scoots from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds and tops out at 155 mph. On the consumption side, the M35h snagged an official EPA rating of 27/32 mpg city/highway, with a combined rating of 29 mpg. Currently, the M35h is North America's only 350-plus horsepower, 30-plus mpg highway vehicle.
Take that, Caddy.
Regards,
OW
They just don't compete in that segment.
CTS-V has set a few standards, so the claim is not all hype, not by a long shot.
The claim as Standard of the World? ALL HYPE. Too many better cars than the lone CTS-V.
Regards,
OW
"An article by author Jonathan Zdziarski reveals that OnStar has recently updated their terms and conditions to allow the company to sell customer GPS coordinates, vehicle speed, and other information to third party marketers and analytics companies, where it could be used for a number of nefarious purposes. He says, 'To add insult to a slap in the face, the company insists they will continue collecting and selling this personal information even after you cancel your service, unless you specifically shut down the data connection to the vehicle after canceling. ... It sounds as though OnStar is poising part of their analytics department to be purchased by a large data warehousing company, such as a Google, or perhaps even an Apple. Do you trust such companies with unfettered access to the entire GPS history of your vehicle?"