Category Archives: 2011 ford focus

Report: Chevy Volt may be worth only $17,000 after 36 months

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Filed under: Car Buying , Sedan , Chevrolet , Electric 2011 Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery The 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have a resale value of a tick over $17,000 after 36 months, the length of an average lease, according to Kelley Blue Book. That’s only 42 percent of the plug-in hybrid’s $41,000 MSRP . KBB’s projection assumes that the going rate for a gallon of gas will hold steady at $4/gallon 36 months from now. Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting at Kelley, told Automotive News that the Volt’s projected residual value may seem to be on the low side

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Report: Chevy Volt may be worth only $17,000 after 36 months

Ford shows off 67-mpg Focus Econetic ahead of Amsterdam debut

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Filed under: Europe , Hatchback , Ford , Diesel Ford Focus Econetic – Click above for high-res image gallery We may have the 40-mile-per-gallon SFE trim on the 2012 Ford Focus here in the States, but European eco-warriors will soon be able to sink their teeth into the new Focus Econetic, designed purely with efficiency in mind. Ford claims that the Focus Econetic can achieve up to 80 mpg on the European testing cycle, or about 67 mpg here in the U.S. Ford’s road to super-efficiency starts with the automaker’s 103-horsepower, 1.6-liter Duratorq diesel engine. That, combined with start-stop, smart regenerative charging, Eco mode and a revised final drive ratio allow this engine to perform as efficiently as possible at all times

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Ford shows off 67-mpg Focus Econetic ahead of Amsterdam debut

Which automaker is the most productive?

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Ford , GM , Volkswagen Volkswagen piled on some big-time profits for the 2010 model year, as the German automaker finished the year in the black with a staggering $10 billion. VW sales were up, too, with 7.1 million units moved for the year. And compared to VW’s long-term production plans, 7.1 million is a relative drop in the bucket – the German automaker plans to build 10 million vehicles per year by 2018, making the massive conglomerate the largest automaker in the world by volume.

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Which automaker is the most productive?

Ford Focus RS500 hacks out onto the Internet ahead of schedule

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Filed under: Performance , Europe , Hatchback , Ford , UK 2011 Ford Focus RS500 – click above for high-res image gallery We’ve been waiting patiently for the digital reveal of the stonking new Ford Focus RS500, but apparently others aren’t quite so cooth. According to one of our inside sources at the Blue Oval, the RS500′s site was breached and the pictures have begun leaking out onto desktops in Europe. In response, Ford of Europe has announced that “Due to overwhelming interest shown for the new Ford Focus RS500, Ford has decided to release more information today.” Uh-huh. Admittedly, while we can’t condone the hacker’s methodology, judging by these photographs we can understand their hurry, because Ford’s latest limited-edition hot hatch looks to be a real corker.

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Ford Focus RS500 hacks out onto the Internet ahead of schedule

Video: Memory Jog – Revisiting the Mercury Tracer

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Filed under: Classics , Marketing/Advertising , Videos , Mercury Classic Mercury Tracer – Click above to watch the video after the break “It’s peppy,” the salesman said as an enticement to buy… It’s not that the Mazda 323/ Ford Laser-based first-generation Tracer was a bad car, but the Escort apparently called stronger for our own hard-earned dollar, so we drove home in a brand new 1989 wagon. Ford apparently figured this out with the second-generation Tracer, which was joined with the Escort as part of a comprehensive redesign in the early 1990s. Must have been a step in the right direction – that car managed to make it onto Car & Driver’s 10Best list

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Video: Memory Jog – Revisiting the Mercury Tracer

Report: Global ‘high-performance’ Ford Focus variant to spawn U.S. SVT version?

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Filed under: Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Hatchback , Ford , Rumormill Next-gen Ford Focus – Click above for high-res image gallery It may not be an earth-shattering revelation or anything – Ford ‘s own Jost Capito said about as much a couple weeks back – but Ford has reportedly confirmed at the Geneva Motor Show that it is merging its European and American high-performance divisions into one unit. First up on The Blue Oval’s hi-po radar will be a hotted-up version of the new next-gen Focus . Will the car carry an ST, RS or SVT badge?

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Report: Global ‘high-performance’ Ford Focus variant to spawn U.S. SVT version?