First up: apparently the good ol' boys and girls at Ford have turned out 16 City and 22 Highway out of the turbo-charge 3.5 liter V6 in the new F-150. This bests the competition's (and Ford's own 5-oh!) V8 engines in power, towing and MPG, and is now the most powerful engine available, with the exception of the large displacement V8s. Those are still the powerhouses of the model ranges. This raises several interesting questions: with the proliferation of forced induction engines (specifically V6s) turning out better fuel economy and power than their V8 brethren, has the truck no longer become the last bastion of safety for the V8? Will a turbo charged four eventually make its way into the F-150 or other full size truck offering superior fuel economy and thus ending the light truck segment?
Second on the block today: also from Ford, the new, soon to be released Focus Electric. Ford is touting it's first EV as a true all electric vehicle, which is in line with the Nissan Leaf (similar battery range), but doesn't get rid of the range anxiety that the Volts dispels with it's gas engine. To be fair, the Volt is a clever hybrid while the Focus and Leaf are 100% EV. Will this be the car to push GM into going full EV? When will an automaker truly step up and make an EV not based on a preexisting model (Volt-Cruze, Focus-Focus, Leaf-Versa)? Regardless, it is another step forward in the electrification of the road...or at least the three or four people who will buy the car (don't I sound optimistic?).
And finally to wrap things up: TTAC's review of the Land Rover LR4. A good review by Mr. Michael Karesh, a man who I have only growing respect for since his recent trip in a totalled RX-8. The review covers the usual and doesn't really spike any new items, until the end when he smacks the lux-SUV crowd in the face by saying the car is not necessary for the grocery-getter set. He does say that the performance would be spectacular off-road, but who really does that anyway in a $50K+ SUV?
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