Mustang Cobra Jet and Challenger Drag Pak on Camaro
In a few latest years, Ford and Dodge were producing some limited edition which is only created for drag race. Those models were built to compete in some NHRA classes. Both the automakers will still do that for this year. Ford has revised their Mustang Cobra Jet, while Dodge is announcing their Challenger Drag Pak with V10 engine at SEMA, last November.
Now, it seems that Chevrolet will also join the party, as General Motors was hinted that they will do that. The competition at Ford Racing seems to also know otherwise. The manager of Ford Racing’s drag racing competition, Jesse Kershaw, hinted that a new Camaro was built for drag racing when he was interviewed about the Cobra Jet.
“We see where the competition like Dodge was purchased a Challenger to compete, and now they were upgrading their car with a V10 engine. We know that General Motors is also on track to release their Camaro version. This is a new era of horsepower wars,” said Jesse. Ford and Dodge will announce their drag racers at SEMA, so you’d better pay a close attention for the news from GM.
Mustang Cobra Jet and Challenger Drag Pak on Camaro is a post from: Automotive News and Review
Ford Will Idle Their First Plant Due To Japan Disaster
Until this point, there is still now words from Ford about their supply situation after the earthquake disaster in Japan. But now, the automaker has to spill their beans. The Detroit News said that Ford will shuttered their Louisville, Kentucky plant next week due to the parts shortage. That facility is responsible for producing the Ford Expedition, Ford Super Duty trucks, and Lincoln Navigator.
George Pipas, the Ford Sales Analyst did not revealed on which part that Ford is lack of. But he did stated that the high gas prices is also the part of why these vehicles have low sales. Beside the Lousville plant, Ford will also shut down their Flat Rock, Michigan plant, which is responsible of creating the Ford Mustang. It is because Ford already has 116 day supply for the car.
For the European land, Ford will idle the Belgium plant, Genk, which is producing the Mondeo, S Max, and Galaxy minivan. They do this in order to prevent any future shortages. Ford said that the disaster in Japan may also affect the future production. Now, Ford is actively looking for any other possibilities for parts sources from wherever possible.
Ford Will Idle Their First Plant Due To Japan Disaster is a post from: Automotive News and Review
Airplane Engine on 1981 Rover SD-1
?Charlie Broomfield is out of challenging project. He got bored on working the run of the mill project cars. Because, it seems that he always finish them in a very short time and never pretty satisfied with the results that he gets. That is why Charlie needed any challenge for both his fabrication and engineering skills.
Now, the challenge is coming from the donated 1981 Rover SD-1. The SD-1 car is really need some serious improvements in order to bring this luxury sport sedan to its glory when it left the British land, way back on Thatcher era. Charlie don’t want to restore the car totally, so Charlie has purchased a 27 liter Rolls-Royce Meteor engine from a fighter plane. That engine costs Charlie for only £1,000.
The details of the engine is ‘simple’. 600 horsepower in it with 1,500 pound feet of torque wedged the frame rails, this SD-1 will now able to reach 160 mph without ever exceeding 2,000 rpm. Now, almost nothing left from the original Rover parts, except the body panels. Charlie is targeting this car to be able to reach 200 mph before he said that his work has finished.
Airplane Engine on 1981 Rover SD-1 is a post from: Automotive News and Review
Ford Ahead of GM on March Sales
General Motors has recently announced their seventh consecutive sales report for March with a total of 206,621 unit sales. Of course it is a good result for the General Motors. However, Ford is coming with a better result for the second time since 1998. Ford was beating GM in February 2010, and now, their sales report on March is reaching 212,295 units, thanks to the 21 percent jump in their truck.
Actually, the difference is no more than 5,674 units for Ford. But the real battle is between Ford and Chevrolet. For comparison, Chevrolet only managed to sell 148,197 units last March, compared to 203,794 units for Team Ford. That is 28 percent results jump for Ford, which was admittedly amped up the sales last month, but the retail sales were also increase for 14 percent.
Currently, Ford has plenty of brand new hot products which were moving from the dealers. The details are 53,272 units of F-Series trucks, 9,787 units of Fiestas, and the record March sales from the Escape and Fusion. The thing that caused GM to be behind Ford was the $ 700 cutback in incentive spending for each vehicle. Although they are losing from Ford last month, GM is still ahead for yearly sales now with 97,000 units difference.
Ford Ahead of GM on March Sales is a post from: Automotive News and Review
More Details on BMW i3
Some times ago, there is a spy video which is shown the smallest BMW offering from their i family, the BMW i3. The car is said to be coming to the market in around 2013 with the engine mated to the rear wheel drive. An Electric motor will also powering those wheels and will be mounted on shipping.
The body of this car is an all new platform which is created from a carbon fiber. That body is created to house the engine in the middle of the car while the battery pack is located below the trunk. BMW’s spokesperson claims that the drivetrain can even be completely separated from the body. They do this in order to make the service and replacement easier.
The first version of the total electric car will be mated to the ActiveE 1-Series. That is the second EV from BMW after their Mini E which will debuts for the North America at the New York Auto Show this month. The difference between the i3 system and the other unit with ActiveE is at the battery pack. For the i3, The battery will be placed together, while the battery packs for the 1Series will be spanning the space between the passenger’s cabin and the trunk.
More Details on BMW i3 is a post from: Automotive News and Review