BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, is a Chinese company with huge ambition to become the world's largest automaker. If there's any chance of making that monumental task a reality, the company will need some amazing products, a stage to present them to the world and a little luck. At least one of those requirements has been met, as BYD is set to capitalize on Nissan's absence at the Detroit Auto Show in January by placing its products right on the main floor with all the rest of the major automakers. BYD's working on the product problem too, having just released its first plug-in hybrid, called the F3DM, in its home market ealier this month. If that weren't enough, the automaker reportedly plans to release two more all-electric models in 2009, with the goal of bring its products to the crucial American and European markets in 2011. All of these impressive developments have been made possible with the help of a $230 million investment from Warren Buffet. Much like the upcoming Chevy Volt, the BYD F3DM and F6DM sedans and the E6 van rely on an electric motor and an on-board battery pack to provide motive force for the first 60 miles, after which a normal gasoline-powered engine kicks in to keep the party going. Needless to say, we'll keep an eye out for the budding Chinese automaker next month in Detroit.
"You guys are obsessed with rear wheel drive," Alan Mulally mused to the Australian press after a browbeating about which pair of wheels might propel the Falcon into the future. Try as they might, the Ford Chief would not be pinned down about the chassis architecture of future Falcons, saying only that the choice would be customer driven, and plugging front and all-wheel drive vehicles as "pretty spectacular." Mulally is right that Ford's global push to put exceptional small cars in showrooms is what the automaker's focus is and should be. The Falcon has long fallen off its sales peak from the halcyon days of two decades ago, and while Mulally agrees that it's "an absolutely dynamite vehicle," small cars in the future will prop up the more niche-y vehicles like the FG Falcon. Mulally went on to say that Australia will serve as an engineering and product development outpost for Ford, and the big-vehicle prowess in Oz will be useful regardless of layout. As Ford pulls its global platforms together, the Ranger and Focus will come at us from Australia, too. While we all wish we could fill our driveways with an FPV GT sporting Paul Stanley eye makeup and Boss V8 motivation, we're not holding our breath. Ford doesn't appear to be following GMs lead bringing its Australian cars stateside, and the V8s days may be numbered. Mulally acknowledged that fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions are going to be tremendously important going forward, which will likely spur a shift to smaller four- and six-cylinder powerplants with forced induction serving as the performance option. An FG FPV with an Ecoboost four underhood? Heck, we'd still take it - it's bound to be better than the mush-tastic fleet-only Crown Victoria.
BMW Motorrad has had a 650cc off-road-ready adventure bike in its line since 2000, but the new one for model year '09 is vastly different than its predecessor. The bike is completely new and highlighted by a new parallel-twin engine that now displaces almost 800cc -- the same as the more powerful but more expensive F 800 GS. The two models differ in their specific engine tuning with the 650 producing 71-horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 55 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm and the F 800 GS offering up 85 bhp at 7,500 rpm and 62 lb-ft at 5,750 rpm. Unlike most BMW motorcycles that use a shaft drive, the F-Series GS uses a more rational chain for its off-road durability and interchangeability. A steel trellis frame mates with a double-sided swingarm to offer a stiff chassis and the fuel is mounted below the seat for a low center of gravity. Pricing begins at $8,255, though adding the Standard Package quickly raises the asking price to $9,760. You'll want that package as it includes heated hand grips, anti-lock brakes, an on-board computer, and (who cares?) white turn signals.
Ford Performance Vehicles' new range of Ford FG Falcon-derived super sedans and utes is mind-bendingly appealing. Big turbocharged or NA power, bright colors, and that menacing Alice Cooper eye makeup in front make for an entire farmer's market of forbidden fruit. Sure, on this side of the world, Ford's SVT performance division gives us the Shelby GT500 and the even more monstrous Shelby GT500KR -- but seriously, as hot as the factory super-Stangs are, the lineup of FPV rides you see above is hot enough to turn that desert sand into glass. Only, they can't -- because everything you see there is virtual. Both the backdrop and the cars are CGI. The photo-realistic vehicle models were created using the real cars' CAD data for a brand new FPV TV spot that premieres in Australia this Sunday. If you don't live in Oz, no worries -- FPV sent us a copy of the spot, which is now embedded after the jump for your enjoyment. And you will enjoy it. Right now, there's a void in our lives shaped like an all-black FPV F6, and this commercial's as close as we're going to come to filling it.
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Germany's Spiegel Online is reporting that currency concerns will force Volkswagen to not sell the upcoming Mk VI Golf in the United States, Brazil, and Australia. It all boils down to profitability, and it appears that the forthcoming Golf simply cannot be sold in our market (or Brazil or Australia) in the current economic climate without falling short of VW's targets. Thus, Spiegel reports that VW boss Martin Winterkorn told a meeting of the board that the next Golf won't make an appearance here in the States, period. The original article (in German) is here, and any German-speaking readers are welcome to add clarity to the report in the comments below.
In the US, the Golf (Rabbit) family is VW's second-highest seller behind the Jetta. If this drastic measure does indeed come to pass, we're left wondering what, if anything, would fill that void. Would the current Mk V soldier on, much in the same way VW continues to offer the Mk IV in markets like Canada under the City moniker? This is going to be an interesting story to follow, regardless of what ultimately transpires.
FPV's seemingly endless rollout of its new FG Falcon-based lineup has finally culminated in the actual launch of the cars (how novel), which we've already touched upon. To that end, we'll keep this brief and turn you loose on the multiple new photo galleries now available (check out the rest after the jump). The FPV range encompasses both Falcon sedan and Ute bodystyles, and power comes from either the turbocharged F6 inline-six or the 5.4L Boss 315 V8. The six delivers 415 horsepower and a tire-humbling 416 lb-ft of torque. The eight's no slouch either, pumping out 422 horses (315 kW, hence the engine's name) and 406 lb-ft. A Tremec TR6060 6-speed stick is available across the full range of cars.
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When the fit hits the shan, we've got two phone calls to make: our Cayman Islands-based banker and Geiger cars. For 99,000 euro we can protect our loved ones while punching through some of the most wicked terrain this side of Dakar in the robust luxury of the German tuner's interpretation of the Ford F-650. Weighing in at 5.2-tons and stretching over 21-feet long, the Geigerfied uber-truck finds motivation from a tweaked 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel putting out 320 hp and 738 lb.-ft. of torque. Grunt is shoveled to a six-speed Allison 3000 automatic gearbox and on down to a biggie-sized driveshaft that powers the four, 22-inch rear wheels. Both the suspension and brakes are air-powered, and if we're willing to shell out a bit more cash, we can get chrome fuel tanks, leather, navigation and, surprisingly, gull-wing doors. We think this would compliment our imaginary post-apocalyptic stable that also includes our all-time favorite RV, the Wothahellizat.
Ford is getting ready for a battle in Australia for the hearts and minds of performance enthusiasts. Its new FPV Falcons will go head to head with what HSV offers from Holden, and today the Blue Oval from Down Under released officials specs for its souped up, gnarly-looking rear-wheel-drive sedans. First we have the F6, which is powered by the familiar turbocharged 4.0L straight-six engine now producing 416 horsepower and 417 pound-feet of torque at just 1,950 rpm. That's a 54-horsepower increase over the prior straight six, and matches up surprisingly well with Ford's other engine offering, the 5.4L Boss V8 producing 422 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque at a loftier 4,750 rpm. The Boss motor can be had in the GT E, GT-P and GT sedans, as well as the Super Pursuit and Pursuit Ute. The exceptional straight-six meanwhile, is only offered in the F6 sedan and ute.
Let's compare what Ford revealed today with the offerings from Holden's HSV. Currently the Clubsport R8 is HSV's most high-performance sedan, and it's powered by an LS3 6.2L V8 producing 425 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. Ford has pretty much matched HSV in the motor department then, and the new Falcon looks like it might weigh less to boot. But HSV dropped a bomb at the Melbourne Motor Show named the HSV W427, which is a version of the Clubsport R8 powered by GM's LS7 V8 producing 496 horses and 472 pound feet of torque. Hopefully Ford Australia has an answer for that up its sleeves, too.
Despite how it might seem, all the action at the Melbourne motor show is not happening over at the Holden and HSV stands. Dearborn's Australian outpost put on its brass knuckles too and is teasing Melbourne showgoers with Ford Performance Vehcie's latest, greatest muscle. The arrival of the new FG Falcon means that a full lineup of FPV variants follows, and the new F6, GT and Super Pursuit ute are all on display. Like HSV, which hasn't announced power numbers for its W427, FPV is keeping the stats for its new machinery under wraps for now.
We're confident that the numbers will match the cars' gloriously extroverted looks. Colors out of a gumball machine, matte black accents, and stripe packages give the cars a vintage musclecar vibe. Big wheels, big brakes and all the requisite badges and bulges complete the look. The F6 (above) is particularly evil, with its black wheels, "eye black," and visible intercooler. The interiors of all the cars appear to be very well-detailed, with snazzy instrumentation, sharp looking accessories (look at the shift knob), and very inviting seats.
As with the higher-end standard FG Falcons, power comes from either a turbo inline-six or a beefy Boss V8. FPV takes those already-impressive engines and makes them even more imposing. We know we have the Mustang and its impressive Shelby-badged factory specials, but man, what we wouldn't give for some of this Aussie muscle. We'll be eagerly awaiting the official June launches.
We've seen some outrageous F-650-based vehicles like this before (the DeBerti for one), but for some reason, the Alton F-650 XUV jumped out at us at the Chicago Auto Show. Perhaps we were already focused on Ford's Work Solutions trucks in the vicinity, but this insane beast just put our DSLRs on autopilot. The F-650-based XUV was built by Alton Manufacturing and carries a GVWR of 25,999 lbs. That makes the 660 ft-lbs of torque generated by its 7.2L Caterpillar engine seem paltry. Besides the big-rig-meets-Excursion bodywork, your nearly $200,000 expenditure for this XUV will get you hardwood floors, custom captains chairs, a 42-speaker sound system, two drop-down 16-inch TVs plus a 42-inch plasma, four computer workstations, plus a train horn. Oh, you'll also get bragging rights for the biggest, baddest truck in 99% of the world's neighborhoods.
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