It's been a while since we've heard about FoMoCo's development of large rear-wheel-drive vehicles for Ford and Lincoln – no surprise considering the current climate. With fuel prices continuing their upward trajectory and CAFE standards looming on the horizon, Ford is apparently reevaluating the efficacy of offering RWD vehicles in a market starving for fuel efficient whips.
In addition to this morning's story that Ford is considering offering an EcoBoost four-cylinder on its F-150 pickup, Automotive News is reporting that Ford's use of turbocharged, direct-injected engines could expand to beyond 500,000 vehicles annually by 2012.
On the small side of the product front, Ford will likely equip the base Fiesta with a naturally aspirated 1.4-liter four-cylinder that would deliver around 40 mpg when it arrives in the U.S. in 2010. Ford is also considering a 1.0-liter, EcoBoost engine in the Fiesta, which could migrate into the Focus after 2012.
V8 engines will remain the sole source of power in Ford's large truck and SUV lineup until the end of the decade, when the EcoBoost V6 arrives and begins to expand throughout the Ford lineup. The boosted six is expected to produce between 290 and 390 hp, depending on the application, and could spell the end of bent-eights in many of Ford's range-topping products. When the redesigned Mustang arrives in 2010, Ford intends to continue its use of the 4.0-liter V6 and 4.6-liter V8, but both engines will give way to the 3.5-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 soon thereafter. Don't ask us why they're not rolled out at launch.
New diesels are also in the cards, including a 6.7-liter V8 (codenamed "Scorpion") currently being developed for Ford's Super Duty trucks and full-sized vans. A 4.4-liter, V8 turbo-diesel is also in the works and will find a home under the hood of the F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator – assuming the two 'utes survive into the next decade.
After having being introduced way back in 1998, Alfa Romeo finally stopped production of the 166 last year. Now without a flagship sedan to hold up the top of the range, Alfa is working on the development of its successor. However, the 169 (as the model is expected to be called) has been pushed back at least another three years while the automaker tries to sort out which platform it will be based on.
With an eye towards the American market, Alfa is said to be committed to making the new 169 a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, but the only rear-drive platform the Milanese automaker has in its range belongs to the 8C Competizione, which CEO Luca de Meo recently rejected as a possible donor for the 169. (Rats.) The platform that underpins sister-company Maserati's Quattroporte and GranTurismo was likewise dismissed as too costly, as Alfa Romeo looks to other automakers – chief among them Jaguar, now owned by the Fiat Group's Indian ally Tata – for a suitable rear-drive platform for Alfa's new flagship sedan.
In related news from the other end of the range, the upcoming 149, which – along with the new MiTo – will replace the aging 147, is reportedly getting a brand new platform of its own. The reports contradict earlier suggestions that the five-door hatch would be based on the Fiat Bravo platform when the new 149 is introduced in 2009.
AutoExpress may have provided us with a rendering of what the new RWD Subaru coupe might look like, but Winding Road's hired spies have provided the real deal. Shot outside a test center in the UK (amidst white-out conditions), the camo-clad mule is sporting some body panels pilfered from the current Legacy, but with a Toyota emblem in front, a pair of Recaro buckets inside and a shrunken trunk, there's little doubt that this prototype is more than just your standard sedan.
There's still no confirmation about what kind of output the 2.0-liter flat-four will be producing, as estimates have ranged from 180- to 220-hp, but grunt is expected to be shoveled to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and pricing should start a few pennies shy of $20,000.
It has been rumored for the last few months that Chevrolet would be soldiering on with a front-wheel-drive Impala for at least the next few years. The recent contract agreement between the Canadian Auto Workers union and General Motors appears to cement this rumor as fact. According to the signed pact, GM promised to keep the Oshawa Assembly plant, where the current-generation Impala is made, open until 2012 -- two years longer than first planned. The Impala is a pretty good seller for the General, so we're not too surprised that upper-level management would want to leave it alone, but that doesn't stop us from wanting to see Chevy's bread-and-butter full-size sedan return to its roots by going rear-wheel-drive.
One thing is for certain: by the year 2012, the W-Body platform of the current Impala will be absolutely ancient. On the other hand, we've had nothing but good things to say about the new Zeta platform which underpins such enthusiast-friendly vehicles as the new Pontiac G8. Therefore, we can at least hold out some hope that GM will find a way to offer as many vehicles as possible using the new chassis architecture, whether they are named Impala or not. Anybody want to see a new Nova?
We've enjoyed our fair share of front-wheel-drive hijinks in empty parking lots with our right hand firmly grasping the e-brake, but in the end, tail-out antics are always more enjoyable behind the wheel of something with the proper wheels driven. "Proper," however, isn't the way we'd describe how Scion decided to go about campaigning a tC in this year's Formula Drift series.
With backing from Toyota, the aftermarket firm RS*R converted a run-of-the-mill tC into a rear-wheel-drive monster utilizing a BEAMS-built 3S-GE engine and taking advantage of the Toyota Avensis/Caldina all-wheel-drive chassis on which the tC is built. RS*R ripped out the abysmal 2AZ-FE 2.4-liter four-pot from the stock car, fabbed up a series of new mounts to facilitate the transverse to longitudinal conversion and dropped in the 3S-GE after fitting the four-cylinder with an HKS GT3037 turbo, intercooler, Blitz dual SBC boost controller and an AEM EMS engine management system. Approximately 400 hp is now routed to the rear wheels through a Tilton triple carbon clutch and a G-Force, five-speed sequential gearbox. RS-R coilovers keep things suspended on all four corners, and are hidden by the custom wide-body kit and Enkei RPF1 wheels wrapped in Toyo Proxes R1R rubber.
The RS*R tC will be piloted by Ken Gushi, the youngest driver ever to compete in the D1 series, beginning at the season opener on the Streets of Long Beach on April 12th. Hit the jump to read the full press release and check out Formula D's website to see when the competition will be heating up in your area.
While Volvo's C30 has wily charms in its stock configuration, we could see how it'd be even more entertaining with the power being sent to the proper wheels. While we're talking revisions, a honkingly large turbocharger and external-reservoir dampers would be welcome additions, too. The race-ready ride height is dead sexy, and while it's a crazy thing to do to a perfectly good brand new Volvo, Sweden's Skruffse has carried out some beautiful fabrication work. The use is obviously racing of some sort, and with wide tires at all four corners we're surmising that it's something that involves turning, versus drag racing. Seeing this car's tow rig - a first-generation V70, it all comes together -- those willing to strip the C30 down like a stolen Pinto and rejigger the chassis are true Volvo nuts. We're pretty sure the warranty has been voided, though.
That didn't take long. After Monday's article in the Detroit News reporting that Ford's U.S. operations were going to be developing its own RWD platform here in the States, the FoMoCo crew from Down Under refutes that story saying, "It's too early to speculate on that." With the dollar not holding up like it used to, the idea that Stateside Ford engineers would develop their own left-hand drive, RWD architecture seems sound, especially considering that the Falcon's underpinnings can't support switching the controls from starboard to port. If Ford's U.S. team can manage to provide both, then there's going to be a serious glut of manufacturing and engineering jobs in Australia if and when it happens.
Ford has apparently finally heard the call and green-lighted development of a new global rear wheel drive platform and a family of vehicles to be built on it. However, unlike General Motors, Ford will not rely on its Australian division to do the heavy lifting. Since the collapse of the U.S. dollar has made the United States a low cost country, the development of the new platform has been moved back to Dearborn. The most recent attempt at a rear-drive architecture that debuted on the latest Australian Ford Falcon was something of a debacle for the company. Unlike Holden, which designed its RWD Zeta platform to be built in right- and left-hand-drive versions, the new Falcon platform is right-hand drive only. This new Ford architecture to be developed near Detroit, however, will spawn models for both the Ford and Lincoln brands, including an all-new Mustang. With Ford making a major push to reduce weight in future models, hopefully these new cars will come in a lot lighter than the GM equivalents, as well.
Though auto pundits and car enthusiasts alike have been calling on Acura to drop its ban on rear-wheel-drive and V8 engines, no one ever really expects the automaker to go through with it. It's the brand's identity, its thing, its shtick. Though an Acura may be down on torque and driven by the wrong set of wheels compared to its German competition, most buyers at least marvel at how much the engineers have done in terms of performance and handling when saddled with a V6 and front-wheel-drive or part-time all-wheel-drive.
We're hearing more rumors that Acura's long holdout may be coming to an end. In addition to the last report from Best Car, now Inside Line is also claiming that the next Acura RL flagship model will be powered by a V8 and be rear-wheel-drive, or at least have a revised SH-AWD system that engages the front wheels when the rears are slipping. IL's source claims that a 4.8L V8 producing 420 horsepower is being developed and will feature cylinder deactivation technology to keep fuel economy up.
Acura showed us its Advanced Sedan Concept at the 2007 LA Auto Show, which some thought foreshadowed the next-gen RL. Inside Line claims that after the concept's lukewarm reception, Acura stylists went back to the drawing board for a new design. Whether or not the new sheetmetal will be accompanied by a big break in tradition for Acura remains to be seen. We're still a bit skeptical, but anything's possible in this competitive climate.
We're getting a bit tired of trying to keep up with what models GM plans to underpin with a rear-wheel-drive platform. Aside from the upcoming Camaro and the Pontiac G8, no other vehicles have received the divine anointment from the General's higher-ups due to impending CAFE regulations that will supposedly quell any developments on the RWD front.
However, The Car Connection has pretty much confirmed what we've already known: GM's plans for RWD vehicles will include both a rear-driven Buick and Cadillac. The new models will share the same Aussie-derived Zeta platform from the aforementioned Camaro and G8, with the rear-driven Caddy expected to replace the aging STS and DTS, and a Buick model taking over where the front-drive Lucerne left off.
Until we actually see one of these new models in the flesh (production or concept) we're not planning to hold our breath, but the idea of a RWD Buick seems at least plausible, particularly considering the impending demise of Ford's Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car line.
