

Volkswagen is working hard to make the up! a reality, but the technological challenges of a rear engine, RWD car are proving to be more daunting than expected. The VW engineering team is reportedly having trouble conjuring up a low cost rear-engine layout. The problem has been trying to accommodate a radiator in the up!'s nose and transferring coolant through the car. Early up! prototypes are also having a difficult time with cross-wind stability due to the unbalanced heft of its rear drive/rear engine layout. To correct these issues, some styling changes may be necessary, but if the basic shape of the up! is compromised, the German automaker may have to look at front wheel drive as an option. In spite of any problems engineers are having, VW executives are confident any difficulties will be overcome.
We're hoping that means we can still expect the inexpensive hatch to be pushed via the rear wheels just like the original Bug. Then again, the Mini has proved that small cars can be fun and driven by the front wheels, and as long as the up! is cheap, efficient, and adorable, there will be plenty of buyers.

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.

The current Buick Lucerne shares its underpinnings with both the Cadillac DTS and the Chevrolet Impala, but all three vehicles are set to go their separate ways when they're refreshed in a couple years. Last month we told you that the Impala was staying FWD, and now Motor Trend is reporting that the Lucerne could still receive RWD, but it won't be as big as the DTS/STS replacement. GM is looking into the feasibility of producing a smaller Lucerne that will ride on a wheelbase several inches shorter than the 118.5-inch spread slated for the future Caddy.
The move to shrink the Lucerne will have a lot to do with stricter CAFE standards in the years ahead. MT wisely points out the fact that the Pontiac G8, which already sits on a smaller Zeta platform, shows that RWD isn't always a fuel drain. The current Lucerne is pulled with the front wheels, and gets 16/25 with the ancient 3.8-liter V6 and 15/22 with the 4.6-liter Northstar, while the smaller G8 achieves 17/25 with the 3.6-liter unit and 15/25 from the tried and true 6.0-liter pushrod. Besides the smaller Zeta's fuel economy advantages, downsizing the Buick helps keep the Caddy exclusive over the more pedestrian Lucerne.

Hyundai has big plans for its luxury Genesis sedan, and the Korean automaker is willing to pony up $80m to get the word out. Rich appointments, rear-wheel-drive, a choice of powerful engines, and a starting price of $30k is a good story to sell customers on, and the Genesis sedan is being looked at as the halo car in Hyundai's lineup. That helps justify spending the most launch money on any Hyundai ever, even though only 30,000 Genesis sedans are scheduled to be sold per year. Genesis marketing begins with a 15-city tour involving about 100 sedans, and will include television ads plus the Internet and plenty of viral events.
We're very anxious to see if Hyundai can deliver a legitimate Lexus GS competitor for over $10,000 less, and if the Genesis is as good as advertised, the $80m will be money well spent. Hit the jump to see the Hyundai Genesis sedan Super Bowl commercials.

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.



