jpd80

Both Holden and FoA are on a quest for better fuel economy, some exciting developments are possible. The update Commodore is due in September and will be getting GM's DI V6s in 3o and 3.6 liters and is expected to drop about 100 lbs in weight with even more reduction due in the 2012 update. Ford is keeping tight lipped but rumors of an Ecoboost I-4 Falcon keep persisting.......

Spock, prepare the Vulcan mind meld. "My mind to your mind, our thoughts are as one...."

Especially when GM cancelled the RWD Impala at the eleventh hour, their decision to keep it FWD and move it to the Epsilon II platform with Malibu is totally consistent with Ford's view of the market. The rumor is that Holden have submitted a proposal to supply long and short wheelbase Zetas to Cadillac, I don't think this will fly for several reasons but it could be a sign of GM consolidating Sigma and Zeta RWD car manufacturing offshore in Australia - maybe something Ford should consider......

Chrysler has to survive bankruptcy and Fiat's desire to get rid of the Chrysler brand. I see Fiat hollowing out Chrysler/Dodge and filling it with Alpha Romeo and Fiat products, that does not necessarily mean Chrysler buyers will want to stick with them. GM will exit bankruptcy minus the discarded brands and dealerships, they still are stuck with their existing product lines and over reliance on trucks/SUVs to bring in the lion's share of profit. The discarded brands accounted for roughly 15% of sales in the old GM so while their removal sounds spectacular it's not really not so deep in terms of sales or revenue. GM is only beginning it's restructure where as Ford has three years head start - that a lot ot give a competitor. As others have said there, forget any idea that GM and Chrysler exit Chapter 11 debt free, they will pay a hell of a price to rid themselves of government control.

Rather than calling for boycotts, the media should be calling on the people to support Ford. Support the company that has done the hard work and turned their own fortunes around. A company that didn't lay in its own filth and expect to be bailed out.

That's where the hot exhaust pipe runs.

I like the idea of a mid range V6 Bobcat as a diesel replacement -350 hp and 550 lbft sounds great. An engine like that would be in direct competition with the 4.4 V8 turbo diesel.

A bit different to Fivehundred & Freestyle or Taurus & Taurus X.... Under the skin, it the same formula, just a better mix.....

No it's not the same. As of 2004, the engine is based on the Mazda MZR Duratec and has a timing chain. I remember when the change happened in the Focus in Australia, the "Zetec" model actually had the new Duratec 1.6 with the exhaust to the firewall, early Zetecs had the exhaust to the radiator.

Anyways, I think 22 mpg city mileage is darned good for a spacious little van like Transit Connect. That city figure is only about 2mpg less than what the Focus achieves (24 mpg)

Hello, I asks direct questions and put my guest on the spot, why don't they answer? If I'm not careful, Mulally will look smarter than me.... brain, think of something smart to say.....Doh!

Pretty sure the whole thing has been nixed by Fritz Henderson, The government owns their restructuring plans now. Anyways, Holden would be killed by the present currency exchange rate.

You get days like that. Nobody gives a toss about diesels, they don't comply with the emission regs.

And my qualifying statement for using a small Ecobboost: I wonder if this rumored I-4 EB is actually a Bobcat, that would be a far more practical application..... That would give a small engine with V8 like power at its disposal. Apart from that, a normal I-4 EB is not going to be a very inspiring in an F Truck......

Ethanol is a step down the road in removing carbon from fuel. With a total fleet of about 280 million vehicles in the USA, if all diesel and gasoline vehicles were to run on as little as 5% Ethanol mix, that would be the equivalent of 16.5 million vehicles continuously running on E85. What would be the harm in doing that to base load Ethanol production levels before rolling out even more E85 gas pumps? Ultimately, it may be far more advantageous to convert 87 regular to E22 and reap real reductions in CO2 without waiting for the trickle down effect of new vehicles that may or may not be running on E85, by doing E22 fuel you assure compliance.

What concerns me is that all of these regulations are headding down the path of CO2 regulations, flowing from that is Europe's ready made carbon trading - if this isn't a haven for scammers then I don't know what is. Ther is so much double counting going on in businesses with Carbon footprinting that Europe looks much beter than it is. I'm all for continued efficiency and only using the minimum anount of crude oil but, God help us all when the sane and practical is thrown out the window for super goals driven by our "Ideological Superiors".

Well that is a very sad state of affairs when, one plant's workers consider their "worth" as more than other plants. Surely, that the opinions of a vocal few and not representative of the collective opinion.

Or maybe more demand as people switch from large capacity diesels? In this instance E85 is being used as a power adder with the biproduct of less emissions and CO2 than a similar sized diesel. Maybe it the way the solution is viewed.............

It sounds like user pays replacement for diesel. If you need to haul heavy loads then be prepared to fill the little E85 tank regularly. If you normally drive your truck light then fuel economy will be excellent.

Unbelievable, the motor companies now have union competing against union.

No welfare = increased desperation, street violence and robberies.

You're living in a country with high fuel taxes and keep looking at the USA in the wrong perspective, fuel prices are much lower in the USA and at a certain level of fuel economy don't even enter the equation. A transit Connect that still scores US22mpg in city running is comparable with the US Focus. Sure the highway fuel economy should be better but I think Ford recognizes that and feels it's not a deal breaker for Transit connect's American buyers. Most Americans are happy if their vehicles can get 30 to 40 US mpg on the highway, forget about quoting unavailable diesels getting much higher economy, the audience here on BON switches off.

I think this is the important part:

That's 22mpg city/25mpg Hwy and in the USA, gasoline costs 46 pence/litre. You must be sick with envy, what ridiculous price are you paying for diesel FJM? Never mind here they are: UK Petrol Prices forSunday 7th Jun 2009 Avg. Min. Max. Unleaded: 101.2p 96.9p 111.9p Diesel: 104.0p 99.9p 116.9p LRP: 106.3p 99.9p 109.9p Super: 107.5p 99.9p 117.9p LPG: 51.9p 43.9p 59.9p I see diesel is two times the price of US petrol FJM, does that mean it has to be two times as economical? I sure would hate to buy those expensive diesels FJM, how much more than a petrol engine are they? I guess the Ford North American executives know what they are doing FJM, we can only hope.

Some of these journalists are real Einsteins.... All of this after Chrysler had been given money to continue and the reality of CH 11 discussed at length.