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Detroit 2009: Ford reveals 2010 Taurus, party like it's 1986

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedans/Saloons, Ford

Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2010 Ford Taurus

Last month, Ford's President of the Americas Mark Fields remarked that it was going to be like 1986 all over again when the 2010 Ford Taurus arrives. The original Taurus that debuted during the Reagan Era was certainly groundbreaking, not only for its aerodynamic design that was unique in the mid-size sedan segment of the day, but also its tremendous value versus the competition. That car went on to become the best-selling passenger vehicle in the U.S. during the early '90s before a series of successively worse redesigns saw it fall from grace. It was sold uninterrupted for 21 years until late 2006 when the final one rolled off the assembly line at the company's assembly plant in Hapeville, GA. By that time, sales to the public had ceased and Ford was only selling the Taurus to fleets and rental companies, which had become the car's biggest customers as more and more families bought Camrys and Accords.

Then came Alan Mulally. Bill Ford Jr. replaced himself as CEO with Boeing's ex-head honcho and one of this Kansas-bred boy's first actions at the Blue Oval was to resurrect the Taurus name. Ford's new large sedan, the Five Hundred, wasn't selling well, and it was thought that slapping the Taurus name on it would help things. It didn't, and despite some substantive improvements to the car, the newly minted Taurus v2.0 earned a reputation for being a good but not great car that sold just enough to justify its existence.

The new 2010 Taurus has been completely redesigned, and Ford hopes all these changes to the exterior, interior, platform and powertrain will add up to a full-size car worthy of the Taurus name. Will it become the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. again? Not likely, but it will be a new halo car for the Ford brand that's crammed with all the best technology and state-of-the-art engines. Follow the jump to find out more.

Gallery: 2010 Ford Taurus - LIVE

Gallery: 2010 Ford Taurus

Continue reading Detroit 2009: Ford reveals 2010 Taurus, party like it's 1986

Detroit 2009: Ford reveals 2010 Taurus, party like it's 1986 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Revamped for 2010 Nissan Altima says hello, gets priced from $19,900

Posted by Autoblog

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Nissan

2010 Nissan Altima – Click either image for high-res gallery

Remember that small, grainy photo of the refreshed-for-2010 Nissan Altima that was making the rounds earlier this month? Forget it – because the official pics,…

Tech-Savvy Prius Owner Uses Hybrid To Power House During Snow Storm [Toyota Prius]

When an ice storm knocked out power to much of New England, one Toyota Prius owner reached for his inverter and powered some of his home with the happy little hybrid. Smug FTW? Yes.

John Sweeney, of Harvard, Massachusetts, was among the many residents of Eastern Mass without power after a big ice storm hit on December 12th. Sweeney, an electrical engineer, saw his Prius as the answer. Using an inverter, he converted the DC power coming out of the car into AC power for his house. Though he couldn't run his entire house one his one car, they were able to get approximately 17 Kilowatt hours of energy. This was enough to power his refrigerator/freezer, television, lights, wood stove fan and accessories for a few days. Although anyone can use a regular DC power supply, like the battery found in a non-Hybrid car, but a hybrid is ideal.

First, the Prius carries a much larger batter pack than a regular car, allowing someone to power more appliances for longer than the conventional AC Delco found in most cars. Second, unlike some backup battery systems found in homes, the Prius, like other cars, can recharge its batteries with its normal internal combustion engine. And here's the best part — because the Prius automatically turns itself on when the batteries drain to a certain level, Sweeney left the car running and it automatically turned over when it needed to recharge — about once every 30 minutes. If you were trying to do what Sweeney did with a non-hybrid, you'd find yourself spending a lot more time outside in the cold. The efficiency of the auto-on feature meant Sweeney only used around five gallons of gas. As with any time you're trying to use your vehicle as a generator, you'll probably want to use a well-ventilated area.

If any of Sweeney's neighbors thought he was smug about his car choice before the storm they must have really hated him when he turned on the television and lights while they huddled for warmth on the hood of their Tahoe. Hat tip to Danny!

[Boston Business Journals]

Photo Credit: PriusChat

The World’s Smallest Car: The Nanocar

This is NOT the World’s Smallest Car

The illustrious title of World’s Smallest Car, sought by many, but held by only one. And who is that one? No, it’s not the car above, or the Smart ForTwo, or the Tata Nano; not the obscure Waaijenberg Canta or even the Peel P50, no matter what the Guinness Book of World Records says. Those cars are giants compared to the real smallest car.

So what is it? Check out the REAL picture after the jump:

It’s the Rice University Nanocar, and it’s the size of a single strand of DNA. It measures just 4 x 3 nanometers (A nanometer is equal to one billionth of a meter or one millionth of a millimeter). A human hair is about 80,000 nanometers thick. But it’s not just bullshizz nonsense made up by grad students with too much time on their hands…this thing actually works like a car. It has a chassis, axles, a pivoting suspension, and the wheels are buckyballs (aka Buckminsterfullerenes, which are tiny spheres of pure carbon - named after R. Buckminster Fuller, one of the coolest dudes ever).

It’s apparently hard to make a nanoscale object roll, but they’ve done it. And why? Well, the eventual goal is the create nanoscale trucks that could carry atoms and molecules around in miniature factories. It’s one step closer to tiny autonomous self-replicating machines doing our work for us at the nano level. End of the world Grey Goo, here we come!

One million Audi fans can't be wrong

Filed under: Audi, By the Numbers

2008 was a tough year, but apparently it wasn't equally as tough for everybody. Audi has now reported that it broke through the 1 million unit mark last year, selling more vehicles than it ever has before.

Total global sales in 2008 came to 1,003,400 vehicles - up 4.3% over last year - including 82,000 units in December. But while the American market has typically been a vital region for European premium marques especially, U.S. sales dropped 6.1% for Audi this year, and nearly 10% in December when U.S. sales accounted for less than 10% of the company's global sales. Ingolstadt attributes its sales success to the dozen new models it introduced last year, including the Q5 and A4 (seen above). Thanks to everyone who sent in the tip, and check out the press release after the jump.

[Source: Audi]

Continue reading One million Audi fans can't be wrong

One million Audi fans can't be wrong originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sebastian Vettel Wins the Italian Grand Prix: Youngest Winner Ever

Today on the rain soaked track in Monza, Italy, Sebastian Vettel made history by being the youngest Formula 1 driver ever to win the Italian Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old rookie, driving a Toro Rosso (the team is co-owned by Red Bull), beat runner-up Heikki Kovalainen to the finish line. Back in 2003, Fernando Alonso set the record for youngest grand prix winner when he captured the Hungarian Grand Prix at only 22.

“Unbelievable,” Vettel said at a post-race news conference. “The whole race we had no problems, the car was working really fine. I had a fantastic race with a very good strategy.”

After a rainy start, race track conditions began to improve after the first 10 laps. By the 30th lap, Vettel held a 12.5-second lead over Kovalainen.

Robert Kubica, Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld completed the top-five finishers. Hamilton finished seventh and retained a one-point lead over sixth-place finisher Felipe Massa.

VW Mid-Engine Roadster Concept Headed to Detroit Instead of LA

VW was set to debut its upcoming mid-engine roadster at the LA Auto Show in a little over a week, but has decided to push back its unveiling until January at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

VW hopes to attract more interest for the roadster at the show in Detroit. The final details are pretty scarce. It is expected that the car will debut in 2011, but it is not known what 4-cylinder engine that VW will use.

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