DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.’s market momentum got a lift Monday by winning both the 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards.

Ford’s Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan took top car honors and its versatile Transit Connect compact van snagged truck of the year at the Detroit auto show.

It was only the third time in 17 years that an automaker has won both awards, selected by 49 auto journalists and given annually since 1994. Finalists for the car award included the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf GTI and TDI diesel. The Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Transit Connect and Subaru Outback were finalists for the truck award.

“It’s such a huge motivator for our team,” Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, told reporters after the announcements on the first day of media previews for the show. “It’s a reaffirmation of all the hard work over the past couple of years.”

The awards, given annually by journalists who test cars throughout the year, are often used by automakers in advertising. Vehicles are judged on innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value.

Ford, the only U.S.-based automaker to avoid bankruptcy protection, has fared better than its two Detroit rivals, with overall sales down 15 percent last year compared with a 36 percent drop for Chrysler and a 30 percent decline for GM.

Ford’s final month of 2009 was strong, with a 33 percent increase in sales thanks to strong demand for midsize cars. Last year, it gained U.S. market share for the first time since 1995, helped by critical raves for its fuel-efficient cars, like the midsize Fusion. Its compact Focus and popular Escape crossover also boosted sales.

“We still have a long way to go … getting the business back to healthy profitability,” Fields said. “We have to channel that good feeling into our efforts for 2010.”

To be considered for the car and truck of the year honors, vehicles must be new or substantially changed from the previous model.

Last year’s winners were the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan and the Ford F-150 pickup. The Transit Connect, a small, European van, is the sixth Ford truck to win the award. Fields said the automaker thinks of it as a “white space vehicle” — one unlike anything else on the road.

“When you see this on the road, your first reaction is, ‘What is that?’” he said. “The second reaction for a lot of customers, particularly small fleets and small business owners is, ‘Hey, I want to get into that and check it out.’”

Source (article): MSNBC

Source (picture): NEWCARSCOOP

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If these barely disguised prototypes look familiar to you, it’s no surprise: This BMW X1 was already shown at last year’s Paris auto show under the rather unimaginative but BMW-typical “Concept X1″ moniker. Now BMW is testing prototypes on the Spanish island of Mallorca and releasing some details as the car is readied for its official launch later this summer. This will be BMW’s fourth size of SUV—sorry, “SAV”—after the X3, X5, and X6.

The elderly X3 is having an increasingly difficult time in a changing marketplace that now includes the Audi Q5 and the Mercedes-Benz GLK. The X5 and X6, on the other hand, have been getting flak for their politically incorrect appetite for fuel—even before BMW, in a somewhat incendiary move, added the over-the-top X5 M and X6 M.

Smaller than X3, but Only Slightly

To send out a good vibe to more socially minded SUV lovers, BMW has chosen to launch a smaller, lighter, more-efficient ute. Based on the company’s small rear-wheel-drive platform, shared with the 1-series and 3-series, the X1 is about 600 pounds lighter than the current X3.

The X1 tips the scales at about 3300 pounds, which is impressive, considering that all-wheel drive is standard, and that its exterior dimensions are not far from those of the X3. The X1 is 5 inches shorter in length and height and 2 inches narrower. We figure the next-gen X3 will grow slightly to better accommodate the X1 in the range.

Thanks to its lower profile, the X1 looks sportier than the X3. More important, with its lower center of gravity and lower weight, the X1 promises to handle and accelerate better as well. Inside, the dashboard resembles that of the 3-series, betraying that BMW dug into the corporate parts bin.

The Old Country’s Engine Buffet

Thanks to that vast parts bin, the X1’s engine choices are restricted only by marketing considerations, and not platform limitations. In Europe, the X1 will start as the xDrive20d and xDrive23d using two variations of the 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine, rated at 175 hp and 201 hp, respectively. The xDrive28i—powered by the naturally aspirated, 3.0-liter straight-six rated at 261 hp—will also be available at launch. BMW will later add the xDrive18d and xDrive18i (both rated at 141 hp) as well as the 168-hp xDrive20i.

Performance will be passenger car–like, with the xDrive20d, 23d, and 28i topping out at 132 mph, 139 mph, and 143 mph; 0–62 mph takes 8.4 seconds, 7.3 seconds, and 6.7 seconds, respectively. Fuel economy is especially impressive for the diesel versions; the X1 23d gets 37 mpg in the wildly optimistic European cycle. BMW will later add a rear-wheel-drive version that gets over 47 mpg on that cycle. (EPA fuel economy numbers likely would be lower by about 30%.)

The X1 will be offered in Europe starting at about €30,000—that’s roughly €5000 less than a comparably equipped X3 and equivalent to $42,000. The undisguised model will stand at the Frankfurt auto show in September, with sales beginning shortly thereafter. BMW promises the X1 will come to the U.S. as well. It will be interesting to see how pricing is affected by production location, since the X1 will be built at the Leipzig, Germany, plant, while the next-generation X3 will be built alongside the X5 and X6 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This could result in well-equipped X1 prices approaching X3 territory, as is the case with the 1-series and 3-series today.

Aside from within the marque, there won’t be a lot of competition for this compact and sporty SUV. Closest will be the Volkswagen Tiguan and the upcoming Audi Q3, but the latter is still almost two years away.

Source (article): CARANDDRIVER

Source (pictures): CARANDDRIVER

The automotive world has been waiting for BMW’s response to the Mercedes-Benz R-class since the debut of that crossover/minivan curiosity for 2006. For a while, a pseudo minivan in the same vein as the R-class was expected from Mercedes’ German rival, but the R’s dismal sales may have caused BMW to chart a different course of action.

At the Geneva auto show in March, we finally got to see, in concept form, BMW’s answer to the R-class. Mercifully, the company that prides itself on building the “ultimate driving machine” didn’t produce a minivan but rather a high-roofed, not-quite-an-SUV wagon version of the next-generation 5-series. After years of calling it the Progressive Activity Sedan, BMW has ditched that moniker in favor of calling the concept the 5-series Gran Turismo.

Looking like a slightly squashed X6 sport-ute and sitting 5.3 inches lower than it, the 5-series Gran Turismo rides on a long, 120.9-inch wheelbase that provides a 7-series-grade back seat. There’s no third row, and in the concept, the rear seat is only good for two occupants. Production versions will likely have a conventional bench seat. As in many SUVs, the rear seat slides back and forth several inches to accommodate legs or increase cargo area. A length of 196.8 inches makes the 5-series Gran Turismo a scant three inches shorter than the big 750i sedan and almost five inches longer than the X6.

BMW hasn’t officially divulged what will power the Gran Turismo, but we’d guess the most expensive version will get the company’s 400-hp, twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8; the 300-hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six will likely be the most popular choice; and for the fuel conscious, the 265-hp, 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-six should return fuel economy in the mid-20s. Rear-wheel drive will be standard, with all-wheel drive (xDrive) optional.

The Gran Turismo should be available early in 2010, after the production version debuts at the Frankfurt auto show this fall. How the new model will fit in among the X3, X5, and X6 SUVs remains to be seen. But expect a starting price of $45,000, with top models fetching close to $70,000.

Source (Article): CARANDDRIVER.COM

Source (Pictures): DESIGNTOPNEWS, L.YIMG