With pine mulch, white spruce and bus exhaust perfuming the midmorning breeze, Ford revealed its new 2011 Explorer outside Herald Square’s landmark Macy’s department store in Manhattan on Monday.

The automaker envisioned Catskills-on-Broadway for its signature S.U.V.’s public unveiling, building a wooded hillock with a gently graded slope that descended to a campsite, where outdoorsy models sat rummaging through their fishing-tackle boxes, tucking into sandwiches and riding mountain bikes around their idyll’s perimeter.

Mike Rowe, a mainstay of Discovery Channel programming as well as television commercials for Ford, cued the Explorer’s entrance. The car emerged atop the hill, then coasted down to a knoll where Mr. Rowe intercepted Ford’s chief executive, Alan Mulally, as he exited the front passenger seat, beaming — due in no small part to the $2.6 billion second-quarter profit his company posted last week.

During the ensuing repartee, Mr. Mulally called attention to Ford’s social-media marketing approach for Monday’s revelation. “What’s going on today is getting talked about right now on Facebook, and it’s all over Twitter. To have this conversation happening all over the country is very exciting,” he said.

The Explorer will be assembled at the company’s Chicago plant, which builds another revived Ford nameplate, the Taurus sedan. Citing the $400 million investment that the Explorer represents to the plant, Mr. Mulally said, “We’re fighting for the soul of manufacturing in the United States.”

Though primary manufacturing and assembly will occur domestically, Ford’s sales strategy for its S.U.V. faces emphatically outward. “It will be sold in 90 countries,” Mr. Mulally said.

The new Explorer is being introduced to a market that has cooled on sport utility vehicles, the traditionally pickup-truck-based vehicle segment over which the Explorer reigned for well over a decade, selling more than six million units since its 1990 introduction. To lure buyers away from so-called crossover vehicles that have captured market share with superior ride comfort and gas mileage, Ford has created a more supple Explorer, eschewing the body-on-frame construction of its previous incarnations for a unibody setup based on that used by the Taurus.

Fuel efficiency is addressed via the company’s first domestic application of its turbocharged 2-liter 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine, which generates 237 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. Ford executives claim a 30 percent combined efficiency improvement over the outgoing 4-liter V-6, which was rated at 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 on the highway.  Also offered is the 3.5-liter V-6 found in other Ford products, good for 290 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque and a 20 percent increase in efficiency over the outgoing Explorer. What the V-6 sacrifices to the 4-cylinder in efficiency, it compensates for with a higher towing rating: 5,000 pounds versus the 4-cylinder’s 2,000.

Ford’s group vice president, David Leitch, said in an interview that mileage numbers have yet to be released for both drivetrains.

As further evidence of Ford’s intent to exorcise the Explorer’s gas-guzzler baggage, the brand expects consumers will be willing to pay a premium not for towing capacity, but for efficiency. “The EcoBoost 4 will be priced slightly higher than the base V-6,” Jay Ward, the Ford communication director, said in a phone conversation. Additionally, Explorers equipped with the turbo 4 will not be available with 4-wheel drive, whereas V-6 models are offered with either front- or 4-wheel drive.

A V-8 is no longer an engine option on the Explorer.

The Explorer will be offered at three trim levels when it goes on sale this winter: Explorer, XLT and Limited, with a base prices of $28,995, including $805 destination charges, ranging upward to $37,995 for the Limited, positioning it below the coming 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which starts at $30,995.

Source (article): NYTIMES

Source (pictures): ONLINESOCIALMEDIA, THEMUSTANGNEWS

The Bugatti Veyron is (still) the world’s fastest production car, having just wrested the crown from itself in a successful world-record attempt. On Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track just outside of Wolfsburg, Bugatti’s official test driver got the new Veyron 16.4 Super Sport to hit a two-way average speed of 268 mph. That terminal velocity eclipses the original Veyron 16.4 coupe’s by 15 mph. It’s faster, all right, and conditions on Saturday allowed a top speed higher than the Bugatti team was even expecting—they forecasted a conservative, and utterly tame by comparison, 264 mph.

Production versions of the Super Sport will have their top speed electronically limited to 258 mph, in order to protect the tires from certain, expedient death. To achieve that higher velocity, the car has undergone a pretty significant aerodynamic rework, with the most obvious change being the removal of the steamship-esque silver air intakes. They’ve been replaced by a pair of roof-mounted NACA ducts, and the roof itself has been extended rearward to mostly obscure the W-16 engine, which itself has been tweaked. The four turbos are larger, as are the intercoolers that feed them. Output is now 1200 hp (up from the cooler-sounding 1001) and 1106 lb-ft of torque (an increase of 184 lb-ft). Better breathing is facilitated by a new front fascia with larger openings, and there’s a double diffuser in the rear that incorporates twin center-mounted exhaust tips in place of the “regular” Veyron’s single, squared-off outlet.

The suspension also has been modified, with longer spring travel, stiffer anti-roll bars, and new dampers. Bugatti claims to be using a new structure for the carbon-fiber monocoque that increases torsional rigidity while reducing weight. And speaking of carbon fiber, Bugatti says it will offer the Super Sport with all of its body panels clear-coated to showcase the weave. The record-setting car, seen here, makes extended use of the cleared carbon, underlining it with orange accents; the first five Super Sports (which are already spoken for) are outfitted to match, called the World Record Edition.

About that name: Super Sport is a suffix that has traditionally been associated with Chevy’s SS cars, and recently we’ve seen variations of it applied to Bentleys (the Continental Supersports) and Jaguars (XJ Supersports). Based on this newfound popularity, we’re declaring “Super Sport” to be the new “Sport.” Expect the Koreans to co-opt it next.

The Super Sport will make its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August. Production begins in the fall at Bugatti’s Molsheim Veyron hand-crafting facility. We’re waiting for the inevitable roadster version, which will have to be called Super Grand Sport. Pricing hasn’t been divulged, but if you have to ask, you’re not Super Rich enough, Sport.

Source (article): CARANDDRIVER

Source (pictures): CARANDDRIVER

Mini is embarking on a proliferation binge, with its lineup doubling from the three models offered today—three-door hatch, convertible, and extended Clubman—to six within the next couple years. With a roadster and coupe just around the corner, a crossover, previewed by the Crossover and Beachcomber concepts, is also on the way. After many confusing reports of possible names here and there and everywhere, we now know it will be called the Countryman, at least in some places, the U.S. included.

Our first official look at photos of the Countryman has us breathing a collective sigh of relief. Although the beefed-up visual elements of the front end carry over from the two concepts, the detailing surrounding them has been toned down. Mini’s signature styling elements—a softly rounded body tub; an upright, blacked-out greenhouse; the angle-cut hood opening—translate very nicely to a crossover, and we are pleased to see that the Clubman’s contrasting rear trim remains exclusive to that model. The stance and taller hood add just enough toughness to set the crossover apart from Mini’s other offerings without looking contrived.

Inside will be more of the same, which is fine with us. The more toggle switches automakers use instead of black plastic buttons, the merrier. Four individual seats will be standard, with a three-across rear bench a no-cost option. Rear seats will slide fore and aft —the bench in a 60/40 split —and fold individually (or in 40/20/40 increments with the bench). Between both the front and rear seats runs the center-rail system seen on the Crossover and Beachcomber concepts, to which Mini affixes cup holders, armrests, and other “travel utensils.” The interior otherwise appears to be standard Mini fare, and there is no artificial-horizon gauge, as there was on the Beachcomber concept.

Mechanical specifications will be identical to the rest of the Mini range, with other parts of the world seeing a choice of five engines split between diesel and gasoline power. We’ll see our usual naturally aspirated or turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-fours, although both engines will be updated with more power: 121 hp for the naturally aspirated motor and 181 for the turbo. Those engines will replace the current mills in all 2011 Minis. Additionally, front-wheel drive will be standard, but Mini’s new all-wheel-drive system, known as ALL4, will debut as an option on the Countryman. Other optional equipment will include a panoramic sunroof, adaptive xenon headlights, wheels ranging from 16 to 19 inches, a sport suspension that lowers the car about 0.4 inch, and the full range of John Cooper Works performance upgrades. We imagine that a factory JCW performance edition will also appear.

The Mini Countryman will debut at March’s Geneva auto show, and Americans will have a chance to see it in person at the New York show in April before it goes on sale this fall as a 2011 model.

Source (article + pictures): CARANDDRIVER.COM