We know first-hand how horrible the design of the 2008 Ford Focus coupe truly was. Having spent five days in one we can tell you the best part about the '08 model was being inside of it. Only then could you sink into that relatively comfortable interior and try to forget the horror of witnessing the terrifying design mish-mash that was the exterior of last year's model. But wait, Ford's taken another look at the sheet metal on the 2009 Ford Focus Coupe and given it what the Dearborn-based automaker calls a "sporty new look." We call it lipstick. Although Ford fixed a couple of the most egregious design flaws for the '09 — the deletion and reassignment of the rear spoiler, the new rims and (thank whatever automotive deity you pray to) the delete option on the faux chrome side vents — it only serves to show just how much of a mess the rest of the design truly is. We know Ford's trying to use this year's model to ease the 'merican public into the Fiesta's open-mouthed billy-the-bass front fascia design language, but was it really necessary to bastardize it on this monstrosity of mashed-together metal? Full press release below the jump.  read more »

While many decided yesterday to report "officially" that Ford was shaking Jaguar and Land Rover free to the Indian subcontinent for $2.6 billion we knew it was prudent to wait and report it as merely rumor because that number just didn't sound right. That's because here at Jalopnik, we "get" the US auto industry and we knew that when an 'merican automaker (German automakers too -- that's right Daimler, we're looking straight at you) spends billions of dollars to bring a brand back to solvency, you expect a sale price to in no way reflect that. Ford didn't disappoint. You see, the sale's actually for $2.3 billion -- $300-some-odd million less than yesterday's "whisper number." But wait, there's more. In addition to the cash transaction with Tata Motors, they'll also inject a hot $600 million capital infusion into the pension plans of the two brands. You know, because they haven't already sent enough money into the black hole that was Ford's PAG. Full press release after the jump.  read more »

We already knew the 2007 Buick Riviera Concept would be here for the Detroit Auto Show, but the China born concept made it's US debut here last night. Originally unveiled at Auto Shanghai 2007, the Buick Riviera Concept was shown off to press by Ed Welburn and the gang at the Max M. Fisher Theater ahead of the show. We were hoping for a green light for US production from Mr. Welburn, but nothing like that was mentioned. Oh well, we can dream can't we?  read more »

Finally, after all the teasing, the 2010 Ford Mustang GT is finally here — revealed just in time for the LA Auto Show . Actually, it was revealed a couple of hours early thanks to the slippery hands of whomever's running Ford's official Mustang site. And unlike some sites, we're not afraid to let loose with everything early when a little bit's leaked out — so, hit the jump to be the very first to find out exactly what's up with the new pony car from Ford. Ford drew upon a myriad of cues from successful designs past to conjure up the all-new Pony car's cohesive style.  read more »

Ford Motor Co. likely will build its European-designed Verve subcompact in Mexico, a decision that says as much about the auto industry's future as it does about Ford's. The company has all but staked its survival on the Verve, a...


Chuck Squatriglia

On top of yesterday's news Chrysler plans to shut down the Delaware SUV plant that makes the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen a year early is news this morning the automaker plans to cut 25% of their 18,500 white collar staff starting next month. In his memo to staff announcing the cuts, Chrysler CEO Bob "The Builder" Nardelli outlined the Cerberus-owned company's need to deal with these "unimaginable times" — which we've determined is another way of saying "Financiapocalypse" — as the reason for the cuts. Nardelli also outlined a need to cut discretionary and overhead expenses and reduce capital expenditures not related to major products.  read more »

Renault -- like BMW, Audi, Mitsubishi and Subaru before it -- promises to build "a range of electric vehicles" beginning with a sedan it's betting will electrify Israel's vehicle fleet and says it will bring an EV to America within...


Chuck Squatriglia

Renault promises to build "a range of electric vehicles" beginning with a sedan it's betting will electrify Israel's vehicle fleet and says it will bring an EV to America within two years.

The car Renault unveiled Sunday in Tel Aviv with Silicon Valley start-up Project Better Place was just a prototype with a cobbled-together battery, but the French automaker reportedly is prepared to spend as much as $1 billion developing EVs. Company CEO Carlos Ghosn hasn't confirmed that figure but says Nissan, which Renault owns, will offer an electric vehicle in California by 2010.  read more »

By Doug Newcomb Weve all seen those gut-wrenching tire- and fire-spewing race-car crashes where the driver miraculously walks away. Volvo wants to give people the same sense of invincibility by producing a virtually injury-proof car by 2020 that would ensure drivers and passengers survive all but the gnarliest accidents . The Swedish automaker is leading a race to create a "matrix of systems" that use radar, sonar and other technology to prevent and mitigate crashes. In the event of a crash, when most drivers freeze, the car would steer and brake on its own. Cutting pre-impact speed by even 10 mph would cut the death rate in half, so self-braking systems are key to reducing traffic fatalities. Volvo, which is owned by Ford Motor Co. , is not alone in pursuing the injury-proof car, which Sweden's head of traffic safety calls the biggest revolution in the auto industry since the seatbelt. "If you look into the future, we as a community will not accept that we have injuries," Jan Ivarsson, head of the Volvo safety team, told Reuters . "We have other things that are important in life." To reach the 2020 deadline -- 12 years isn't that long in the auto industry -- Volvo has stepped up testing at its vehicle-safety testing center in Gothenburg , Sweden, where it stages 400 accidents a year. They've got two 150-meter tunnels, including the auto industrys only rotating test tunnel, where engineers can replicate head-on and side-impact collisions and even dunk a car in a pond. With all the ways they've developed to destroy a car, Volvo's got the worlds most advanced car and test-dummy torture chamber. Volvo recently invited Reuters to watch an S80 test mule get its nose flattened at 35 mph by an 850-ton steel-clad block in a carefully choreographed collision that took one-tenth of a second to transpire, but two weeks to set up and another two to dissect. Engineers shot the smashup from almost as many angles as the Super Bowl and even put a camera in a glass-topped pit to record it from below. Sensors on the car, the crash block and two male biomechanical measurement devices - what the rest of us call crash test dummies - collected terabytes of data.  read more »