Thursday, February 3, 2011

ford focus 2011


Ford has presented, before the opening of the the Detroit Motor Show, the first information and pictures of the new generation Focus, a model that, this time, will be the same both in US and Europe.
Ford presented the first official pictures of the new generation Ford Focus 2011 that will have its world premiere during the day, at the Auto Show in Detroit. Unlike the previous generations, the new Focus is a global model, planning to have the same form in the US and Europe, which is also why the model is presented to anauto show in its native country. Moreover, Ford has chosen – for this very reason – to present, in the same time, both the hatchback and the sedan versions of the new model, the US market being accustomed to rather choose the ordinary four-door version than the Focus hatchback so present on the European streets.
Aesthetically speaking, the new Focus highlights a very clear belonging to the new line of models of the Blue Oval, being practically a larger version of the Fiesta subcompact model. Focus’s design is purely European, the car being  developed at a design center in Germany that the Michigan brand owns. The dimensions remained the same both for the sedan and the hatchback, the dimensions of the chassis and the suspension’s hardware being also borrowed from the old generation, with the necessary improvements.


The chassis and the entire suite of mechanical elements that make up the new model will be the basis of a series of 10 different models of the Focus family, models that will be lounched by 2012. At the engines chapter, the great new appearance will be represented by a Ecoboost 1.6-liter turbo unit that will rise to the same performance as the 2.0 liter engine that it replaces, provided that consumption will be, say the guys from Ford, “an exceptional one”. The Duratorq diesel engine will not escape the improvements, but these will be presented only in March, when the newFord Focus 2011 will make its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Both in U.S. and Europe, the new model from Ford will have a new automatic transmission with six-speed dual-clutch that promises, just like the 1.6-liter Ecoboost, interesting consumption figures.
The new generation Focus will be made in parallel in the Ford plants in Saarlouis (Germany), Michigan (USA) and Chongqing (China), following that, later, production sites in Spain and Russia to enter the game, too. The new Focus will go on sale in 2011.

 photos and video





















Read more In Cars

Venturi Fetish 2011

Appearing on the stand alongside the awesome Venturi America at the 2010 Paris Motor Show was an updated Fétish. While it retains a lot of similarities to the original, it has a fresh fascia, a new rear spoiler and a more-refined interior. Under the skin there now resides a liquid-cooled 220 kW (295 horsepower) rear-mounted motor that said to propel the carbon-fiber machine from 0-60 in four seconds and provide a top speed of 200 km/h – a clip it can attain in 12.8 seconds. That's despite a battery system that's has grown to 450 kilograms (992 lbs). The new 54 kWh pack is said to give Venturi's oldest electric model a "90 km/h stabilized" (56 miles per hour) range of 340 kilometers (211 miles).


Production of the 2011 model is supposed to be greatly increased over the original iteration, with 10 a year planned for production at the company's new manufacturing facility at Sablé-sur-Sarthe. Only about 10 units of the first Fétish were sold since its launch in 2004 and with a new new price tag of €300,000 ($410,600 U.S. at today's exchange rates) the new Fetish should remain a pretty rare bird despite increased industrial capacity. Hit the jump for a bonus video form Venturi promoting its latest automotive efforts.

photos and video


















Read more In Cars