Traveling more than the Easter weekend? Undesirable news: you’re probably to face delays and disruption on the roads and railway.
The Highways Agency has confirmed 55 sets of roadworks on major roads and motorways like the M1, M3, M4 and M6.
Trains will also be impacted, with main disruption on lines out of Paddington and Euston in London.
Up the junction
Improvements to the M1 in the Midlands will impact the area around Junction 19. Road functions amongst junctions 28 and 31 could also influence your journey.
Operate to upgrade the M60 north of Manchester is likely to result in disruption on the M60 and M62. There could also be delays on the M6 among junctions 10a and 13.
“Euston, we have a problem…”
The line in and out of Euston station will be closed for 4 days more than the Easter weekend as National Rail carries out improvements around Watford Junction, like renewing signalling, laying new track and the reconstruction of the Orphanage Road Bridge.
The engineering functions influence Southern, London Midland and Virgin Trains.
Obtaining Crossrail
Perform on the Crossrail improvement will close the railway between Hayes & Harlington and Didcot Parkway via Reading.
The closure will influence services among Paddington and Greenford, Slough and Windsor & Eton Central, Maidenhead and Marlow, Twyford and Henley-on-Thames.
Trains will be diverted and an amended timetable will operate on all routes to and from London Paddington. This perform is slated to last until April 12.
Capital deficit
Engineering work also indicates there will be no Southeastern train solutions calling at Deptford, Greenwich, London Bridge (platforms 1 to 6), London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross, London Waterloo East, Maze Hill or Westcombe Park.
Then there are a variety of line closures in the Shenfield location that will disrupt trains between Norwich and Ipswich and London Liverpool Street as well as amongst Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street.
Many of the train operators are advising passengers to postpone traveling till after the Easter weekend. But if you can’t alter your plans, it is worth checking the timing of the works and any revised timetables prior to you set off.
Highway to hell
The Highways Agency has much more specifics about planned road functions or you can pay a visit to National Rail for information on train travel.
Traveling more than the Easter weekend? Negative news: you are probably to face delays and disruption on the roads and railway.
The Highways Agency has confirmed 55 sets of roadworks on key roads and motorways which includes the M1, M3, M4 and M6.
Trains will also be affected, with major disruption on lines out of Paddington and Euston in London.
Up the junction
Improvements to the M1 in the Midlands will influence the region around Junction 19. Road works between junctions 28 and 31 could also influence your journey.
Operate to upgrade the M60 north of Manchester is probably to result in disruption on the M60 and M62. There could also be delays on the M6 between junctions 10a and 13.
“Euston, we have a problem…”
The line in and out of Euston station will be closed for 4 days over the Easter weekend as National Rail carries out improvements about Watford Junction, which includes renewing signalling, laying new track and the reconstruction of the Orphanage Road Bridge.
The engineering performs have an effect on Southern, London Midland and Virgin Trains.
Acquiring Crossrail
Function on the Crossrail development will close the railway in between Hayes & Harlington and Didcot Parkway via Reading.
The closure will impact solutions between Paddington and Greenford, Slough and Windsor & Eton Central, Maidenhead and Marlow, Twyford and Henley-on-Thames.
Trains will be diverted and an amended timetable will operate on all routes to and from London Paddington. This perform is slated to final until April 12.
Capital deficit
Engineering perform also means there will be no Southeastern train solutions calling at Deptford, Greenwich, London Bridge (platforms 1 to 6), London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross, London Waterloo East, Maze Hill or Westcombe Park.
Then there are various line closures in the Shenfield area that will disrupt trains amongst Norwich and Ipswich and London Liverpool Street as well as between Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street.
Many of the train operators are advising passengers to postpone traveling until soon after the Easter weekend. But if you can not alter your plans, it is worth checking the timing of the operates and any revised timetables prior to you set off.
Highway to hell
The Highways Agency has a lot more specifics about planned road operates or you can visit National Rail for information on train travel.
by Alice Holbrook on March 19, 2015 | posted in Vehicle Insurance
Acquiring auto insurance coverage quotes is a excellent way to estimate your rate before you pick an insurance coverage business — but it is only an estimate. Before you commit to a policy, you may possibly uncover that your final rate is larger — or reduce — than the quote you got.
This can occur for a few distinct reasons, so don’t be surprised if your final price is various.
You got a quote from a third-celebration internet site. Many quote comparison internet sites provide prices from several carriers when you answer a few queries. These web sites can help you narrow down a list of insurers with the least expensive quotes for you, but they generally are not binding. The most accurate quotes come from insurance businesses themselves.
You used a simplified quote kind. Not all insurance company quotes are as accurate as possible, either. Some insurers offer brief versions of their quote forms that are only created to be estimates. Other people ask a minimum number of questions in order to save you time, but they demand more details to give you a final price. The far more detail you should offer when getting your quote, the closer it’ll be to your actual price.
You forgot (or misrepresented) individual info. Insurance coverage businesses do not just take your word for it. Before they give you a final price, they’ll double-verify the information you provided, like your past tickets and claims, and the vehicles registered to your household. If they locate a moving violation from a handful of years ago that slipped your thoughts, or understand that you are not at present insured, your final rate will be greater than your auto insurance quote.
Another aspect raised your prices. Where it’s legal, most insurance coverage companies use your insurance score — a metric associated to your credit score — to aid determine your premium. Insurance companies don’t ask for it throughout the auto insurance coverage quote method in fact, most folks don’t know theirs. But it could change your rate.
Auto insurance quotes shouldn’t be too far off from your final premium. It is poor business for insurance coverage companies to give you an unrealistic expectation about what you’ll spend. But don’t be surprised if your true price is not specifically what you had been quoted. Nonetheless, the best way to save on vehicle insurance coverage is to collect numerous quotes ahead of renewal time to make positive you’re acquiring the ideal deal.
Alice Holbrook is a staff writer covering insurance and investing forNerdWallet. Follow her onGoogle+.
Girls are not only the fairer sex, but also the faster sex – at least when they are behind the wheel of a rental auto.
A nationwide study of driving habits in rental automobiles has found that female customers exceed the speed limit 17.5% more often than men.
If that weren’t enough to destroy your gender stereotype, ladies are not only faster, they’re also safer – according to the statistics, anyway: males are 5 instances a lot more likely to trigger damage to a rental vehicle than female motorists.
Dented pride
In the study carried out by In-Car Cleverness, a organization that supplies telematics technology, 84% of the cars returned with dents, scratches and punctures had been rented by male motorists.
Honestly, males drivers! So careless!
Telematics, in case you’re asking yourself, is a massive deal in the insurance sector. It’s generally the tiny black box that utilizes satellite communications to record when, where and how you drive so that insurers can far more accurately set premiums, rewarding the protected and penalizing the reckless.
In-Car Cleverness monitored a lot more than 10,000 rental vehicles over a 6-month period to compile the stats, so it is surely thorough, even if it does disappoint some of the much more macho of the male population.
Gender equality?
It is not the only survey that casts doubt on the superiority of the male motorist. Claims information collected by insurers clearly shows that women make fewer and much less expensive claims then men.
Insurers are not, however, allowed to take gender into account when setting premiums.
The findings of the study are also backed up by statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2013, male drivers accounted for a lot more than 40,000 road casualties, compared with less than 35,000 for females drivers.
But let’s not rush to dismiss any link amongst speed and security. Males who returned autos with damage exceeded the speed limit 82 times on typical throughout the rental period. Female drivers who broken automobiles also sped a lot more typically, averaging 90 instances of speeding.
Harm report
Paul O’Dowd of In-Automobile Cleverness says: “While the quantity of vehicles broken by the opposite sexes varies, the behaviours that outcome in harm are regularly related.
“The statistics show a clear correlation in between automobile harm and situations of speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.”
What do you consider?
Attitudes to girls drivers are nevertheless, in a lot of instances, redolent of rubbish comedians playing operating men’s clubs in the 1970s. But the cold tough stats that insurance companies create (but can’t use when they set their prices!) demonstrate that girls are safer drivers.
So what do you feel? Are women really greater drivers than men? Or are men technically better drivers who are unwitting victims of their own testosterone-fuelled impulses?
Women are not only the fairer sex, but also the faster sex – at least when they are behind the wheel of a rental car.
A nationwide study of driving habits in rental cars has discovered that female customers exceed the speed limit 17.5% more often than men.
If that weren’t enough to destroy your gender stereotype, women are not only quicker, they’re also safer – according to the statistics, anyway: males are 5 times more likely to cause damage to a rental car than female motorists.
Dented pride
In the study carried out by In-Car Cleverness, a company that provides telematics technology, 84% of the cars returned with dents, scratches and punctures had been rented by male motorists.
Honestly, men drivers! So careless!
Telematics, in case you’re wondering, is a big deal in the insurance industry. It’s basically the little black box that uses satellite communications to record when, where and how you drive so that insurers can more accurately set premiums, rewarding the safe and penalizing the reckless.
In-Car Cleverness monitored more than 10,000 rental vehicles over a 6-month period to compile the stats, so it’s certainly thorough, even if it does disappoint some of the more macho of the male population.
Gender equality?
It’s not the only survey that casts doubt on the superiority of the male motorist. Claims data collected by insurers clearly shows that women make fewer and less costly claims then men.
Insurers are not, however, allowed to take gender into account when setting premiums.
The findings of the study are also backed up by statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2013, male drivers accounted for more than 40,000 road casualties, compared with less than 35,000 for women drivers.
But let’s not rush to dismiss any link between speed and safety. Men who returned vehicles with damage exceeded the speed limit 82 times on average during the rental period. Female drivers who damaged cars also sped more often, averaging 90 instances of speeding.
Damage report
Paul O’Dowd of In-Car Cleverness says: “While the number of cars damaged by the opposite sexes varies, the behaviours that result in damage are consistently similar.
“The statistics show a clear correlation between vehicle damage and instances of speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.”
What do you think?
Attitudes to women drivers are still, in many instances, redolent of rubbish comedians playing working men’s clubs in the 1970s. But the cold hard stats that insurance companies produce (but can’t use when they set their prices!) demonstrate that women are safer drivers.
So what do you think? Are women actually better drivers than men? Or are men technically better drivers who are unwitting victims of their own testosterone-fuelled impulses?
Ladies are not only the fairer sex, but also the more rapidly sex – at least when they are behind the wheel of a rental vehicle.
A nationwide study of driving habits in rental vehicles has discovered that female consumers exceed the speed limit 17.5% a lot more typically than males.
If that weren’t enough to destroy your gender stereotype, women are not only faster, they’re also safer – according to the statistics, anyway: males are 5 instances much more likely to trigger damage to a rental vehicle than female motorists.
Dented pride
In the study carried out by In-Vehicle Cleverness, a organization that provides telematics technology, 84% of the automobiles returned with dents, scratches and punctures had been rented by male motorists.
Honestly, guys drivers! So careless!
Telematics, in case you are asking yourself, is a big deal in the insurance industry. It is essentially the little black box that uses satellite communications to record when, exactly where and how you drive so that insurers can much more accurately set premiums, rewarding the safe and penalizing the reckless.
In-Car Cleverness monitored a lot more than 10,000 rental vehicles over a 6-month period to compile the stats, so it’s definitely thorough, even if it does disappoint some of the far more macho of the male population.
Gender equality?
It’s not the only survey that casts doubt on the superiority of the male motorist. Claims information collected by insurers clearly shows that ladies make fewer and significantly less costly claims then guys.
Insurers are not, however, permitted to take gender into account when setting premiums.
The findings of the study are also backed up by statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2013, male drivers accounted for a lot more than 40,000 road casualties, compared with significantly less than 35,000 for ladies drivers.
But let’s not rush to dismiss any link among speed and security. Men who returned autos with damage exceeded the speed limit 82 times on typical in the course of the rental period. Female drivers who broken automobiles also sped a lot more frequently, averaging 90 situations of speeding.
Damage report
Paul O’Dowd of In-Car Cleverness says: “While the number of cars damaged by the opposite sexes varies, the behaviours that result in damage are regularly comparable.
“The statistics show a clear correlation in between vehicle harm and instances of speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.”
What do you consider?
Attitudes to girls drivers are still, in many instances, redolent of rubbish comedians playing operating men’s clubs in the 1970s. But the cold challenging stats that insurance businesses create (but can not use when they set their prices!) demonstrate that women are safer drivers.
So what do you believe? Are ladies really far better drivers than guys? Or are men technically better drivers who are unwitting victims of their own testosterone-fuelled impulses?
Has it really been since July of 2010 that IndyCar announced to considerably fanfare that its ICONIC (Innovative, Competitive, Open-Wheel, New, Industry-Relevant, Expense-Powerful) advisory committee selected, to no one’s surprise, a new automobile by Dallara to replace the old vehicle by Dallara?
The ICONIC committee studied proposals from Dallara, BAT, Lola, and Swift, as nicely as the DeltaWing, and chose Dallara for numerous causes, not the least of which was that the organization was going to develop the automobile and supply bodywork, but that other organizations would be in a position to also style their own bodies, hence creating what was essentially a “spec” series significantly less so.
At the announcement, ICONIC member Tony Purnell challenged firms to design and style and build IndyCar bodies: “Come on, Ford, GM, Lotus, Ferrari. Come on, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Electric. Come on you engineers functioning in your garage or in modest shops. We’ve accomplished our ideal to supply a framework for all of you to showcase your technical prowess with out a need to have for a major raid on your piggy banks. We want you guys involved, all of you.” Then everybody on stage, and all of us in the audience, rose, joined hands, and sang “Kumbaya.”
Truly, the joining hands and singing didn’t take place, but neither did the involvement from Ford, GM, Lotus, Ferrari, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, or Basic Electric. There were numerous factors for that.
A single: economics. Aero kits, which had to get IndyCar approval ahead of use, could expense no more than $ 70,000, against $ 349,000 for a Dallara rolling chassis. Developing a new body for IndyCar would not be cheap, and “engineers working in your garage” would want a lot of luck to get approval to sell the kits. (A challenge, to say the least.) It would be a large investment and a lot of perform to have the opportunity to supply $ 70,000 bodies, of which you may possibly sell a dozen—or none.
And 2: Employing the body Dallara supplied made factors a lot simpler, and presumably the playing field a lot more even. Whether Brian Barnhart, president of competition and racing operations for the IZOD IndyCar Series, and CEO Randy Bernard even had the price range and capability to test a bunch of various bodies was a query no a single wanted to answer. Specifically given that Bernard, Barnhart, and IZOD had been quickly gone. Barnhart is back now, of course, and you can study into that something you want.
But the bottom line is this: IndyCar debuted the new Dallara vehicle at the season opener in St. Petersburg in 2012, and for the subsequent 3 years, all IndyCars looked alike—and had been alike—excepting their Chevrolet, Honda, or, briefly, Lotus engines.
The 2014 car: Charlie Kimball drives the Novo Nordisk Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
That changes on March 29, at the IndyCar season opener. That’s after again in St. Petersburg, because the planned race on March 8 in Brazil was cancelled. Chevrolet will have its personal physique kit for its teams—revealed this week and pictured here—and Honda is anticipated to have its own, as well, but it will not break cover till March.
How different is Chevy’s new body? Not a lot compared to the freedom designers have in, say, Formula 1, but it is undoubtedly diverse from the Dallara physique, and Chevrolet says it is far better. (What, you expected them to say it wasn’t?) “This new aero kit gives Chevrolet drivers the capability to enter and exit corners more rapidly, even though sustaining high speeds on the straights,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet IndyCar plan manager.
Key adjustments incorporate the front wing that characteristics new pedestal-mounted “front uppers” toward the outer edges new sculpted “wheel wedges” in front of the rear tires an engine cover and side pods that have much more compact shapes, achieved through a revised turbocharger and exhaust technique layout new larger rear bumper pods and a multi-element upper rear wing that features louvered end plates.
There were many design and style studies, significantly wind-tunnel testing, and some on-track testing involving Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya at Homestead, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud at Circuit of the Americas, and Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan at Phoenix. There are 123 new parts, with expense nevertheless capped at $ 70,000 for the very first 2 kits and $ 90,000 for subsequent ones.
Fine, but here’s the elephant in the area: At tight courses like St. Petersburg, what ever Honda and Chevrolet come up with are likely to be comparable aero-smart. But on bigger ovals, it doesn’t take significantly for one particular design to trump yet another, and what if a single manufacturer shows a substantial advantage? How significantly tweaking may well IndyCar do to maintain the playing field level, one thing that Formula 1 doesn’t stoop to worry about? You have to feel that by the Indianapolis 500—or at least the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway in June 6—we’ll know just how close the 2 designs are in functionality.
Which is most likely sufficient for IndyCar to be concerned about. Can you think about what would have happened if Ford, Lotus, Ferrari, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Basic Electric, and different “engineers functioning in your garage or in little shops” took up the mantle laid down in 2010? Neither can we.
Mini has announced that it is ending production of its oddball 2-seaters, the hardtop Coupe and the softtop Roadster. Each models are nevertheless primarily based on the second-generation Mini platform, and it seems unlikely that the duo will return as element of the new, third generation of Minis.
The pair was introduced with considerable fanfare as concepts at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, as portion of the 50th birthday celebration for Mini. Their design and style was credited to Marcus Syring (who also penned the BMW Z3 coupe) and was most notable for the steeper windshield, squashed roofline (2 inches reduce than a common Mini), and vestigial trunk.
The Coupe reached dealerships in the fall of 2011 the Roadster followed a year later. Solution positioning for each, however, was problematic. Mini tried to position the convertible as the return of the British roadster, but it wasn’t precisely that. And the Coupe was just, uh, various. Via 2014, worldwide sales amounted to only 27,350 for the Coupe and 28,867 for the Roadster.
Numbers like that mean the duo had been niche autos, and Mini’s strategy going forward is to concentrate as an alternative on core products—or “superheroes,” in the words of Peter Schwarzenbauer, the BMW Group board member under whose purview Mini falls. That indicates the lineup could shrink to just 5 models: Hardtop, in 2-door, 4-door, and convertible forms Clubman, a new version of which is due this summer time Countryman, which ought to migrate to the new platform next year a sports vehicle along the lines of the Superleggera concept and, potentially, a smaller city auto. Notice what’s missing here? Yep, the Paceman. We count on that will be the next Mini to follow the Coupe and the Roadster down that final off-ramp.
Basic Motors coasted by way of 2014 with a $ 2.8 billion net profit and record international sales of more than 9.9 million cars and trucks.
Also negative GM broke another record: for most recalls ever in a single year. Otherwise it would have made one more $ 3.5 billion. That is what the business spent on much more than 80 recall campaigns totaling some 36 million vehicles. And that does not incorporate the $ 315 million hit it expects to take on the ignition-switch settlement fund, which so far has counted 51 deaths and has paid out $ 93 million.
But hey, the ceaseless waves of recall news in 2014 didn’t quit Americans from taking residence a lot more than 2.9 million GM autos, a 5.3-% achieve more than 2013. And when it comes to money, GM has lots of that, as well: $ 3 billion in cash or “cash equivalents” and one more $ 5.3 billion in credit it can draw upon immediately.
Yes, GM is under investigation by 49 states, the Department of Justice, and has individuals virtually banging on the Renaissance Center’s glass for billions worth of potential legal damages, but none of that has hit property but and almost everything is peachy.
It’s so excellent, in fact, that GM sales had been up 18.3 percent last month versus January 2014. New Escalades are flying out the door at more than double final year’s price Chevrolet recorded its greatest retail sales month considering that 2008 and GMC had its ideal since 2004. Much better however, according to J.D. Power people are spending $ 2400 much more on a GM car this year than they did final (the typical transaction price tag is $ 34,800).
GM is off to yet another rocket launch of a year, but the automaker possibly wants to preserve in thoughts the old adage: Keep your clients close and your lawyers closer.
Wesbank anticipates positive vehicle sales in 2015
Despite an apparent slow start to new vehicle sales in January, WesBank anticipates industry growth this year. The latest new vehicle sales data from the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) reflects a small decline in vehicle sales, compared to January last year.
Industry new vehicle sales totalled 52 306 units for the first month of 2015, a year-on-year decline of 1.2%. Of this, passenger cars accounted for 36 982, down 3.6%, while Light Commercial Vehicles increased 6% to 13 460 sales.
A closer examination reveals that the decline in sales of new vehicles can largely be attributed to a 9.7% drop in activity in the rental market.
“Rental companies seem to be shifting their replacement cycle to the second half of the year – as we saw in the last 6 months of 2014,” said Rudolf Mahoney, head of research at WesBank. “Sales in the rental market were down 11% at the start of 2014, but ended the year with double-digit growth.”
At a dealer level the drop is a mere 0.1%, year-on-year.
“In December 2014 dealer sales increased by 10.5%, suggesting that consumers brought forward their vehicle purchases to avoid January’s annual car price increases,” said Mahoney.
WesBank’s Mobility Index indicates that the monthly mobility costs for consumers are lower now than at the same point in 2014. The Mobility Index tracks all of the associated costs for owning and operating a car, including instalments, fuel, maintenance, and insurance. Compared to August 2014 consumers are now paying R3.99 less, per litre, which equates to a saving of more than 28%
“With interest rates remaining stable and manufacturer marketing incentives helping to drive sales the environment is conducive for marginal growth in the new vehicle market,” said Mahoney. “However, consumers would do well to not budget against savings at the pumps. Should the rand weaken or oil prices increase monthly household budgets will be under even more stress.”
GM’;s German arm gives Buick its initial droptop given that the Reatta.
Buick is letting its prime down for the 1st time considering that the 1st Bush administration. The 2016 Cascada convertible, which is currently sold in Europe as an Opel of the very same name, will reach Buick showrooms early next year. As opposed to the now largely forgotten Buick Reatta convertible, the Cascada is a 4-seater and is primarily based on the compact Opel Astra platform.
Though the package is lifted virtually totally intact from the German entry, the Cascada’s engine output has been elevated slightly for U.S. duty. In the Buick, the 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder is rated at 200 horsepower (up from 197) with 206 lb-ft of torque, or 221 lb-ft on overboost. For now, the 1.6-liter engine is exclusive to the Cascada in the Buick lineup. The Cascada’s platform-mate, the Verano sedan, utilizes a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter (180 hp) and a 2.-liter 250-hp unit in the Verano Turbo. Whereas the Verano Turbo gives a stick, the front-wheel-drive Cascada comes only with a 6-speed automatic. GM’s HiPer Strut front suspension aids combat torque steer, however, and the Cascada rolls on 20-inch wheels.
Although the Cascada and the Verano are siblings beneath the skin, the 2 don’t share any body panels. The convertible rides on a fractionally longer wheelbase (106.1 inches) and is 1 inch longer and an inch wider overall. The Cascada’s length puts it midway amongst the (now-defunct) Chrysler 200 convertible and the (all-but-defunct) Volkswagen Eos. Its wheelbase, nevertheless, is closer to the Chrysler’s, which signifies the rear seats should be adequate for adults. They’re produced accessible by front seats that automatically scoot forward. Alternately, the rear seatbacks can be folded down to expand trunk space, which otherwise stands at 13.4 cubic feet with the best up and 9.8 cubes with the prime lowered.
That leading is a standard fabric roof—our preference more than a retractable hardtop, which nearly often outcomes in awkward proportions and hogs trunk space. Plus, fabric tops appear nicer. And as opposed to most retractable hardtops, the Cascada’s energy best can be lowered (in 17 seconds) whilst the automobile is on the move, at speeds up to 31 mph. Heated seats—and a heated steering wheel—allow the hardy to stretch the best-down motoring season.
We drove an Opel Cascada in late 2013, with a lesser (168-hp) version of the 1.6-liter turbo, and while it was pleasant, its performance was languid. With 200 horses beneath the hood, the Buick should enhance on that experience. We’ll see whether or not that’s enough to earn the Cascada a longer remain than the final Buick convertible, which stuck about for only 4 years.
Ford is launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate
Focus RS will be made available globally for first time
Ford bringing more global performance vehicles to customers worldwide; more than 12 new performance vehicles through 2020 – including Focus RS – to be available globally
Ford uniting regional performance engineering and racing teams as one global team under Ford Performance, delivering more new vehicles and parts, sooner
PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 11, 2014 - Ford today confirmed it will be launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate.* The company announced that the all-new RS will be made available to customers in major markets around the world for the first time.
Ford also announced that the all-new Focus RS is one of more than 12 new performance vehicles coming for global enthusiasts through 2020. This is part of the company’;s plan to deliver more performance vehicles, parts and accessories for customers around the world – more quickly – through a new global Ford Performance team.
“Ford remains committed to innovation through performance,” says Raj Nair, Ford’;s group vice president, Global Product Development. “Through our global Ford Performance team that ties together racing, performance vehicles, and parts, we can more quickly bring to market products and accessories that meet the needs of customers around the world on-road and on the track.”
Focus RS, which builds on a pedigree of driving excellence dating back to the first Ford RS in 1968, was last introduced in 2009.
“To earn the RS badge, the vehicle has to be a no-compromise driver’;s car that can deliver exceptional performance on the track when required while providing excellent every day driving,” Nair said.
In addition to pleasing enthusiasts, vehicles such as Focus RS help deliver the company’;s One Ford plan for profitable growth, product excellence and innovation in every part of its business. Performance vehicle sales are growing around the world – with sales in Europe and the U.S. up by 14 percent and 70 percent respectively, since 2009.
Powering performance vehicles, such as the Fiesta ST and Focus ST, is Ford’;s award-winning EcoBoost engine range. Since the introduction of the EcoBoost engine in 2009, Ford has produced more than 2 million EcoBoost engines globally.
“EcoBoost is a strong example of how we are migrating technology and engineering across our line-up, ensuring our vehicles are fun to drive – not just our Ford Performance line-up,” Nair said. “From our most nimble Fiesta to our hard-working full-size pickups and racing vehicles, our line-up benefits from the innovations we deliver at the track and at the limit.”
New global team
The new Ford Performance organisation unifies Team RS, Ford SVT, and Ford Racing globally, serving as an innovation laboratory and test-bed to create unique performance vehicles, parts, accessories and experiences for customers.
This includes developing innovations and technologies in aerodynamics, light-weighting, electronics, powertrain performance and fuel efficiency that can be applied more broadly to Ford’;s product portfolio.
In addition to race tracks around the world, the team also will develop new vehicles and technologies at Ford’;s engineering centres globally and at a new technical centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. This state-of-the-art facility helps the team deliver racing innovations as well as advancing tools for use in performance vehicles and daily drivers alike.
The Ford Performance organization is led by Dave Pericak, who has been appointed director, Global Ford Performance.
Heritage of Performance Innovation
Performance and racing are deeply embedded in Ford’;s DNA, dating back 113 years ago when Henry Ford won the Sweepstakes Race against Alexander Winton – then America’;s greatest racer.
Following a remarkable upset victory in front of Detroit’;s business elite, some of whom immediately came forward to back whatever automotive venture Henry had in mind, Ford Motor Company opened 18 months later.
“Ford still races for the same reasons Henry Ford did in 1901 – to prove out our products and technologies against the very best in the world,” Nair said. “The Ford Performance team will continue to pursue performance innovation, ensuring we can deliver even more coveted performance cars, utilities and trucks to customers around the world.”
Ford is launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate
Focus RS will be made available globally for first time
Ford bringing more global performance vehicles to customers worldwide; more than 12 new performance vehicles through 2020 – including Focus RS – to be available globally
Ford uniting regional performance engineering and racing teams as one global team under Ford Performance, delivering more new vehicles and parts, sooner
PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 11, 2014 - Ford today confirmed it will be launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate.* The company announced that the all-new RS will be made available to customers in major markets around the world for the first time.
Ford also announced that the all-new Focus RS is one of more than 12 new performance vehicles coming for global enthusiasts through 2020. This is part of the company’;s plan to deliver more performance vehicles, parts and accessories for customers around the world – more quickly – through a new global Ford Performance team.
“Ford remains committed to innovation through performance,” says Raj Nair, Ford’;s group vice president, Global Product Development. “Through our global Ford Performance team that ties together racing, performance vehicles, and parts, we can more quickly bring to market products and accessories that meet the needs of customers around the world on-road and on the track.”
Focus RS, which builds on a pedigree of driving excellence dating back to the first Ford RS in 1968, was last introduced in 2009.
“To earn the RS badge, the vehicle has to be a no-compromise driver’;s car that can deliver exceptional performance on the track when required while providing excellent every day driving,” Nair said.
In addition to pleasing enthusiasts, vehicles such as Focus RS help deliver the company’;s One Ford plan for profitable growth, product excellence and innovation in every part of its business. Performance vehicle sales are growing around the world – with sales in Europe and the U.S. up by 14 percent and 70 percent respectively, since 2009.
Powering performance vehicles, such as the Fiesta ST and Focus ST, is Ford’;s award-winning EcoBoost engine range. Since the introduction of the EcoBoost engine in 2009, Ford has produced more than 2 million EcoBoost engines globally.
“EcoBoost is a strong example of how we are migrating technology and engineering across our line-up, ensuring our vehicles are fun to drive – not just our Ford Performance line-up,” Nair said. “From our most nimble Fiesta to our hard-working full-size pickups and racing vehicles, our line-up benefits from the innovations we deliver at the track and at the limit.”
New global team
The new Ford Performance organisation unifies Team RS, Ford SVT, and Ford Racing globally, serving as an innovation laboratory and test-bed to create unique performance vehicles, parts, accessories and experiences for customers.
This includes developing innovations and technologies in aerodynamics, light-weighting, electronics, powertrain performance and fuel efficiency that can be applied more broadly to Ford’;s product portfolio.
In addition to race tracks around the world, the team also will develop new vehicles and technologies at Ford’;s engineering centres globally and at a new technical centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. This state-of-the-art facility helps the team deliver racing innovations as well as advancing tools for use in performance vehicles and daily drivers alike.
The Ford Performance organization is led by Dave Pericak, who has been appointed director, Global Ford Performance.
Heritage of Performance Innovation
Performance and racing are deeply embedded in Ford’;s DNA, dating back 113 years ago when Henry Ford won the Sweepstakes Race against Alexander Winton – then America’;s greatest racer.
Following a remarkable upset victory in front of Detroit’;s business elite, some of whom immediately came forward to back whatever automotive venture Henry had in mind, Ford Motor Company opened 18 months later.
“Ford still races for the same reasons Henry Ford did in 1901 – to prove out our products and technologies against the very best in the world,” Nair said. “The Ford Performance team will continue to pursue performance innovation, ensuring we can deliver even more coveted performance cars, utilities and trucks to customers around the world.”
Ford is launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate
Focus RS will be made available globally for first time
Ford bringing more global performance vehicles to customers worldwide; more than 12 new performance vehicles through 2020 – including Focus RS – to be available globally
Ford uniting regional performance engineering and racing teams as one global team under Ford Performance, delivering more new vehicles and parts, sooner
PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 11, 2014 - Ford today confirmed it will be launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate.* The company announced that the all-new RS will be made available to customers in major markets around the world for the first time.
Ford also announced that the all-new Focus RS is one of more than 12 new performance vehicles coming for global enthusiasts through 2020. This is part of the company’;s plan to deliver more performance vehicles, parts and accessories for customers around the world – more quickly – through a new global Ford Performance team.
“Ford remains committed to innovation through performance,” says Raj Nair, Ford’;s group vice president, Global Product Development. “Through our global Ford Performance team that ties together racing, performance vehicles, and parts, we can more quickly bring to market products and accessories that meet the needs of customers around the world on-road and on the track.”
Focus RS, which builds on a pedigree of driving excellence dating back to the first Ford RS in 1968, was last introduced in 2009.
“To earn the RS badge, the vehicle has to be a no-compromise driver’;s car that can deliver exceptional performance on the track when required while providing excellent every day driving,” Nair said.
In addition to pleasing enthusiasts, vehicles such as Focus RS help deliver the company’;s One Ford plan for profitable growth, product excellence and innovation in every part of its business. Performance vehicle sales are growing around the world – with sales in Europe and the U.S. up by 14 percent and 70 percent respectively, since 2009.
Powering performance vehicles, such as the Fiesta ST and Focus ST, is Ford’;s award-winning EcoBoost engine range. Since the introduction of the EcoBoost engine in 2009, Ford has produced more than 2 million EcoBoost engines globally.
“EcoBoost is a strong example of how we are migrating technology and engineering across our line-up, ensuring our vehicles are fun to drive – not just our Ford Performance line-up,” Nair said. “From our most nimble Fiesta to our hard-working full-size pickups and racing vehicles, our line-up benefits from the innovations we deliver at the track and at the limit.”
New global team
The new Ford Performance organisation unifies Team RS, Ford SVT, and Ford Racing globally, serving as an innovation laboratory and test-bed to create unique performance vehicles, parts, accessories and experiences for customers.
This includes developing innovations and technologies in aerodynamics, light-weighting, electronics, powertrain performance and fuel efficiency that can be applied more broadly to Ford’;s product portfolio.
In addition to race tracks around the world, the team also will develop new vehicles and technologies at Ford’;s engineering centres globally and at a new technical centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. This state-of-the-art facility helps the team deliver racing innovations as well as advancing tools for use in performance vehicles and daily drivers alike.
The Ford Performance organization is led by Dave Pericak, who has been appointed director, Global Ford Performance.
Heritage of Performance Innovation
Performance and racing are deeply embedded in Ford’;s DNA, dating back 113 years ago when Henry Ford won the Sweepstakes Race against Alexander Winton – then America’;s greatest racer.
Following a remarkable upset victory in front of Detroit’;s business elite, some of whom immediately came forward to back whatever automotive venture Henry had in mind, Ford Motor Company opened 18 months later.
“Ford still races for the same reasons Henry Ford did in 1901 – to prove out our products and technologies against the very best in the world,” Nair said. “The Ford Performance team will continue to pursue performance innovation, ensuring we can deliver even more coveted performance cars, utilities and trucks to customers around the world.”
Ford is launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate
Focus RS will be made available globally for first time
Ford bringing more global performance vehicles to customers worldwide; more than 12 new performance vehicles through 2020 – including Focus RS – to be available globally
Ford uniting regional performance engineering and racing teams as one global team under Ford Performance, delivering more new vehicles and parts, sooner
PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 11, 2014 - Ford today confirmed it will be launching an all-new Focus RS – the ultimate performance version of the world’;s best-selling global nameplate.* The company announced that the all-new RS will be made available to customers in major markets around the world for the first time.
Ford also announced that the all-new Focus RS is one of more than 12 new performance vehicles coming for global enthusiasts through 2020. This is part of the company’;s plan to deliver more performance vehicles, parts and accessories for customers around the world – more quickly – through a new global Ford Performance team.
“Ford remains committed to innovation through performance,” says Raj Nair, Ford’;s group vice president, Global Product Development. “Through our global Ford Performance team that ties together racing, performance vehicles, and parts, we can more quickly bring to market products and accessories that meet the needs of customers around the world on-road and on the track.”
Focus RS, which builds on a pedigree of driving excellence dating back to the first Ford RS in 1968, was last introduced in 2009.
“To earn the RS badge, the vehicle has to be a no-compromise driver’;s car that can deliver exceptional performance on the track when required while providing excellent every day driving,” Nair said.
In addition to pleasing enthusiasts, vehicles such as Focus RS help deliver the company’;s One Ford plan for profitable growth, product excellence and innovation in every part of its business. Performance vehicle sales are growing around the world – with sales in Europe and the U.S. up by 14 percent and 70 percent respectively, since 2009.
Powering performance vehicles, such as the Fiesta ST and Focus ST, is Ford’;s award-winning EcoBoost engine range. Since the introduction of the EcoBoost engine in 2009, Ford has produced more than 2 million EcoBoost engines globally.
“EcoBoost is a strong example of how we are migrating technology and engineering across our line-up, ensuring our vehicles are fun to drive – not just our Ford Performance line-up,” Nair said. “From our most nimble Fiesta to our hard-working full-size pickups and racing vehicles, our line-up benefits from the innovations we deliver at the track and at the limit.”
New global team
The new Ford Performance organisation unifies Team RS, Ford SVT, and Ford Racing globally, serving as an innovation laboratory and test-bed to create unique performance vehicles, parts, accessories and experiences for customers.
This includes developing innovations and technologies in aerodynamics, light-weighting, electronics, powertrain performance and fuel efficiency that can be applied more broadly to Ford’;s product portfolio.
In addition to race tracks around the world, the team also will develop new vehicles and technologies at Ford’;s engineering centres globally and at a new technical centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. This state-of-the-art facility helps the team deliver racing innovations as well as advancing tools for use in performance vehicles and daily drivers alike.
The Ford Performance organization is led by Dave Pericak, who has been appointed director, Global Ford Performance.
Heritage of Performance Innovation
Performance and racing are deeply embedded in Ford’;s DNA, dating back 113 years ago when Henry Ford won the Sweepstakes Race against Alexander Winton – then America’;s greatest racer.
Following a remarkable upset victory in front of Detroit’;s business elite, some of whom immediately came forward to back whatever automotive venture Henry had in mind, Ford Motor Company opened 18 months later.
“Ford still races for the same reasons Henry Ford did in 1901 – to prove out our products and technologies against the very best in the world,” Nair said. “The Ford Performance team will continue to pursue performance innovation, ensuring we can deliver even more coveted performance cars, utilities and trucks to customers around the world.”
It employed to be easy: new automobiles depreciate more rapidly than employed ones, so if you have been being careful with your pennies you’d only get what salesmen (and only salesmen) contact ‘pre-loved’ cars.
But issues have changed.
Investigation carried out by automobile-buying comparison service carwow.co.uk suggests the added cash and decrease interest prices auto companies offer to encourage consumers to buy brand-new can in fact make acquiring a new car a wiser option than obtaining car with a year’s worth of use beneath its tyres.
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I asked Matt Lewis from CarWow to walk me through the research…
Genuine-life calculations
Matt gave a worked instance, outlined in the table below: “The SEAT Leon is absolutely nothing uncommon – it’s a top-level FR trim auto with a punchy 184PS 2.-litre diesel engine. The new auto is £4,395 far more costly than the approved utilized auto in the appropriate-hand column.
“However, when we examine costs supplied by dealers, who have provided clients upfront provides on the web with no haggling, we see the new price drop to £20,854, closing the gap by a considerable amount.
“But if you get that new car you will probably be provided SEAT’s % APR finance package. The more affordable model with 5,000 miles on the clock, meanwhile, will only be eligible for more high-priced finance, which contains numerous costs and larger month-to-month repayments.
“So following 3 years you will have paid practically £2,000 much more for the privilege of not possessing been the 1st owner.”
Round of Golf?
The second instance is one that’ll get any petrolhead’s heart racing: the new 300PS VW Golf R. This is a seriously swift household auto that’ll race to 60mph more quickly than a Porsche Cayman.
Again, Matt talks by way of the numbers…
“Our figures show that acquiring a new Golf R new can drop the price tag £3,000 under that of a employed 1. But it gets better.
“Thanks to Volkswagen’s PCP deal you’ll nonetheless be capable to own the vehicle for just £35,609 soon after 3 years of low monthly payments. That sum does consist of a balloon payment of £18,375 if you want to acquire it outright, but you’re still better off to the tune of nearly £8,000 over the utilised vehicle.”
Think before you acquire
So the core message right here is that it’s effectively worth undertaking a bit of analysis prior to you make your choice about which car to buy, including the general expense of finance.
Honda Motor Company disclosed this week that it failed to report 1729 injuries or deaths to the National Highway Site visitors Safety Administration as needed by law. The unreported incidents, which occurred among 2003 and 2014, vastly outweigh the about 900 injuries or deaths the company did report during that time.
The New York Instances reports that this week’s revelation comes soon after an outside law firm audited Honda’s reporting procedures at the carmaker’s request. The situation of underreporting injuries and deaths was 1st identified by a Honda employee in 2011, the Times reports. “Apparently, there was no stick to-up,” Honda stated in a statement.
The necessary reports are element of Early Warning Reporting, a system that demands carmakers to report to NHTSA any injuries or deaths blamed on car defects. The system was established in 2000 in response to rollover crashes blamed on Ford Explorers wearing Firestone tires.
Rick Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America, blamed the missing reports on “inadvertent data entry and laptop programming errors,” noting that injury and death claims entered with no a date were omitted from incident reports. Not everyone buys that explanation: Allan J. Kam, a former NHTSA lawyer now functioning as an auto-safety consultant, told The New York Occasions, “this is not an occasional error this is systematic underreporting by the organization.”
The admission could open Honda to federal penalties up to $ 35 million, the fine Basic Motors received for failure to disclose defective ignition switches in a timely manner, although lawmakers are now considering raising the maximum fine considerably. Ferrari was slapped with a $ 3.5-million fine this month for failing to submit the very same Early Warning Reports that Honda neglected to file, though in Ferrari’s case the missing reports concerned only 3 fatal accidents.
Honda’s underreporting came to light in the course of a separate investigation into faulty Takata airbags, which Honda has linked to 5 deaths and dozens of injuries, The New York Instances reports. Eight of Honda’s missing claims, including a single fatality, had to do with defective Takata airbags, which can deploy with excessive force and fire shrapnel at drivers and passengers in an accident. The automaker finds itself in increasingly hot water over Takata airbag problems, which the company reportedly hid from NHTSA for many years prior to recall activity.
Honda says it has fixed the pc troubles that led to the underreporting and is retraining its workers and updating the departments responsible for Early Warning Reporting.
Delphi Automotive, the element builder that supplied the ignition switches at the center of GM’s enormous recall, has agreed to give lawyers access to thousands of documents and enable conversations with staff in exchange for getting dropped as a defendant, Automotive News reports. The business had previously refused to cooperate with GM’s internal investigation on the ignition switches.
Lawyers representing the loved ones of Brooke Melton, who died in a 2010 crash that is been blamed on a faulty ignition switch in her Chevy Cobalt, told Automotive News that Delphi signed the deal to stay away from a lengthy court procedure. “We will have total and comprehensive access to their personnel who were involved,” lawyer Jere Beasley said to AN. “They showed us enough documents that day that had been very beneficial to us and extremely damaging to Basic Motors and their credibility.”
Delphi manufactured the GM ignition switches in Mexico, but until now the supplier’s function in the ongoing issues surrounding the GM cars has been unknown. Earlier this week, it was found that GM secretly asked Delphi for a rush order of 500,000 replacement ignition switches on December 18, 2013, 2 months ahead of GM publicly announced its very first ignition-switch recall. GM did not mention this order in its personal internal reports on the issue, nor did it reveal the order to Congress.
“Turbo” used to strictly imply “turbo.” Now it also implies “a lot more cylinders.”
How far can 1 wander from Porsche’s vaunted 930 but nonetheless wear the capital-t “Turbo” badge? The 2015 Cayenne Turbo is probably the answer. Reduce from the exact same midcycle-refresh cloth as the 6-pot Cayenne S, the Turbo adds a pair of cylinders to that model’s equation. Before this year, the Turbo was the only path to a pair of escargot, but the S has now downsized from a naturally aspirated V-8 to a slightly uprated version of the Macan Turbo’s twin-turbocharged V-6 engine. (Confusingly, the Macan S also attributes a twin-turbo V-6.)
So at this point, Porsche may as properly badge its Turbo-branded utes as “Very Turbo.” Echt Turbo? You see, the Cayenne Turbo’s double-puffed V-8 delivers up 520 horsepower. If you’re maintaining track, that’s just about double the output of this original 911 Turbo. An ’86 930 tipped our scales at 3040 pounds. The modern SUV adds actually a ton of additional mass, weighing in at an estimated 5200 pounds.
Of course, the 930 was frequently derided/admired as a widow-maker, with tricky understeer-into-oversteer traits exacerbated by early engine-management technologies (study: turbo lag). The Cayenne suffers from no such concerns. The only eventful factor about wheeling the prime-spec Porsche ute is the quickness with which the needle sweeps the speedo’s face.
The Cayenne Turbo’s driver-focused cockpit—which is quickly familiar to anyone who’s driven a current 911, Panamera, or Boxster—may effectively deliver the most special knowledge in the Porsche line. Exclusive since it is a small much more like autos not constructed by Porsche. You cannot wholly mask bulk, and the 2.5-ton Turbo certainly has its share. You can, nonetheless, make bulk do quite astonishing items these days. Much better living by way of chemistry and all that.
Although it’s not as visceral an accelerative encounter as the ripping (and significantly less pricey) Range Rover Sport Supercharged—even as the Porsche is likely a tick quicker—the Turbo displays a composed serenity in situations where a BMW X5 M would feel brittle and stiff. It’ll waft up to speed like a Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, stick its nose into a hairpin, and track via in a way that absolutely nothing this best-heavy actually has a proper to.
Although the Panamera Turbo gets Porsche’s exceptional PDK dual-clutch transmission, the Cayenne that shares its motor makes due with an 8-speed slushbox with a tendency to hammer home shifts punctuated by a chassis-juddering thwunk. It’s completely out of character with the rest of the strop-honed refinement displayed by the vehicle, and especially jarring when it happens midcorner. The unsettledness is a nano-momentary thing, and the underpinnings are surely capable of keeping the machine on course, but the behavior is slightly unnerving at speed. The trans, even though, is the sole flaw in an otherwise wholly bulletproof suit of mountain-warfare armor.
Other entries in the super-SUV class demand your faith by way of mathematics. The Cayenne Turbo earns it by placing you right away at ease on surfaces strong, slippery, and/or frangible. That prime-of-the-pile self-assurance comes with a cost, though—in this case at least $ 114,595.
September 10, 2014 at 2:56 pm by Rob Kinnan | Photography by Andrew Trahan
A “crate engine” is just that: an engine that comes in a wooden box, delivered to your door, ready to be dropped into the automobile of your picking. The great old days’ answer of constructing your personal engine is falling out of favor, increasingly replaced by the ease and expense-effectiveness of purchasing a complete, ready-to-run powerplant. The appeal is obvious: verified energy levels, dependability, and typically a warranty. There are hundreds of choices in the crate-engine marketplace, and even the automakers are in on the game. Ford, GM, and Mopar have stock and modified production engines available for sale, as effectively as new overall performance versions of prior designs, like the tiny-block Chevrolet that dates back to 1955. Here, we’ve compiled a choice of OE offerings, sorted by their most crucial stats: power and cost. Click the graphic to enlarge.
Soon after Marketplace, Beyond Explanation
OE engines as well tame? Aftermarket catalogs are bursting with mills combining unreal output with equally shocking civility. Lingenfelter’s baddest is a 1000-hp supercharged 427 cubic-incher for $ 34,995. It is a drop-in package for any vehicle that originally came with an LS engine. If packaging is not a concern, then Moran Motorsports has a 2000-hp, 555-cube big-block-Chevy–based crate for you. It’s not low-cost: Getting a single on the road will price about $ 38,000. But if you had a a lot more reputable way to run in the sixes at much more than 200 mph and then cruise all day, you could set your price, as well.
