Ferrari FF

Company press releases often throw around the world "revolutionary" as if they are indeed planning a revolution, but instead they are usually just hyping up their latest econobox which is just as boxy and economic as all the others. In the case of the Ferrari FF (Ferrari Four) the use of the word is actually justified as the 612 Scaglietti replacement is a significant departure from everything the brand has done before. Ferrari's new four seater is its first four wheel drive hatchback, perhaps the first modern vehicle actually deserving of the much overused term shooting-brake. In any case the FF is probably one of the largest hatches in the world at 193 inches, this gives the Ferrari four seater 16 cubic feet of luggage capacity. In what is probably a first for Ferrari the rear seats fold to give you 28 cubic feet of carrying capacity making the FF the first Ferrari approved for Costco run duty. Four wheel drive is another new technology to the Ferrari brand. Ferrari claims that its patented 4RM four wheel drive system weighs only half of a typical all wheel drive system. Powering the FF is a 651 horsepower direct injected 6.3 liter V12. Interestingly enough that is the same power output as the Ferrari Enzo with an additional 19 lb-ft of torque, an excellent example of technological progress. The addition of direct injection and a start-stop system (a first for a production Ferrari as well) gives the FF a 33% bump in fuel economy when compared to its predecessor, a two wheel drive car that had 120 fewer horsepower. The performance of the FF will undoubtedly be superb, however the biggest water cooler talk about the FF will be its styling. Reminiscent of the cult status Z3 " the Clown Shoe" Coupe in its profile the styling will be a hot topic for some time. Mostly because it is just too unusual to see a 300,000 dollar+ hatchback. Whatever your opinion of the styling it is refreshing and laudable to see a company pushing the boundaries of design when they could have easily followed their traditional formula and still sell every example that they made. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if people are willing to buy a 209 mph hatchback or if they will go for something more conventional like the Lamborghini Estoque sedan.

2011 NAIAS Day One

The 2011 NAIAS has started and it's time to consider the three best concepts of day one. In typical Honda fashion the Honda Civic and Civic coupe concepts are thinly veiled versions of the upcoming production models. The sedan Civic is particularly well executed and shows a sleeker version of the current sedan. With minimal changes to production the Civic looks poised to capture the styling lead in the compact segment with a great balance between clean and adventurous styling.The coupe concept doesn't look bad either but is not as well executed as the sedan.

Ford scores a nomination for its Vertrek concept which previews the next generation Ford Escape that is set to take a major departure from its current boxiness. The Vertrek gives a good indication of the Kuga inspired direction that the Escape will take, aside from the pillarless window design it should be a fair representation of the popular crossover. Ford promises improved aerodynamics with this new design. The compact CUV segment is experiencing tremendous growth and styling is likely to play a great role in this trendy segment.

Rounding out day one is the Kia KV7 concept. Its clean take on the minivan concept deserves recognition. From some angles it resembles the crowd pleasing Volkswagen Microbus concept of yesteryear, the last "cool" minivan.

2010 Sales In Review

December 2010 proved to be a very good month for the auto industry with most brands posting significant increases in sales over last December. In fact, Mini and Mercedes-Benz posted best December sales in their company history. 2010 as a year on the whole also proved to be much better for the auto industry compared to the past few years. All brands save Toyota and Suzuki were able to improve their sales compared to 2009. Even the recently discontinued Mercury brand was able to improve by a percentage point to close out its existence. General Motor's premium divisions led all brands with Buick improving by 51.9% and Cadillac with 34.7% respectively. Hyundai and Ford bested all of the other mainstream competition with 24 and 21% improvements. The 21% sales improvement allowed Ford to outsell Chevrolet and Toyota for the year. Hyundai, Kia and Audi all had banner years selling more than every before. Take a look at the chart below to see how everyone did in 2010 compared to 2009.

December also marked the start of sales of the all electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt. Electric mobility is of to a slow start with the Volt winning the first battle with 326 sales compared to only 19 Leafs for Nissan.

Best Looking Modern Engine Bays

With the ever growing trend of manufacturers adding more and more plastic into the engine compartment it's become significantly rarer to find modern vehicles with visually appealing engine bays. However, there are always exceptions to all trends and there are new vehicles out there with great looking engines and engine bays. Without further ado here are the best looking modern engine bays.


Ferrari 599 V12



Audi RS4 V8



Chrysler SRT8 V8



Bugatti Veyron W16



Ford Mustang 5.0 V8



Ferrari 458 Italia V8



Mercedes Benz 6.3 AMG V8

2012 BMW 650i Convertible Design Analysis

At the past LA Autoshow BMW released photos of its third generation 6 series convertible. The latest six series stays true to its Paris concept, changing little in the process of going to production. BMW did throw a curve ball by first releasing photos of the convertible ahead of the coupe. The latest six series certainly makes amends many of the styling transgressions of the last generation, especially in the trunk and headlights area. One journalist described the trunk of the last three series as if someone backed in to a guard rail and dented the trunk. The new six series fixes these shortcomings with a sharp taillight and trunk area. The front of the six series is follows the same general design as the latest seven series, yet integrates well with the rest of the convertible design. Overall the latest sixth series features a significantly cleaner design that does wonders for BMW's top of the line convertible. The torquey turbocharged V8 engine and crisp styling makes the latest six series convertible a serious contender in the grand touring category. Take a look at the photos of the 2012 six series convertible below.

2012 Audi A6 Design Analysis

Audi unveiled its seventh generation A6 sedan this past week and now it's time to analyze its design. Unsurprisingly, the A6 follows a similar design pattern as the A8 and to a certain degree A4 and A7. It also keeps design elements from the previous generation A6 as well. As a brand Audi has prioritized a single cohesive design language between its models over the past few years. This is perhaps the biggest downfall for the new A6 as it lacks some of the excitement associated with new model reveals. Aside from lacking the surprise factor, the A6 nevertheless has a strong and clean design. The all LED headlights look extremely sharp and are better integrated than those of the latest A8. The A1 inspired taillights however look to take a step back from the ones on the current generation A6. The A7 inspired interior does not disappoint and keeps Audi's interior reputation intact. Overall, the A6 features a design that can be considered on the conservative side with a mix of clean lines that like many other new designs is likely to look better in person than in pictures. Nevertheless, here are some (63 to be exact) photos of the new A6 along with two videos to help you form your own opinion.

Volt Gets Its EPA Sticker Also

Hot on the heels of the EPA announcement that the Nissan Leaf will get 99 MPGe, the Chevrolet Volt received its own EPA sticker today. Unlike the all electric Leaf, the Volt is a plug in hybrid and thus has three distinct fuel economy figures. On a full battery charge the Volt will travel about 35 miles while getting 93 MPGe, or only slightly worse than the Leaf. After the initial battery charge runs out the Volt consumes gasoline like a regular car. The EPA rates the Volt at 35 city and 40 highway when running purely on gasoline, these numbers place it slightly above compact cars fuel economy wise. Overall, the EPA predicts that through a mix of electric and gasoline driving the Volt on average will achieve 60 MPG combined, this places the Volt 10 MPG ahead of the Prius. Of course this estimate depends on the amount of driving done with the gas engine running. A long highway drive with no opportunity to recharge will push the MPG down towards 40, while short trips around town will have the Volt's average over 60. While the Volt didn't live up to Chevy's 230 mpg hype claim, its electric efficiency is only slightly behind the lighter Leaf's and respectable in gas only mode.

With both the Leaf and the Volt ready to go on sale this December the electric vehicle battle is on and it's up to the consumer to see which vehicle they prefer. Looking solely at the EPA ratings, the Volt gives up little efficiency while providing a significant range advantage.