2014 Ford Focus Se on 2040-cars

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Ford rolls out diesel Focus ST at Goodwood [w/poll]

If you're in the market for a hot hatch, there are some excellent choices at your disposal - especially if you live in Europe. But if you want a diesel, well, your choices become rather more limited. Volkswagen tends to that niche market with the Golf GTD (essentially an oil-burning version of the GTI available Stateside), but that's about the extent of it. The pleas of those looking for more diesel-burning hot hatch choices haven't fallen on deaf ears at Ford, with the Blue Oval not only rolling out a facelifted gas-powered Focus ST at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, but also a new diesel version as well.
The diesel Focus ST (which we hope and pray isn't marketed as the STD) packs a 2.0-liter turbodiesel four producing 182 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque to propel the oil-burning hot hatch to 62 in 8.1 seconds en route to a top speed of 135 miles per hour. With less power and only slightly more torque, that makes the diesel Focus ST considerably slower than the gasoline one, which packs 252 hp and 270 lb-ft, runs to 62 in 6.5 seconds and tops out at 154 mph, but (in a testament to how far particulate filters have come) the diesel model cuts carbon emissions by nearly a third compared to the petrol version and returns about 50-percent better fuel economy, which makes that much more of a difference in markets where diesel is already priced better than gasoline at the pump.
For buyers who wouldn't consider anything other than a diesel, it also represents 23-percent more power than the previous top-level diesel Focus. The VW Golf GTD, for reference, offers up 181 hp (just 1 horse less), 280 lb-ft (15 fewer torques) but is somehow estimated to reach 60 in a considerably fleeter 7.4 seconds.

Ford spills SEMA all over its Expeditions

If you're going to this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas, it's going to be tough to miss the Ford booth, simply for its size. The Blue Oval is bringing over a dozen customized examples of the 2015 Mustang and a quintet of modded Transits. The latest announced addition is a trio of upgraded 2015 Expeditions showing different takes on the recently refreshed SUV.
Any vehicle tuned by Dub Magazine needs to ride on massive wheels, and the Expedition (pictured above) that it has for SEMA is no exception. The SUV has 26-inch Dropstars wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires, and, making them look even larger, the suspension is also lowered. The rest of the custom has some mild upgrades like mesh grilles in front, tinted windows, an integrated radar detector and new upholstery inside.
Tijn wants to boost the performance of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 for its take on the Expedition. The company claims to add 40 horsepower to bring total output to a claimed 405 by upgrading the engine with a charge cooler from Vortech Engineering, a custom side exhaust and a custom tune. To match the extra grunt, the SUV also gets bigger brakes, an Air Lift suspension and 24-inch, copper-colored wheels with custom fender flares.

EPA says fuel economy test for hybrids is accurate

The EPA says it stands behind its fuel economy test for hybrid vehicles following controversy about the testing process after Ford C-Max Hybrid customers and automotive journalists alike struggled to achieve 47 miles per gallon, the advertised mpg number, Automotive News reports. Ford responded to the issue almost two weeks ago by claiming that a 1970s-era EPA general label rule was responsible for the inaccurate mileage numbers, rerating the C-Max Hybrid's mpg numbers and offering customers rebates. Ford later said it didn't overstate the C-Max Hybrid's fuel economy and that it was surprised by the low numbers.
Ford technically didn't do anything wrong because it was following the general label rule, but agency regulator Christopher Grundler says the automaker was exploiting a loophole when it came up with the hybrid C-Max numbers, and that the testing process remains accurate. The general label rule allows vehicles that use the same engine and transmission and are in the same weight class to share fuel economy numbers, but it doesn't take into account other factors such as aerodynamic efficiency, which affects hybrids more drastically than non-hybrid vehicles. Ford originally used the Fusion Hybrid economy figures for the C-Max Hybrid and claimed the engineers didn't realize that its aerodynamic efficiency would affect fuel economy as much as it did.