1930 Ford Model A on 2040-cars

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Jay Leno's Garage goes eco with Ricardo HyBoost

"Now before you turn away, this is not another boring hybrid car thing..." Despite the slightly defensive introduction from Jay, the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage is actually pretty fascinating. The Ricardo HyBoost is a 2009 Ford Focus that has had a 1.1-liter engine swapped in for the stock 2.0-liter four. That might not get you performance enthusiasts out there fired up, until, that is, you hear that the 1.1L is also fed by both a turbocharger and an electrically driven supercharger for an instant-on "torque-fill" effect. Sounds about right, considering that Ricardo engineering is part of the genius behind the McLaren P1.
Perhaps most exciting of all, the Ricardo folks say that the package should run somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,100. A sort of performance-hybrid that makes sense for the frugal driver and the enthusiast one, then. There's a lot more to the HyBoost, all of which can be seen in the video below.

Ford Transit production fires up, American Pickers among first takers

Not long ago, the History Channel showed a seemingly unending stream of World War II documentaries, but it made a switch a few years ago to include an increasing mix of 'reality' programming. American Pickers was one of the early attempts at this new formula, with cameras following hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz around the country in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter as they tracked down collectibles and "rusty gold" for their Iowa shop, Antique Archeology. The show has since gone on to become one of the channel's most popular programs.
Starting in the new episode airing tonight, the affable hosts will swap their Benz for a 2015 Ford Transit, a nicely timed bit of marketing to coincide with the launch of the model's assembly at the Blue Oval's Kansas City Assembly Plant, which also kicks off this week. Ford is touting 2,000 new jobs created as part of its $1.1-billion investment in the plant.
No strangers to product placement, the guys from American Pickers say their switch away from the Sprinter is because they wanted to balance cargo capacity and fuel economy to make the most of their cross-country jaunts. They opted for the largest Transit available with a long wheelbase, extended body and high roof, giving them 487 cubic feet of cargo room. Hauling power comes from a 3.2-liter, five-cylinder diesel engine with 190 horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque and a six-speed automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive. Fittingly, the van wears the same Antique Archaeology logo over white paint as their old Sprinter.

Ford hires France's former first lady

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new in the auto industry, but Ford is hoping that putting one of France's best-known faces into an odd new ad might get buyers there to consider a Blue Oval rather than a Peugeot or Renault. The company has hired France's former First Lady, singer, and model Carla Bruni to take on the role of an aggressive soccer coach in the new ad. The idea behind the campaign is to get buyers to think about a big switch too. According to Automotive News, Ford holds just a 4.3 percent market share in France. Meanwhile, PSA Peugeot-Citroen has 26 percent, and Renault holds 30 percent. With such a huge discrepancy, even a few tenths in Ford's favor would likely be considered a victory. Ford's actual commercial is an odd piece of auto advertising, though. Not a single vehicle appears in the whole thing, and there isn't a bit of Blue Oval branding on it, either. Although, a link at the end does go to a page for the automaker. You can still watch the video, even if you don't speak French; just be sure to turn on the closed captions.