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Did a US automaker blow the whistle on Hyundai, Kia fuel economy issue?

In all of the most hotly contested mainstream segments of the motoring universe, the difference of one mile per gallon averaged on a widow sticker can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-off - to say nothing of two or three mpg. So, when Hyundai and Kia were forced to reveal that many of their 40-mpg ratings were actually 38s and 37s, well, it made for big news.
It also, conceivably, made for a competitive disadvantage immediately, when the Korean automakers' products were being shopped versus the guys down the block. And it's that disadvantage that makes a recent story from Automotive News so juicy.
AN is reporting that Margo Oge, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, got a tip in 2010 that Hyundai/Kia were "cheating" to get its impressive fuel economy numbers. The tip, said Oge (who retired from the EPA this past September), came from a senior vice president from a domestic automaker. The source was credible enough for Oge to launch an audit of the Hyundai figures, which ultimately lead to the debacle that we reported on a few months ago, and that the Korean company has been trying to bounce back from ever since.

Focus STs for SEMA include Lotus and Gulf liveries, rally-fied police car

Ford, as we mentioned on Saturday, is pulling out all the stops for November's SEMA show, bringing 57 vehicles to the Las Vegas event. Ford will be staggering the release of its SEMA flotilla, though, so expect to hear a lot about the new additions to the fleet in the weeks to come. We already showed you the Fiesta, Fiesta ST and Mustang models that made up the first batch of SEMA cars. Next up, we have a quartet of modded Focus STs joining Ford's SEMA roster.
Our first Focus ST (pictured above) sports the legendary livery of Gulf Racing. The orange-on-blue scheme, which Ford helped make famous at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has been updated for 2013, with a more vibrant blue. This ST was built by Universal Technical Institute, while the exterior was done by Neil Tjin of Tjin Edition. Side exhausts, a Vortech supercharger and a Motiv Concepts high-flow cat allow the ST to breathe a bit easier, while Forgestar wheels contrast well with the iconic paint scheme.
Focus ST number two has been done-up by PM Lifestyle and is inspired by "Southern California car culture." Sporting a sleek, pale blue paint job, there's also no shortage of carbon fiber on the car's exterior. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine has been massaged by the likes of Banks Power, COBB Tuning and Ford Racing, while the suspension is wearing a shiny, new set of coilovers and sway bars. The meaty brakes, tucked behind 19-inch, Rotiform wheels, come from Wilwood, while the cabin has been fitted with a pair of Sparco Chrono seats and five-point, Schroth harnesses.

Ford offering $10,000 in incentives for new F-150

Not two months ago, Ford posted lower-than-expected first quarter earnings partly because of production issues with the new F-150, but raised the year's profit outlook thinking the production issues were over. A month later we got word of more manufacturing problems due to a shortage of frames, leaving the company unable to fulfill demand. The problems not only ate into Ford's bottom line, but also its market share, since the F-Series truck has been the best-selling vehicle for the past 33 years. Inventory still isn't where Ford wants it, and won't be until the end of September. The pipeline is stocked enough, however, that Bloomberg reports The Blue Oval is putting up to $10,029 on the hood in some parts of the country, and only on certain trims, as a way to stay competitive with rival truck makers. Ford lost 100,000 units of production during the changeover of the two plants that build it. The frame shortage compounds that, which has led to F-150 sales that are down 2.4 percent through the first half of the year. F-150 market share in June 2014 was 33 percent, this June it was 28 percent. Meanwhile, sales over at General Motors and Ram are climbing - Chevrolet Silverado sales were up 18 percent year-on-year in June. Ford said its incentive spending on the F-150 is down overall this year, and its average transaction price of $44,100 remains the highest in the segment. Still, it will look forward to solid footing to take on rivals. Related Video: