2014 Ford F-150 4wd Fx4-edition(turbo) Crew Cab Pickup 4-door on 2040-cars

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Lucid Air and Maserati MC20 unveiled | Autoblog Podcast #644

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. Before they get to the juicy news of the week, they chat about the cars they've been driving, including a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R, Audi A6 Allroad, Mazda CX-9 and Kia Niro. It's been a busy week in the news department, with GM investing in Nikola, Lucid Motors launching the Air electric sedan, Maserati unveiling the MC20 mid-engined supercar and a farewell to the Lexus GS. Then they talk about having a newfound respect for the Fox Body Mustang and the Mazda CX-9. Autoblog Podcast #644 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R 2020 Audi A6 Allroad 2020 Mazda CX-9 2020 Kia Niro GM buys $2 billion stake in Nikola, will build Badger hydrogen-electric pickup Update: Short-seller accuses Nikola of fraud and Nikola threatens to sue Lucid Air production electric luxury sedan is a dream revealed Lucid Air's modular powertrain opens up serious performance possibilities Lucid Motors teases electric SUV at Air debut Mid-engined, 621-horsepower MC20 inaugurates a new era for Maserati All future Maseratis will borrow styling cues from the MC20  2023 Maserati MC20 Folgore planned with three-motor electric powertrain Lexus GS dead for 2021 Respect to: Fox Body Mustang Mazda CX-9 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: Custom Nissan Leaf video, Shell's Arctic oil plans

A video shows a customized Nissan Leaf. An owner in Japan slapped a pretty spiffy body kit on his EV, along with some Forgiato custom wheels and brakes. There's no telling what effects these modifications have on the car's aerodynamics or driving range, but it definitely gives the leaf a unique and sporty look. Check it out in the video above, and read more at Ecomento. Shell has big plans to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean. With 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil resting beneath those frigid waters, the company sees this new frontier as promising, despite the challenges involved in exploiting it. So far, Shell has spent $7 billion on Arctic operations without having extracted any oil yet. Of course, the idea of Arctic drilling has loads of opposition from concerned individual and organizations concerned with the environmental hazards of extracting oil in the icy north. Read in-depth about Shell's plans at Bloomberg. Ford has won the Altair Enlighten Award for its lightweight technology in the F-150. The award program honors automotive innovations in weight reduction. Ford was recognized for shaving 700 pounds off of the F-150 while improving performance and safety. "It's encouraging to see Ford implementing a holistic lightweighting strategy, which resulted in impressive weight savings that were incredibly significant to the judging panel," says Altair's Vice President of Global Automotive, Dave Mason. General Motors was the runner-up, with its weight savings in the Cadillac ATS and CTS. Read more at PitchEngine. The Diesel Technology Forum has outlined environmental improvements in heavy-duty vehicles at a rulemaking hearing in front of the EPA and NHTSA. Between 2010 and 2014, clean diesel technology reduced carbon emissions equal to that of 2.4 coal-fired power plants, and NOx emissions equal to 158 coal plants. New rules would help further improve the environmental performance of diesel engines. "Advances in diesel engine technology will continue to contribute to the overall efficiency gains of vehicles under this proposed rule," says Diesel Technology Forum Executive Director Allen Schaeffer. "As a result we expect diesel technology to remain the primary power-plant for commercial trucks into the foreseeable future." Read more in the press release below. Clean Diesel Power Key Part of Achieving Future Truck Efficiency Gains, EPA Officials Told -- Diesel Technology Forum CHICAGO, Aug.

Ford's first PHEV in Europe could be C-Max

Ford could start selling a plug-in hybrid in Europe pretty soon, according to at least one of its executives. Whether it's willing to do so is another story. But if the market perks up, so will the company. The automaker can "quickly" develop a plug-in hybrid version of its Mondeo, the sister car to the Ford Fusion, Automotive News Europe says, citing Ford executive Uli Koesters. The subject of Ford selling plug-in hybrids in Europe is more vital than ever since Volkswagen recently started selling its first PHEV (a Golf) there. VW will also debut a Passat PHEV next year. Koesters was less certain about whether there was sufficient European demand to warrant a production PHEV from Ford. Europe's biggest-selling plug-in hybrid through the first half of the year was the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. That model, according to JATO Dynamics, moved almost 9,000 units through June. Toyota sold almost 4,300 Prius Plug-in Hybrids in Europe during that time period. And we can't be sure Ford's first European PHEV will be the Modeo/Fusion, either. In fact, Ford's first plug-in hybrid for Europe is more likely to be the C-Max, John Gardiner, a Ford spokesman in Europe, told AutoblogGreen. He would only say that it would be sold "in selected markets soon," without being more specific. Ford's two PHEVs in the US have been selling well this year. Through September, sales of the Fusion Energi PHEV almost tripled to 9,323 units, while Ford C-Max Energi PHEV sales were up 51 percent to 6,486 units.