2015 Ford F-350 Platinum on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hybrid, electric campers take center stage at Germany's motorhome trade show

Car companies from all over the automotive spectrum will make international headlines next week by presenting hybrid and electric cars at the biennial Frankfurt auto show. Camper van and motorhome manufacturers got a head start on the rest of the industry by presenting their green solutions at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon. The show confirms electrification is present in the leisure segment, too. German camper experts Dethleffs introduced a plug-in hybrid, pop-top camper based on the full-size Ford Transit van. Called Globevan e.Hybrid, it relies on a 126-horsepower drivetrain built around a turbocharged, 1.0-liter EcoBoost three-cylinder engine. The system can power the camper on electricity alone for up to 31 miles. Adventurers who leave with a full tank and a full charge enjoy 310 miles of driving range, which is an impressive figure for the camper van segment. Charging the battery pack takes 5.5 hours when using a regular household outlet, according to the manufacturer, or three hours when hooking it up to a quick-charging station. Globevan production is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2020, and pricing starts at 75,000 euros, a sum that represents approximately $83,000. EFA-S took electrification a step further. Starting with a Fiat Ducato, a van known as the Ram Promaster in the United States, it yanked out the turbodiesel engine and replaced it with a 140-kilowatt electric motor fed by an 86-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The company pegs the camper's driving range at up to 186 miles, a relatively low figure which hardly reflects how most vacationers use their van. The pack takes four hours to charge, Auto Motor und Sport learned. While sustainable, zero-emissions tourism is difficult to argue against, the Ducato-based camper suffers from two serious setbacks. First, the battery pack makes it so heavy that it can't be driven with a regular license. It's considered a heavy commercial vehicle. Second, its 160,000-euro (about $177,000) price tag makes it twice as expensive as a diesel-burning model, and puts it in the same price range as much bigger, more powerful, and more luxurious models. EFA-S will nonetheless move forward with production in 2020, though it plans to build no more than 30 units. The caravan Salon is not only about hybrids and electric cars, however.

Feds looking into Ford Explorer exhaust leak complaints

There may be a burgeoning problem with exhaust leaks in the 2011-2014 model year Ford Explorer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is examining multiple complaints of a gasoline smell in the cabin of these SUVs. However, the exact cause of this problem is still unknown.
"The agency is reviewing all available data and will take appropriate action as warranted," said a NHTSA spokesperson in an email to Automotive News. Owners seem to generally complain on the regulator's website of the smell entering the cabin through the air vents. At this time, the government organization has not yet opened an official investigation into the problem, though. When it does begin inspecting vehicles, NHTSA posts a detailed breakdown of its public data online.
Similar problems have been reported about the Explorer in the past, though. In 2013, Ford issued a recall for the 2013 model year of the SUV due to a fuel leak that could cause drivers to smell a gasoline odor and repaired them again later for another possible leak. In response to Autoblog's questions, Ford responded via email: "We are not aware of a NHTSA investigation. We are currently reviewing the case and in the event that any action is required, we will address it promptly."

IIHS Crash-tests Expose American Muscle Cars' Weaknesses | Autoblog Minute

Turns out American muscle cars aren?t that strong according to IIHS crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put three iconic American sports cars through a range of performance crash tests. Chevrolet Dodge Ford Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video crash test camaro challenger