NEW CARS ON THE ROAD Archive

Fiesta's new green resembles radioactive lime.

By John Gilbert
If Ford is correct, consumers in the United States have successfully conquered their previously-insatiable thirst for large cars and trucks, and will be taking a giant step by going small in the next couple of years.

The theory is that in 2002, there were 23 million small-car segment cars sold, and by 2012, there will be 38 million. While always producing cars for that segment in the U.S., and more and better small cars for European markets, Ford is unleashing a new two-pronged attack with the soon-to-come global Focus renovation, and the just-arriving Fiesta. The Fiesta is aimed at the smaller end of the segment, smaller than Focus, but the new car is bristling with new tricks that promise performance, fuel economy (up to 40 mpg), good handlling, impressive looks, adequate room (for a compact), and great pricing — everything the modern U.S. consumer/family could want.

Who are we to question Ford — the only U.S. auto manufacturer that had enough foresight, and acted on it, to not require government bailout loans to stay in business. While arch-rival General Motors and Chrysler have been scrambling to regain their equilibrium, Ford brought a series of cars, trucks, and technical advances to the marketplace, with the new Taurus, the improved Fusion, including a hybrid, plus the upgraded Mustang, the Flex wagon, and the new F-150, as well as the Transit Connect. A flock of new engines have been impressive, and EcoBoost versons offer meaningful performance upgrades via turbocharging without denting fuel efficiency .

Many consumers might remember the Fiesta when Ford brought it in decades ago, and it was a tough little hatchback, fun to drive and economical, while it lasted. Cheap gas and the popularity of large vehicles caused Ford to quit bringing in the Fiesta, but it kept selling in Europe. Last year, Ford sold 750,000 Fiestas globally, and it passed the Volkswagen Golf in European popularity.

The U.S. market grew away from small cars, despite economic and environmental reasons that we should be clamoring for them. Simple things make smaller cars rational. For one, they can be built and reinforced to be safe and surprisingly roomy inside. Once those standards are met, lighter vehicles make it far easier to get more power and dazzling fuel economy from smaller engines, and lighter cars are much easier to enhance agility up to the fun-to-drive levels. The Fiesta, which will be all-new in the U.S., and sharing assets globally with Focuses worldwide, scores on all these counts.

In the U.S., Fiesta comes as sedan (left), or hatchback.

U.S. consumers will get the globally popular 5-door hatchback, but to accommodate us, Ford is adding a 4-door sedan, with a neatly sloping rear roofline specifically for the U.S. Frankly, I like the silhouette of the sedan, which looks similar to the sweeping lines of, say, a miniaturized Mazda6, but there is no question the hatchback is not only eye-catching, but offers the versatility that lures customers around the rest of the world.

With the bottom line as a prime objective, Ford is pricing the 4-door-sedan at a base $13,995, and the hatchback at a base of $15,795. No matter how you dissect it, the Fiesta offers a lot of car for a bargain price.

Driving hard through the mountainous roadways near San Francisco, up and back to Half Moon Bay, the Fiesta had plenty of pep, and its advanced electric steering was sure-feeling and made it easy to carve precise lines around the tightest curves. The standard 5-speed manual transmission handles the small, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine very well, although it led me to an easy question: Why no 6-speed manual? Ford’s answer was that the 5-speed is the same transmission used globally — which is to avoid implying the 5-speed is as good as a 6-speed would be.

Then we switched to the automatic version, and there is no doubt that the PowerShift automatic was designed to make the perfect fit with the Fiesta and its powerplant. It is not just an automatic, but an all-new sequential-manual. Designed by transmission specialist Getrag, it has two clutches inside the casing, with one activating first-third-fifth, and the second handling second-fourth-sixth. When you accelerate, the transmission’s electro-mechanical actuators shift with fluid smoothness, because it simply changes which clutch is engaged.

Sophisticated road-racing cars went to sequential manuals years ago, because the computerized device can shift in a couple of milliseconds, much quicker than an expert can shift a stick with a clutch. Audi introduced and perfected the first real-world DSG (direct-sequential manual) for the A4, A3, TT, and the same unit is also used by Audi parent Volkswagen for the Golf GTI, and for both the new Golf and Jetta TDI turbo-diesel models, and it has been added to replace the Tiptronic in the CC for 2010. Mitsubishi also has an outstanding sequential-manual for the Lancer and Evolution, and the Outlander crossover SUV. Porsche, with its long-awaited PDK, uses the same technique, and BMW has revised its automatic transmission for similar effect.

My guess is eventually all automatics will be slick-shifting sequential-manuals, which led me to my second serious question about the 2011 Fiesta: Why are there no steering-wheel shift paddles to allow the driver the sheer joy of manually choosing gears, or at the very least, a manual gate on the shift lever? Such devices would bring the Fiesta up to true, sporting optimum. Ford said its market research didn’t show sufficient demand or interest for manual operation of the PowerShift, prompting my response that paddle-shifters are what amplifies the superiority of the Audi, VW, Porsche, Mitsubishi, and BMW clutchless-manuals. In truth, even though those cars up- and downshift so magically in “D” that the paddles are best for special cases where the driver insists on proving not all control has been yielded to the machine.

The question of “Who are we to question Ford?” answered itself, because I was stubborn enough to ask several different engineers why the Fiesta lacks paddles, until finally one of them said, “Not yet.”

That was more encouraging than the fluff that nobody wants them, anyway.

Ford is aiming the Fiesta most directly at the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, all Scions, the Nissan Versa, Mini Cooper, and also the larger compact class stalwarts Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Ford has to be careful here, of course, because once they mention Civic and Corolla, they’re inviting comparative shoppers to decide between Fiesta and the Ford Focus.

In competitive driving, the Fit was the primary target, and Ford claims better fuel economy, more power, quieter operation, and better handling. We all gathered in the parking lot of Candlestick Park — where the San Francisco Giants used to play — and we played on a high-speed slalom course and on a cone-lined autocross circuit. Both of those sessions featured some sudden and heavy thunderstorms that rolled in off the ocean and forced us to drive through some serious puddles.

Strangely enough, Ford missed on one count. The only Fiestas for the autocross were stick-shift models, although it seemed to be a perfect setting to see the PowerShift go through its maximum paces. Without question, the Fiesta did the job on the autocross, which was best mastered by accelerating hard at the start, hitting second, and simply leaving the stick in second while thrashing around the twists and turns.

It was almost as though failing to have the Fiesta automatic for our use fit into my argument, because the Fit leaned more in the turns, without question, but the Fit also has steering-wheel paddles, and being able to fingertip-shift it made it fun on the autocross — and proves what makes it such a popular small car for those who want a sporty feel with their economy. My opinion is that the presence of paddles is enough of an asset for the Fit that not having them could be a potential deal-breaker for those who compare the Fit and Fiesta.

Fiesta 5-door hatchback, at Candlestick Park.

However, by the time we got through with some mountain road driving, I had backed off a bit, because the PowerShift worked very well on upshifts, which is no surprise, but it also worked surprisingly well downshifting, too. We had driven up one particularly twisty section, and we came back down the same way. Having driven it only once, I was looking forward to another shot at one particular hairpin turn on the downhill return. I admit I went into it too hot. Not too hot for my driving, or the car’s suspension, which is what I was trying to test in that turn, but too hot for the Fiesta’s computerized controller, which downshifted the PowerShift two gears, throttle-blips and all. It was almost as though the car was saying, “What the heck is this guy doing? Oh well, we’ll save him.”

You can hate it when cars are smarter than the drivers, but this was impressive, and could be a factor in the device’s potential sales. The transmission is scarcely larger than the 5-speed manual, and is the same size as the outgoing 4-speed automatic, with wide ratios that attain maximum fuel economy with two overdrives, fifth and sixth.

Still chippy, I changed my line of questioning: Is Ford the first company to offer more gears in the 6-speed automatic than in the 5-speed stick? Nobody was certain. But it is an oddity.

The 1.6-liter engine has modest numbers, with only 120 horsepower and 112 foot-pounds of torque, but Ford again has proven that technology can overcome meager numbers. Its comparative light weight helps make it feel plenty peppy, aided considerably by Ti-VCT, which is “twin independent variable cam timing,” facilitating the adjustment of both intake and exhaust valves depending on driver demand and load. The snappy performance shows the merit of such technology, and the misleading nature of the horsepower and torque numbers.

Steve Pinta, chief engineer of the North America Fiesta, explained that the car’s light weight was achieved by using 55 percent high-strength steel, including ultra-high boron steel in the front A pillars and the side door sills. High-grade steel provides better strength even with less steel, improving both weight and safety. Seven airbags, including a driver knee bag, adds to the safety, as does the standard-issue AdvanceTrac with stability control. For interior quiet, acoustic improvements to the windshield, pillars, headliner, front and rear doors, floor, and door seals give the Fiesta the secure feel of a larger, heavier car.

Hatchback hides surprisingly large stowage area.

Handling is conquered by front struts, a rear twist-beam axle, stabilizer bars, and a couple of features called drift-pull, which alters torque to help straighten out a wayward car, and anti-nibble cancellation, which counters the tendency to feel twitchy in cornering. That’s in addition to the electric power-steering system.

Ford claims that people making over $100,000 a year in salary are the new breed of small-car buyers, and of considerable interest to new and younger buyers are things like mobile device interaction. Ford, of course, offers its unique Sync system of interactive electronic devices. The Fiesta interacrts with Apple Link and Blackberrys, and uses Smart Apps to allow control via touch-screen handiness. Ford also anticipates more and better website applications to create the optimum mobile application environment.

Striking looks stand out more because of outlandish colors like lime green and magenta among nine available colors, and there are seven different colors for interior lights, and three different colors of leather, if you choose leather seats.

Even those who accuse some of those high-tech features as gimmicks, any test drive will leave you appreciating quick performance, advanced transmissions, and great handling, and Ford stresses the coordination of all those ideas are what sets the Fiesta above the competition. Altogether, they make the Fiesta a definite contender for anyone willing to put a lot of stuff into a smaller package, at a budget price.

Sonata's stunning redesign is more than skin deep.

By John Gilbert

The calendar is barely halfway throughaid 2010, but Hyundai has been caught up in 2011 ever since its completely redesigned 2011 Sonata has hit the showrooms, stirring up unprecedented interest and demand.

The preceding Sonata hit the streets in 2005, and became a low-key but successful and cost-effective alternative to the midsize stalwarts, such as Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Mazda6, Nissan Altima, and whatever other nameplates crowd into that mainstream “midsize” form chart. With the Sonata as its primary weapon, Hyundai surprised the auto world for calendar 2009 by making a profit and gaining marketshare in a year when all those others suffered heavy losses.

Before you can say “Who are these guys?” Hyundai unleashed the 2011 Sonata  barely into February, as the first vehicle built in a new high-technology plant in Montgomery, Alabama. That creates an interesting irony, with a South Korean company stabilizing the regional economy by building a car in a U.S. plant, using U.S. workers, and being embraced by a whole lot of good-ol’ Southerners, rednecks and all. But the whole plan is only as good as the car that comes out of the factory, and the new Sonata is very good.

In my opinion, the new Sonata is the best-looking of the whole batch of midsize cars. It almost seems that Hyundai’s California design studio kidnapped the Mercedes designer who drew up the superb CLS and copied its sweeping, coupe-like silhouette. The Sonata’s slippery shape has a coefficient of drag of 0.28, where anything under 0.35 is good, and 0.30 is exceptional.

Under that artfully-sloped body is the substance that makes the Sonata a cinch contender for 2011 Car of the Year. Pick the most important characteristic — base price, loaded price, fuel economy, engine technology, transmission function, precise steering, sporty and agile handling, firm-but-not-harsh suspension, supportive seats, interior amenities, head and leg room, trunk space, and a great warranty — and Sonata has achieved all of them.

The mainstream players in the midsize segment all start their prices in the

Designers clicked on every Sonata appearance angle.

mid-$20,000 range, and soar to $35,000 at the drop of a nav system. By comparison, the Hyundai Sonata has three models: The GLS starts at $19,295 and is pretty well equipped; the sportier SE starts at $22,595 with firmer suspension; and the top-level, leather-seat Limited starts at $25,295. True, you can add all sorts of feature options at each level to drive those prices up, but a fully loaded Limited, with leather seats and a navigation system, would still be under $27,000. As it stands, it is about $8,000 less than similarly equipped competitors, and if that was and Acura or Lexus, or Mercedes, logo on the grille, its price might double.

The new Sonata comes only with a 4-cylinder engine, in a tactical ploy by Hyundai. No V6 option, and John Krafcik, the President and CEO of Hyundai America, explained the strategy. Sonata buyers choosing V6 engines had dropped to only 12 percent, so Hyundai reasoned that the car could be coordinated much more tightly if the engine compartment could be designed around only the 4-cylinder, which 88 percent of Sonata buyers were already choosing, and if the 4 could be improved technically, nobody would miss the V6, and the new Sonata could be tighter, leaner, stronger, and safer.

Even a brief drive in the new Sonata is convincing about the unified feel of tightness, although the potency of the engine’s advanced design immediately makes its case for equal attention.

The Theta II GDI engine has all the latest high-tech tricks. Not only does it have dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, and dual variable valve-timing, but “GDI” stands for gas direct-injection, which injects a far more compressed and temperature-controlled dose of fuel directly into each cylinder. The 4-cylinder engines in all the top midsize cars measure either 2.4 or 2.5 liters, all have DOHC designs, but the development of direct injection lifts the Sonata to 198 horsepower and 184 foot-pounds of torque. By comparison, the Accord’s 2.4 has 177 horsepower/161 foot-pounds of torque; Altima’s 2.5 has 175/180; the Fusion (and Mazda6) 2.5 has 175/172; Camry’s 2.5 has 169/167; and Malibu’s 2.4 has 169/160.

To save you from comparing figures, Hyundai’s technology earns a horsepower edge that ranges from 21 horses over the runner-up Accord, to 29 over the Camry and Malibu. Sonata’s torque edge ranges from 4 more foot-pounds than the runner-up Altima, to 24 more than Malibu.

For those who like to compare EPA fuel economy estimates — I prefer real-world numbers — all the midsize models have 4-cylinder engines measuring either 2.4 or 2.5 liters in displacement. Sonata’s EPA figures for city/highway are 22/35 miles per gallon for the automatic, and 24/ 35 with the 6-speed manual. Competitors range from a low of 22 city, except for Altima’s 23, to the Sonata’s high of 35 on the highway cycle. Other highway EPAs show the Accord and Fusion at 31 with automatics, Camry and Malibu at 33 each, and the Fusion at 34 with the stick.

In real-world driving, however, there is reason to believe the Sonata will expand its edge substantially. I recalled a conversation I had a couple years earlier with Krafcik, a sharp-witted, clever, and candid fellow who has bold ideas and won’t hesitate to discuss them. I mentioned how some companies have trouble approaching their EPA estimates and refuse to discuss “real world” gas mileage, presumably to let optimistic EPA estimates conceal a shortcoming.

U.S. Hyundai president John Krafcik vowed top mpg.

Krafcik said: “Now that we’ve gotten our EPA fuel economy numbers up where we want them, our next objective is to make our real-world gas mileage the best, too.” At the Sonata introduction, he put his words into action. He surprised himself by getting exceptional fuel economy when checking out the roads his people had set up in the mountain roadways near San Diego. Krafcik then fashoned a challenge to media members to spend part of the drive enjoying the car’s performance on curvy mountain roads up to and past the Julian Pie Shop, and then compete to see who could get the best fuel economy on the return route, from the South Coast Winery to Torrey Pines hotel.

Being a gas-mileage zealot, I set the on-board computer on the curvy part, as well, and got 38.3 miles per gallon. Very impressive. On the return route, much of the 60.3 miles was freeway, and I was driving with a Hyundai engineer who also was a hockey fan. We got engrossed in great conversation, about Herb Brooks, and a book I’ve written about his coaching career, and while comparing the Olympics then and now, e approached Exit 27, and he said: “Oops! We were supposed to turn on Exit 19.”

Not a problem. We cut across the countryside and got to the hotel in plenty of time. While I find mileage tests interesting, I dislike the idea of “hyper-mileage” tricks, such as extremely slow speeds than can obstruct traffic. I drove at the speed limit, although I attempted to draft behind a large, square-back semi part of the way. When we heard the winning tandem recorded 52.8 miles per gallon, and second best was 49.0, we accused them of driving 40 mph on the shoulder. For us, including the part where we thrashed around to find an alternate route, I averaged 46.8 miles per gallon, and declared it flat amazing.

Flashing back to EPA estimates, Hyundai now averages 30.1 miles per gallon for its entire fleet. Honda is second best at 29.7, Volkswagen 29.6, and Toyota 29.4, but Hyundai is the only manufacturer to have a corporate average over 30 miles per gallon. And when you consider that the Sonata so easily topped its 35-mpg EPA highway estimate, and so readily reached 40-plus, you realize Hyundai technology has allowed Krafcik’s vow to blossom.

In overall length, the Sonata is 189.8 inches, while the Camry is 189.2, the Fusion 190.6, Altima 190.7, Malibu 191.8, the Mazda6 193.7, and the Accord 194.1. Interestingly, though, the Sonata has a total interior volume of 120.2 cubic feet, while the Accord has 120.0; those are the only two in the class that meet large-car interior limits, while the rest are properly midsize, as the Fusion lists 116.8, the Camry 116.4, the Altima 116.0, and the Malibu 112.8.  The Sonata’s mix shows passenger volume of 103.8, where only the Accord’s 106.0 tops it, and a cargo volume of 16.4 cubic feet, where only the Fusion’s 16.5 beats it. The Accord, with top passenger volume, has the least cargo volume in the class at 14.0.

The Sonata weighs only 3,161 pounds with a 6-speed manual — yes, a stick-shift! — while with a 6-speed automatic, the Sonata weighs a still-svelte 3,199 pounds. The Altima, at 3,180 pounds, is the only one lighter, while, for example, the Accord is 3,269, the Camry 3,307, the Fusion 3,342, and the Malibu 3,415.

Combining more power — from technical advances, not enlarged displacement — with lighter weight gives the Sonata a clearcut edge in acceleration. But its handling is also impressive. With strut front and multi-link rear suspension, the SE model has 23-percent firmer front and 8 percent firmer rear shocks, with a 13-percent larger rear stabilizer bar. That helps adroit handling, and the steering and design give the Sonata a 35.8-foot turning radius. Comparatively, the Camry and Altima need 36.1 feet, the Fusion 37.5, the Accord 37.7, and the Malibu 40.4 feet. Which do you like for a U-turn?

Sonata looks as good at speed as when parked.

It is neat that the Sonata can be obtained with a 6-speed stick, but its new Shiftronic automatic is also a 6-speed, and yet another example of Hyundai’s astounding technology. Hyundai has become one of only three automakers to have built their own proprietary 6-speed automatics. It took four years of development, and the 6-speed automatic is 26.5 pounds lighter than the 5-speed unit it replaces, and it also is shorter and has 62 fewer moving parts, providing still more room underneath. All three models have a manual shift gate on the shift lever, and the sportier SE adds steering wheel paddles for more precise manual control of the automatic.

Hyundai — which started rebuilding cars from other companies, and didn’t build its first engine until 1991 — has made up a couple of decades of technology in the past couple of years, and is forging ahead. The 2.4 engine put the company’s engineers on a new plane, and they followed up with the superb DOHC V8 that propelled the large Genesis to 2009 Car of the Year honors. They next refined their V6, then came back and improved the 2.4, by adding direct injection. Meanwhile, technology never sleeps, and before calendar year 2010 ends, Hyundai will be adding a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4 with more power than any competing V6, and it is building its own proprietary hybrid model for the Sonata as well.

“Our success in 2009 was the culmination of a lot of hard work,” Krafcik said. “When the economy is hurting, people do more research and put more effort in deciding on their choices. That helps us. We brought out the 2011 Sonata with some Super Bowl ads, and they worked well, especially for a brand like ours, where our image hasn’t caught up with our capabilities. The Sonata is in the ‘white bread’ segment, and we have three objectives: We want to be a rational choice, we want to lead the way in being environmentally friendly, and we want to make an emotional connection.”

With a 4 that beats all the competitive 4s for power and fuel economy, and a turbo 4 that beats their V6es, plus an advanced-technology hybrid, the Sonata takes care of the comparason shoppers with such standard equipment as side-impact airbags and stability control, and a transferable powertrain warranty of 10 years or 100,000 miles. As for depreciation and residual value, Hyundai now ranks above Toyota and Ford. For residual value, the iconic Accord is No. 1, retaining 54 percent of its value after three years, but the Sonata has climbed to second at 53 percent, followed by Altima at 51 percent, Camry and Fusion at 49 percent, and Malibu at 46 percent. And those figures were compiled before the introduction of the entirely new 2011 Sonata.

By John Gilbert

The 2011 Mustang GT and the blue Pacific.

My rule of thumb regarding new vehicle introductions is that the substance generally is inversely proportional to the hype. But while some automakers shower minor updates with overkill, Ford might be guilty of understatement with the introduction of the 2011 Mustang.

If you don’t think it looks different, drive one through city traffic and see how many people in other cars, or on foot, shout out and give you a thumbs-up. And if you don’t think it performs differently, then you fail to comprehend the significance of an entirely new and high-tech, all-aluminum, 5.0-liter V8 that tops 400 horsepower and is more “boss” than those fondly remembered Boss 302 engines of 1970. Or, a novel application of the 3.7-liter version of Ford’s high-tech V6 that tops 300 horsepower. Both engines perform admirably for go-power as well as go-past-the-gas-station efficiency.

Summoning the nation’s automotive media to Los Angeles, Ford introduced the new car by officially calling it the “2011 Mustang Refresh.” During a car’s four or five year lifespan, it might get refreshed with a mid-term styling tweak, and in the Mustang’s case, that was done for the 2010 model year. The new 2011 version stayed on the same platform, with the same basic silhouette and innovative interior features, so some journalists overlooked the obvious question why Ford would bring a herd of journalists to California for only a change of taillights. Some published reports I’ve read, from syndications as well as national magazines, expressed positive vibes about the new engines, but kissed off exterior styling by saying since the Mustang was updated for 2010, the 2011 is only modestly changed.

Modest? Ford may have to go back to Hyperbole School. Chief engineer Dave Pericak simplified the preliminary information by issuing the motto the engineering team accepted as its challenge: “Improve everything, and compromise nothing.” Car-makers who have done much less to a car could have turned that into a 20-minute monologue.

The base Mustang has a clean look and a potent V6.

The 2010 Mustang looked good, refining an appearance that was close to resembling the iconic 1970 Mustang. For 2011, the grille, headlights, and hood have been stylishly changed for a still-sleeker look, but what I like best about the change is the taillight assembly. Through 2010, the Mustang’s three narrow vertical lights on either side are straight across, symmetric and very similar to 1969 or ‘70. For 2011, Ford designers tapered the entire rear fascia on both corners, angling right where those taillights are positioned. The difference is a new look, and it allows a pedestrian on the curb to see the three taillights on his or her side, and if the turn signal is on, the slick sequential blinking is eye-catching.

Just another reason why bystanders seem to notice that the Mustang is changed, even if some PR types, and journalists, overlooked it.

Restyled rear facade angle displays taillights, sequential turn signals, from side.

Ford revolutionized the U.S. auto industry when it brought out the first Mustang, back in 1965, leading a charge that brought us a flock of competitors, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda, Pontiac Firebird, and the American Motors Javelin, as everybody sought a piece of the highly popular “ponycar” segment.

Younger journalists, who might not remember all that, have actually suggested that the term “ponycar” came from the name Mustang, assuming a horse-to-horse connection, when actually the term covered that whole array of long-hood/short-rear deck, front-engine/rear-drive sporty coupes, because they were smaller than the big sedans and sedan-based coupes of the day — and therefore ponies to the larger horses.

Midsize cars and the demise of the early 1970s hot cars carved into the segment’s chunk, and one by one, all of the others disappeared — all but the Mustang, which scrambled to change with the times. The times saw a Japanese takeover of the sporty coupe market, with Honda leading the way with the Accord coupe version, and the expansion of cars such as the Mazda MX-6 version of the 626. So the Mustang got smaller, but it also under-achieved with less-performance, then it grew again, and took on a newer V8 engine. Finally, in the new century, the Mustang came back with styling resembling its original self, and the resurgence was so successful that Dodge brought out a new Challenger, and Chevrolet followed with the long-awaited return of the Camaro.

Ford stayed on its game, refining the Mustang further and adding the latest two or three Shelby models to revive memories of Cobras past. The Chellenger and the Camaro are sturnning to look at, but they share one problem — both are surprisingly heavy. The Challenger body was placed on the Charger’s sedan platform, and stuffing a Hemi V8 in it helped performance. The Camaro is also very heavy, so Chevy complements a strong 3.6-liter V6 with the 6.2-liter Corvette V8, in order to assure that it moves, which it does quite well, at that.

It was with an eye toward those two reborn competitors that Ford redid the Mustang for 2010. As a lighter, more agile, and adequately-powered sporty coupe with the overhead-cam 4.6-liter V8, the Mustang didn’t lose its all-around driveability edge. Still, Chevy buyers are buying Camaros and Dodge buyers have to love the Challenger, and both of them could boast of the great power from those great, if aging, pushrod engines.

So Ford, which has spent the year since its top rivals required government bailout loans to stay afloat by turning out a series of technical advancements, and struck again. First, Ford discarded the 4.0-liter V6, an engine that began life powering Ford’s European cars, with a German heritage that gained overhead cams and enough improvement over the years to almost stay current. Because Ford had come out with a jewel of a front-wheel-drive V6 three years ago, as a 3.5-liter, which has a 3.7-liter derivative, Ford engineers switched the transverse-mount, front-wheel-drive architecture to longitudinal placement, connected it to a driveshaft, ran its power through to that solid axle rear end, and plunked the revitalized Mustang body on top.

If you didn’t know there was a V8 available, the 3.7 V6 would be more than enough. And it is, even if you are a V8 fancier. It turns out 305 horsepower, putting it in the class of one to attain both more than 300 horses and an EPA estimate of over 30 miles per gallon, at 31 highway. It also has 280 foot-pounds of torque, giving the Mustang plenty of punch off the line, or as the revs rise to its impressive 7,000-RPM redline. You can get the Mustang with the 3.7 with either the 6-speed manual transmission or the 6-speed automatic, and it comes with dual exhausts.

For one of our competitive drive events, we drove various V6 models out to a large parking lot location where a series of cones outlined a nice, twisty autocross. So impressive was the power when turned loose in full song, even for the short bursts between curves that I asked the Ford engineers, “Are these V8s?” They were not. All were V6-powered. This V6, in the Mustang, has the same power as the impressive SVT Mustang V8 churned out in 1999.

Performance package, without the large foglights.

Maybe the car doesn’t “need” a V8, but that comes under the heading of what we want vs. what we need. Ford designed an entirely new V8, being careful to make it match the old “5.0-liter” displacement figure. It is definitely something special, from its forged steel crankshaft, to its dual-overhead-camshaft, high-revving potency, and to the wonderful warble of its forceful  exhaust.

Because of an uneven number of journalists, I had the benefit of being accompanied by Tom Barnes, a Ford engineer. Not only was it a benefit because Barnes was a great source of information, but he’d driven the car enough, so instead of the usual driver changes along the route, I got to drive it all, both days.

Surprisingly, the Mustang has stayed with a solid rear axle, compared to the sophisticated independent rear axles of virtually all other cars. But if the bottom line is how the car handles, the Mustang’s exploits on the autocross course, as well as while sailing through the curving California foothills, up mountains and down through valleys, is pretty convincing. Besides, the weight-saving fits Mustang’s concept of staying light and agile. That’s another reason why 5-liters is more than enough. With the dual overhead cams twirling, the new V8 cranks out 412 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque.

After wringing out the V6 models, we got inside the V8 Mustang GT, and headed through some more mountain roads until we arrived at a small regional airport, where Ford had contracted to set up a small, eighth-mile dragstrip on one of the runways.

For those still running on the fumes of the old days, it might seem foolish for Ford to look at the Hemi and the 6.2 Corvette engine in its competitors and think of challenging them with its new V8,measuring only 5.0 liters. Those folks need to realize that the old American-car theory that “there’s no substitute for cubic inches” has been blown away by the contemporary answer: “Yes there is — it’s called technology.”

As everybody lined up to take their turns and get acquainted with the standard drag-racing “Christmas tree” starting lights, I took a warm-up run in the Mustang — all of which were equipped with the 6-speed automatic transmission. You could click the traction-control on or off, depending on whether you wanted to screech the street-radial tires or glue the car to the track for maximum traction.

A couple of flashy Camaros were in the left lane, with their Corevette engines and all. I tried one, and it felt swift and strong as I cranked off a run that was clocked at 9.235 seconds, hitting 80.81 miles per hour. I was impressed. Then I tried a sequence of different Mustangs, with different rear-axle ratios. With three tries, I ranged from 8.695 seconds at 85.73 mph, to my personal best of 8.573 seconds  at 86.17 mph. A difference of six-tenths of a second, and over 5 mph is an enormous difference in a standing-start, one-eighth-mile drag race. Especially when the swifter time and higher speed were both recorded by 5.0 liters against 6.2 liters.

It was fun, and entertaining, as well as informational. What Ford didn’t bother explaining is that with the dual overhead cams and their higher-revving capability, the Mustang was just starting to reach the range of its performance. We can assume its advantage would have been greater as those cams got into their power range in higher gears.

As for sticker price, the V6-powered Mustang has a base price of $23,000, and the V8-loaded GT model starts at $30,000. Those are bargain prices for so much performance technology, because another of the “modest” upgrades of the 2011 Mustangs are increases of almost 100 horsepower for both V6 and V8 versions, as well as 7-miles-per-gallon fuel economy improvements.

Ford also has hit the mark with packages. The GT gets 19-inch wheels, with a “billet” grille, unless you choose the foglight package, which mounts large lights inside the inset grille. You also get a pedestal spoiler on the rear, and Brembo brakes, as well as upgraded and firmer suspension. The V6 models come in basic, or a Mustang Club of America package, with 18-inch wheels over the standard 17s, and you can also choose a V6 Performance package, adding many of the GT items, including the 19-inch wheels.

If I have a complaint on the slick-steering, high-powered Mustang it’s that Ford has borrowed a page from Chevrolet’s book of tricks by adding the hated skip-shift device, under the guise of summoning up misleading fuel economy numbers for their EPA estimate. The device causes the 6-speed shifter to go directly from first to fourth after moderate acceleration. If you go really slow, or hit the gas hard, it will shift directly from first to second. On the Corvette, and now the Camaro, and other Corvette-powered vehicles in GM’s line, you are now rewarded for buying the stick-shifting Mustang by getting this device.

Foglights set into grille announce GT coming.

Maybe I’m in the distinct minority, but I’m a second-gear lover. Because of that, and because I don’t want to do standing-start burnouts, I tend to start up moderately in first, then hit second and hammer it a bit. Nothing illegal, mind you, but running up the revs in second is all the kicks I need. So when I do my thing, I pull the shifter back and hammer the gas…and the thing falls on its face, because I’m in fourth! By the time I’ve wrestled the shifter back up and around and down into second, I’m seething.

It’s reason enough to buy the 2011 Mustang with the automatic, which is also a 6-speed. Oops! Ford neglected to include steering wheel paddles to allow a driver to manually override the automatic.

If the transmissions have the only things I consider less than ideal, the handling certainly is up to the best high-performance standards. The entire platform is reinforced by a large cross-member that aids stability, and electric power steering avoids the usual pitfall of being devoid of any feel. It feels well-weighted, and gains the asset of not having the weight of a power-steering pump. The car responds precisely and steering is razor-sharp.

The 2011 Mustang has the additional benefit of the optional SYNC system Ford has worked out with Microsoft, allowing occupants to order their iPods and other devices around with voice commands. A neat feature that might be seen as a gimmick by many is the ability to alter the instrument lighting and the ambient lighting by changing color at the touch of a button. Do you like red, blue, green, purple, orange, or what? Hit the switch and change it by the hour, if you so choose.

Cynics who are looking for nitpicks might point out that the rear seat is useful for very small children at best. I don’t see it as a problem. If nobody is riding back there, you just have fewer witnesses to hear you grumbling about the blasted skip-shift.

If Ford is correct, consumers in the United States have successfully conquered their previously-insatiable thirst for large cars and trucks, and will be taking a giant step by going small.

The theory is that in 2002, there were 23 million vehicles purchased from the small-car segment, and by 2012, there will be 38 million. While always producing cars for that segment in the U.S., and more and better small cars for European markets, Ford is unleashing a new two-pronged attack with the soon-to-come global Focus renovation, and the just-arriving Fiesta. The Fiesta is aimed at the smaller end of the segment, smaller than Focus, but the new car is bristling with new tricks that promise performance, fuel economy (up to 40 mpg), good handlling, impressive looks, adequate compact roominess, and great pricing — everything the modern U.S. consumer/family could want.

Who are we to question Ford — the only U.S. auto manufacturer that had enough foresight, and acted on it, so that it didn’t need government tax dollars for bailout loans in order to stay in business. In the past year, while arch-rival General Motors and Chrysler have been scrambling to regain their equilibrium, Ford has brought a series of cars, trucks, and technologically advanced ideas to the marketplace, with the new Taurus, the improved Fusion including the hybrid, the upgraded Mustang, the Flex wagon, and the new F-150, as well as the Transit Connect, and a flock of new engines, plus such things as EcoBoost, which offers meaningful performance upgrades without denting fuel efficiency via turbocharging.

Many consumers might remember the Fiesta when Ford brought it in after great success in the small-car-conscious European market. It was a tough little car, fun to drive even then, and very economical. Cheap gas and the popularity of large vehicles caused Ford to quit bringing in the Fiesta, but it kept selling in Europe. Last year, Ford sold 750,000 Fiestas globally, and it passed the Volkswagen Golf in European sales.

Candlestick Park outlines the Fiesta Hatchback.

The U.S. market is different, however. We’ve grown away from small cars, despite economic and environmental reasons that we should be clamoring for the return. Simple things like gas mileage are greatly dependent on light weight, fun-to-drive handling depends a lot on agility, another weight-related virtue, and strong performance can be obtained from a small engine, if the vehicle is light enough. The Fiesta scores on all these counts.

In aiming at the U.S., Ford will bring in the popular 4-door hatchback (5-door?), and it is adding a specific 4-door sedan, with a neatly sloping rear roofline — just in case there is any factual basis to the theory of U.S. buyers not being enamored with hatchbacks. Frankly, I like the silhouette of the sedan, which looks similar to the sweeping lines of the new Mazda6, but there is no question the hatchback offers the versatility that lures customers around the rest of the world.

The sleeker sedan, left, joins the hatchback.

With the bottom line as a prime objective, Ford is pricing the 4-door-sedan at a base $13,995, and the hatchback at a base of $15,795. That makes it competitive with the Honda Fit.

Driving hard through the mountainous roadways near San Francisco, up and back to Half Moon Bay, the Fiesta had plenty of pep, and its advanced electric steering was sure-feeling and made it easy to carve precise lines around the tightest curves. The standard 5-speed manual transmission handles the small, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine very well, although it led me to an easy question: Why no 6-speed manual? Ford’s answer was that it was the same transmission used globally.

Then we switched to the automatic version, and there is no doubt that the PowerShift automatic was designed to make the perfect fit with the Fiesta and its powerplant. It is not just an automatic, but an all-new sequential-manual. This system, designed by transmission specialist Getrag, has an enclosed transmission that actually has two clutches inside. One of them activates first-third-fifth, and the second handles second-fourth-sixth. When you accelerate, the transmission’s electro-mechanical actuators shift with fluid smoothness, because it simply changes which clutch is engaged.

Sophisticated road-racing cars went to sequential manuals, because the computerized device can shift in a couple of milliseconds, much quicker than an expert can shift a stick with a clutch. Audi introduced and perfected the first real-world DSG (direct-sequential manual) for the A4, A3, TT, and the same unit is also used by Audi parent Volkswagen for the Golf GTI, and for both the new Golf and Jetta TDI turbo-diesel models, and it was added to replace the Tiptronic in the CC for 2010. Mitsubishi also has an outstanding sequential-manual for the Lancer and Evolution, and the Outlander crossover SUV. Porsche, with its long-awaited PDK, uses the same technique, and BMW has revised its transmission for similar effect.

The slick idea of a sequential-manual led me to my second serious question about the 2011 Fiesta: Why is there no manual override on the shift lever, and more important, why are there no steering-wheel shift paddles to allow the driver the sheer joy of manually choosing gears to bring the Fiesta to true, sporting optimum? Ford said its market research didn’t show a great demand for manual operation of the PowerShift, but my response was that is what truly amplifies what is best with the Audi, VW, Porsche, Mitsubishi, and BMW clutchless-manuals.

The question of “Who are we to question Ford?” answered itself, when I continued to ask different engineers why there aren’t paddles, until finally one of them said, “Not yet.” That was more encouraging than the fluff that nobody wants them, anyway.

Ford stressed that the Fiesta will compete most directly with the Honda Fit, and adds the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Mini Cooper, and also the larger Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Ford has to be careful here, of course, because once they tie in the Civic and Corolla, they’re invading Focus territory, which would beg the question: Fiesta or Focus?

For the U.S., the sedan adds another look.

In competitive driving, the Fit was the primary target, and Ford claims better fuel economy, more power, quieter operation, and better handling, and we all gathered in the parking lot of Candlestick Park — where the San Francisco Giants used to play — and we played on a high-speed slalom course and on a cone-lined autocross circuit. Both of those sessions featured some sudden and heavy thunderstorms that rolled in off the ocean and forced us to drive through some serious puddles.

Strangely enough, for our group the only Fiestas there were stick-shift models, although it seemed to be a perfect setting to see the PowerShift go through its maximum paces. Without question, the Fiesta did the job, although the autocross was best mastered by accelerating hard at the start, hitting second, and simply leaving the stick in second while thrashing around the twists and turns.

I must say, though, that while the Fit leaned more in turns, the steering-wheel paddles in the Fit are what makes it such a popular small car for customers who want a little sporty feel with their economy. My opinion is that the presence of paddles will be an asset for the Fit and not having them will be a potential deal-breaker for comparison Fit-Fiesta shoppers.

However, by the time we got through the mountain driving, I was less intense about my paddle question. The PowerShift works very well on upshifts, which is no surprise, but it works surprisingly well in downshifting, too. We had driven up one particularly twisty section, and we came back down the same way. Having driven it only once, I was looking forward to that downhill hairpin, and I admit I went into it too hot. Not too hot for my driving, or the car’s suspension, which is what I was trying to test in that turn, but too hot for the Fiesta’s computerized controller, which downshifted the PowerShift two gears, throttle-blips and all. It was impressive, almost as though the car was saying, “What the heck is this guy doing? Oh well, we’ll save him.”

You can hate it when cars are smarter than the drivers, but this was impressive, and could be a factor in the devices potential sales. The transmission is scarcely larger than the 5-speed manual, and is the same size as the outgoing 4-speed, while boasting wide ratios that attain maximum fuel economy with two overdrives, in fifth and sixth. That led me to yet another question: Is Ford the first company to offer a 6-speed automatic but only a 5-speed stick? Nobody was certain. But it is an oddity.

The 1.6-liter engine has modest numbers, with only 120 horsepower and 112 foot-pounds of torque, but Ford again has proven that technology can overcome meager numbers. Ti-VCT, which is “twin independent variable cam timing” adjusts the intake and exhaust valves depending on driver demand and load. The snappy performance shows the merit of such technology, and the misleading nature of the statistical numbers.

Steve Pinta, chief engineer of the North America Fiesta, explained that the car’s light weight was achieved by using 55 percent high-strength steel, including ultra-high boron steel in the front A pillars and the side door sills. High-grade steel provides better strength even with less steel, improving both weight and safety. Seven airbags, including a driver knee bag, adds to the safety, as does the standard-issue AdvanceTrac with stability control. For interior quiet, acoustic improvements to the windshield, pillars, headliner, front and rear doors, floor, and door seals give the Fiesta the secure feel of a larger, heavier car.

A Fiesta option is direct-sequential shifting.

Handling is conquered by front struts, a rear twist-beam axle, stabilizer bars, and a couple of features called drift-pull, which alters torque to help straighten out a wayward car, and anti-nibble cancellation, which counters the tendency to feel twitchy in cornering. That’s in addition to the electric steering system.

Ford claims that people making over $100,000 a year in salary are the new breed of small-car buyers, and of considerable interest to new and younger buyers are things like mobile device interaction. Ford, of course, answers with its uniquely impressive Sync system of interactive electronic devices. The Fiesta interacrts with Apple Link and Blackberrys, and uses Smart Apps to allow coive control and touch-screen handiness. Ford also anticipates more and better website applications to create the optimum mobuile application environment.

Striking looks, outlandish colors like lime green among the nine available colors, with seven different interior lights, and, if you choose leather interior, three different leather colors.

Whether you consider such features as gimmicks, and prefer quick engines, advanced transmissions and great handling, Ford stresses that the cohesiveness of all those ideas are what sets the Fiesta above the competition. Altogether, they make the Fiesta a very impressive choice — even for those among us who are waiting for the “not yet” addition of paddle-shifters.

Chrysler via Fiat gets a Lancia and model.

DETROIT, MICH. — The Detroit International Auto Show might well have simply renamed its first media day as the Ford Motor Company Spectacular.  Ford opened the show with a sweep of the North American Car of the Year award, won by the Ford Fusion Hybrid, and Truck of the Year, with the Ford Transit Connect.

As if that wasn’t enough reward for Ford’s successful negotiating of these troubled automotive times, Ford next held the first scheduled press conference at Cobo Hall, and, having earlier announced the reintroduction of the Ford Fiesta, a smaller compact car that has been available in Europe since being taken out of the U.S. market a couple of decades ago, as a 2011 model, Ford unveiled the first production prototype of the new and global Focus, which will come in as a 2012 vehicle. Coordinating the European Focus with the less-sophisticated U.S. car, the new car will be made of 55 percent high-strength steel with a platform growing out of Volvo’s S40 safety characteristics, and a potent 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that began life at Mazda.

Commercial Transit Connect as kayak-mobile.

With the 2011 Fiesta and the 2012 Focus aimed at establishing new gasoline-engine standards for the larger compact segment, Ford added that it would also bring out a plug-in all-electric hybrid version of the Focus with its future hybrid elements to be developed in Michigan.

William Ford, executive chairman, said tht economy, energy and environment will be the three primary targets of the recovering auto industry and that the company that best combines those three virtues will be the winner. Without a doubt, Ford intends to see that Ford is that winner. “For 30 years, I’ve been advocating fuel-efficiency and lower emissions,” Ford said. “Now I’m preaching to the choir.”

Ford's all-new and global Focus for 2011.

While Ford didn’t need to file bankruptcy or to accept government bailout loans to stay afloat in the past year, Ford’s giant rival, General Motors, followed Ford in scheduled press conferences. GM had introduced a glistening Regal GS model, boasting of 355 horsepower and flashy 0-60 times.

To be fair, GM had introduced the 2011 Buick Regal at the Los Angeles Auto Show a month earlier, so it wanted to roll out a special model of the car for its hometown backers. But in overview, when GM has been filling the television airwaves with promotions and advertising for its still-struggling vehicles, here was GM following Ford’s highly economical Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, and Fiesta plus the Focus — all aimed at lofty fuel economy — and General Motors showed off a high-performance car with raves of high horsepower and snappy acceleration. It was quite a contrast.

Chevy Aveo gets sporty upgrade.

Other impressive displays also featured high mileage and alternative energy. Chevrolet did show off its coming Cruze, which will replace the Cobalt, and a revised Aveo with an sporty RS model was shown

Chrysler had an interesting display, with the return of models with its models. The hired-in women from a modeling agency was like a throwback to earlier days, but with Fiat, the new owner of Chrysler, being Italian, it all made sense. A highlight was a statuesque woman in a skirt that could best be described as mini from both top and bottom, made of a metal-panel material. Oh, yes, she was standing next to a very stylish new car that was called a Chrysler Lancia, with a Lancia from Fiat’s European stable being rebadged as a new Chrysler model.

Toyota's plug-in Prius hybrid coupe.

Chrysler also will get the Fiat 500 subcompact, and if that wasn’t enough, or if new Fiat valve-timing technology that can be applied to existing Chrysler engines wasn’t satisfactory, there also was a sleek new Ferrari parked amid the Chryslers. Fiat, you see, also owns Ferrari.

Toyota unveiled a concept 2-door hybrid coupe version of the Prius, amid several new Prius models, and will offer the FT-CH as a new coupe for its upscale Lexus brand. Honda followed up its previous show of a CR-Z concept car with the production prototype of the car, which is a hybrid that appears to be a sleek coupe version of the Insight.

Volkswagen also showed off a future car called, imaginatively, the NCC — for New Car Concept. It is an impressively styled 2-door with sweeping creases and contours, which reportedly resembles what the redesigned 2011 Jetta will look like.

VW's NCC concept coupe foreshadows Jetta.

Audi rolled out a low, slippery coupe based on the R8 sports car, and said it will have electric power, living up to the e-tron ev name. Audi also was named the winner of the EyeOn Design award for the new 2011 A8 luxury sedan.

BMW showed a pure electric sports coupe with spectacular looks and a 165-mile cruising range, and claimed that media test drives of its hybrid will be conducted in the first half of this year. Mercedes, which has a neat coupe version of its newly released E-Class sedan, unveiled a convertible version of the same car.

Korean leader Hyundai showed the new Sonata that drew raves at the LA show, and it looked even better in person. It will be powered by only 4-cylinder engines, one with a turbocharger. It also showed a Blue Will version, which will be powered by a 1.6-liter direct-injection 4 and a hybrid electrical system. Hyundai also unveiled its facelifted Santa Fe and an all-new Tucson.

Ford officials had good reason to spend the media days celebrating their achievements at the show. In winning the Car of the Year title, Ford had to beat what I thought was the most competitive list of candidates ever. The Fusion Hybrid, which was isolated from the other revised Fusion models as a separate candidate, ran away with the car award, amassing 282 points on a voting system where the 50 jury members distribute a total of 25 points to the field of candidates, with a maximum of 10 to any one car.

Honda's sporty CR-Z hybrid 2-seater.

The Volkswagen Golf/GTI/TDI placed second with 163 points, and the Buick Lacrosse was third with 134, creating those three on the finalist list for a final revote, which had 10 points to be cast in any order. In that process, the Fusion Hybrid had 241, with the Golf 146 and the Lacrosse 103.

Not to be overlooked is that the larger Ford Taurus, all-new for 2010, finished fourth  with 79, followed by the Camaro 74, Porsche Panamera 67, Mazda3 at 64, Suzuki Kizashi 57, Toyota Prius 56, Kia Soul 55, Subaru Legacy 47, BMW 335d44, the remaining Fusion lineup 33, Cadillac CTS Wagon 25, Mercedes E-Class 23, and Honda Insight 22.

In Truck of the Year, the Transit Connect may have benefitted by being a legitimate truck, albeit a compact delivery vehicle, compared to the array of crossover SUVs and grown up station wagons. The Transit Connect scored 237 points to lead the three finalists, where it was joined by the Chevrolet Equinox at 217, and the Subaru Outback at 145.

The remainder show the Audi Q5 at 125, the Land Rover LR4 116, the Volvo XC60 110, Lincoln MKT 96, Cadillac SRX 92, followed by a late-released pair — the Acura ZDX 45 and the Honda Accord Crosstour 42.

In the final revote of the three finalists, the Transit Connect had 213, the Equinox 183, and the Outback 94.

BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIF. — Since I wanted to fully experience the potential of the 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor pickup, I had asked the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) driving expert in the passenger seat next to me to tell me if I should go faster or slow down as we hurtled over the “whoops” and dips and abrupt curves of the Anza-Borrego Desert.

At one point, he said: “OK, you can push it a little faster here…” as he glanced over at the speedometer. Then he quickly added, “Oh, you’re already going 60. Never mind.”

That, in a nutshell, tells it all about the Raptor, the specialty SVT off-road-racing pickup that Ford is now introducing as a standard production vehicle. First, I was flattered that I had edged the pace up so smoothly that a driving expert who was enduring a week’s-worth of helmeted media-types driving him around the high-speed 25-mile course in 113-degree heat thought we were going considerably slower.

I suggested that Ford’s marketing types needed to come up with the perfect word that would be the exact opposite of harshness. Soft, compliant, mellow, and comfortable just don’t do it, because they’re kind of wussy words for such an aggressive and macho truck. But without fail, as I would hurtle toward some severe terrain, I would tighten my grip on the form-fitting steering wheel and think, “This is going to be harsh.” And then it wouldn’t be harsh. It would be the opposite of harsh, and we would bound on toward the next obstacle.

The name Raptor conjures up a ready image of a large, red-tailed hawk circling like a broad-winged glider while keeping its incredible sight on any available prey below. As someone who grew up in Duluth, where the annual fall migration of raptors is celebrated on Hawk Ridge, the name is perfect for an over-achieving, over-engineered truck that can treat virtually every other vehicle as its prey. The Raptor truck is more easily identified; there are black ones and white ones, and I’m told a blue one is coming, but the one I had was metal-flake orange, with black decals on the rear flanks, and that’s the one I drove in the Borrego desert.

Presumably, I am not the only person who didn’t know that the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest state park in the adjacent 48 states, and second only to Denali’s massive layout in central Alaska for all 50. East of San Diego, you descend from the Vallecito Mountains, and find the hot and sun-parched town of Borrego Springs. And then the desert.

Ford Motor Company knew all about it, because that was where the SVT engineers spent countless unbothered hours testing, refining and perfecting the 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor. The F-150, perennially the largest selling vehicle in the country, was redesigned and engineered sufficiently to capture North American Truck of the Year honors a year ago. With every facet improved, it is arguably the most-capable heavy-work half-ton pickup ever built.

Dash temperature readout, left; unique shocks, right.

But that wasn’t enough. Despite economic downturns and troubles in the automotive world, Ford coaxed its SVT engineers to start commuting between Dearborn and Borrego Springs to add the same overall high-performance potency and everyday-driver refinement that they performed to turn the Mustang into the Shelby GT – a race-track-ready hustler that is also a polished daily driver.

The first one built was entered in the Baja 1,000, the legendary durability test down the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Not many entries make it, and only a scarce few can contend. The Raptor finished third, behind only a couple of specific racing vehicles.

Amazingly, the Raptor as I drove it had a sticker price of $38,995. That’s less than a lot of fancy pickups that are more show than go. When the fully-optioned Raptor comes out with a larger engine, it still will be reasonable at $41,995, considering what you’re getting.

For power, SVT tuned the 5.4-liter overhead-cam V8 to 320 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque. By winter, an all-new 6.2-liter V8 estimated at 400 horses and 400 foot-pounds will be available.A hardy 6-speed automatic transmission has an electronically-selectable 4-wheel-drive capability, with a locking E-Locker differential that can be switched from 2-high to 4-high, and then to 4-low for the roughest duty. After clicking the dash knob to get 4-low, for example, you can then pull the knob and click into “Off-road,” which changes the throttle map to high-performance, and alters the shift points of the transmission.

The F-150 skeleton was widened by 7 inches to house the unique suspension paraphernalia. Forward of the A-pillar the Raptor is entirely new and exclusive.

A hydroformed steel panel braces the lower front end of the exterior, below the revised grille that has gigantic letters “F-O-R-D” running full-width. Underneath, everything from half-shafts to tie rods and schock absorbers are specific to the Raptor. The shock absorbers themselves are works of art, built by Fox Shox, the specialty after-market equipment company best known for duty on high-flying motocross motrocycles and specialty off-road vehicles.

As part of an advance group of journalists, mostly from off-roading specialty publications, I had a blast giving the Raptor my inexperienced but enthusiastic test in three ways, First, we drove fromdowntown San Diego to the resort in Borrego Springs, and the next morning we hit the highway again, out to the desert. Tthey tell me the temperature was about 113, even though I never observed it over 108 on the digital readout in my truck once we got out in the desert. Of course, I was preoccupied much of the time.

The second phase was the high-speed desert course, where I probably hit speeds of up to 80 miles per hour skimming over the whoops and swerving between scrub brush and the occasional rocks. The third part was a rock-crawling test up and over and around and up again on the hilly terrain that borders the high-speed wash.

At one point on the high-speed run, my passenger said we would be doing a panic stop, just to show how amazingly the oversized brakes could work, even in desert sand. He alerted me about fixing on a marker just ahead, and said to slam on the brakes. We stopped  on a sandy dime, although I had a flash of concern at the high-speed roar that accompanied the stop. An instant later, I spotted the source of the sound through the windshield, as Ford’s hired-on helicopter pilot veered up and over us from behind. He must have been flying right on my tail, just above mirror-view, for a photographer’s pleasure. I was impressed that, given the suddenness of my stop, we didn’t end up with the chopper making an unscheduled landing in the pickup’s bed to test the 1,000-pound payload.

After a short break to pull off the helmet and sweat-lined liner, there was a chance to grab a bottle of water, relaxing under a canopy connected to a motorhome, or stepping inside the motorhome for an air-conditioned break. The sweaty helmet liner was the product of adrenaline-high driving, not from discomfort while the Raptor was in action, because the air-conditioning in the cockpit negated any influence of the triple-digit heat, and the specially-bolstered bucket seats assured the the run would be made in supportive comfort.

The rocky run was a complete departure, but great fun in a different vein. The Raptor hopped up and over almost everything in normal 4-high mode, and the toughest climbs were simple by clicking into 4-low. The beast clambored up those rocky trails like a mountain goat, with the best yet to come. I’ve always enjoyed and excelled at therock-climb experiences, because the instincts are the same as driving up the icy hills of Duluth – you establish some momentum, then you keep the power on with disciplined smoothness, certain to maintain that momentum.

Several of the rocky trails crested so steeply that all you see is sky out the windshield, and you have to simply trust the Ford folks and their flag-station settings, because you have only hope that the trail continues on the far side. Sure enough, it was there.

At that point, you shift into hill-descent control, which is the most amazing part of it all. Once engaged, you creep over the precipice and nose down the 45-degree descent, and you take your feet off both the gas and the brake. Don’t touch either pedal, and the Raptor creeps down the terrain with as much control as it had climbed the other side. It holds you to 2 mph and you steer around boulders and deep grooves. If you tap the gas it will go faster, and if you tap the brakes it will stop, but the remarkable thing is the way it holds its place no matter how steep the decline.

There are folks who go out and do the off-roading as a hobby, and the area we were in was set aside and established to be maintained as an off-roading haven. There are a lot of others who would probably love to do just that. There are also countless more pickup lovers who want and need their trucks for boat-hauling, or farm work, or taking off for the cabin in the northwoods.

In the Raptor, Ford has created the ideal truck for any and every pickup use, with a 6,000-pound towing capacity. If you want to go off-roading, then instead of hauling your off-road vehicle out to the woods, rocks, or desert, your 5,900-pound “tow vehicle” itself is the off-roader. Just be careful – on the road or off – if your passenger asks why you aren’t going faster. Because you might be. And doing it “unharshly,” at that.

We’re a gullible lot in the U.S. of A, and that goes for automotive journalists as well as the public. In fact, it’s the automotive journalists who are supposed to keep the public informed, but sometimes we blow it. In the nightly newscasts of Tuesday, August 11, 2009, and in the morning newspapers the following day, lead stories and banner headlines carried the information:  The new Chevy Volt will get 230 miles per gallon.

Do you believe it? I’ll believe it when I see it. Or any Volt, actually in operation. The only question I have is why did GM’s new president and CEO Fritz Henderson limit the number to 230?

GM turned Detroit Auto Show media days into an employee rally for the Volt.

The Volt has been the leading public relations tool for General Motors for three years now. It was shown as a concept car for three rounds of the auto show circuit. Always with great raves and hyperbole. Other companies have come out with later concept cars, and brought them to production, and put them in showrooms, but we’re still waiting for the first Volt.

At least it has obscured the reality that GM’s highly publicized SUV and truck hybrids only slightly improve fuel economy, unable to even reach the EPA highway figure (20 or 21 mpg) of the non-hybrid trucks and SUVs in real-world driving. It also conceals the fact that Chevrolet has quietly stopped making the Malibu Hybrid, which couldn’t come close to the rival Ford Fusion Hybrid’s 40 mpg.

Here’s the deal. The Volt is a hybrid that GM insists shouldn’t be called a hybrid. GM sources say that unlike the Prius, and other “traditional” hybrids, which run jointly on gas engines and electric power, the Volt is a plug-in electric. The only time the little gas engine starts up, GM says, is if you drive too far or too fast and use up your stored electrical power, which will take you all of 40 miles. In other words, if you take it easy, and live less than 20 miles from work, you can make it to work and back home, then plug in the Volt to recharge overnight. If you don’t make it, you can go 300 miles using the gas engine to supplement the battery pack.

Very impressive. The only problem is, GM’s hyperbole proves it doesn’t have a clue about how its top competitor’s hybrid works. In Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, the little gas engine comes on to recharge a generator, which powers two electric motors that drive the car. The gas engine alone will not move the Prius, or other Toyota hybrids. After Toyota’s chief engineer explained all that to me several years ago, I’ve made it a point to ask, at every new Toyota or Lexus hybrid introduction news conference, if there is ever a moment when the gas engine will move the car by itself. The correct answer is: No.  Although other journalists seem unable or unwilling to write that in national magazines or newspapers.

Drive the Prius moderately, and it runs silently, using charged electric power only. It will continue to run that way until you either stomp on the gas to go fast, or run it beyond its battery charge. Then the gas engine comes on, smoothly and seamlessly, to recharge the generator so it can empower the electric-motor drivetrain.

That makes the Toyota hybrid identical in operation to the Volt hybrid — which is not supposed to be called a hybrid — except for the plug-in recharging of the $40,000 Volt. Toyota, by the way, claims it will have a plug-in version of the $22,000 Prius in showrooms in about a year. Mercedes, Nissan and Mitsubishi all have electric cars just about ready for showrooms, too.

Back to the Volt. For three years, we’ve been hearing about its potential and how advanced it is.  I am all for that. But you and I could design a swoopy looking concept car and make preposterous claims for its speed, its range and its fuel economy. When anyone asks when it will be out, we’d just say:  “As soon as the darn battery companies make the ideal battery for us.”

Well, I have a lot of respect for Honda, Toyota, and Ford. They also know the ideal battery pack hasn’t yet been produced but that the technology is improving all the time. So they’ve taken the best battery available right now, hooked it up to a gas-engine regenerator, and sold it as their hybrids. Instead of holding back, not spending the development money, and claiming they were waiting for the right battery, they’ve been giving us cars that get over 40, over 50, and sometimes over 60 miles per gallon.

My biggest question about GM’s latest press conference, with new man Henderson doing the talking — and apparently without anyone from the media asking the obvious question — is: Why did he say the Volt will get 230 miles per gallon? If you drove it less than 40 miles each day, and charged it up each night, its gas engine would never start up, meaning the Volt would never use even a single drop of gasoline. Doesn’t that mean GM could have claimed 1,000 miles per gallon? Or claimed infinity as its mpg figure?

Maybe that’s for next year’s auto show circuit.

Here we are, celebrating another Fourth of July, which is always a festive time around the country, and, it seems, particularly so at the Head of the Lakes in Duluth. I drove up a couple of days early, because I just couldn’t wait to get the new Porsche Carrera 4 S Cabrio out on the freeway for the drive from Minneapolis.

The top goes down, at the push of a button, thank you, although when I got to Hinckley, the 70-degree day had turned down into the 60s far enough that I put the top up, anticipating it might be chilly in Duluth. When I came down the hillside into Duluth, though, it wasn’t bad, even though the sun had dropped behind an overcast of mostly greyish clouds behind and above me. I headed through Duluth and across the Lester River Bridge toward the North Shore, when the effect of the fading light after sunset conspired with Lake Superior to create an almost mystical scene. The grey clouds from the western horizon ended out over the big lake to leave an extremely bright sky beyond them to the east.

In addition, the lake’s surface was smooth and still as glass — so calm they had cancelled the usual Wednesday afternoon sailboat regatta that is a weekly visual treat in Duluth.  This day, the lake’s surface merged seamlessly with the bright pinkish sky to make it appear that the few fishing boats and the points of land jutting out into the lake appeared to be hanging in space.

I urged the Porsche Carrera 4 S down near the water and dropped the top, hoping to capture the manmade stunning car against that naturally stunning backdrop. You tell me if it worked.

A number of the many picnic-hiking-scenery lovers gave the Porsche lengthy looks, and how could they help it? If you want to buy a Porsche Carrera, which is the name identifying what we used to always call the 911, you can start with the Coupe at $75,000; the 4 Coupe (for all-wheel drive) is $81,700; move up to the S Coupe, with the sports model boosting the sticker to $86,200 for either the Coupe or Cabriolet; the Carrera 4 Cabriolet or 4S Coupe lists for $92,300; and the top dog is the 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet, at $102,900.

I had the last one, the top one, which means the Carrera 4S Cabriolet with all-wheel drive, the sports package, and the convertible top, and the 385-horsepower, 310-foot-pound engine. Only the way my test car was equipped, it listed for $120,100, with $10,000 of those options accounting for the amazingly deep Ruby Red Metallic paint, the Bose high-end audio, power leather seats, and something we shall refer to as “PDK.”

That stands for “Porsche Doppelkupplung” which is the German company’s description of its long-awaited PDK “automatic” transmission. It’s not really an automatic, but a clutchless manual transmission, which has seven gears. If you leave it in “D” it will shift like a normal automatic, maybe smoother, and is perfect for normal driving. If you put it the manual setting, you can upshift or downshift by the paddles within thumb or fingertip reach on either side of the steering wheel.

This PDK has no clutch pedal, but inside the transmission there are two clutches, the first gripping 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th gears, and the other gripping 2nd, 4th, and 6th. If you drive with hard acceleration, the computerized engine managerment system knows you’re going to upshift, so while one clutch grabs the gear you’re in, the other clutch engages the next gear up. If you hammer the gas, or switch it into either of the sports modes, the transmission revs to the 7,500-RPM red line, then blips you into the next gear by itself, without any jerk, but only with a change in tone to that wonderful engine sound.

I enjoyed clicking the sport button, although it also stiffened the suspension to teeth-rattling firmness, so I would push the sports button, then also push another button and soften the suspension to normal, while leaving the aggressive shiftpoints. I did engage the firm suspension on the freeway trip, and it was amazingly smooth and precise.

When you drive a Porsche Carrera, you are immediately aware of why the cars cost so much. If not immediately, then shortly after you tap your toe on the gas pedal and bring to life that incomparable snarl as the flat-opposed 6-cylinder barks up the rev-counter. They’ve even added an unusual twist, called “Launch Control,” which seems like a drag-racer’s dream, and might work for the ultimate track day performance, but seems almost crude for a Porsche. You set it on sport plus, then step on the brake pedal and hold it, quickly flooring the gas pedal, which roars the engine to 6,500 RPMs. The car isn’t moving, and the words “launch control active” appears on the computer display. At that moment, you release the brake, and the car literally launches with sudden ferocity as all four tires bite for traction at the very limits of adhesion.

Very impressive, but it still seems to be an unnecessary method to prove the Porsche’s authenticity. My first instinct is that anyone who engages launch control should probably be incarcerated.

Back to the scene on the North Shore, after I had completed my shots and was about to stash the camera, the usual circling gulls were around as the lake started to show a few mild ripples. Then I spotted a darker, larger bird approaching from the east.  I immediately flicked on the camera and started shooting.  In one of the most amazing scenarios, a large, mature bald eagle approached, flying about a block out from shore, and only about a foot above the water of Lake Superior. I fired off a few hasty frames, but the memory will be indelible regardless.

I watched until the eagle cruised up a little higher, then turned inland over the East End of Duluth. It was the perfect climax to a fantastic scene that certainly put me in the proper mood for the holiday weekend.

(More thorough description of the Porsche Carrera with the PDK is on the Newcarpicks.com website.)

Tom Peters came home last week, and he brought a couple of his latest works of art with him. He also brought his son, so he could show him the places he used to live, out in Deephaven, with the family moving to Chaska when he was 13.

“We used to play hockey on Lake Minnetonka, and I’ve been telling my son about it,” said Peters. “He’s playing now in the Detroit area, but he’s never played outdoors.”

When Peters was in school, and maybe his mind would wander into daydreams, he would draw things. He saved on of them and reproduced it, and I was flattered that he gave me a print. It is a drawing of a hot-rod, one of those high-up vehicles that used to be the favorite style of hot-rod magazine cartoonists, and it was of a modified 1969 Chevrolet Camaro.

The significance of that is that the pieces of art Peters brought home to put on display in Minneapolis were a pair of 2010 Camaros, one dark red and the other dark blue. There is no doubt about the connection Peters enforced with the concept car, and, more important, to the classic vintage 1996 model.

Both of the new cars had 3.6-liter V6 engines and were RS models that drove smoothly in a brief whirl up the freeway and back to the Guthrie Theater. The big Corvette 6-liter V8 has been popular with first buyers, but after the muscle-car surge, Chevrolet anticipates the potent and high-tech V6 will become the dominant choice in the car.

Peters, who earlier worked on everything from Corvettes to Cadillacs to Hummer design, was in command of a battery of four designers, and they had a specific charge.

“Once we built the concept car,” Peters said. “Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz demanded that when we built the production car, it had to follow the design cues of the concept car.”

The concept car, of course, followed the key design cues of the (drumroll, please ) 1969 Camaro.

“The Camaro changed completely for 1970 and later, but the 1969 was the purest form of the American statement made by the Camaro. My favorite part of the new car is the way the front end houses the headlights.”

One of the things I like best about Peters is that he assigns some human traits to the cars he loves. I’ve always done the same, because I think life is too short, and you should have a relationship with your car, because then it will treat you better and you will love it more.

“Without question, the headlights are tghe eyes, and the grille is a snarling mouth,” Peters said. “I know what the heritage of the Camaro was, but a couple of our designers didn’t. One was from Korea and the other from Russia, originally. I kept stressing that the key new elements had to have some hints of the ‘69, even though this would be like building a jet aircraft — high performance, and purpose built.

“The car makes people smile. I don’t care if it’s here, in Canada, or in South America, people love the new Camaro. There are some people who don’t care or know about what Camaro means, and we want this car to appeal to them, too. But I know when you put the name ‘Camaro’ on it, it means something.”

In 25 years with General Motors, Peters said he always has been free to show creativity and to express that creativity with some passion.

While also working on the current C6 Corvette, Peters oversaw the design of the Corvette Sting Ray concept car. He went back to the sleek “C2″ Corvette Sting Rays of 1963-67, and focused in on the 1963 model. “When I was in the third grade,” he recalled, “a friend’s dad had two ‘63 Split-window coupes at the same time.”

While Peters might have looked forward to trying to make a high school team as a defenseman, before he got to that age his dad changed jobs and the family moved from Chaska to Baton Rouge, La. Instantly, Peters had to change his youthful thought processes from outdoor hockey and down jackets to Cajun music and boiled crawfish. But his love of car design never varied, and he attended Southwest Louisiana and Louisiana Tech before going to work for General Motors.

He had no idea what the future could hold, but when his superiors liked his designs, he advanced to some of the most compelling cars GM has built.

“In the Transformers movie, they wanted a concept car like the old Sting Ray,” Peters said. “So we referenced the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray in building the C6, and the Concept Corvette Indy. It was a mid-engine car, and we worked on it with Lotus in England, and in Turin, Italy.”

The Camaro took a long time to go from concept to production, because GM wanted to gauge the response at auto shows before officially giving the OK to the production of the car. At that, the Camaro project got Peters acquainted with another corner of the world — Australia.

“Holden, our branch in Australia that built the GTO and the G8, was responsible for much of the engineering of the Camaro,” Peters said. “The Camaro is on a shortened and modified platform used in the G8. So I went to Australia at least once a month through the whole process.

“Those people at Holden are impressive. They are GM people, but they are very proud of their accomplishments. They incluenced the drivetrain, and the engineering coordination with the platform.”

There are some differences driving in Australia. Peters said he had to get accustomed to seeing dead kangaroos by the side of the roads, having been struck by cars. With Pontiac being the victim of GM’s economic cutbacks, Holden’s influence on GM’s U.S. cars may be less-emphasized. But every Camaro remains a tribute to the global influence that stretches from Tom Peters to Holden in Australia.

“I think everything came together very well on the car,” said Peters. “From a design standpoint, things had to be exciting back in 1969, and they proved that if you keep it simple, and powerful, you can get longevity in cars just as you can in music, architecture, or painting. I think the 2010 Camaro will have timelessness too, with a distinct character and personality.”

Peters still had time to show his son around his old neighborhoods. He may have to come back in January to show him the realities of outdoor hockey, but he undoubtedly will have an appreciation for cars with character. Even if he never saw a 1969 Camaro, now, thanks to his dad, he’s got a new Camaro with personality, character, and style.