Prices from £13,995 for new 2014 Ford Focus

Ford has announced it will freeze prizes for the entry-level version of its new 2014 Focus family hatchback at £13,995 when the car goes on sale later this year. On top of that, the Blue Oval has also reduced the price of the top two Titanium and Titanium X trim levels by £100 each owing to increased customer demand for “technology and luxury”. On Bing: see pictures of the 2014 Ford Focus Find out how much a used Ford Focus costs on Auto Trader Above the entry-level Studio model sit the £16,795 Style, £18,295 Zetec and £20,045 Zetec S variants, priced at £395, £895 and £400 more than the models they will replace respectively.

McLaren managing director on leave, not expected in Geneva

McLaren Automotive's U.S.-born managing director, Antony Sheriff, is expected to be absent from the launch of the P1 hypercar at Geneva next week because he is on extended leave from the company. No reason for Sheriff's absence has been given, although McLaren is at pains to point out that he is “still employed as McLaren Automotive's managing director.” Rumors were circulating about Sheriff's absence from Woking in January, but company spokesmen back then stressed that he was still employed by McLaren and would unveil the P1 at Geneva. Despite those assurances, sources had reported earlier in the year that Sheriff “hadn't been seen in his office” for some days.

VW to intro Passat BlueMotion Concept at Detroit auto show

While performance heads are anxiously awaiting the North American debut of the hot-heat Mk VII Golf R at the Detroit auto show, Volkswagen's Passat BlueMotion Concept offers never-before technology in the Yank/Canuck family sedan segment: a four-pot motor with cylinder deactivation. Based on the EA211 1.4L turbo motor we sampled last year in the Euro-market Audi A3 sedan, the Passat BlueMotion Concept's engine is capable of shutting down the middle two cylinders during cruise, and features the Jetta Hybrid's gearbox, a twin-clutch unit capable of decoupling from the engine during off-throttle coasting. In the Passat's application, the 1.4 puts out 150 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque; VW suggests its highway fuel economy will stand at 42 mpg.