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2012 Ford Explorer gets 28 mpg with EcoBoost power

The 2012 Ford Explorer--the first vehicle in North America to get the company's four-cylinder EcoBoost engine--is rated at 20 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, it was announced on Thursday morning. The 2.0-liter turbocharged EcoBoost Explorer engine pushes out 240 hp at 5,500 rpm and 270 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm. The four-cylinder is a significant part of the Explorer's dramatic makeover, which has seen the family-hauler transition from a body-on-frame SUV to unibody underpinnings.

2010 Kia Forte: More goodies for a lower price

The new Forte replaces the Kia Spectra compact sedan for 2010. Kia's biggest seller gets new skin and a wider, longer version of the Hyundai Elantra platform for the 2010 model year but falls short in simple things such as the workings of shifters and clutches. Still, it's only $14,390 to start, and that includes Bluetooth, an iPod jack and three months of Sirius satellite radio.

Lotus, Toyota celebrate engine deal

Lotus CEO Dany Bahar presented Toyota president Akio Toyoda with a Lotus Elise this week at the British Embassy in Tokyo, celebrating the companies' long partnership. The Elise was equipped with Toyota's last 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine, the same engine found in older versions of the Lotus Elise and Exige. “The presentation of Toyota's last 2ZZ engine in the Elise is a symbolic gesture of our continued respect and deep appreciation for our partner not only acknowledging our past, but also looking forward to our future together,” Bahar said in a statement.