Volkswagen Passat Chassis Brain Box Transmission; (under Rear Seat), 6 Cyl, Th on 2040-parts.com

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.

Opel Ampera: the full, official technical story

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 25 March 2009 10:05 Opel/Vauxhall predict that the new Ampera production car will sell more in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. The extended range electric vehicle, unveiled at the recent 2009 Geneva motor show, will go on sale here in late 2011 and marketing bosses say the UK is more accepting of hybrids and alternative vehicles than other markets. It’s not clear at this stage how much the Ampera will cost in the UK, but we’re looking at a likely cost around £20,000.

GM ride-and-drive event puts interns behind the wheel

Interns here at AutoWeek are fortunate enough to be in and out of all sorts of cars, from the little Fiat 500 to the phenomenal Lexus LFA. But rarely do we get our own event like the Intern Ride and Drive hosted by General Motors in downtown Detroit on Friday. The event, set up and run by GM's own interns, involved summer help from local broadcast-media outlets, newspapers and many Detroit-area automotive publications.