The 2013 Ford Escape is looking good

2013 Ford Escape.

There has been much activity at the new Ford assembly plant on the Eastern Seaboard. The main product will be the new Ford Focus, which has been a world-wide success. However, there is more than one car that will be built on the Focus platform, and one of those is the 2013 Ford Escape, which will also be built in Thailand.

This new SUV variant was unveiled at Los Angeles motor show in November 2011 - and is scheduled for release in 2013. The vehicle will also receive many of the Focus features, including the parallel park assist system which steers the vehicle in to a parking spot with the driver just giving accelerator and brake inputs.

The new Escape also has new cornering technology to automatically slow the vehicle if entering a corner too fast (Curve Control) or help accelerate through a turn (Torque Vectoring Control).

The engine line-up starts with a base model 2.5 liter four cylinder but also includes the 1.6 liter and 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder Ecoboost engines - all mated to a six speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels as standard but with an intelligent all-wheel-drive system as an option.

The rear seats fold flat and the load space has an optional two-position floor which can be configured for either maximum luggage capacity or flat floor.

FoMoCo has understood that to survive in the competitive automotive world, it has to build cars that people ‘want’. I believe the 2013 Escape will be one of those vehicles.

Coty20 AutoShow 2011 (Kuala Lumpur)

Chev Volt.

Our Editor at Large, John Weinthal attended the KL Motor Show and sent up a bundle of photographs. Whilst he went to see the new cars on offer, it was the concourse cars that caught his attention.

He describes the Chevy Volt as bland as a car can be, which is a shame as the concept/prototype was a great looking car. He was also unimpressed with the latest Jaguars, saying they were easily confused with latest Volvo or Camry ... Lyons must be squirming.

The Mini duo looked good, back to being what Sir Alex Issigonis designed - very small “mini” cars, as opposed to the oversized BMW versions.

Always a fan of Bentley cars, John included a shot of a magnificently maintained Bentley Continental.

A brace of ‘real’ Minis.

Bentley Continental.

Police investigating the Police?

The cause of Sebastian Vettel’s tyre failure during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix remains unknown after Pirelli ruled out a structural damage.

Vettel started in pole position at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday but his race lasted just two corners after a right-rear problem sent him spinning off the track. Although he made it back to the pits, the damage to his rear suspension was too severe and he was forced to retire.

Pirelli and Red Bull immediately launched an investigation after the race, but the Italian manufacturer has revealed that a detailed examination of the rubber has shown that there was no structural failure and doubts that debris is to blame. (How they come up with that from a pile of rubber bits, is beyond my comprehension.)

“We can confirm a structural failure was not the cause of Sebastian’s deflation in Abu Dhabi,” Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said. “It is a conclusion we have arrived at together with Red Bull Racing following a detailed examination and analysis of the remains of the tyre. We cannot rule out debris on the track causing damage to the tyre, which then provoked a deflation, but having looked at the track closely there is no direct evidence of this.”

So, according to Pirelli it wasn’t their tyre that was at fault. Also according to Red Bull and Pirelli, it wasn’t debris on the track either. So what was it? McLaren had a “deflate” button they used? Come on chaps, there’s only one thing left. Incorrect fitment of the tyre allowing it to roll off the rim. But nobody is putting their hand up for that one.

Gas Guzzlers

Read some interesting figures on fuel consumption, so if you believe all the scaremongering that the world is about to stop spinning when we run out of crude oil, then you’d better not buy a Bugatti Veyron.

Why? The Veyron is the biggest gas guzzler for sale anywhere in the world with official consumption figures of 23.5 liters of fuel for every 100 kilometers it travels. And remember that at full noise you get about 15 minutes out of a full tank in your Veyron.

At the other end of the scale the Mitsubishi i-MiEV battery-powered city car is effectively rated at just over 2.1 L/100 km worked out by some weird and wonderful formula that says there is an equivalency because it takes fossil fuel to recharge its battery. (EPA mathematics again.)

Next most frugal is the all-electric Nissan Leaf (rated at 2.4 L/100 km) and the electric-with-petrol-generator-backup Chevrolet Volt rated at 3.9 L/100 km.

The Toyota Prius is the most economical hybrid car to run in the US, pegging an average fuel use of 4.7 L/100 km, while the best conventionally engined cars are the Audi A3 and the Volkswagen Jetta, both powered by a 2.0 liter turbo diesel engine, that returns an average of about 6.9 L/100 km.

Of the two hydrogen fuel cell vehicles available in the US - the Honda FCX Clarity and Mercedes-Benz’s B-Class-based F-Cell - the Honda betters its German rival by 0.5L/100km to peg an official fuel use rate of 3.9L/100km.

However, since we will not run out of oil in my lifetime I wouldn’t worry too much. If you can afford the duty on a Veyron, you can afford the petrol.

Cars to hang on to - they are going to be classics

The latest news from the UK indicates that the following cars are the classics of the future.

Jaguars - Opportunities abound for left-hand-drive imports from the States where good Series 3 2+2s can still be found for well under ฃ15,000.

First Generation Hot Hatches - The MK 1 VW Golf GTi’s and Peugeot 205 GTi’s are becoming highly sought after by younger collectors.

Interesting Cars from Obscure Marques - The Swallow Doretti, Jensen Interceptor, Peerless GT and Daimler Darts have all seen greater interest and appreciation.

Early Subaru Impreza WRX - This car was the panelists pick as a latter-day affordable car likely to be a sought after collectible.

1978-89 Porsche 911SC and Carrera 3.2 litre - These models are likely to see appreciation as 1970s Porsche 911s become increasingly unaffordable.

What did we learn from the Brazilian GP?

Well, we learned that if the cards drop favorably, Mark Webber (Red Bull) can produce the goods. A very popular win by the (dare I say it) aging Aussie. Forget about his team mate’s finger (certainly dislocated I am sure), that was a race that Webber was going to win. The win, fastest lap, and a great way to finish the 2011 season.

Vettel took his demotion to second on the chin, and I was pleased he didn’t wave two fingers when he came into the parc ferme, which could have been misunderstood. He ended up nursing the car to the finish, but had enough in hand that Button (McLaren) was unable to bridge the gap.

Once again, Jenson Button showed skill and maturity to come in a well deserved third. Attributes that appear to have deserted his team mate, I am afraid. Button drives without flamboyance, without controversy, and just gets the job done. If McLaren can give him a better car in 2012 he could easily score another driver’s championship.

So what has happened to Hamilton (McLaren), the driver who (used to) exhibit more tiger than the Sriracha Tiger Zoo? In his words, “At the start I wanted to avoid any aggro, and that meant I lost a position to Fernando.” Avoiding aggro! When he began to race with Massa, we were all sure this would bring the tiger out of the cage, but no. The tiger turned into a pussy cat. Did the Pussycat Dolls burst his happy bubble? He will have to sparkle up by 2012. His manager should get him a Happy Bubble repair kit and show him how to use it over the Xmas break.

Alonso (Ferrari) has to win the jack rabbit award for his starts. No matter where he starts from, you can guarantee he will be up the front by the first corner. Now if Ferrari can give him a car which can use his skills, they could have a repeat of the Schumacher years. But will they?

And what about the accident between Schumacher (Mercedes) and Bruno Senna (Renault-Lotus and anyone else throwing some cash at the team)? A ‘racing incident’ said the telly talking heads - “naughty boy Senna” said the stewards awarding the youngster a drive-through penalty, while Michael Schumacher dismissed it with, “It was a bit of a shame today with the incident with Bruno, which was caused perhaps due to some lack of experience, but then those things happen.” From where I sat, all it needed was a momentary ‘lift’ by Senna and the initial part of the accident would not have happened; however, the second part of the accident where Senna tagged Schumacher’s tyre was in my view deliberate, and I agree with the stewards decision. For once!

It was not a good day for the Brazilians in the race. Old age pensioner Barichello (Williams) had a dreadful race, and if he were hoping that this drive in front of his home fans would stay his execution, he was mistaken. However, his final words were, “There’s been a lot of talk over the weekend, but I believe I will be back again next season.” (Don’t bet on it, Rubens.) Senna got the ire of the stewards, and Massa (Ferrari) showed once more that he does not have the pace, or nous of Alonso.

So that was the final Grand Prix of 2011, and we can now just wait and hope the design engineers can turn out race cars over the break that can challenge the all-conquering Red Bulls. Watch this space!