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I’ll be honest; when Ford first unveiled its 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6, I was skeptical. Past attempts at building turbocharged American cars were almost universally awful, I reasoned, so why would Ford’s latest effort be any different? This may seem foolish today, considering the success that the growing EcoBoost range has achieved – particularly the 2.0-litre and 1.6-litre mills. Yet I once again found myself questioning Ford.

It’s the makeup of the 1.0-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder slotted into the compact engine bay of this Fiesta that has a way of breeding doubt. Three-cylinder engines remain an extreme rarity in North America. What’s more, they earned a less-than-desirable reputation for applications in the 1980s and 1990s, and my trepidation about this latest three-pot as a result.

As I found out, though, history is a poor informant of modern technology. The thrust available in other cars with the EcoBoost badge on the back has not gone missing here; something the International Engine of the Year committee has lauded. That august body named the 1.0-litre Ecoboost the best engine of 2012 and 2013. After a week of driving, it didn’t take long for my fear of threes to get turned into something like that line of thinking.

Scroll down for our driving notes and impressions.

2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost

2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost originally appeared on Autoblog Canada on Fri, 09 May 2014 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Category: 2014 ford fiesta, 2014 ford fiesta 1.0l ecoboost, ecoboost, featured, ford, ford fiesta, ford fiesta ecoboost, quick spin, quickspin

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It’s no secret that the average fullsize cargo van is big. Like, really big. Expressing that size, though, without actually seeing the van in question, is a pretty tall order. When viewed from the right angle, even something as big as a cargo van can appear very small (look up forced perspective, to see what we mean).

That’s why it’s always good to have a second object on hand, to provide a sense of scale. Ford took this simple idea to the extreme, illustrating the size of the new Ford Transit by pulling the world’s smallest production car, the Peel P50, nose first into the van’s 13,790-litre (487-cubic-foot) cargo area. That’s no big deal, though, right? After all, at just 54 inches long and 39 inches wide, the Peel would fit quite happily in even the smallest fullsize truck bed.

Ford takes it a step further, though. With the help of an actual reverse gear (we’re guessing this is a CVT-equipped, electric model), the P50 manages to turn itself around and drive out. It does this in less than two minutes. So yeah, the Ford Transit is a pretty big van.

Take a look below for the video from Ford.

Peel and Ford Transit do a great Austin Powers impression

Peel and Ford Transit do a great Austin Powers impression originally appeared on Autoblog Canada on Mon, 05 May 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As car companies have morphed into multinationals, it has gotten difficult to discern what qualifies as an American car.

Walking around a car show in Washington D.C. earlier this year, Frank DuBois, a professor of international business at nearby American University, couldn’t help but notice the “Made In America” stickers plastered all over a Toyota Tundra pickup truck. The stickers indeed are accurate. Toyota assembles the Tundra in San Antonio, Texas, and the vehicle’s engine and transmission are produced in the United States, as well. But in DuBois’ view, the advertisements provided a simplified answer to a complicated question.

In the automotive realm, the practice of buying American or “Domestic” is one that’s open to interpretation. Does buying Domestic mean buying a Chrysler? Because the company has merged with Italian-owned Fiat. Does it mean buying a Ford Fiesta assembled in Mexico? A BMW assembled in South Carolina? A Tundra built in San Antonio, with much of its research and development conducted in Japan? A Ford assembled in Oakville, Ontario?

DuBois tells Autoblog Canada that he developed the “Made In America Auto Index” to help sort through the answers to those questions.

As car companies have morphed into multinational corporations that operate on a global scale, it has gotten more difficult than ever to discern what qualifies as an American or Domestic car. In his analysis, DuBois ranks vehicles in seven separate categories, weighing factors such as assembly locations, amount of domestic content included, where research and development is conducted and overall economic impact in North America.

Ford’s F-Series pickup line and the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray rank as the ‘Most American’ cars in this year’s index, the results of which were released Thursday. Both cars scored an 87.5 in the 100-point index. Last year’s study toppers were General Motors’ Lambda crossovers.

Latest ‘Made In America Auto Index’ topped by Ford F-Series, Chevy Corvette

Latest ‘Made In America Auto Index’ topped by Ford F-Series, Chevy Corvette originally appeared on Autoblog Canada on Sun, 04 May 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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