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The above video is a detailed review of the 2013 Ford Fusion EcoBoost. The Fusion is a mid-sized sedan for the American market. Why bother with a car not destined for Singapore, you may ask. Unlike the previous generation Fusion, the latest model is actually a twin sibling of the all-new Ford Mondeo. When the new Mondeo arrives in Singapore, the 1.6-litre EcoBoost will likely be the best selling variant due to the local consumers' "Big body, small engine" mentality. The video starts with a walkaround over the car's exterior followed by the interior, paying close attention to details such as the styling cues and plastic quality. The review ends with a test drive in a local town. You can hear the sporty note of the force-fed lump in the cabin of the vehicle. The main difference between the Mondeo and the Fusion is that the US model is equipped with a torque-convertor automatic transmission whereas the Mondeo is fitted with the more advanced six-speed dual-clutch Powershift.

Every year, American publication, Consumer Reports conducts a reliability survey from its subscribers' experience with 1.2 million vehicles over the last three years. In this year's report, the biggest surprise is Ford's free fall from inside the top 10 in 2010 to 27th of the 28 brands rated. Only two years ago, Consumer Reports had hailed Ford as a "poster child" of reliability. According to Consumer Reports director of automotive testing Jake Fisher, consumers encountered a lot of problems with Ford's Powershift Dual-clutch transmission and 'MyFord' Touch infotainment system. These systems were introduced to a number of new or revised models such as the Fiesta, Focus and Explorer. On the report, Ford commented that the results matched the internal data the company had received and added that the company had made major improvement earlier this year, and that the survey lagged behind current trends. As usual, Japanese brands dominated the top positions in the survey. Toyota took the top three places with its Scion, Toyota and Lexus brands, followed by Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura. From a personal experience, my family's previous Japanese cars have been to the workshop lesser than the current VW during the first three years of ownership. Audi deserves a pat on the back for moving up to 8th in ranking, a huge improvement from the 26th position in 2011.

[extract] In an effort to improve the performance of the 6-speed dual-clutch transmission in its 2011 Fiesta and 2012 Focus, Ford has issued several technical service bulletins over the last two months in the US. The brand

http://paultan.org/2010/02/02/ford-focus-2...ort-test-drive/ Juz read the article and i am very impressed with the specs. 320Nm from 1800rpm is no joke. Plus wif a 6 speed powershift transmission too. I wonder if it'll sell if sold in singapore. I did some rough calculating and it seems it cud be priced below $80k if brot in.

[extract] Ford

Following its introduction on the facelifted S-MAX and Galaxy people carriers, Ford's European division is expanding the availability of the new 2.0 litre EcoBoost petrol engine that combines turbocharging and direct fuel injection to the Mondeo. The 2.0 litre SCTi unit, which comes as standard with a six-speed PowerShift wet double-clutch gearbox, produces 203 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 300 Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,500 rpm. It propels the Mondeo saloon from 0 to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds (Station Wagon: 8.2 sec) with a top speed of 232 km/h (Station Wagon: 227 km/h). It returns a combined fuel economy of 7.7lt/100km. In addition to the new Ecoboost powerplant, the MY2010 Mondeo also benefits from an upgraded 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engine that has been reworked to match Stage V emission regulations in Europe. The diesel unit is offered in three flavors with 115HP, 140HP and a new variant with 163 HP. The two most powerful engines are also available with the optional PowerShift six-speed double-clutch transmission.

Volvo has unleashed a slew of photos and details of its very promising all-new 2011 S60 sedan that will make its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on 2 March. The premium model, which is aimed directly at cars like the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class, is described by Volvo as the firm's most dynamic car ever produced, not only in terms of styling but also in terms of driving characteristics. Even though the design has been toned down a notch from the S60 study model in the 2009 Detroit Show, it remains very close to the original concept. Inside, the styling is equally refreshing with Volvo's designers paying extra attention to details and the choice of materials. The Swedes also claim that it's more spacious that its predecessor, offering 30mm more knee room for the rear passengers while boot opening has been made 107 mm wider than in the previous S60. The new sedan can be specified with a choice of two chassis, Dynamic and Comfort, with the differences in the dampers and the front and rear subframes. In Europe, the newly developed dynamic chassis is standard, while most markets in North America and Asia will have the comfort chassis as standard with the sport variant available as an option. At launch, the car will be available with two diesel and two gasoline units with three more petrol and one diesel to follow later on. I will touch on the gasoline options since they are more relevant to the Singapore market. The most powerful gasoline engine is the 3.0-liter T6 petrol with 304HP and 440 Nm of torque. It is combined with standard AWD and second-generation six-speed automatic Geartronic transmission. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 6.5 seconds and top speed is 250 km/h. The new four-cylinder 2.0 GTDi (Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine produces 203HP and 300Nm with acceleration from 0-100 km/h taking 7.7 seconds for the manual gearbox while the automatic version takes 8.2 seconds. The top speed figures are 235km/h and 230 km/h for the manual and automatic versions respectively. A 1.6-litre GTDi engine available in 180HP and 150HP configurations will be offered later on during the first year of production. All the GTDi gasoline engines will be available in combination with Volvo's automatic six-speed Powershift transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox. Interior photos of the new S60 can be found below. The compact luxury sector is set to be spiced up again!

We have witnessed a tremendous rise in applications of twin clutch transmission in recent years. Manufacturers may call such technology by different names such as DSG (VW), Powershift (Ford), S Tronic (Audi), PDK (Porsche). I won't be surprised if torque converter equipped transmission makes it to the museum in 10 years' time. Let's take a detailed look at the future of automatic transmission. Twin-clutch gearbox was first put into production by BorgWarner, which calls it "DualTronic". It was first used in Audi TT 3.2 in the name "DSG" (Direct-Shift Gearbox). Like automated manual gearbox, BorgWarner

Ladies and gentlemen, focus your attention on the all new Ford Focus! Ford took the wraps off its brand-new 2011 Focus at the Detroit auto show, displaying the sedan and hatchback variants. The Fiesta's new big brother is quite possibly one of the most important Fords of the past few decades as it will be a truly global car. The new Focus has been re-designed from scratch to suit all international markets. The new 2010 Focus sedan and five-door hatchback represent the third and fourth body styles of the new global C-platform from Ford, with the European C-Max and Grand C-Max debuted last September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The new Focus represents the second generation kinetic design from Ford, incorporating a large trapezoidal lower grille, bold wheel arches and a prominent character line running from the front wheel back to the rear quarter. The side profile of the sedan looked muscular to me but I find the tail lamp clusters kind of overdone, or even fussy. The sedan is slightly lower than the outgoing model while the length, interior volume and weight remain similar to it's predecessor. Like other new Fords, the next generation Focus will benefit from an electric power assist system (EPAS) for its steering, which helps to reduce fuel consumption by cutting parasitic losses. Steering precision is said to be improved as well. Dynamic Cornering Control will also be available for the front-wheel-drive Focus, which should help provide even better handling balance with less understeer. The new focus will be propelled by a new 2.0-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine, which will also form the basis of the upcoming 2.0-liter EcoBoost. It produces about 155bhp and benefits from variable phasing cam technology. Ford hinted that a 1.6L EcoBoost powerplant could be offered as an option in the future as well. All automatic versions of the Focus shall be equipped with the 6 speed Powershift dual clutch gearbox. The dashboard has a futuristic layout with a large information display panel right at the centre. Let's hope that this display panel will not be replaced by an empty storage area when it comes to Singapore. The air-con vents resemble those found in the new Sonata. The gearstick look kind of tall on the photo but let's hope that its due to the angle of the camera man. As we begin 2010, it looks like the compact C-segment is shaping up to be one of the most highly competitive segments in the auto industry with the Civic, Corolla, Jetta, Cruze and the new Focus fighting for the consumer's cheque book :)

Here's the official photo of the new 2010 Volvo S60. It's new found curvy contours is a far cry from the boxy shape of the early Volvos. Some might say that such a design philosophy from Volvo has made it lost its uniqueness but I quite like it personally. The all new S60 will most likely share its underpinnings with the next generation Ford Focus. This would guarantee above average handling capabilities to take on the king of luxury compact sedans - The BMW 3 series. The new S60 will be powered by the new 1.6L Ecoboost engine from Ford. Most likely to be mated to the Powershift dual clutch transmission.