We have to give credit where credit is due. One thing that the Chinese automakers are clearly excelling at is perfecting the art of copying existing vehicles. The newest victim is the Ford F-150 which JAC Motors out in China has just pulled off with surprising accuracy.

Set to debut in April at the Beijing Motor Show, the JAC 4R3 looks almost identical to the Ford F-150 SuperCrew from bumper to bumper. What’s worse is that JAC is not one of Ford’s partners. What’s most humorous is that the 4R3 will be powered by a 2.8-liter diesel engine with just 108 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. The 4R3 obviously won’t warrant the same heavy duty work as the F-150 and is probably lighter weight which allows it to get away with such a weak powerplant.

What’s next from the Chinese automakers? A clone of a Rolls-Royce Phantom?

GALLERY: JAC 4R3

[Source: Auto Home]

The Volkswagen Golf will remain the best-selling car in Europe, but here’s the real news: it keeps the crown with a whopping 484,547 units sold.

Numbers might not mean much to most people, but this will put things into perspective: at 1.6 million units worldwide, BMW stood fast as the world’s largest luxury car brand. Those are worldwide sales figures. VW came close to the half-million mark in Europe alone and with just one model.

As far as American bravado is concerned, we can’t come close to touching those numbers. The top-selling car in the U.S. was the Toyota Camry with 308,510 units. To be fair, all you need to do is delve into the popular world of pickup trucks to find that the Ford F-150 sold about 100,000 more units in the States than the Golf did in Europe, but the fact remains that Volkswagen is killing the competition with their catchy compact.

If VW has its way, the Golf will remain in the top spot for its seventh generation— set to debut at the Paris Auto Show in September. Sales actually dropped by 2 percent last year, though such fluctuations are typical towards the end of a model cycle.

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Vw Golf Review Here

GALLERY: 2011 Volkswagen Golf

[Source: Automotive News]

Ford took a bit of a gamble, putting in a fuel efficient V6 into their full-size F-150 pickup but now that the EcoBoost-powered truck has sold 100,000 this year, we’re pretty sure Ford execs are content with their decision.

It’s been over 25 years since Ford has sold that many V6-powered pickups in one year, with 40-percent of the buyers opting to pay the extra $895 for the turbocharged EcoBoost 3.5L V6 rather than the conventional 3.7L V6. More than half of all the trucks sold by Ford have been an F-150 V6.

The EcoBoost V6 sports 365-hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, while the non-turbocharged 3.7L has 302-hp.  The V8 offerings have 360-hp and 411-hp from a 5.0L and 6.2L respectively.

[Source: Detroit News]

Click here to read AutoGuide’s Ford F-150 EcoBoost Review

Kelly Blue Book Released their list of the 20 most researched vehicles and three of the top five spots belong the Honda products. The Civic and Accord placed first and second respectively, with the Toyota Camry in third, the Honda CR-V in fourth and the Ford F-150 in fifth.

The Hyundai Sonata and Elantra placed sixth and seventh respectively, with the Elantra cracking the top 20 for the first time. The top five brands overall were Toyota, Ford, Honda, Chevrolet and Hyundai, with the Toyota Prius as the sole hybrid on the list. Check out the full list below, after the jump.

Continue Reading…

Addictive Desert Design is teaming up with JPM Coachworks to build a one-of-a-kind Luxury Performance Ford Raptor for this year’s SEMA Show. Starting with a 2011 Raptor SVT SuperCrew, the team revamped the sport truck from bumper to bumper, with a collection of some of the industry’s finest products available for the Raptor.

The first stop for the Raptor SVT was nowhere else but Hennessey Performance where the SVT was outfitted with their VelociRaptor 600 SC package, giving the truck 605-hp thanks to a supercharger. From there, it headed down to JPM Coachworks where the interior was completely redone with Royal Hides from Edelman Leather and Alcantara. Next, it headed over to High Desert Mobile where it received a complete audio upgrade featuring products from Mosconi, Blackhole, Chasecam, Visualogic and Tsunami.

The now-heavily modified Raptor was then shipped to Addictive Desert Designs where it received front and rear bumpers from Stealth, LED lighting from Rigid, rock guards, King Shocks coilover shocks, Fuel Hostage wheels with Goodyear MTR Kevlar tires. Braking upgrades come from Baer Brakes with their Extreme Plus Calipers and 15-inch rotors.

Bodywork enhancements were done over at Hi Tech Collission where some custom touches were added. Spintech Muffler then added a one-off true dual exhaust system while the bed, wheel-wells, underside and bottom 12-inches of the body were coated by Line-X.

Affliction Clothing will be holding a contest to name the finished Raptor SVT project and participants interested in contributing some suggestions will have a chance to win some prizes.

The full build process can be seen at LuxuryRaptor.com or on Facebook.

[Source: Truck Trend]

See AutoGuide’s complete 2011 SEMA Show preview here

Toyo Tires has just announced their vehicle lineup for this year’s SEMA Show, bringing four high-profile and customized vehicles to their booth and announcing three of them today.

Headlining the debuts will be the Toyo Tires Ultimate Ride Sweepstakes 2011 Dodge Durango, which will also be given away to a lucky winner. Along with the Durango, Toyo will have a 2011 Ford F-150 Raptor, a 2011 BMW 5-Series  customized by Wald, and a yet-to-be-announced vehicle at their booth.

The giveaway Durango is a Mineral Gray Metallic Heat Edition 4×4 features a set of Toyo Proxes ST II rubber matched with 22-inch Savini Forged SV28c wheels. The Durango is further modified with a Magnaflow exhaust system while Mega Motorsports outfits it with a custom Alpine Audio entertainment system. Roadwire further modifies the interior with black leather upholstery contrasted with blue stitching. Up front is a T-REX four-piece flat black mesh grill featuring a UFC logo. Those attending the show will have the opportunity to scan a QR code to automatically enter themselves into the giveaway.

Second on the list is a custom Ford F-150 Raptor done by Street Concepts. The exterior features a Snow Camo vehicle wrap with 20×9-inch matte black Fuel Boost wheels wrapped with Toyo’s Open Country M/T rubber. The F-150 will be show-ready at SEMA thanks to Icon Vehicle Dynamics’ suspension, Brembo brakes, new bumpers and lighting. On the inside, Street Concepts gave the interior a carbon fiber-wrapped interior accented by black Alcantara. Kenwood supplies the in-car audio on this truck project.

Last of the announced vehicles will be a complete Wald F10 Black Bison, a customized 2011 BMW 5-Series. The 5-Series will feature a full Wald Black Bison body kit with 20-inch Wald R12 two-piece wheels paired with Toyo Proxes T1 Sport UHP tires.

The fourth vehicle remains a secret but Toyo promises it’ll be a crowd-stopping show car. Autoguide.com will be sure to stop by Toyo’s booth at this year’s SEMA Show to see these masterpieces in person.

GALLERY: Toyo Tires 2011 SEMA Lineup

Ford is revising their forecast for F-150 Ecoboost sales, estimating that the turbocharged 6-cylinder pickup will comprise 45 percent of F-150 sales, versus original estimates of 40 percent. Ford now estimates that the Ecoboost will sell 100,000 units this year.

The F-150 remains the best selling vehicle in the United States, and Ford was caught off guard by the Ecoboost’s popularity. A V6 option has only been available within the last two years, as the segment was dominated by V8 engines. Unstable fuel prices and a general trend towards environmentally conscious purchase choices are credited with helping Ford introduce a V6 powered F-150 in a favorable light.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Summer is almost over, which means back to school shopping. Forget about pens, pencils and binders; what about picking up a new set of wheels? Surely that will make the thought of heading back to class a little better!

Kelley Blue Book has put together a list of vehicles that it believes will appeal to kids. There are some odd choices though.

The new car picks all seem to be decent, all are affordable, efficient and attractive. However the used choices are surprising. The Kia Sedona probably won’t be very appealing to students because well, minivans are not cool. As well, the F-150 is a pretty large truck and although it is the best selling vehicle in America, it’s hardly fuel efficient. The HHR was also an interesting choice because not many young people drive them. The new vehicles are probably better choices overall, but who knows, maybe minivans are secretly cool among teenagers… or maybe just teenagers trying really hard to be ironic. What do you think?

Check out the list of new and used vehicles after the jump:

Continue Reading…

A recall has been issued out for owners of 1997-2004 Ford F-150s, 1997-1999 F-250s and 2002-2003 Lincoln Blackwoods to address a fuel tank strap that has become susceptible to corroding due to de-icing chemicals used on roads in cold weather. Owners of affected vehicles will receive a recall notice in mid-September and replacement straps will be installed on their vehicles. If the straps aren’t available when the recall repairs are done, an interim repair utilizing a cable support under the fuel-tank strap will be installed.

The defect has already lead to three unfortunate fires and one injury according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Back when it was first introduced to the F-150, there were many who questioned Ford‘s logic for installing a twin-turbocharged V-6 in a pickup truck. However, it appears the Blue Oval has proved the naysayers wrong; in recent months, V-6 sales have been really gathering steam.

At the beginning of the calendar year, six-cylinders accounted for around 35 percent of all F-150 sales, now the total is around 56 percent, with 41 percent of those being EcoBoosts (the remainder are 3.7-liter base V-6s).

In terms of individual engines, the 5.0-liter V-8 still leads the way, being installed in 44 percent of all F-150s snapped up by the public. But if the V6 continues to gain acceptance and fuel prices rise, it’s very likely that by the end of the year, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost alone will equal if not surpass it in terms of overall volume.

[Source: Left Lane News]