Ford giving away 100 Fiestas for six months

Filed under: Car Buying, Economy, Sedans/Saloons, Marketing/Advertising, Hatchbacks, Ford

Click above for high-res image gallery of the Ford Fiesta sedan

Ford will be launching its Fiesta subcompact in the U.S. market as a 2010 model and is looking to build up some hype ahead of the official debut. To that end, the Blue Oval is now accepting applications from regular people to get the car a bit early... for free, including gas, insurance and concierge service for the six month duration of the program. Good deal. Of course, there are a few stipulations: users must be web savvy enough to make a short video explaining why they'd be the right person to get the keys and must agree to accept "secret assignments" from "Ford Mission Control," whatever that may mean.

Want in? Click here for the full details, and do it quick - only 100 people will be chosen from what's sure to be lots of applicants. Oh, and tell 'em Autoblog sent you.

Gallery: Ford Fiesta Sedan LIVE

[Source: Fiesta Movement]

Ford giving away 100 Fiestas for six months originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thousands Of Shoes Randomly Dumped On Miami Freeway [Offbeat News]

For no apparent reason, someone dumped thousands, and we mean thousands of shoes on Miami's Palmetto Expressway, causing massive backups during the morning rush hour.

Road workers equipped with shovels, front end loaders and trucks worked throughout the morning to clean up the mess, but no source for the footwear flotsam has been determined. Police are looking for a charity to take the shoes, and we're pretty excited, as the offbeat news cache for 2009 is already getting off to a great start. [Yahoo]

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Barrett-Jackon To Auction Geo Metro [Barrett-jackson]

The Barrett-Jackson auctions are typically filled with expensive classic cars and other exotics, so why are they auctioning off a Geo Metro of all things?

The one-off 1989 "Zonker" 2-door Geo Metro was apparently a personal project car for ex-GM Design VP, Chuck Jordan. Created as a styling exercise and painted in p***y magnet yellow, this hot little number will be auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson auction on January 13th along with the rest of the GM Heritage Center cars. We'll likely pass up the ZR1 rolling chassis for this little number.
(Hat Tip To Matthew!)

[via Barrett-Jackson]

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Detroit 2009: BYD F3DM is the poor man's plug-in Toyota Corolla

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Economy, Sedans/Saloons, China

Click above for high-res gallery of the BYD F3DM

With the departure of a number of automakers from this year's North American International Auto Show, the Chinese found themselves in an unfamiliar location: smack in the middle of the Detroit Auto Show. 2009 is the first time that China's automakers have been able to find space to rent on the main show floor -- in years past, they were confined to Michigan Hall, nicknamed "The Basement" by journalists. Taking full advantage of the larger forum, BYD unveiled what it is billing as the world's first production plug-in hybrid, the F3DM Dual Mode. Thankfully, BYD thoughtfully left their cars uncovered earlier in the show, and we were able to get the shots you see here without wading through the crowds.

Powered by a 1.0-liter gasoline engine and an electric motor, BYD says their Toyota Corolla lookalike boasts 168-horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. So equipped, the car can reach 60 miles-per-hour in 10.5 seconds, although it tops out at just 93 mph. More importantly, officials claim that the F3DM will run purely on battery power for 62 miles(!). BYD says the car's Fe battery packs reach a 50% charge in just ten minutes, and a full charge can be obtained in just seven hours from a standard power outlet. Oddly, the very same press release notes that the Fe battery in the company's E6 crossover can be fully recharged in 60 minutes.

We look forward to getting hold of one of these vehicles to verify some of these remarkable claims, but in the meantime we'll have to amuse ourselves with the notion that BYD calls this car a "dual mode hybrid" because it can run on electricity alone or on a combination of battery power and internal combustion. Hmmm...

Gallery: Detroit 2009: BYF F3DM

Gallery: 2009 BYD F3DM

Continue reading Detroit 2009: BYD F3DM is the poor man's plug-in Toyota Corolla

Detroit 2009: BYD F3DM is the poor man's plug-in Toyota Corolla originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JAMA says Tokyo Motor Show may be cancelled

Filed under: Japan, Tokyo Motor Show

Blaming the global financial crisis, and the fact that fewer non-Japanese automakers have signed up to exhibit, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association is in the midst of debating whether or not to cancel the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. The show is set to run this Oct. 23-Nov. 8. If canceled, it won't open its doors again until 2011 due to scheduling agreements with other top-tier auto shows. Toshihiro Iwatake, JAMA's executive director and secretary general, told Automotive News that he favors going ahead with the show regardless. "We think the motor show is a symbol of industrial prosperity," he said. "We have to show that our industry is healthy." Iwatake added that the deadline for automakers to register was late last year, and some of the "usual manufacturers" hadn't made the cut... but he wouldn't say which manufacturers hadn't booked the show.

The North American International Auto Show is in full swing this week even with the absence of industry players such as Nissan, Suzuki, Porsche, and Land Rover. Each of the Detroit 3 are strongly present. If one of the Japanese Big 3 (Toyota, Honda, and Nissan) pull out of the Tokyo Motor Show, the event could face certain doom say industry sources. The decision on whether or not to cancel the Tokyo Motor Show will be made next month. In the meantime, Iwatake says that JAMA is welcoming late registrants.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

JAMA says Tokyo Motor Show may be cancelled originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Datsun 260Z With The Face Of A Snake And The Tail Of A Stallion [Custom Cars]

A true Jalop in every sense of the word; CoyoteGary has built what may be the world’s first Datsun 260Z with a fiberglass Shelby Cobra front fascia. Pictures and video below.

A true Jalop in every sense of the word; CoyoteGary has built what may be the world’s first and only 1974 Datsun 260Z with a hand built fiberglass Shelby Cobra front fascia and a 1962 Ferrari GTO rear tub modified to fit onto the original car. This is the kind of project that we dream about but never had the sick imagination to pull it off. There’s quite the laundry list of upgrades to this car aside from what you see on the exterior so we’ll let CoyoteGary explain some of the finer details of the car in his videos below.

Exterior Walk Around And Specs

Engine Specs And Startup

Burnout

[via ZCar Forums, YouTube]

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California High Patrol Investigates Officer’s Sex Life, Is A Total Game Killer

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