Rumors & Lies* Ford of Europe produced its four-millionth Focus in January. At least three million of them are currently in the Hertz lot at Frankfurt Airport.
* According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, the Riverside office of the California Highway Patrol has received a $335,000 grant to be used specifically to crack down on street racing around Southern California's Inland Empire. The paper reports that the money will be used to fund officers on a special street racing patrol with particular emphasis on the warehouse districts around Mira Loma and Rubidoux.
* The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that street racing deaths in that Southern California county have dropped 94-percent since 2002. In 2002 there were 16 deaths and 31 serious injuries directly related to illegal street racing there. During 2005, there were no deaths and only three serious injuries attributed to the same activity. Some of that is the result of the RaceLegal program of drag racing run in the parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium. "There is no doubt in my mind, nor among my colleagues, that the viable league option of the RaceLegal program has contributed to the dramatic decline of illegal street racing," Capt. Glen Revell of the Sheriff's Department told the newspaper.
* Oregon has enacted a new "speed demon" law that increases the penalties for running over 100mph drastically. According to The Oregonian newspaper, one of the first to encounter the new law was Abelardo Villarreal Jr., 19, of Gladstone, who was clocked doing 120mph in his Acura Integra along I-205. For going 120mph in a 55 zone, Villarreal was fined $1,103 and taken into custody on suspicion of reckless driving and endangering a passenger.
* Toyota is supposedly considering the construction of a new engine plant in Michigan. This would be the Japanese manufacturer's first plant in the home state of Ford and GM.
Inevitable: 2007 Mitsubishieclipse SpyderIt was obvious that a drop-top version of Mitsubishi's latest Eclipse was on the way... and here it is. It's just like the Eclipse coupe except- get this-the top goes down! We'll have more on the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder next month after we've driven it.
Weirdest Hybrid: Toyota Fine-TFuel Cell Hybrid ConceptWith electric motors in its wheels and a fuel cell under its floor, the Fine-T isn't really a hybrid-it's a fuel cell electric. But such is the power of the word "hybrid" that Toyota apparently couldn't resist throwing it on.
Sure the Fine-T's nearly carbon-neutral construction and zilch emissions are impressive but does the future have to look like this?
Not At Detroit! Prodrive P2Britain's Prodrive made its name with Subaru's World Rally Cars and it doesn't look like they're about to give that up. However, Prodrive also wants to be known for it's own talents and not just for monster Subies. So they recently unveiled the P2; a two-seater entirely engineered and designed at Prodrive's facilities in Banbury and Warwick UK.
Weighing in at just about 2200 pounds, the P2 relies on a Subaru WRX all-wheel drivetrain and modified two-liter flat-four. Prodrive's enhancements to the Subie stuff include an anti-lag system and "Active Torque Dynamics" which shuffles the torque distribution mix through active center and rear diffs, according to the vehicle's current situation.
Prodrive obviously has the ability to design the P2, but they don't really have the backing to put it into regular production. However they would be happy if another manufacturer would like to. And they predict a price of around $70,000.