Filed under: Etc., Technology, Ford, Honda, Saab, Toyota

We record Episode #254 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #254

• Ford’s issues with Consumer Reports
• Honda moving Civic refresh up amidst criticism
• Toyota FT-86 details leaked
• Saab sold. Again.New 9-3 on the way?

[UStream] Interact LIVE at UStream – 10PM Eastern on Monday, October 11, 2011
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #254 LIVE originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here
Powered by SmartRSS

Popularity: unranked [?]

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Spy Photos, Crossover, Ford, Design/Style

Next-gen Ford Escape caught with very little cover originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Honda, Design/Style

Automotive News reports that Honda is itching to release a mid-cycle refresh for the company’s 2012 Civic. In response to a harsh criticism from reviewers and the model’s first failure to earn a coveted Recommended rating from Consumer Reports in recent memory, the automaker has apparently decided to pull ahead the model’s refresh to 2013 instead of 2014. The report quotes John Mendel, American Honda Executive Vice President, as saying that his company is “appropriately energized” by feedback from critics and customers alike. At the same time, the executive stressed that he wasn’t sure exactly how much the manufacturer could do or how quickly it could be accomplished.

Critics have specifically found issue with the vehicle’s overly soft handling and muddled, plastic-laden dash design, especially as competition in the segment has matured and grown even more compelling. While the 2012 Honda Civic initially saw a spike in consumer interest, shoppers may have trickled off; something that analysts say is highly unusual for any Honda model, let alone this onetime leader of the compact segment.

What will the refresh bring? We can only imagine that Honda will work to cure the ails that Consumer Reports has specifically called out by improving the interior and rolling in additional content.

Honda moving up mid-cycle refresh of Civic amidst criticism originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

On October 21, President Obama signed into law the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA), thereby giving American exporters greater access to one of South America's fastest growing markets. …

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

Filed under: Aftermarket, Classics, SUV, Ford, Specialty, Design/Style, Off-Road, Quick Spins

Resurrecting Ford’s Iconic 4×4 With Style

“The watch industry is a very interesting parallel in that none of us need watches anymore,” Jonathon Ward, founder of Icon 4×4, offers as a metaphor for his latest project. “The secret to them succeeding and prospering and furthering their design efforts in the modern market is in the execution – making the execution distinct and purposeful and bespoke. We are trying to take that unnecessary ethic from other industries and evolve it into niche transportation.”

In other words, Ward knows that his custom creations are superfluous, but like timepieces, people appreciate them for more than just their practical use. We count ourselves in that group, as we’ve previously sampled the Icon CJ3B and found it to be more than the sum of its parts.

The company’s latest project is the Icon Bronco. After completing the development of the FJ series and the aforementioned CJ3B, Ward has turned his unique perspective to Ford’s legendary off-roader from the 1960s and 70s. Icon will officially debut this Bronco at SEMA in Las Vegas later this week, but when Ward called us up earlier this month and asked if we wanted a sneak preview, we jumped at the chance. With the Bronco needing to maintain its like-new condition for the show, however, we would be limited to a short jaunt around the city streets of his facility in Van Nuys, CA. That would have to do, though, as we were eager to see what sort of unique details and materials Ward’s team has implemented into the Bronco’s design.

Continue reading Icon Bronco

Icon Bronco originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika inaugurated the first underground rail system in a Maghreb country, when he cut the ribbon at a ceremony in a new metro station in Algiers on Monday.

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

NATO officially ended its seven month mission in Libya on Monday ending an aerial bombing campaign that helped depose longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi.

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

South African President Jacob Zuma is to attend this week’s G20 Summit in Cannes, France, where he is expected to promote the need for enhanced growth, jobs and infrastructure development on the African continent.

More: continued here
Powered by SmartRSS

Popularity: unranked [?]

Members of the public have been warned to be on the lookout for bogus ‘placement agents’ or so-called companies that claim to offer employment to job seekers and later claim a fee for placement.

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]

Income from loans and advances pushed up banks’ total income for the third quarter of the year by 17.1 per cent to stand at Sh65.8 billion, the latest industry report shows. The Central Bank of Kenya’s industry report for July to September 2011 indicates that interest on loans and advances, fees and commissions and government securities were the top three sources of income for the banks.

More: continued here

Popularity: unranked [?]