Car Moon

It took the Ford Motor Company a very long time to jump aboard the turbocharged engine bandwagon for mainstream, non-sport models, but now the Detroit automaker is going full speed ahead with the presentation of a full range of force-fed gasoline powerplants. Ford latest offering is a new 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, the company’s first three-cylinder unit and its smallest production engine ever.

Designed by the engineering team at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in the U.K., the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine promises to deliver performance of a larger four-cylinder unit with even higher fuel economy. It employs all EcoBoost technologies, such as turbocharging, direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT).

And no, despite what you may have heard or read, the Audi TT ain’t the most popular car among hairdressers – or at least not in Britain. According to a new study made available today by UK women's car insurance specialist Diamond, that title goes to…*drums please*…the one and only, MINI One hatchback. In fact, the BMW Group’s MINI brand had two vehicles in the top five positions.

The UK insurance firm came to this conclusion after looking at data from over 18,000 hairdressers in Britain. The company said the MINI One is three and a half times more likely to be driven by someone working as a hairdresser than everyone else.

Speaking at a press conference in Eisenach on Thursday, Opel/Vauxhall CEO Nick Reilly revealed plans to build an all-new small car below the Corsa, with production set to start in 2013 at the firm's Eisenach plant in the east German state of Thuringia. "This new product will be an important element in our growth strategy" said Reilly.

With a little help from the second generation Ka mini that has found its way in the driveway of more than 11,000 UK customers since its launch this past January, UK sales of Ford's mini have surpassed the half-a-million mark. The original, first-generation Ka was introduced in Britain in 1996.

A truck load of snazzy 2009 Ford Ka models went up in flames this afternoon (November 24, 2008) in Poland. According to our special polish agent -slash reader, slash translator- who goes by the nickname "Carnivor", the accident took place somewhere on the A-4 highway near the Tychy plant where the new Ford Ka is being produced alongside the Fiat 500. We have no idea what caused the six-and-a-half Ford KAs to burn down to bare metal, but it's clear from the photos that the truck wasn't involved in any head-on collision. Maybe a car rammed the truck from behind and burst into flames igniting the KAs - who knows. Check out the photos after the jump and tell us what you think. -"Dziekuje" for the tip Carnivor!

The second generation Ka will hit the Ford's UK showrooms in January 2009 priced from £7,995, which is around $12,500 or €10,000 with today's exchange rates. The Fiat 500-based mini is available with two engines, a 69HP 1.2-liter petrol unit and a 75HP 1.3-liter turbo diesel as well as four different trims. The entry-level "Studio" includes height-adjustable steering wheel, ABS brakes, driver and passenger front airbags and a six speakers CD radio with MP3 compatibility. -Continued

Moving up, the Style adds powered and heated body-colored door mirrors, electric front windows with driver-side one-touch up and down, body-colored door handles, remote/central locking, driver seat height adjust and 50/50 rear split seat, rear headrests and driver seat memory function. Upgrading to the Style+ sees the addition of air conditioning and heated windscreen.

The range topping Zetec which Ford expects to be the most popular choice accounting for more than 40 per cent of UK sales, features as well 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, remote central locking, upgraded instruments and trip computer, as well as theater dimming interior lights.

Related Stories:

• 2009 Ford Ka 42 High-Res Images
• Video: New Ford Ka
• 2009 Ford Ka Special Editions

Series	On-the-road price
Studio 1.2 69PS	£7,995
Style 1.2 69PS	£8,495
Style + 1.2 69PS	£8,995
Zetec 1.2 69PS 1.3 TDCi	£9,495 £10,195

As an official sponsor of the new James Bond film called 'Quantum of Solace', Ford gets the chance to promote its vehicles in all sorts of ways, on and off the movie set. In 007's new adventure that opens in UK and French cinemas on October 31st, with the rest of the world following in November 2008, Ford's new KA mini makes a cameo appearance by the side of Camille played by Olga Kurylenko. In case it slipped your attention, she's the foxy lady sitting next to the Ka in the picture above. -Continued

Ford is the latest brand to release a mega image gallery of one of its products that premiered at the Paris Motor Show. At launch, the second-generation KA will be offered in Europe with a choice of two engines, a 1.3-liter turbo diesel and a 1.2-liter gasoline unit. Once you’ve finished looking at the new photos you may also want to click here to watch the first official video of Ford's Fiat 500 based city car. -Continued