The world"s first off-road...
The world"s first off-road race car will be on the Toyota stand at next week"s Geneva Motor Show. It"s called the Motor Triathlon, because it"s designed to compete on three different landscapes - in the mud, on city streets and round a traditional track. It"s powered by four in-wheel electric motors, which are in turn driven by a fuel cell. The MT, which was designed in Europe, is aimed at "young drivers who enjoy video games, the Internet and mobile phones", according to the firm. It features in the new computer game Gran Turismo 4.
Unhappy Ford Focus CC...
Unhappy Ford Focus CC owners are swapping their coupé-cabrios for the facelifted version which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show.
Problematic seals on the original drop-top left around one-third of the firm’s 3,000 CC buyers with leaky roofs. But 500 owners are still driving courtesy cars while waiting for a repair, and 100 more have abandoned the old model altogether, as they have been promised a free upgrade to the new car instead.
A Ford spokeswoman admitted that the original Pininfarina-styled cabrio, which it launched in 2006, was “blighted with problems”. First there were criticisms about the speed of the roof mechanism, then the seals began leaking, and finally production ground to a halt when a tornado ripped the roof off the manufacturer’s Italian factory.
As a result, Ford was forced to set up three specialist centres across the UK to carry out the repairs, and engineers from Pininfarina were flown in to train technicians in fitting the redesigned seal. A spokeswoman said: “It’s been horrible, but our customers have been really patient.” She promised all the outgoing cars would be fixed by mid-May and owners will be given a year’s extended warranty to compensate. When the facelifted version goes on sale in July, it will use revised components.