Mobius Motors back-to-basics SUV almost ready for Africa

Having secured $50 million in funding thanks to the Pan-African Investment Company, Mobius can finally put the latest evolution of its low-cost SUV into production. Things have changed some in the two years since the Mobius Two was first announced as a form of inexpensive, go-anywhere transport for Africa: the initial price of $6,000 has risen to $10,000 and it's now called the Mobius II.

The local price of 950,000 Kenyan shillings makes the Mobius II about one-third the cost of a new subcompact like a Toyota Corolla and about the same price as a ten-year-old Corolla. For that, buyers will get an eight-seater, zero-frills - no air conditioning or windows - machine powered by a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine with 86 horsepower and 94 pound-feet of torque. The tubular-framed SUV with a top speed of about 75 miles per hour weighs 2,805 pounds, has nine inches of ground clearance and can carry 1,375 pounds worth of cargo.

The funding enables the company to build its first 50 trucks. We've reached out to Mobius to find out if the vehicle itself has been modified and when production will begin, and we'll update the post when we get a response.
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Toyota launches updated Verso-S in Europe

Globally, the Toyota Yaris has bred more variants than we can shake a stick at. It's been known in different markets as the Vitz, the Platz, the Bella, the Vios and, to us, as the Echo. The first-generation model bred a small cargo van called the Yaris Verso - a mini minivan riding on the shortest wheelbase in its class - which was renamed the Verso-S for Europe and alternatively known as the Space Verso, the Ractis, the Ractis Verso and even the Subaru Trezia in certain markets. And now Toyota has launched a revised version of its Verso-S in Europe.

Arriving as a mid-life facelift after three years on the market, the new Toyota Verso-S has been reinterpreted through the "Keen Look" design language that's been distinguishing the latest generation of Toyotas, particularly in the European market. That means new projector-beam headlights and LED daytime running lights, a reshaped grille with chrome surround, more LEDs around back, a fresh set of 16-inch alloys and new color options.

The interior has likewise been spruced up with new trim and color choices, as well as a tire pressure monitor fitted as standard. There's a new touchscreen display with more connectivity options, upgraded nav and a rearview camera as well. Since Toyota's made no mention of engine upgrades, until we hear back, we have to assume the 1.3-liter inline-four and 1.4-liter diesel engines carry over unchanged with the buyer's choice of either a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission.
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Ford Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost sales robust in early going

Okay, okay, okay, so I was just a smidge wrong. Those that read my review of the Ford Fiesta with the new 1.0-liter, EcoBoost engine will know that while I really enjoyed the torquey little three-cylinder, I was concerned that Ford's decision to force 1.0-liter owners into a manual transmission, steel wheels and one trim level might hurt sales of the new engine. I was also concerned that the promised 45-mile-per-gallon highway rating wouldn't be enough to tempt buyers into trying an engine that's so far outside of what the general public is use to. My concerns, though, seem to have been for naught.

While not doing a booming business on the triple-equipped Fiesta, Ford is seeing a take rate of four to eight percent per month in the engine's first few months on sale. Now, four to eight percent might not sound like a lot - if, like last year, the Fiesta sells around 71,000 units, there'd be barely 5,600 1.0-liter models on the road. It is also small potatoes relative to the take rate on EcoBoost-equipped vehicles across the Ford range, which US sales analyst Erich Merkle estimates to be roughly 35 to 40 percent of retail sales. Still, according to The Detroit News, the 1.0-liter is getting adopted at roughly the same rate as the sparkling Fiesta ST, which should be a solid indication of just how well this little engine is doing.

The 1.0-liter's success "really speaks volumes, not just to what we're doing with the Fiesta, but with EcoBoost in general," Merkle told Autoblog.

The biggest issue that Ford seems to be facing in regards to the 1.0-liter is a supply issue - engines just can't be built quickly enough. Production at the Cologne, Germany factory where the triple is built was doubled to 1,000 engines per day last year, in the face of growing European demand. Despite this, widespread availability in the US is still rather far off. And it's only going to get more difficult to snap up a 1.0-liter Fiesta, as Ford will begin offering the tiny engine in the Focus later this year. Customers that have purchased the triple - around 1,000 people, a third of whom are from California, according to The Detroit News - have had to custom order their vehicles.

Provided Ford can really ramp up production and come to grips with its supply issues, the future looks bright for its newest EcoBoost engine.
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Fiat previews production 500X on Melfi assembly line

The Fiat assembly plant in Melfi, Italy, may not be one that appears on our radar that often. It's been in operation since 1993, but until recently only built the Punto - a model that's been around in its current form with few modifications for the better part of a decade, but hasn't warranted the transatlantic voyage to American showrooms. Fiat recently added to the Punto assembly line in Melfi the production of the new Jeep Renegade, but that's not all.

Soon the Renegade (which you can see being built in the background of the image above) will spawn the 500X, a small crossover based on the same platform but with what you can see will be a more rounded shape. Replacing the Sedici (a.k.a. SX4) that was jointly developed with Suzuki, the 500X will join the Cinquecento family alongside the 500 hatch, 500C convertible and 500L minivan, the latter on whose design we hope the 500X will prove a marked improvement.

Expect the 500X (or so it's expected to be called) to be revealed on July 4, which will mark not only the 238th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence but also the 57th anniversary of the original 500's debut.
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Nissan Canada kills Cube, is US next?

Canadians, say goodbye to the quirky Nissan Cube. In fact, it's too late; it's already gone. The question now becomes whether the boxy model gets the axe in the US as well.

Nissan didn't exactly publicize the Cube's Canadian retirement. An Autos.ca reader noticed that the vehicle was no longer listed on the automaker's official site in the Great White North. He tweeted the company about it and was told, "Yes, the Nissan Cube has been discontinued in Canada."

The news certainly makes you wonder what the future for the model is in the US. The Cube isn't exactly a hot seller here, either. According to Nissan's last sales results, it sold just 356 units in April, down 23.9 percent from a year ago, and 1,604 vehicles from January to April, down 33.7 percent. Annual sales were as high as 23,000 units in 2010, but they started dipping as early as 2011.

Nissan North America Director of Communications, Dan Bedore, tells Autoblog: "Nissan is committed to providing Canadians with exactly the right car to fit their lifestyle. At this time, customers are finding their needs are met with the other great small cars in our lineup like Micra, Versa Note, Sentra and Juke and we are putting our focus behind these vehicle nameplates."

And what of US sales? Says Bedore, "In the US, the 2014 model is in showrooms, now. We have no comment on Cube sales in the US beyond the current model year." Suffice it to say that despite the official "No Comment" from Nissan, we don't expect to see any Cube models in US showrooms for 2015 - this, despite the fact that the model is expected to get a facelift soon for other markets.
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2014 Ford Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost

I'll be honest; when Ford first unveiled its 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, I was skeptical. Past attempts at building turbocharged American cars were almost universally awful, I reasoned, so why would Ford's latest effort be any different? This may seem foolish today, considering the success that the growing EcoBoost range has achieved - particularly the 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter mills. Yet I once again found myself questioning Ford.

It's the makeup of the 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder slotted into the compact engine bay of this Fiesta that has a way of breeding doubt. Three-cylinder engines remain an extreme rarity in the US. What's more, they earned a less-than-desirable reputation for applications in the 1980s and 1990s, and my trepidation about this latest three-pot as a result.

As I found out, though, history is a poor informant of modern technology. The thrust available in other cars with the EcoBoost badge on the back has not gone missing here; something the International Engine of the Year committee has lauded. That august body named the 1.0-liter Ecoboost the best engine of 2012 and 2013. After a week of driving, it didn't take long for my fear of threes to get turned into something like that line of thinking.

Driving Notes

• How much power can a 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder that's small enough to go through an airport x-ray machine really produce? 90 horsepower, maybe 100, right? There's not much wrong with that specific output. The reality is more impressive, though. The 1.0 in the Fiesta turns out 123 ponies and 125 pound-feet of torque. Dig into the throttle, and the heroic little mill can call up a total of 148 pound-feet of torque, courtesy of an overboost function. Perhaps most impressive is that peak torque is available at just 1,400 rpm. For reference, the standard 1.6 in the Fiesta only pumps out 120 hp and 112 lb-ft of torque - so yes, this little triple is actually more powerful.


• The result of all this easily accessible grunt is ridiculously, hilariously good. The Fiesta pulls with a diesel-like sense of authority, regardless of gear or engine speed, and had little difficulty when it came to on-ramps or highway merging, where power is most likely to be needed. Throughout my week, every single situation I put the 1.0-liter in, it wowed with its super accessible acceleration. Put another way, if this engine were in a Pepsi Challenge with the standard 1.6, I'm convinced it'd win every time.


• As low and mid-range output are this engine's strongest assets, the transmission should be geared to exploit that. In the Fiesta, it is. The five-speed manual isn't great to work with, with long throws and a vague clutch, but it's geared perfectly for this engine. At 80 mph, the engine turns over at just 3,000 rpm. At 70, it spins at 2,500. And yet, the gearing is broad enough and the power ample enough that you won't be forced to work the clutch and transmission too much to get about. This powertrain is just very, very easy to drive and live with.


• For those that are concerned about the engine's sound, well, don't be. Sure, it's a bit clattery when idling and it doesn't sound great when accelerating hard, but it's not a buzzy or harsh engine, and it's darn near silent at cruising speeds, even when turning over at 3,000 rpm.


• There are a fair few flies in this ointment, though. First and foremost, we have fuel economy. Ford rates the Fiesta EcoBoost at 32 miles per gallon in the city and 45 mpg on the highway. I didn't have much difficulty matching the 37-mpg combined rating, and the EcoBoost's ratings are noticeably better than the 1.6, which returns 30 and 41 mpg when fitted with a manual transmission and the SFE package. The problem, as I see it, is this: there's a stigma against super-small engines like the 1.0, and unless they provide some ridiculous improvements in fuel efficiency, consumers will dismiss them outright. As of this writing, I simply don't think there's enough of a benefit to tempt the average buyer to get behind the wheel and find out how good this engine really is.


• I think this is solvable problem, though, if Ford opts to develop the Fiesta EcoBoost as a fuel-sippers choice. Start-stop would be a natural fit here, as would active grille shutters and, perhaps, the excellent suite of efficiency training systems found on Ford's hybrid and electric offerings. It would add some to the cost (perhaps $295?) but it would fit with Ford's plan to introduce that technology to more models. It's not likely to provide a huge bump in the EPA sticker numbers, but the real-world improvement could be enough for Joe Consumer to decide to take it for a spin, just to see what it's all about.


• The Fiesta SE starts at $16,080 for the five-door model, which doesn't include an $825 destination charge. Adding the three-pot turbo kicks the price up $995. It's a reasonable sum, considering the premiums that other EcoBoost mills offer, and one that I wouldn't be too miffed about paying. My tester also featured a $290 Comfort Pack, which added heated seats. Beyond that, the only other options worth mentioning are MyFord Touch and a sunroof, both of which add $795 apiece to the Fiesta's bottom line (although my car didn't have either). As tested, the car you see above is $18,190, including destination.


• A final problem, as I see it, is that Ford hasn't done a lot to make this a very appealing engine to customers. It's only available on the mid-level SE trim, and can only be had with a five-speed manual and 15-inch steel wheels. It is, at least, available in both sedan and five-door models. If the ho-hum fuel mileage doesn't doom Fiesta EcoBoost sales, the fact that its availability is so limited will. But this is the first year the 1.0 is on sale in the US, so it's entirely plausible that Ford is waiting to see what the initial consumer and critical response is before making it more widely available. Here's hoping that's the case.

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GM calling in 56k Saturn Aura sedans over shift cables

General Motors may have made a few mistakes when it came to the whole ignition-switch debacle, and it will likely be dealing with the consequences for some time to come. But you have to hand it to Mary Barra and her team, because they're determined to clean house and avoid the same mistakes. That's why the biggest of the Big Three automakers in Detroit has been issuing recalls left, right and Renaissance Center. Aside from those vehicles fitted with the faulty ignition switches, GM has recalled over 50,000 Cadillac SRXs, another 50 heavy-duty pickups and some 51,000 full-size crossovers. There are bound to be more to come, and now it's issued another 50k-unit recall over faulty shift cables in the transmission.

The recall affects 2007 and 2008 Saturn Auras fitted with the four-speed automatic transmission manufactured between April 24, 2006, and October 31, 2007. The recall doesn't affect models equipped with the six-speed automatic, or for that matter any of the Aura's Epsilon platform-mates like the Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6, Opel Signum and Vectra, Saab 9-3 or - carrying over from Fiat's aborted partnership with GM - the Fiat Croma, although many of those models used the same 4T40 transmission employed in the Aura.

In the affected vehicles, the shift cable might fracture while in motion, preventing the transmission from shifting into Park or the ignition from switching off, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures could lead to the car rolling away. Hence the recall of 56,214 units in the United States, owners of which can expect to hear from their dealership in due course to have the necessary components replaced.
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