VIDEO: Ford Shows Off 2012 Focus ST on the Road

For anyone secretly hoping that the Ford Focus ST Paris Show car would look better in motion, we're sorry to say it does not. Somehow this video makes that 'gaping mouth' grille look even worse, and all the odd creases and curves stand out even more. That 'Tangerine Scream' paintwork isn't doing it any favors either.

Admittedly, the Paris Show Car makes the old, pre-facelift ST look boring and understated by comparison, but is it really better to be garishly ugly than conservatively dull? At least things are better under the bonnet. A 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder good for 250 hp should make the new ST a real corker when it launches in 2012, as will the rumored dual-clutch Powershift 'box.

Here's hoping Ford reconsiders the styling before then. Oh well, at least if you're driving it, you can't see that hideous gaping grille.

By Tristan Hankins

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What were they Thinking? Mercury’s ‘Wrist-Twist’ from the 1960s

Styling trends come and go, but if there's one thing that has remained relatively unchanged in the past 105 years of personal motoring: the steering wheel.

Although plastics have replaced iron and wood and airbags (1970s) and radio controls (1990s) have been added, the basic design remains the same: a circular ring with spokes connected to a central hub.

Some cars had horns in a ring circling the hub (Mercedes-Benz 300SL), others had oblong steering wheels (Austin Allegro) and a few had only one spoke (Citroen DS). At the end of the day though, they all had some sort of steering wheel... except this car.

At Mercury, engineer Bob Rumm produced this one-off 1965 Mercury Park Lane convertible with so-called "wrist-twist" steering controls. The standard steering wheel has been replaced by two 5-inch, wrist-operated dials, that the promo claims frees up knee room, improves visibility and makes parking easier. Now take a moment to consider why Mr. Rumm is an "ex-"missile engineer at the height of the Cold War.

The promo also cheerfully informs us that the wrist-twist can be used by, "a driver who promises to be about as non-technical as they come," by which they mean a woman. Carscoop is reliably informed they can vote now [...].

I suppose we should be thankful that a lot of these concepts, including the wrist-twist, never left Ford's Dearborn proving grounds.

It's the sort of thing that could only have been made in the 1960s, the decade that gave us the laser, manned spaceflight and Astroturf. Like everything else, cars were becoming more futuristic, and by futuristic we mean daft. And by daft we mean Modern Mechanix of the 1930s daft.

It's also the sort of thing the Ford Motor Company was coming up at the time. Just for fun, type 'Ford Nucleon' into Google, and see what other disastrous innovations motorists of the 1960s were spared.

By Tristan Hankins

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Real-Life Transformer Fulfills All Our Childhood Fantasies

This video of a real-life Transformer snapped rolling on Hollywood Boulevard has been making the rounds on YouTube for a few months. No, it's not a lame viral marketing attempt by Citroen or a trailer for a new shaky cam Michael Bay / Jerry Bruckheimer movie.

It's a guy in a transforming Transformers costume. How cool is that? Remember when you were a kid and you had that cardboard box that you used to hold around your waist, pretending to be a fire truck? This is like that, but a million times cooler.

The video says its Optimus Prime but come on; everyone knows Optimus is a big rig. Binaltech has a Mustang Transformer called Wheeljack, but that's pretty obscure even from a fanboy perspective. It could be Barricade from the 2007 movie but if so, where's the police get up?

The pièce de résistance of course is the vinyl roof. Well, it's either that or a convertible roof, but the former is much funnier.

By Tristan Hankins

2011 Ford Explorer SUV Development Continues in Dubai [with Video]

Ford has released some new pictures and video footage of the new Explorer SUV hot-weather testing in Dubai. According to the Dearborn automaker, with a 50 percent humidity factor and midday temperatures pushing over 125 degrees Fahrenheit, the desert climate provides "an ideal environment to test and validate vehicle performance in some of the world's most extreme conditions."

Chief Engineer for Vehicle Engineering Don Ufford adds one more reason to the list as to why Ford's trying out the new 7-seater Explorer in Dubai, and that is to listen to what local customers have to say about the SUV model.

"We regularly sell close to 10,000 Explorers per year in the Middle East market," Ufford says. "SUV drivers in this part of the world regularly use the broad range of capabilities these vehicles offer. Our rationale for testing in Dubai is simple: If we can perform well here, we can do well anywhere."

Along with numerous other tests, including for the effectiveness of the air conditioning system, Ford claims Dubai also offers unique terrain characteristics to validate the Explorer's four-wheel drive capabilities.

"Customers here regularly drop tire pressure and head off into the sand dunes for off-road vehicular recreation," said Ufford. "We wanted to make the terrain management system on the new Explorer easy and intuitive to use so customers have the confidence to go off-road without worrying about whether they have properly engaged all the vehicle systems."

The freshly revealed 2011 Explorer will be offered in the States with a choice of two engines, either a 290HP 3.5-liter V6 or a 235HP 2.0-liter EcoBoost Turbo four-pot. Sales in North America will begin later this year, while Ford plans to export the Explorer to more than 90 markets globally starting from early 2011.

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