MotorTrend January 2012

Fiat returns this month, climbing to the top of the chart with 5.5 million views, an increase of more than 950 percent. Jennifer Lopez’s “Papi” video featuring the Cabrio is driving most views. Kia has dropped, but still takes second place with 3.4 million views. Volkwagen’s “The Force” continues its Super Bowl spot for October, grabbing third place with 1.4 million views. Nissan debuts “Innovation for Doers” at fourth place with 684,000-plus views. * First appearance on chart ** Back on chart Source: Visible Measures (www.visiblemeasures.com) The Motor Trend Top 10 Online Video Auto Ads Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online video sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a True Reach basis, which includes viewership of brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements.…

“MONTEZEMOLO KNOWS IT’S THE CARS THAT ARE THE CORE OF THE COMPANY, AND SO ENSURES 17 TO 20 PERCENT OF TURNOVER IS INVESTED IN R&D EVERY YEAR. (THE F1 BUDGET? THAT’S A SECRET.)” LUCA Cordero di Montezemolo and I agree: The Ferrari 348 is one of the worst cars ever to wear the storied Prancing Horse badge. I’ve hated the 348 ever since one tried to kill me midway through a corner on a winding two-lane across Salisbury Plain in the early 1990s. The Ferrari chairman actually bought one before he rejoined the company in 1991 (he’d previously run the Ferrari F1 team for Enzo between 1973 and 1977), and has never forgotten losing a traffic light drag race in it to a guy in a Golf GTi. One of…

FORD’S compact crossover/utility Escape is one of those best-sellers with popularity far outpacing critical reviews. One Ford is getting rid of the boxy sheetmetal and cheap interior as the Escape converges with the European Kuga. The 2013 Ford Escape, on sale in the U.S. in the first half of ’12, also is a bit like the brand’s formidable F-150 in that it attempts to be everything for every customer. The new model tosses out any V-6 option for three four-cylinder engines, two of them turbocharged gas direct-injection EcoBoosts, while maintaining a 3500-pound tow rating with either front or all-wheel drive. The carryover 2.5-liter four will be a price leader engine, accounting for just 10 percent of sales, mostly to rental fleets. Its mainstream “replacement” is a new 1.6-liter EcoBoost…

THE NEXT MERCEDES SL will be aluminum-bodied to cut considerable weight, but AMG will take that theme further. Despite having far more power and bigger brakes than the standard V-8 Mercedes, the AMG variant will be lighter yet, with structural carbon-fiber in the bodyshell, and for some of the exterior panels. Overall mass is pegged at roughly 3600 pounds. The AMG uses the 5.5-liter biturbo V-8 engine for about 533 horsepower and 663 lb-ft of torque. It drives through the seven-speed AMG Speedshift MCT transmission, which uses a multi-plate wet clutch in place of torque converter for hard, fast shifts. The exterior design will be more differentiated than the just-replaced model, using cues from the SLS. This is in response to customer demand, but it’s easier for AMG to achieve…

NO QUESTION that Ford Motor Company’s top executives, especially the marketing guys like Jim Farley and Mark Fields, want to save Lincoln from a Mercury-like fate. There’s some good product in the pipeline, including a new MKZ with unique sheetmetal compared with the 2013 Ford Fusion making its debut at the Detroit show in January. Those who have seen the MKZ say it’s extremely handsome, and looks as much like a Fusion as the MKT looks like a Flex. Problem is, Lincoln’s champions are not institutionalized with top-car-guy status within the organization, so you can’t always count on them to be near the top of the organization. Hence, as Ford management changes, the bean counters could get to Lincoln and undo things. Its other new product, beside the MKZ, is…

AUDI will launch a heavily revised model year 2013 R8 with extensive carbon fiber to cut overall weight by some 220 pounds. Later, the next-generation model will switch to a Porsche-developed platform. You’ll recognize the updated R8’s sharper-looking front end. Its six-sided grille is much like what’s been previewed on the recent e-Tron concept cars, plus it gets shallower, more angular all-LED headlamps. We’ve known for some time the clunky R-Tronic single-clutch automated manual transmission will be dropped in favor of a new twin-clutch version. Audi’s new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, as used in the new S6 and S8, will take over the firm’s top-level engine duties, but we have no confirmation when, or whether that includes this 2013 car. The turbo V-8 has a range of outputs from 420 to…