Just recently, Ford made the official announcement that the St Paul, MN, plant will be closing at the end of 2009.  This means the Ford Ranger, which is produced at the Twin Cities plant, will be no more after 2009.  The modern day Ford Ranger as we know it has been around for almost 15 years, so it's a branded nameplate in the Ford stable.  It's hard to believe the trusty little truck will soon be at an end.  External assessments indicate that the production cessation is a result of consistently declining sales volumes.  A mere 92,000 Ford Rangers were sold in 2006, a 24% drop from the prior year.  It's not just the Ford name being dinged here, either; Mazda's B-series compact pickups are dropping off as well, with over a 28% decreases in sales versus last year.  Foreign truck makers are continuing to penetrate domestic market sales and the figures Ford and others are posting is a testament to this very fact.  It will be interesting to keep an eye on the truck market, let alone the entire domestic manufacturer market.

Have you ever heard of the school bully also being the valedictorian?  The one who's over-testosteroned physicality is equal to the amount of sophistication and class it presents?  Apparently the engineers at Lexus remember having their lunch money stolen by the teacher's pet.  The 2008 IS-F will be the latest up and coming performance sedan in Lexus' ongoing persuit of perfection and refined all-out performance.

Jay Leno has always been a crowd pleaser, especially when the crowd consists of automobile enthusiasts.  Not one to disappoint, Jay made a showing at the 2007 SEMA show with his E-85 fueled Chevrolet Corvette C6RS.  Starting life as a Z06, the one-off Corvette is powered by an 8.2L 600-horsepower V8 and adorned with a custom carbon fiber front clip.  They say the bad guy wears black and the C6RS looks to prove this once again.  Check out larger shots of this eco-savvy street brawler (click the images to see a close-up) as well as the full Press Release from Jay Leno.

Britain’s Lotus Elise first made waves after traveling across the pond to hit the American shores as a revolutionary, small and lightweight sportscar.  Their reduced weight and tuned suspension made them efficient and agile on both the road and track.  Lotus’ 2008 Elise SC aims to push this envelope even further with the advent of a new non-intercooled supercharged 1.8L engine.  Not to be outdone by its younger brother, the Exige S comes with an available Power Package to boost both power and drivability.

We've seen several shots of the ever-impressive 2009 Nissan GT-R, and the car has also been snapped in some video footage as well.  The car recently made some public appearances on TV Tokyo, but was donning its underwear on the front fascia (as if we don't know what it looks like!).  The fanatics over at Jalopnik have said they are going to catch the official debut in Tokyo very shortly.  It will be awesome to see and we're just as excited as they are to see more of this completely sweet Asian dish of a car.  Check out the video we have in store for you inside!

With the suspension in full cornering load and most body panels clad in the same Velocity Yellow color as its racing equivalent, Chevrolet let loose on its Corvette ZR1 this weekend in Monterey California, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.  Though not an official release, Chevrolet unpacked the ZR1 for a couple of high speed laps, re-trailered it and most likely hauled the ZR1 back to Detroit.  Cameras were rolling during the impromptu event and the attached photos were taken along with a short video of the modest unveiling and track time.  Unfortunately, the black coverings we’ve grown to hate remain over the more interesting aspects of this special Corvette.  The paint scheme and two laps around Laguna Seca, without a press release, tell us that there was more to this trip than a leisure outing halfway across the US, so stay tuned to RPM Planets for more details as they become available.

Nissan has decided to officially demonstrate just how committed they are to making their GT-R sportscar a true supercar with the release of performance and price figures.  The GT-R’s 3.8L twin turbo V6 will be producing 473 horsepower and 434 ft-lbs of torque.  If that doesn’t seem like enough for you, you’ve underestimated the delivery of such raw Asian fury.  Through the aid of an all-wheel drive, GR6 dual clutch six-speed and paddle shifted automatic, the 0-60mph time will be a mere 3.5 seconds.  Expect quarter mile times in the 11.7 second range and a top speed of 192 mph.  For those in the market, anticipate a base MSRP starting below $80,000.  At this performance level, Porsche 911 Turbos are scared; at this price, Z06s are equally scared.  Stay tuned to RPM Planets for more details as they become available.

 

Ford’s Australian outfit, FPV, has released a Cobra-ized creation of their already persuasive Ford Falcon.  The new hot rod has been iconically designated the Boss 302.  With such a historic name, you would expect to find 302 cubic inches sitting somewhere between the front fenders, however this latest steed is so named due to its kilowatt output.  Equating to 404 horsepower, 398 lb-ft of torque, the 4 door sedan and 2 door Ute version will make power through a 5.4L V8 and onward to your choice of a 6 speed manual  or 6 speed, Sequential Sports Shift, automatic gear box.

In case you missed it, the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show was another shining success.  A myriad of delectable cars were uncovered by Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, and many more.  We have already seen renderings of the Lamborghini Revention, and now it's time to take a closer look at what this amazing supercar has to offer.  Check out the exclusive video coverage of three significantly appealing unveilings at the show, just a few weeks ago.