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These horribly misguided front-drive design studies nearly became the Mustang

As we eagerly await the unveiling of the all-new sixth-generation Mustang, Ford has been giving us some great information over the past few months showing what has gone into shaping its venerable pony car. As many changes as the Mustang has gone through in its 50 years, though, it appears the fourth-gen model played a decisive and pivotal role in the car's future.
As is part of Mustang lore, the front-wheel drive Ford Probe was originally developed as a next-generation Mustang in the Eighties before cooler heads prevailed. The Blue Oval has just released a handful of images showing how bad things could have been - including a full-scale clay model of a front-wheel-drive Mustang (shown above). Fortunately, the FWD Mustang plan was scrapped and Ford went to work designing a rear-wheel-drive replacement for the Fox Body Mustang, with three design studies making it far enough to become full-scale models. These include the soft "Bruce Jenner" Mustang, the over-the-top "Rambo" Mustang and the middle-ground "Arnold Schwarzenegger" Mustang, which finally became the basis for the 1994 'Stang.
By early 1991, the design language of the fourth-generation Mustang had been worked out, and the rest, they say, is history. Scroll down for the fascinating press release telling the story of the fourth-gen Mustang, and be sure to check out the gallery of horribly misguided sketches and various design studies that were all on the table in the late 1980s.

Ford mulling EcoSport for US? [w/poll]

"We certainly have that ability. We're studying it very, very closely." Those are the words of Jim Farley, global head of sales, marketing, service at Ford. The investigation Farley is referring to is the possibility of selling the company's new EcoSport crossover in America.
The diminutive Fiesta-based EcoSport was developed for emerging markets like Brazil and, more recently, China, but it apparently may have a future in the States, where it would form a new entry-level rung below the Escape in Ford's already robust crossover stable. Ford has big plans for its tiny CUV - Farley tells Automotive News that the EcoSport is only available in 10 countries right now, but by 2017, its distribution will have mushroomed to 62 countries. At the time the second-generation model launched at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show as a 2013 model, Ford said the EcoSport would eventually be sold in nearly 100 markets worldwide.
The Brazilian- and Indian-assembled EcoSport is available with a variety of gasoline-powered engines, but the 1.0-liter, three-cylinder EcoBoost giving 118 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque would seem to be the powertrain of choice for America, as it was recently confirmed for the stateside 2014 Fiesta.

Watch how Ken Block spent his weekend in Barbados

Regardless of what you think of his skill as a racer, Ken Block is an expert showman. At this point, he has a career of showing up around the world to do vehicular stunts, and he's still able to go racing as well. It's a pretty sweet niche to carve out. Recently, Block was in Barbados to participate in Top Gear Live and the first event of the Global Rallycross Championship season, and Ford Racing produced a short video to show off his exploits.
It looked like a great show. Block got to race Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes-Benz Formula One car and had a very weird crash during a Rallycross race that put his Ford Fiesta on its roof. Top Gear also released an extended look at Block and Hamilton's spectacle with the two of them expertly sliding around. Scroll down to watch the videos and get a taste of Block's tropical racing adventure.