1974 Ford Bronco on 2040-cars

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Slew of Ford recalls affect more than a million vehicles

Ford is closing out September with the sad task of alerting owners to five different recalls, two of them camera related. The first is a safety compliance recall affecting 620,246 units of 12 models from the 2020 model year: Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-150 and Super Duty, Mustang, Ranger, and Transit, plus the Lincoln Corsair, MKX, and Nautilus. On these vehicles, the circuit board in the rearview camera suffers from insufficient electrical conductivity. The issue can cause the resulting image to not appear or to be distorted, which can lead to an accident while reversing. Ford will begin notifying owners as of November 7 to get their vehicles to dealers for replacement of the rearview camera. The internal Ford reference for this recall is 20C19. The second camera-related issue affects the 2020 and 2021 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Corsair and Lincoln Aviator with the 360-degree camera. Technically, if you own a 2021 Explorer that only has a rearview camera and not a 360-degree camera, neither the above recall nor this one apply to you, but it's probably better safe than sorry here. There are 354,330 crossovers covered by this action. A video output issue could cause the displayed image to cut out, increasing the chances of a reversing accident. Ford will notify dealers starting October 7, the fix being to have a dealer update the Image Processing Module software. The NHTSA campaign number for this recall is 21V735, Ford’s internal reference number is 21S44.  The F-250 and F-350 Super Duty are in for another recalls thanks to potentially improper welds on the front axle's wheel end yoke. A bad weld could alter steering performance, getting the truck to pull left or right, or change the sensitivity of the steering. There are 9,628 affected trucks in the U.S. and 961 in Canada. Dealers will replace the axle assembly if any bad welds are found. Ford's reference number for this is 20S56. The fourth recall affects 38,005 Mustangs in the U.S. and another 2,873 Mustangs in Canada and Mexico from the 2020 model year. In this instance, the brake pedal bracket might fracture during sudden stopping, which can decrease brake pressure and increase the chances of an accident. Ford's internal reference for this recall is 20S52, the fix being to have a dealer replace the brake pedal bracket assembly. Finally, 126,033 units of the 2011 to 2013 Explorer are being recalled over a potential suspension issue.

Can an actual Ford F-150 ride on 4 Power Wheels F-150s?

A lot of kids are rough on their toys, especially when it comes to those made to be used outside, like a four-wheeled kid-size Power Wheels. Whether it's cruising through the sand box, carrying piles of rocks in the driveway or crashing around trees in the backyard, these motorized vehicles often take punishment from the moment the giftwrap comes off. The folks at Fisher-Price decided to give their latest F-150 Power Wheels a true torture test worse than any kid could have ever managed by setting a real 2015 Ford F-150 on top of four of them. Would the little toy trucks explode in a shower of plastic shards in a massive collapse, and if not, could they drive away afterwards? The latest F-150 might be 700 pounds lighter thanks to the switch to aluminum, but it's still a fullsize pickup. According to this clip, the truck weighs in at 4,120 pounds, which puts an average of 1,030 pounds on each of the toys. Check out the video above to see how the stunt goes, and click on the gallery below for some behind-the-scenes looks at the setup.

James Franco and tiger tease Ford Super Bowl commercial

Ford has just released a teaser for its Super Bowl ad, and unlike just about every other automaker, it seems that the Blue Oval is going to make us wait until Sunday to see the full spot. The teaser is, um, strange.
It stars James Franco, who believes he is Ron Riggle, the comedian, Fox NFL Sunday host and retired Marine lieutenant colonel. There's also a tiger. The vague spot has Franco claiming that "this is no ordinary commercial." You'll note on the bottom right, there's a Ford logo and the hashtag #nearlydouble.
According to Automotive News, it's part of a massive viral effort being pushed forward by Ford and its dealerships. Ford sent different teasers and "vignettes" to dealership employees and asked them to share them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, in the hopes of creating a viral effect.