2005 Ford Excursion Xlt 4x4 One Owner on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford gets colorful with Mustang anniversary infographic

Preparing to celebrate its 50th birthday, the Ford Mustang has seen a lot of vehicle trends come and go, and this especially goes for paint colors. Using historical production data, Ford has managed to create an infographic dating back to 1967 that breaks down the three top Mustang colors for each year as well as calling out some of the more interesting trends and colors over the years.
Over its five generations, the Mustang has been offered in a seemingly endless rainbow - from Playboy Pink in '67 and color-changing Mystichrome on the 2004 Cobra - but the most popular has always been red, which is the color of choice for 21 percent of all Mustangs ever made. Almost every year since 1967, red has been among the top three colors for the Mustang, but other popular colors have included blue, white, brown and, most recently, black. There are even websites and registries available for people owning certain-color Mustangs.
As the all-new 2015 Mustang gets ready for its debut later this year, there's no telling what kind of exciting and/or wacky colors Ford has in store. Click on the image above to see the full infographic (choose the "large" option for optimal viewing), or check it out in a smaller size along with the press release posted below.

Focus STs for SEMA include Lotus and Gulf liveries, rally-fied police car

Ford, as we mentioned on Saturday, is pulling out all the stops for November's SEMA show, bringing 57 vehicles to the Las Vegas event. Ford will be staggering the release of its SEMA flotilla, though, so expect to hear a lot about the new additions to the fleet in the weeks to come. We already showed you the Fiesta, Fiesta ST and Mustang models that made up the first batch of SEMA cars. Next up, we have a quartet of modded Focus STs joining Ford's SEMA roster.
Our first Focus ST (pictured above) sports the legendary livery of Gulf Racing. The orange-on-blue scheme, which Ford helped make famous at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has been updated for 2013, with a more vibrant blue. This ST was built by Universal Technical Institute, while the exterior was done by Neil Tjin of Tjin Edition. Side exhausts, a Vortech supercharger and a Motiv Concepts high-flow cat allow the ST to breathe a bit easier, while Forgestar wheels contrast well with the iconic paint scheme.
Focus ST number two has been done-up by PM Lifestyle and is inspired by "Southern California car culture." Sporting a sleek, pale blue paint job, there's also no shortage of carbon fiber on the car's exterior. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine has been massaged by the likes of Banks Power, COBB Tuning and Ford Racing, while the suspension is wearing a shiny, new set of coilovers and sway bars. The meaty brakes, tucked behind 19-inch, Rotiform wheels, come from Wilwood, while the cabin has been fitted with a pair of Sparco Chrono seats and five-point, Schroth harnesses.

Ford's J Mays feels vindicated by Fusion reception

It's hard to think back now, but the same man overseeing the design of the 2013 Ford Fusion also presided over a rather lackluster period in Ford design, highlighted by vehicles like the Five Hundred and Freestyle. With the redesigned Fusion receiving high praise, J Mays tells Automotive News that he feels vindicated from criticisms suggesting he's not a daring enough designer.
When Mays took over as lead of design in 1997, he admits to having quite an ego ("My head would barely fit through the door some days. I've long since gotten over myself") and the workload to match. With the Blue Oval's portfolio full of premium brands like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo at that point, along with the bread-and-butter Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, Mays certainly had quite the challenge.
It was in the mid-2000s that Mays took over just the premium brands, and took on the new title of Chief Creative Officer. At the time, Mays endured some criticism for looking backwards to retro styling, rather than setting a new standard for American car design - criticism that Mays says he is free from with the all-new Fusion.