1999 Ford Explorer on 2040-cars

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1947 Chevy rat rod pickup leaves rubber and smoke in its wake

Cool comes in multiple flavors. One one hand, we have the sophisticated attraction of svelte design and the efficient use of power. Of course, on the other hand there is the allure of being the bad boy and going against the grain. That is part of the appeal of rat rods. Ideally, they are built without rules to an owner's specific tastes, and this widened and heavily modified 1947 Chevrolet pickup rod is a perfect example of that spirit.
Coming down the highway with a bent grille, rusted body and pouring smoke, it looks like the pickup from hell. It backs up the looks with some very impressive mechanicals too. Owner Troy Gubser says that the truck packs a Ford Power Stroke diesel with to 42 pounds of boost that runs out of 8-inch exhaust stacks at the back. He claims it managed 505 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque on the dyno. To harness all that power, this hot rod has a ZF five-speed manual gearbox with a ceramic clutch and short-throw shifter. Plus, it has cool little features like a doorbell on the tailgate that operates an air horn.
You might not expect a truck like this to actually be useful, but it has a fifth wheel coupling to haul an RV around drag races and car shows. The air suspension also probably keeps the ride fairly comfy when Gubser wants it to be. Scroll down to check out this beastly rat rod pickup and watch it engage in some diesel drag racing. Warning, there is some NSFW language.

Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid nab five-star ratings from NHTSA

Ford's Fusion and Fusion Hybrid have both received the highest five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The rating is a big upgrade for the Fusion, which was completely redesigned for 2013. The previous model fell one star short of the top rating, after scoring only three stars in the frontal crash test and four stars in the side crash test and rollover evaluations. The 2013 Fusion received four stars in side crash and rollover testing and a full five stars in the front crash test.
Test results for the 2013 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid were greatly improved at least in part due to Ford's Personal Safety System. The system utilizes smarter sensors to gather crash data and tailor the car's restraint systems to the occupants. Seatbelt usage and seat position are taken into account to ensure airbags deploy with less pressure for smaller drivers, more for larger drivers.
The 2013 Fusion twins also received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick+ designation. Read the official press release below.

Shelby American cleans house of 14 concept cars

Typically when an automaker rolls out a concept car or pre-production prototype, it does its tour and then disappears into the company's archives. Maybe it will be displayed for the public to see in the company's own museum or maybe it will spend most of its time under covers in a warehouse somewhere, but every once in a while, an automaker will open up its history and start selling off its concept cars. For Shelby American, "once in a while" has just rolled around.
The House that Carroll Built is moving from its previous headquarters at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to a new facility off of the Las Vegas strip, and in the process is liquidating fourteen of the rarest cars in its collection. That presents a tremendous opportunity for muscle car collectors to bring one or more of these snakes home.
As you might expect, the catalog is composed mostly of Mustangs, but not exclusively. There's a pair of 289 Cobras: the last of the 50th anniversary slab-sided continuation cars and an original development vehicle, offered at $200,000 apiece. At the other end of the spectrum you'll find the 2013 Shelby Raptor concept for $125k and Focus concept for $50k. And of course there are the Mustangs.