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Ford Mustang is the world's best-selling sports car

The Ford Mustang is unquestionably a performance icon in the US, but now the venerable pony car can tout being among the world's favorites, too. According to the latest global data by IHS Automotive, the 'Stang is the world's best-selling sports car through the first half of 2015, with 76,124 registrations. That's a 56-percent increase for the Mustang over 2014's numbers. Making the title slightly more impressive is that this honor comes before the right-hand drive variants go on sale. The first shipments of those don't arrive until at least November. However, a line is already forming. According to Ford, there are nearly 2,000 Mustang pre-orders in the UK, almost 3,000 in Australia, and 400 in New Zealand. The popular model is also launching in South Africa, Japan, and a few other right-hand-drive countries. The Mustang's introduction is also going quite well in China, but the car is of course still most popular here in the US. Through August, deliveries are up 53.1 percent with 86,769 examples going to dealers. The 'Stang is beating its arch rival Chevrolet Camaro in sales, but given the Chevy's age that fight isn't too fair. When production of the sixth generation Camaro gets up to speed, the battle should get really interesting. Related Video: Ford Mustang: World's Best-Selling Sports Car in Early 2015; Production Begins on Right-Hand-Drive Model - Mustang is the world's best-selling sports car in the first half of 2015, according to IHS Automotive global registration data - Global Mustang momentum continues to build as production of the right-hand-drive model officially kicks off at Flat Rock Assembly Plant - 2015 marks first year Mustang is available to customers around the world in more than 100 markets and the first time a right-hand-drive model will be widely available DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 8, 2015 – Customers around the world have made Ford Mustang the best-selling sports car on the globe during the first half of the year, according to global IHS Automotive registration data. During the first six months of 2015, customers globally registered 76,124 vehicles – a 56 percent increase versus the same period last year. "Initial global response to the Mustang has been strong, and we are only in second gear," said Stephen Odell, executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service.

Watch Piquet and Mansell bend some sheetmetal in Ford Fusion GP

As we told you about before, there were four episodes planned for the Ford Fusion GP campaign in Brazil, and the whole series has now run its course. The Ford ads pit Brazilian Formula One driver Nelson Piquet against English F1 pilot Nigel Mansell driving the new Fusion, the two coming together again after their partnership at the Williams F1 team ended in a miserable state more than 20 years ago.
They're lined up for you below, in reverse chronological order. You should watch number three first, though, as it adds a bit more spice to the NASCAR action in the fourth.

Weekly Recap: Ferrari, Ford and Porsche power up for Geneva

Monday was Groundhog Day. Tuesday, apparently, was Sports Car Day. The Ferrari 488 GTB, the Ford Focus RS and the Porsche Cayman GT4 all debuted within hours of each other ahead of their rollouts at the Geneva Motor Show. Three sporty machines, three vastly different approaches – and a lot of implications for enthusiasts. That's a day worth repeating. It also illustrates the opportunities automakers see in the performance market, which is expected to grow in the coming years. Ford estimates the segment has expanded 14 percent in Europe and surged 70 percent in North America since 2009. The Detroit Auto Show was evidence of this, and performance cars of every stripe debuted, including the Acura NSX, Ford GT, Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and several others. This isn't a fad. Performance cars aren't going away. The question is why? Stricter CAFE standards are looming in the United States, as are tighter emissions regulations in Europe. And no one expects gas prices to remain low in America. None of this matters for sports cars, and automakers are increasingly using them to elevate their images. That's why Dodge rolled out two 707-horsepower Hellcats last year. It's why Ford has decided to resurrect the GT for road and track. It's why in the depths of bankruptcy, General Motors continued work on the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, not to mention the Z06. "Great brands are made one car at a time," Ford of Europe president Jim Farley said at the reveal of the Focus RS. Still, companies make those cars for different reasons. View 5 Photos Mainstream brands like Ford and Dodge want to build cars that get people talking, excite their bases and drive more potential customers into the showroom. They probably don't buy a Focus RS or a Hellcat, but suddenly the regular Focus hatch looks a bit hotter, and that V6 Charger seems to be just a touch more muscular. The halo of performance is alive and well in the eyes of automakers and their customers. "It's one of the most effective catalysts for ingenuity and innovation," said Joe Bakaj, vice president of product development for Ford of Europe. That also leads to a trickle-down effect. Some of the technologies inevitably make their way to other products. It's hard to think the new all-wheel-drive system in the Focus RS that distributes torque front to rear and side to side won't be used in other vehicles. It's different for Ferrari and Porsche.