1997 Ford F-150 Lariat Extended Cab Pickup 3-door 5.4l on 2040-cars

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Ford books $2.6B pretax quarterly profit

While its crosstown competitors at General Motors are smarting over a drastic drop in net income to $200 million in the second quarter, Ford has reason to celebrate. The Blue Oval has announced its own Q2 financial results, including a growing net income of $1.3 billion, a $78 million increase over last year. Pretax profits for the company reached $2.6 billion, up $44 million from 2013, but total revenue dropped slightly to $37.4 billion, down from $37.9 billion. Profits per share before one-time charges totaled 40 cents per share, beating Wall Street analysts' expectations of 36 cents a share.
Regionally, the Blue Oval performed strongly, as well. North America posted a record quarterly pre-tax profit of $2.4 billion, a $119 million increase. Europe also showed signs of turn around with its first profit in three years of $14 million after a loss of $306 million in Q2 2013. Ford is actually predicting profitability in the troubled region in 2015. Asia Pacific operations also performed well with $159 million in profits, up $29 million from last year. The only region where the business posted a loss was South America.
According to Automotive News, Ford also announced more precise plans about the changeover to build the aluminum-intensive 2015 F-150. In August, the Dearborn plant will shutdown for eight weeks to retool and its Kansas City plant will do the same next year.

Weekly Recap: 2016 CTS-V gives Cadillac new momentum for the new year

It's been a rough year for Cadillac. The historic luxury carmaker been in the news for all of the wrong reasons: Declining sales, ditching its advertising agency and the relocation of its headquarters from Detroit to New York. But in late December, Cadillac reminded everyone what it does best: Build some of the rawest and most compelling luxury sedans in the world, as evidenced by the 2016 CTS-V. This monster churns out 640 horsepower from a supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Sound familiar? That's the Corvette Z06 engine, and it makes this CTS the most powerful production Cadillac ever. It also puts the sporting divisions of the Germans on notice. The new CTS-V easily overpowers the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S 4Matic and its 5.5-liter biturbo V8 rated at 577 hp, and the BMW M5 (with the competition pack) and its 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 that pushes out 575 hp. The rear-wheel drive Cadillac can sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds, which is close to the 3.5-second time turned in by the 4Matic-driven E63 S, and a bit quicker than the 4.1 seconds posted by the M5. With Magnetic Ride Control, General Motors' stout eight-speed automatic transmission (also used in the Corvette), Brembo brakes and a carbon-fiber option package that pretty much builds your car out of carbon fiber – it's clear this Cadillac means business. Truth be told, we expected this CTS-V to deliver. It's been a serious sports sedan for a decade, and the recent generation and its 556-hp arrogance have been particularly memorable. But notice what we're doing here? We're talking about product. Not who makes Cadillac's ads, or if the brand's headquarters has a mailing address in NYC. Like the 2016 ATS-V that's due in the spring, the debut of the 2016 CTS-V (on sale in late summer) is a shot in the arm for Cadillac, and its arrival comes during time of transition. The brand is trying to reinvent itself as a modern luxury maker. It wants new customers, a different image and obviously more sales. Those things are going to take time, but with a 640-hp sledgehammer of a sports sedan on tap for next year, Cadillac can still maintain some of its swagger through all of the change. Other News And Views 1984 Audi Sport Quattro heads for the auction block If you're into '80s rally cars, you're really a car person. But if you're into that stuff – and we are – this 1984 Audi Sport Quattro is sure to get your blood flowing.

Autoline streaming live from Detroit Auto Show right now

As you can already see, the Autoblog team is digging deep to bring you everything from the Detroit Auto Show media days today and tomorrow, with obsessive coverage of all of the new sheetmetal, hot concepts and industry news. But we're hardly alone in Cobo Hall, and our friend John McElroy and his Autoline team have fired up a live video webcast with interviews from the show floor that you can watch right now by scrolling below. The daily streaming broadcasts start at 1:00 PM Eastern today and tomorrow, with a large number of A-list executives, designers, and product planners from both domestic and foreign automakers are expected to sit in. Interviewees scheduled to appear include Al Gardner, President and CEO of Chrysler; David Zuchowski, brand-new President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America; Doug Scott, Truck Group Marketing Manager at Ford; and Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer at Kia. For the live feed and a full list of guests for both days, scroll below. Live broadcast by Ustream [Pop-out Chat Window] Day One Al Gardner, President and CEO, Chrysler Brand Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America Doug Scott, Truck Group Marketing Manager, Ford Tim Mahoney, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Chevrolet Heiko Schmidt, Head of C-Class Product Planning, Mercedes-Benz USA Filip Brabec, Product Planning Manager, Audi of America Day Two Bob Ferguson, Senior Vice President, Global Cadillac Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor America Mike Manley, President & CEO, Jeep Brand Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer, Kia Tom Kearns, Chief Designer, Kia Design Center America Jim Lentz, COO, Toyota Motor NA Tony Nicolosi, President & CEO, Volvo Cars North America Jose Munoz, Executive VP & Chairman, Nissan Americas Auto News Detroit Auto Show Audi BMW Chrysler Ford Kia Videos Detroit Autoblog 2014 Detroit Auto Show autoline Peter Schreyer