2004 Ford F-150 Fx4 Standard Cab Pickup 2-door 5.4l on 2040-cars

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Preserving automotive history costs big bucks

$1.8 million is spent each year to maintain GM's fleet of 600 production and concept cars.
When at least two of the Detroit Three were on the verge of death a few years back, one of the tough questions that was asked of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler execs - outside of why execs were still taking private planes to meetings - was why each company maintained huge archives of old production and concept vehicles. GM, for example, had an 1,100-vehicle collection when talk of a federal bailout began.

Ford's cars being held up in Chinese ports in trade tensions with U.S.

BEIJING — Ford Motor Co's imported vehicles are being held up at Chinese ports, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, underscoring how U.S. goods are facing increased customs scrutiny in China amid a tense trade standoff. The three people said Ford and Lincoln vehicles were facing unusual delays at customs, with officials asking for extra technical checks. Two of the people said U.S.-made models of some German carmakers, mainly SUVs, being brought into China, were also affected. Ford was being asked to do extra checks on emission components, said a China-based Ford executive familiar with the matter, asking not be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. China's customs agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The holdups add to a growing list of American products facing issues at China's borders, as officials try to avert a full-blown trade war. Some trade experts said they believe Beijing is sending a defiant warning to Washington in response to sweeping U.S. trade demands made on China last week. Reuters reported Tuesday that China had ramped up inspections of pork shipped from the United States, after the country's customs agency said it would step up quarantine checks on American apples and logs. The second person, a China-based industry official with knowledge of the matter, said the delays for Ford — as well as some U.S.-made cars from BMW and Mercedes-Benz — had been going on for the last two weeks. "Customs pretends there are technical non-conformities of some nature that won't allow them to clear these U.S.-made cars through customs, but the U.S.-China trade frictions must be the background to this," he said. "Although no one will officially admit it." Responding to a request for comment from Reuters, a BMW spokesman said that "U.S.-made BMW cars have not been delayed at the ports as of last week and before." A Daimler spokeswoman said it was "monitoring the situation closely" regarding ongoing trade talks between China and the United States, but that she could not speculate further on other matters. The third person said the Ford issue, which had been noted by the United States government, and other holdups facing American goods, were clearly related to the trade dispute. A Ford spokeswoman in Shanghai when asked about the matter said: "We are closely monitoring our situation at the port." She declined to comment further.

Ford 3D-printing Mustang out of chocolate and candy for Valentine's Day

Is your beloved in love with the new 2015 Ford Mustang? Do they like chocolate (that's a trick question - everyone likes chocolate)? Are they a bit of a futurist? Then this Hallmark holiday, you need to get them this Ford Mustang, 3D-printed in sweet, delicious chocolate.
Ford is teaming with 3D Systems' Sugar Lab in LA to produce the super-accurate pony car confections in both chocolate and sugar candy varieties. The process kicked off with a CAD rendering of the 2015 Mustang, which was then programmed into the 3D printer. After a bit of work from the machine, a four-inch long, two-inch tall Mustang was the result. Why the tieup with 3D Systems, though?
"We wanted to create something fun to show that while 3D printing made these edible Mustangs, manufacturing-level 3D printing was used in the development of Ford's all-new sports car," said Paul Susalla, Ford's supervisor of 3D printing.