2004 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 6.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1973 Mercury Marquis Brougham 4-Door Pillared Hardtop

Ford's Mercury Division debuted the Marquis in the 1967 model year, as a sporty coupe based on a stretched Ford LTD chassis. When the LTD got an update for 1969, so did the Marquis, and production of that generation of the top-of-the-line Mercury continued through 1978 (the Grand Marquis hit streets the following year). The 1969-1978 Marquis was a big, imposing land yacht, and the Brougham version came absolutely loaded with affordable luxury. Today's Junkyard Gem is a Marquis Brougham from the first year of the Malaise Era, found in a Phoenix self-service car graveyard recently. This car appears to have spent decades sitting outdoors in one of the harshest climates in the country, and so it's in rough shape. The vinyl top received the full thermonuclear treatment and is mostly obliterated by now. The interior got thoroughly cooked as well. Still, its original opulence shines through if you use some imagination. What hurts is that this car was packed with most of the good options, including the mighty 460-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8 engine with four-barrel carburetor. The price for the 460 was just $76 in this car, or around $548 in today's money. The base engine was a 429 (7.0-liter). Power numbers were way down for 1973 when compared to a couple of years earlier, partly as the result of tightening emissions standards but mostly due to the switch from gross to net power ratings that began midway during 1971 and was completed by the end of 1972. This engine was rated at 202 horsepower and 330 pound-feet. The only transmission available was a three-speed automatic. We can assume that the original buyer of this car and its single-digit fuel economy had a rough time when the OPEC oil embargo hit in the fall of 1973. Believe it or not, air conditioning was not standard equipment on the '73 Marquis Brougham (you had to move up to a Lincoln for that). This one even has the automatic temperature control feature, adding a total of $508 to the cost of this car (about $3,661 in 2023 dollars). That AM/FM/8-track radio—or, in fact, any radio—was an extra-cost option as well, with a price tag of $363 ($2,616 after inflation). The MSRP for the 1973 Marquis Brougham sedan (known as a "pillared hardtop" thanks to the frameless window glass) was $5,072, which comes to $36,555 in today's dollars. Obviously, its out-the-door cost would have been much higher with all the options.

It's Official: Ford Names Mark Fields Its Next CEO

Alan Mulally, the man who transformed Ford Motor Co. from a dysfunctional money-loser to a thriving company, will retire July 1 and be replaced by Mark Fields, the current chief operating officer. During his eight-year tenure at Ford, Mulally gambled all of the company's assets on a credit line that kept Ford out of bankruptcy, then used a simple "One Ford" plan to change the company's culture. He was hired away from aircraft maker Boeing Co. in 2006 by Bill Ford, who at the time was running the company. Fields, 53, has been in charge of Ford's daily operations since December of 2012 and was widely expected to one day ascend to the top job. The change in leadership is taking place about six months ahead of schedule, but Ford said that was based on Mulally's recommendation that the new leaders were ready. "Alan and I feel strongly that Mark and the entire leadership team are absolutely ready to lead Ford forward, and now is the time to begin the transition," Bill Ford said in a statement Thursday morning. Bill Ford, the company's executive chairman, is the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford. Mulally, 68, was trained as an aeronautical engineer. He spent 36 years at Boeing - and was president of the company's commercial airplane division - when Bill Ford lured him to the struggling automaker eight years ago. Mulally overcame skepticism about being an outsider in the insular ranks of Detroit car guys by quickly pinpointing the reasons why Ford was losing billions each year. Mulally put a stop to the infighting that had paralyzed the company and instituted weekly management meetings where executives faced new levels of accountability and were encouraged to work together to solve problems. It took two years for Mulally to turn the company around, but since 2009, Ford has posted pretax profits of $34.5 billion and its shares have more than doubled. Fields was one of the executives passed over when Mulally got the top job in 2006. When he was named COO in 2012, Bill Ford said Fields' decision to stay at Ford and learn from Mulally showed a lot of fortitude and has made Fields a better leader. "There was a lot of speculation about whether he was capable. To his great credit, he stuck to it, he learned from it and showed tremendous fortitude in grinding through an incredibly difficult process," Bill Ford said. This marks the second change in leadership at the top of one of the Detroit automakers this year.

Editors' Picks February 2021 | Ford F-150, Genesis GV80, Mazda CX-30 and more

If we’ve driven and reviewed it, thereÂ’s an Autoblog Rating for it. ItÂ’s been over two years since we launched a new rating system to help you evaluate cars at a glance. We tweaked and improved it along the way and quickly arrived at a consistent process for giving each and every car on sale today a fair score. Cars that are exemplary or stand out in their respective segments get EditorsÂ’ Pick status. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. Every car we rate gets a score from 1 to 10, making it easy for you to tell if itÂ’s a car worth pursuing and possibly purchasing. YouÂ’ll find the scores of previously-rated cars attached toward the top of our written reviews. For example, the Bronco SportÂ’s rating can be found here. The Acura TLXÂ’s rating is in this post, and the Nissan RogueÂ’s rating is right here. There are hundreds of examples to be found. The above examples make up the most natural ways to find the Autoblog rating when researching for your next car, but starting today, weÂ’re going to begin calling out each new set of Editors' Picks per month in their own breakout stories. This will put the newest and most recently refreshed cars on sale on a pedestal for you to see which ones are worth your while. WeÂ’ll typically rate anywhere between 5-10 new cars per month, so you can count on just a select few from those to make this list. Expect to see this recurring ratings post each month going forward, and read on for FebruaryÂ’s EditorsÂ’ Picks.   2021 Genesis GV80 2021 Genesis GV80 View 18 Photos Quick take: The stylish GV80 offers useful safety features, compelling design and sporty dynamics to push it near the top of the segment. Genesis takes risks with this aggressive crossover, and the result is a luxurious vehicle that is rewarding to drive. Score: 8.5 What it competes with: Lincoln Aviator, Volvo XC90, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class, Acura MDX, Lexus RX Pros: Beautiful design, good road manners, awesome value Cons: Small third row and cargo space, less comfortable standard suspension  From the editors: Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore — “The GV80 is a hugely important vehicle for Genesis. It makes a style statement, has an elegant interior and is a compelling all-round execution. It looks like a Bentley, and I give Genesis props for taking some risks with the GV80 and largely pulling it all off.