2001 F-350 Crew Cab Super Duty *** 27k Actual Miles*** on 2040-cars

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2018 Ford Expedition spied looking stylish

The Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator got a cool reception for their 2015 warmed-over redesign. But with big, high-riding vehicles once again in vogue, Ford is pushing ahead with a ground-up redesign of its biggest SUVs. Based on these spy shots, the Expedition will continue to serve as the Navigator's more affordable twin. Yes, that's a bold prediction, considering we still haven't spotted Lincoln testing the new Navigator, but study the greenhouses on this Expedition prototype and the Navigator Concept from New York – from the arrow-straight belt line to the extra-long rear window to the aggressively raked windshield, this Expedition's overall profile is broadly similar to what Lincoln previewed earlier this year. While our spies claim the new Expedition will look to the F-150 for design inspiration, we see a departure from past Expedition tradition. Unlike the supposed Expedition spy shots we showed you nearly a year ago – which was nothing more than an SUV with an F-150's nose grafted on, this prototype's front-end styling looks softer and more aerodynamic, with a smaller grille and headlights, almost like an Escape or Edge. This kind of change would explain the additional front-end camouflage. In back, our spies rightly point out that Ford fitted a faux rear end to disguise the rear window's rake – expect the real thing to feature the angled rear window previewed on the Navigator Concept. Look at the last image in the gallery for a better idea of how the Expedition's rear window will actually look. We can't say a lot about the taillights, because of the camo, but non-LED taillights are present. We'd expect Ford to offer LEDs on higher trim levels. While the F-150's styling might not make the transition to the Expedition, its powertrains and emphasis on lightweight aluminum will. Our spies report the biggest SUV will ride on a new T3 platform and feature an aluminum body, with the F-150's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Expect a ten-speed automatic transmission and start/stop tech for sure, while the smaller 2.7-liter, twin-turbo V6 could slot in as the Expedition's base engine – we're less sure on that one. And we're even more uncertain of the rumors of an Expedition Hybrid. Our spies report it could mate a 3.5-liter V6 with an electric motor(s) and battery packs for a more economical full-size SUV. Expect to see the 2018 Expedition debut in January, at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.

Ford invests $682 million in Edge-producing Canadian facility

Ford announced that it's investing $682 million in its Oakville assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, to make it a global manufacturing plant, which the automaker also says secures 2,800 jobs there. Including this injection of cash, Ford has invested over $2 billion in Canada in the last decade, starting with nearly $1 billion for Oakville in 2004, and over $570 million for its Essex Engine Plant in 2010.
The move to make Oakville a global manufacturer of Ford vehicles means, "If consumers suddenly shift their buying habits, we can seamlessly change our production mix without having to idle a plant," says Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas.
Ford says that the latest investment will help it meet North American demand for the Oakville-produced Edge crossover, which is on track this year to beat 2007's US sales record of 130,000 Edges. The Ford Flex and Lincoln MKX and MKT are also manufactured at the plant.

Junkyard Gem: 1993 Mercury Topaz GS Sedan

As long as the Mercury brand existed — a period spanning the 1939 through 2011 model years — nearly every Mercury sold in the United States was more or less a redecorated Ford model. The Torino had its Montego sibling, the Crown Victoria had the Grand Marquis, the Cougar was based on everything from the Mustang to the Mondeo, and so on. Naturally, when the folks in Dearborn developed the Ford Tempo compact, a Mercury version had to be created. This was the Topaz, with the official launch of both cars taking place on the deck of the aircraft carrier often referred to as the USS Decrepit. You can't make this stuff up! The Tempo/Topaz, also known as the Tempaz, has largely faded from our collective automotive memory by now, since it broke no significant new engineering or styling ground (this story would be much different if Ford had only put the amazing straight-eight "T-Drive" Tempaz powertrain into production) and didn't have any endearing features other than being a cheap domestic competitor to the Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra. Still, close to 3 million Tempazes left North American Ford and Lincoln-Mercury showrooms during the 1984-1994 period. As you'd expect, most of these disposable cars disappeared from both the street and the car graveyard long ago. It takes a very special Tempaz for me to break out my camera while I'm patrolling my local wrecking yards; generally, this means an ultra-rare all-wheel-drive version or at least a very early model in super-clean condition. Today's Junkyard Gem is neither, but I took one look at this spectacular Bordello Red crypto-velour-and-slippery-plastic interior and recognized that this was no ordinary junkyard Mercury. It appears that Mercury had dropped the idea of clever names for base-grade seat fabrics by the time of the Topaz, referring to this stuff as just "cloth" in all the brochures I could find. That's too bad, because Mercurys had cool names for upholstery (e.g., Chromatex) in the old days. The interior is in very good condition but the steering wheel shows substantial wear, so I think this is a high-mile Topaz that got meticulous care from its owner or owners. Ford used five-digit odometers on these cars until the end of production, however, so we'll never know if this reading indicates 65,404 miles or 365,404 miles. The body is very straight, but there's some nasty corrosion behind the right front wheelwell.