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Ford F-150 production hampered by frame shortage

If anyone has questions about how Ford's new aluminum-bodied F-150 will hold up, it's not buyers. Orders are so strong for the fullsize pickup that competitors General Motors and Ram are discounting their offerings to hold onto market share. It's a shame for the Blue Oval then, that it can't build all the trucks it needs because frame supplier Metalsa isn't delivering enough frames. Neither Ford nor Metalsa has said what the problem is, but Ford employees are at Metalsa's Kentucky plant trying to get it sorted out, Automotive News reports. Overtime shifts at the Dearborn Truck Plant and the Kansas City Assembly Plant have been canceled due to the shortage that's been a problem for at least two months now. The issue is exacerbated by this being the changeover period in production from the old model to the new, which comes with its own issues. That would help explain why even though Dearborn production finished ramping up in January, output in April was down 9.2 percent compared to last year, according to AN. Transaction prices are up for the new truck, but overall F-150 production in Q1 was down 40 percent, and missing product means missing profits. Combined with the production drop for the new Ford Edge, the company's Q1 bottom line was robbed of $1 billion. It isn't clear when the frame issue will be solved, but workers at the plants are ready to run "all-out" when it is. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Plants/Manufacturing Ford Truck kansas city assembly plant

Top Gear pits Hennessey VelociRaptor vs. Range Rover Sport SVR

As a television series, Top Gear is in limbo with an intent to return, but no hosts yet. However, it's magazine and website continue to bring us clips like this one. While the video might lack the show's charismatic hosts, this is an opportunity to see a drag race between a Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR with 550 horsepower and a Hennessey VelociRaptor with 623 hp. The duel between these two supercharged V8s definitely sounds great. Both rugged models start at the line growling angrily at each other like dogs ready for a fight. You have to watch the clip to see whether the more powerful VelociRaptor feeds on the SVR, though. News Source: Top Gear via YouTube Ford Land Rover Truck SUV Performance Videos Hennessey ford f-150 svt raptor top gear magazine

Ford highlights new F-650 and F-750 with full-size Tonka show truck [w/videos]

Who among us hasn't been tempted by the prospect of buying a big yellow truck and painting the name Tonka along the side? Well apparently there were some folks over at Ford who were just as tempted, only they actually had the means to make that childhood fantasy a reality in the form of the truck you see here. Revealed at the NTEA Work Truck Show this week in Indianapolis, this Tonka show truck stands nearly 10 feet tall. It's painted bright yellow, just like the one you played with in the sand box (and probably still would given the opportunity and maybe no one else looking) and has a blacked-out nose treatment and special graphics. As you can see, it's also equipped with a working dump bed, and has a truly staggering 33,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating, built to showcase the Blue Oval's new line of medium duty trucks. Of course "medium duty" is a relative term, and the new F-750 is clearly a heavier piece of machinery than the company's own Super Duty pickups, but they're lighter-duty than a proper big rig. The new 2016 Ford F-650 and F-750 are just as tough as the models they replace, but they're now quieter and more comfortable to use. In fact, Ford says its 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel is now 25-percent quieter inside the cabin at highway speeds, 45-percent quieter at idle and 35-percent quieter standing outside in front of the grille. Ford notes that it's the only medium-duty truck manufacturer that makes its own engines and transmissions. That Power Stroke diesel comes with 270 horsepower and 675 pound-feet of torque as standard, but can be upgraded to 300 hp and 700 lb-ft or all the way up to 330 hp and 725 lb-ft. Commercial buyers will also be able to choose between Regular, Super and Crew Cab models with a straight-frame, dock-height or tractor-towing frames, meaning that whatever it is you've got to haul, chances are high that the new Ford F-650 and F-750 can be set up to get the job done.