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Ford sets world record for biggest Hot Wheels track loop

Take Your Child to Work Day looks like a pretty amazing experience for a child if their parent works at Ford. For the recent event, workers at the Blue Oval set up the world's largest Hot Wheels track loop in the atrium of the company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, MI, and launched toy cars from over three stories. The idea came from Ford dynamometer technician Matt West who had been building progressively larger loops with his son. This one was the biggest ever, though, with a ramp 35.5-feet high and a 12.5-foot loop to crush the previous record of nine feet, nine inches tall. Fittingly, the track was inaugurated with a Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car taking the first run. To support such a massive size, the Hot Wheels track fits into a plywood structure that's bolted together. Beyond just being fun and looking incredibly cool, the stunt was meant to teach kids about mathematics and engineering. Ford Sets World Record for Biggest Hot Wheels Car Track Loop in Support of Take Your Child to Work Day • To help children cultivate an interest in science and engineering, Ford attempted to set a new world record for building the largest Hot Wheels® car track loop as part of this year's Take Your Child to Work Day • Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car started at more than three stories high inside Ford Research and Innovation Center • Old record loop stood at nine feet, nine inches tall DEARBORN, Mich., April 23, 2015 – Ford ran circles around the old Hot Wheels® record loop as part of this year's Take Your Child to Work Day. When the effort was complete, Ford had made a world record attempt with a Hot Wheels car track loop that exceeded 12 feet tall. The world record attempt was the brainchild of Ford dynamometer technician Matt West, who had built increasingly large Hot Wheels loops with his six-year-old son Blade at their home in Monroe, Michigan. The attempt took place in the three-story atrium of the company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn in support of Ford's participation in national Take Your Child to Work Day. "It started as part-fun, part-physics lesson with my son at home," said West. "We built one in our playroom, and then built a five-foot- tall loop in our backyard.

Vile Gossip | Adventures in tire testing

Jean Jennings has been writing about cars for more than 30 years, after stints as a taxicab driver and as a mechanic in the Chrysler Proving Grounds Impact Lab. She was a staff writer at Car and Driver magazine, the first executive editor and former president and editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine , the founder of the blog Jean Knows Cars and former automotive correspondent for Good Morning America . She has lifetime awards from both the Motor Press Guild and the New England Motor Press Association. This is her first column for Autoblog — look for more Vile Gossip in the future. I began writing at Car and Driver magazine back in its golden age in the 1970s, before I'd actually read it. I knew very little about cars. The only magazine I read religiously was Four Wheeler because I owned big trucks and liked to go off-roading with my Chrysler Proving Grounds friends. My vast 10 years of driving experience up to that point (high-speed dirt-road idiot, taxicab driver, Chrysler Proving Grounds test driver) had less bearing on my being hired at Car and Driver than the fact that the editor just wanted to rile up the all-male staff. He didn't need me for that. They were already in full dudgeon when I arrived. They'd just spent a chunk of time testing a stack of tires for their big tire-test issue, and the editor-in-chief was toe-to-toe with the technical editor over the rankings of the top 10 tires. It was loud, and it was angry. I had no idea that car magazines tested tires. Cab driving had led me to believe that airing up a tire and changing a flat was all you needed to know. I changed so many flats on that cab, I eventually wound up in front of a live audience on the " Oprah Winfrey Show" demonstrating my brilliance with a jack and a tire iron. My point, of course, is that tires are more controversial, and also more essential, than you'd think. My other point is that it's good to get worked up about the subject, but not quite so good to let yourself be seen, as I did, on my hands and knees with my ass up in the air on national TV. This is how I prefer to test a tire: First, pick a top brand. Then accept their invitation to try and beat the crap out of their tire. I chose Yokohama, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The big news for them was the GEOLANDER M/T G003!

2017 Ford GT spied in the raw

The Ford GT supercar is finally going outside to play, and it has been captured for the first time prowling the streets near Ford's compound in Dearborn, MI. Due in late 2016, the GT has been one of Ford's most closely guarded projects and was developed under a veil of secrecy. The prototype revealed at the Detroit Auto Show stunned enthusiasts, and these shots illustrate that it's making the leap to production reality. As our spy shooter wryly notes, the mule captured in these photographs looks like a Mad Max prop. It's colorless, is missing key body parts – note the ringless taillights and lack of a rear bumper or diffuser. It also looks to be even lower to the ground than the concept from the Detroit show. It appears to have different mirrors and windshield wipers. The lack of some body panels also calls out the exhaust pipes, which look like tail guns in these shots. Otherwise, this test car looks just like the auto show star, and sans paint it manages to appear even more sinister. Though these spy shots indicate the GT is on track for production, Ford has been pretty up front about what the car will be when it arrives in showrooms. We know it will have a twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. It will make extensive use of carbon fiber and feature a driver-oriented, contemporary-styled interior. Canadian company Multimatic will build the GT. The Le Mans-inspired supercar is the standard-bearer for Ford's renewed performance push. The automaker plans to roll out at least 12 sporting cars by 2020 as it looks to lure new buyers to its fold. Ford also using developments from these high-end cars to improve its lineup, and will it spread aerodynamics and materials technologies across its portfolio. "It's another proof point about how serious we are in developing innovation through performance," Ford product chief Raj Nair has said. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Ford GT Spy Photos View 25 Photos Related Gallery Ford GT Concept: Detroit 2015 View 45 Photos Image Credit: Chris Doane Automotive Motorsports Ford Coupe Performance Supercars