2005 Ford Freestar S Mini Passenger Van 4-door 3.9l on 2040-cars

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Ford EcoBoost V6 hits the dyno before hitting the track

Ford Racing just unveiled the Riley Daytona Prototype that will make its racing in the United SportsCar Racing Championship Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, and now it has released a video showing development of twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 that powers the car. Using the same block and heads that can be found on a production Ford Taurus SHO, this new racecar benefits from the collaboration between Ford Racing and Ford powertrain engineers.
While we still don't know what kind of power this engine is putting out, it has definitely gotten a workout at Ford's 17G dyno. This area deep within Ford allows the automaker's racing program to work hand-in-hand with production engine programs, which can be a benefit to racing operations and production cars alike. Scroll down to hear a few people from Ford talk about the crosspollination between its racing and engine teams and watch the EcoBoost get red hot on the dyno.

2015 Ford Expedition

While the tide of bigger-is-better SUVs has been in recession since, well, the recession, fullsize utes are still very much with us. Conservative creatures that have been loathe to evolve, fullsize SUVs nonetheless remain enduringly popular among large families, livery customers, and anyone with lots of friends, relatives, and toys to tug around. With respect to Toyota and Nissan, the only players that really matter in the segment are the new-for-2015 Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban, the GMC Yukon/Yukon XL, and this truck: the Ford Expedition, the latest evolution of which we just drove for the first time at a press preview in West Virginia.
Unlike the General Motors utilities, the standard Expedition and the long-wheelbase Expedition EL are not all-new, but rather are heavily refreshed versions of the same basic truck Ford started selling way back in 2007. The front fascia is where most of the exterior update happens for 2015, with a new three-bar grille design, halogen projector headlamps, and new bumper design with available LED foglamps. Despite all the new bits, the facelift breaks exactly zero ground in terms of design; in fact, it already looks dated, and will only look older once the macho 2015 F-150 bows later this year. Even less has changed out back, where the tailgate gets a wide chrome band spanning the taillamps and a new chrome exhaust tip. Other exterior changes are generally limited to colors and an all-new wheel lineup that includes a gleaming set of six-spoke 22-inch polished wheels on high-end models.
Speaking of high-end models, a new Platinum trim is positioned above the cowboy-spec King Ranch model for 2015. Both the Platinum and King Ranch get their own color combos and exterior trim finishes (satin metal for the Platinum, chrome everywhere and ginormous badges for the King Ranch) and posh, leather-lined interiors with their own aesthetic. The Expedition family also now includes a price-leading XL model, as well as XLT and Limited grades.

Autoblog Podcast #417

Episode #417 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about what we're expecting to see at the upcoming 2015 Chicago Auto Show that kicks off on February 12. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #417 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics 2015 Chicago Auto Show In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Bentley Continental GT Speed 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor Long-Term 2015 Volkswagen GTI Long-Term 2014 Jeep Cherokee Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:25:53 Rundown Intro and Garage – 00:00 Chicago show – 27:37 Q&A – 47:27 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes