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MMD by Foose 2015 Mustang GT gets 810 hp and one lucky winner

Modern Muscle Design worked with the one and only Chip Foose to create this, the MMD by Foose 810-horsepower 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Several things will come of the collaboration, the best one for you being that you have a chance to win the coupe this Summer at the AmericanMuscle Mustang show in Pennsylvania. As of right now you can enter at the AmericanMuscle site, and if your name is pulled from the hat then MMD will fly you to the show in August and Foose will personally hand the car over to you. For everyone else, there is still plenty to pay attention to. The 5.0-liter Coyote V8 gets 375 more horsepower courtesy of a modified 2.9-liter, twin-screw Whipple supercharger from Bama Performance. By the time those horses stampede down a carbon fiber driveshaft, MMD says there are 650 of them left to turn the 20-inch Foose wheels. If you want to take your own Mustang in this direction, there will be a selection of parts created for this car coming later this summer under the MMD by Foose banner, including the hood and side scoops, rocker panels, and chin spoiler. The show car also gets a Vogtland Sport Suspension and a Magnaflow Competition cat-back exhaust. Check out the press release below for more information. MODERN MUSCLE DESIGN AND CHIP FOOSE DEBUT 800+ HORSEPOWER MUSTANG IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MMD by Foose 2015 Mustang to be Personally Given Away by Chip Foose at AmericanMuscle's 2015 Mustang Show this Summer MALVERN, Pa. (May 20, 2015) – Modern Muscle Design (MMD), the leader in aftermarket Mustang styling, along with the renowned vehicle designer, Chip Foose, today unveiled a one-off 810-horsepower supercharged MMD by Foose 2015 Mustang GT at Foose Design Inc. headquarters in Huntington Beach, California. Today's reveal comes ahead of the annual AmericanMuscle Mustang Show in Pennsylvania where the custom-built Mustang will be given away. The 2015 AmericanMuscle Mustang Show is the 7th annual charity all-Mustang car show in which 10,000+ spectators and nearly 3,000 Mustangs gather to benefit this year's charity, Make-A-Wish®. At the heart of MMD by Foose is a 5.0 liter V8 engine producing more than 810 horsepower at the crank courtesy of a specially tuned version of Bama Performance's 2.9-liter twin scroll Whipple supercharger. After being routed through the transmission, a custom carbon fiber driveshaft and upgraded axles from The Driveshaft Shop, 650 horsepower reaches the custom 20" Foose Design wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires.

Recharge Wrap-up: Ford announces e-bike project, Honda Accord Hybrid availability catches up

Supplies of the Honda Accord Hybrid have apparently caught up with demand. Honda originally launched the Accord Hybrid for the 2014 model year, but lack of availability plagued interested customers and eager dealers alike. Honda cited "component supply constraints" - likely batteries, electric motors and the like - for the lack of available vehicles. Now, "The supply of Accord Hybrids in general is in line with the supply of the regular Accord sedan," according to Honda's Angie Nucci. Read more at Green Car Reports. Apple is seeking a resolution to a lawsuit accusing the company of poaching employees from lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems. A123 has requested a court order stopping a former employer from breaking an employment agreement, as well as keeping Apple from encouraging the person to do so. Apple has requested more time to respond to that court order. A123 has also filed a suit accusing five employees of breaking nondisclosure agreements and going or trying to go to work for Apple. Insiders say that Apple is developing an electric car that could go into production as early as 2020. Read more at Automotive News. South Dakota's Ethanol Infrastructure Incentive Program is helping retailers fund ethanol storage. The state government has set aside $300,000 as part of the program to fund ethanol storage tanks at gas stations. The program, which originally set out to reimburse retailers for building ethanol flex-pumps, is now helping them expand their ethanol capacities. Retailers can apply for funds for pumps and storage through June 30. Read more at Argus Leader. Ford is expanding its Global Mobility Plan with the Handle on Mobility electric bike experiment. The foldable MoDe:Me e-bike is for personal use and commuting, while the MoDe:Pro is built for commercial duty, with both powered by a 200-watt motor and 9-amp-hour battery. The bikes use an iPhone app called MoDe:Link, which provides various information and controls important bike functions. Through the app, the bikes offer navigation (with traffic data, available public transportation and charging locations included), with handlebar vibrations letting the rider know when and where to turn and automatically activating turn signals. The bike can sense and alert the rider to other vehicles on the roadway. Pedal assist is based on heart rate, allowing the rider to arrive at their destination comfortably. See the bikes in the video above, and read more from Ford.

Pickup prices rising at 2x industry average

We've said it before, but bears repeating: Pickup trucks are the financial engines of America's automakers. Good thing, then, that the segment is in rude health - in fact, Automotive News is suggesting that pickup truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, even though the segment's volume is still significantly down from where it was before the bottom fell out of the US economy. That's because per-unit profits on full-size trucks are skyrocketing, outpacing the industry's average price increases by more than double since 2005. According to data from Edmunds, the average transaction price of a full-size pickup is now $39,915 - a heady increase over the $31,059 average price in 2005 - a gain of over 8 percent after inflation is factored in.
Just how important are trucks to automakers' bottom lines? Automotive News quotes a Morgan Stanley analyst as saying the Ford F-Series is responsible for 90 percent of the company's 2012 profits, and General Motors isn't far behind, with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra twins chipping in about two-thirds of the automaker's earnings.
Automotive News points out that Detroit's automakers now have the money to invest in modernizing their full-size truck offerings, in part because they don't have the same overhead and legacy costs that pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Certainly, the pickup segment has seen a lot of innovations as of late, including turbocharged V6s, coil-spring rear suspensions and active aero. Those improvements in important areas like fuel economy and ride comfort have given existing pickup buyers new reasons to upgrade. In addition, automakers are piling on the tech and luxury goodies, creating more and more high-content, high-profit models like the Ford F-150 King Ranch, Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn and Chevrolet Silverado High Country (shown).