1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 on 2040-cars

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2015 Ford F-150 brings big aluminum to the Rust Belt [w/video]

Just when you thought you'd figured the fullsize truck market out, Ford goes and throws us a massive curve ball with the 2015 F-150. The big headline news aren't tow or payload ratings, though we're sure those figures will be fully competitive if not class leading, they haven't yet been announced. Instead, the big headline news Ford is highlighting are the truck's new aluminum-intensive structure and 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 engine.
And with good reason - all that aluminum means that Ford was able to cut a massive 700 pounds from the truck's curb weight. That is going to cause all sorts of great things to happen to the 2015 F-150's driving dynamics, performance and fuel efficiency, not to mention its ability to haul heavy loads. For those customers worried about the strength of aluminum versus the more conventional steel, Ford is quick to point out that many military vehicles, such as the HMMWV and Bradley Fighting Vehicle, use a very similar sort of aluminum alloy in their construction.
It's also worth mentioning that the backbone, a fully boxed ladder frame, is hewn from high-strength steel. Ford says "2015 Ford F-150 is the strongest and most durable F-150 ever," for what it's worth, claiming that "torture tested" in labs and in the real world for more than 10 million miles. What's more, the truck, in disguised form, completed all 883 miles of the Baja 1000.

Why the Detroit Three should merge their engine operations

GM and FCA should consider a smaller merger that could still save them billions of dollars, and maybe lure Ford into the deal. Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne would love to see his company merge with General Motors. But GM's board of directors essentially told him to go pound sand. So now what? The boardroom battle started when Mr. Marchionne published a study called Confessions of a Capital Junkie. In it, Sergio detailed the amount of capital the auto industry wastes every year with duplicate investments. And he documented how other industries provide superior returns. He's right, of course. Other industries earn much better returns on their invested capital. And there's a danger that one day the investors will turn their backs on the auto industry and look to other business sectors where they can make more money. But even with powerful arguments Marchionne couldn't convince GM to take over FCA. And while that fight may now be over, GM and FCA should consider a smaller merger that could still save them billions of dollars, and maybe lure Ford into the deal. No doubt this suggestion will send purists into convulsions, but so be it. The Detroit Three should seriously consider merging their powertrain operations, even though that's a sacrilege in an industry that still considers the engine the "heart" of the car. These automakers have built up considerable brand equity in some of their engines. But the vast majority of American car buyers could not tell you what kind of engine they have under the hood. More importantly, most car buyers really don't care what kind of engine or transmission they have as long as it's reliable, durable, and efficient. Combining that production would give the Detroit Three the kind of scale that no one else could match. There are exceptions, of course. Hardcore enthusiasts care deeply about the powertrains in their cars. So do most diesel, plug-in, and hybrid owners. But all of them account for maybe 15 percent of the car-buying public. So that means about 85 percent of car buyers don't care where their engine and transmission came from, just as they don't know or care who supplied the steel, who made the headlamps, or who delivered the seats on a just-in-time basis. It's immaterial to them. And that presents the automakers with an opportunity to achieve a staggering level of manufacturing scale. In the NAFTA market alone, GM, Ford, and FCA will build nearly nine million engines and nine million transmissions this year.

2016 Ford Shelby GT350 First Drive [w/video]

Red meat. America's signature protein has necessarily violent origins. Slaughter, butcher, open flames and iron – you don't need a recently lapsed vegetarian (me) to lay it out for you. Of course the blood and the cuts are all part of the appeal, a reminder with every forkful of beef that we still like to be visceral creatures in an increasingly sanitized world. There is much in the makeup of Ford's Mustang that matches these carnivorous tendencies. Not only does it offer a hint of violence with potential for speed every time the engine kicks over, it's also the motive meal we Americans salivate over more than any other. Ford's pony car is among the most popular car searches online, year in and year out, and truly special versions stress servers and storm forum spaces when they hit the streets. I'll be honest, I've been just as frothed and drooling to see and drive the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 as the rest of you netziens, too. Engineers have hacked and carved away at the stock car, to make a wicked V8 morsel that's bloody-minded and racetrack ready. The flat-plane crank V8 revs to the moon and sounds like a supercar when spinning hard. The palpitating heart of newest Shelby is a 5.2-liter, naturally aspirated V8 engine that bucks the current, popular trends for performance cars, while also breaking new ground for Ford. Fast cars from all over the world have made impressive numbers using turbos and superchargers in recent years, but Ford wanted revs to make its racing machine go right. So the company tossed out the forced-induction formula, and created a flat-plane crank V8 that revs to the moon and sounds like a supercar when spinning hard. The light, strong crankshaft reduces inertial mass in the engine and allows for a mind-blowing redline at 8,250 rpm. Perhaps more importantly it makes for beautiful rising wave of available torque as one digs deeper into the throttle, which feels like fast magic when doing something like climbing the hill to The Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. At 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque, some 102-hp per liter, there's enough power for staggering acceleration whenever you ask for it. Providing, of course, you keep the pot boiling at three grand or more. To call the power delivery below that mark "weak" would be ludicrous, but it does feel more inert there than the cars in the turbo-quick jet set that's so popular these days.