1985 Mustang Lx 5.0 Coupe 5 Speed Manual Rebuilt 306 Tremec 3550 Gt Cobra 302 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford Police Interceptors win acceleration war against Dodge, Chevy

Just last month, Ford announced its first-ever non-pursuit-rated version of the Police Interceptor sedan for agencies looking to maximize fuel economy, but that doesn't mean that Ford is giving up on chasing down the bad guys. While the Dodge Charger can lay claim to the fastest lap time at the Grattan Raceway test facility held by the Michigan State Police, the results are now in for the Police Vehicle Evaluation acceleration tests. And Ford's Police Interceptor duo (sedan and utility) came out on top.
In the acceleration tests, Ford says that the Taurus-based PI Sedan with the newly available 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 was the quickest among prospective police cars in both 0-60 and 0-100 mile per hour times. The sedan posted a 0-60 time of 5.66 seconds with all-wheel drive and 5.71 seconds with front-wheel drive, besting V8-powered competitors like the Chevy Caprice and Dodge Charger by more than 0.3 seconds. These rivals close the gap on the AWD sedan in the 0-100 test with the Ford taking 13.5 seconds compared to the Chevy's time of 14.35 and the Dodge's time of 14.7.
As for utility vehicles, the Explorer-based PI Utility, which accounts for 60 percent of Ford's police vehicle sales, essentially went head-to-head with the V8-powered Chevy Tahoe with similar results. Equipped with the new EcoBoost engine option, this big SUV hit 60 mph in just 6.28 seconds and 100 mph in 15.51 seconds compared to times of 8.22 seconds and 21.95 seconds, respectively, for the Tahoe. Other important tests in the PVE include braking and top speed, but while no automakers have stepped up to boast about their numbers in either of these categories, Ford's images show that the V8 Caprice had the highest top speed of the cars at 155 mph while the Tahoe's 139-mph speed made it the fastest utility vehicle.

Ford finds flex-fuel engine design plays big role in emissions output

How bad is ethanol for your engine? There's been a lot of debate on this issue as the US considers upping the biofuel content in the national gasoline supply from 10 percent (E10) to 15 percent (E15). The ethanol industry and some scientists say higher ethanol blends show no "meaningful differences" in new engines while the oil industry says ethanol creates health risks. Researchers working at the Ford Research and Innovation Center decided to take a closer look at how a wide range of gas-ethanol blends - E0, E10, E20, E30, E40, E55 and E80 - affected the emissions coming out of a flex-fuel 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis. To see the full report, printed in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, requires payment, but there is an abstract and Green Car Congress has some more details. The gist is that, "with increasing ethanol content in the fuel, the tailpipe emissions of ethanol, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, methane, and ammonia increased." At least NOx and NMHC emissions decreased. The researchers say that the effects are due to the fuel and "are expected for all FFVs," but that the way that a manufacturer calibrates the engine will affect NOx, THC, and NMOG emissions. It's this last bit that's important, since the researchers found, "Higher ethanol content in gasoline affects several fundamental fuel properties that can impact emissions. ... These changes can have positive or negative effects that can depend on engine design, hardware, and control strategy. In addition to direct emissions impacts, higher ethanol content fuel can also provide more efficient combustion and overall engine operation under part-load conditions and under knock-limited higher-load conditions." So, as we head towards more ethanol in our fuel supply (maybe), manufacturers are going to need to learn how to burn it most efficiently.

Updated Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator caught in new spy photos

Face-lifted Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator prototypes were spotted in the wild Monday wearing fairly extensive camouflage disguising updated bodywork for the 2022 model year. Ford's two body-on-frame offerings (BOFferings? Nope. Pretend that didn't happen.) are both due for a nip and tuck, and with GM's fresh slate of full-sizers now available, the timing couldn't be more perfect.  There's not much we can discern from this Navigator prototype. The camo does a good job of masking whatever Lincoln has in store for the nose, but the tailgate has some discernible updates, including a significantly more pronounced recess for the license plate that also appears to be mounted higher on the hatch. This would likely indicate that the rear lighting scheme is getting an overhaul, as there doesn't appear to be enough room between the lower edge of the glass and the plate for the current scheme to be preserved.  The Expedition, on the other hand, has quite a bit going on. For starters, this prototype is not sporting the chrome-and-polish look we've come to associate with these often-blingy SUVs. Instead, we see a set of Goodyear Wrangler all-terrains on what appear to be 18" wheels, which are positively dwarfed by the turbine-style wheels on the Lincolns. Leaning even harder into the off-road theme, this prototype is not wearing the scalloped front air dam seen on other Expeditions. While it may have been removed for testing purposes, its absence (or replacement) would certainly do wonders for the big SUV's approach angle. Elsewhere, we can see what appear to be a new set of tail lights, and it would be safe to assume based on the camo that we'll see new front and rear bumper treatments.  We can also see a bit of the Expedition's interior, and there are quite a few things to note on this front. For starters, the prominent, vertically oriented infotainment screen takes after the Mustang Mach-E's unit. This is significant not only on spec, but also because it signals that the Expedition's interior will be departing more significantly from that of the F-150.  Related Video: