1997 Ford Ranger Xlt Standard Cab Pickup 2-door 2.3l on 2040-cars

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Exceptionally rare '65 Ford GT40 Roadster prototype up for auction

Think of mid-engined supercars and your mind is bound to gravitate towards Europe, but the United States has been known to make a handful from time to time - exceptional vehicles from the likes of Vector, SSC, Mosler, Hennessey, and Saleen. But long before any of those came around, Ford famously became obsessed with beating Ferrari at its own game, leading to the development of the iconic GT40.
The story is well known, sending Ford to the checkered flag at Le Mans four times in a row in the late 1960s. Ford and Shelby also built over 100 for public consumption, but just four of them were roadsters. Of those only one remains in original condition, and now that exceedingly rare example going up for auction.
Consigned to RM Auctions for its mid-August sale during Pebble Beach weekend in Monterey, California, this 1965 model is the first GT40 Roadster built. It was used as a development and demonstration vehicle for Ford and Shelby. Carroll Shelby himself drove Henry Ford II in this very car during one of many test and demo events, this time held for Ford's board of directors in Los Angeles.

Road tripping in a Ford Fusion Energi PHEV

Following my earlier Chevy Cruze Diesel trip and recent press-launch drives of Volvo XC90 and Hyundai Sonata plug-in hybrids, an opportunity arose for another road trip. I wanted to do it in a plug-in hybrid, primarily to learn whether its higher price vs. gas-powered and conventional hybrid versions of the same vehicle – is justified by its capability to operate as an EV, burning no fuel at all with its engine off, at least for short distances. I've been skeptical of plug-in parallel hybrids. As I've written before, I've been skeptical of plug-in parallel hybrids because they are generally good for very limited electric miles (typically 10-15, depending on driving style, terrain, and temperature) at fairly leisurely speeds before their engines kick in. But I've recently spent time in two new examples – the 2016 Volvo XC90 T8 and the 2016 Hyundai Sonata PHEV – that offer more EV range, mostly because they tote bigger (thus more expensive) batteries. Both promise 24-25 miles of battery-only range, and the latter can recharge on the fly. Unfortunately, neither was yet available for my July road trip, nor was a Honda or Toyota plug-in, but Ford anted up a Fusion Energi borrowed from its Marketing department. "The state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery and electric motor combined with the gasoline engine offers maximum efficiency," says Ford about it. "This strategy offers the best of both worlds, providing the 2016 Ford Fusion Energi the capability to be driven as an electric vehicle for short trips and as a hybrid for longer trips." I've been a fan of Ford's Fusion since the first-generation debuted a decade back, and the handsome Gen II version launched for 2013 has been Detroit's best answer to the Honda Accord/Toyota Camry/Nissan Altima Japanese juggernaut in the popular US mid-size sedan segment. Beyond its leading-man looks, it offers an array of highly-functional features (some exclusive), a choice of three gas engines (a base 2.5-liter four and 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter direct-injected, turbocharged EcoBoost fours) and both parallel and plug-in parallel hybrid versions. The regular hybrid originally boasted 47 mpg before Ford adjusted it to be more realistic. The gas engines drive through a 6-speed automatic transmission (a 6-speed manual is standard with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost), the hybrids through an electric continuously variable transaxle (eCVT), and all-wheel drive is available with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four.

Ward's calls out Ford's EcoBoost engines for their crummy fuel economy

With a name like EcoBoost, one might expect Ford's line of turbocharged engines to be somewhat, um, economical. In other words, replacing displacement with a turbocharger is supposed to deliver better fuel economy. Based on the experience time and time again of multiple Autoblog editors, your author included, this is simply not the case. Now, Ward's is calling out the cruddy efficiency numbers of Ford's EcoBoost line of engines. The column dresses down not just the new 2.7-liter V6 of the 2015 F-150, but also the 2.3-liter of the Mustang, the 1.5-liter from the Fusion and the 3.2-liter PowerStroke diesel found in the Transit, while also explaining why just one Ford engine was named to Ward's 10 Best Engines list. In its testing of all four engines, Ward's editors never came even remotely close to matching the 2.7's claimed 26 miles per gallon (for two-wheel-drive models), with the truck's computer indicating between 17.6 and 19 mpg over a 250-odd-mile run. Calculating the fuel economy manually revealed an even more depressing 15.6 miles per gallon. Criticisms with the 2.3-liter four-cylinder focused on its strange soundtrack, although it was business as usual with the 1.5-liter and 3.2 diesel, with Ward's criticizing the fuel economy of both engines. The 1.5, which Ward's claims is sold as a hybrid alternative, failed to get over 30 miles per gallon, while the five-cylinder turbodiesel's figures couldn't stand up against FCA's 3.0-liter EcoDiesel. The entire column really is worth a read, especially if you were disappointed in Ward's decision to only salute Ford's three-cylinder EcoBoost while shunning the rest of the company's new turbocharged mills.