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Obama to herald auto industry turnaround from idled Ford plant

President Barack Obama will tout the recent successes of the American auto industry in a speech on Wednesday. This would be a fine and dandy plan aside from two small hitches. First, the president is visiting Ford's Wayne, MI factory, which is rather strange considering the government bailed out the company's local rivals, Chrysler and General Motors. Even more worrying, considering the topic of the speech, is that the Wayne facility has been idled due to a lack of demand. According to The Detroit News, the White House said the speech will focus on "the workers in the resurgent American automotive and manufacturing sector now that the auto rescue has been completed and the decision to save the auto industry and the over one million jobs that went with it." Wayne Assembly employs some 5,100 Michiganders when its lines are up and running, but as gas prices have plunged below $2 per gallon in some areas over the past month, its fuel-efficient products – the Focus and C-Max – have seen their sales plummet, as well. In December, the Focus' year-over-year sales were down 4.4 percent, while the C-Max dipped 3.3 percent, Ford told The News. Lagging sales for the two compacts aren't a new thing, though. Focus sales in all of 2014 were down 6.4 percent, while the C-Max struggled with a 21.6-percent drop last year. According to The News, Ford made the decision to idle the factory before being approached by the White House. Considering that, we wonder what the team at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was thinking when it selected the Ford facility, and what impact the location will have on the president's message. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Mira Oberman / AFP / Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Ford

How Ford made its 2015 Ford Mustang safer for toupee wearers [w/video]

Ford is ready to tell the story of its 2015 Mustang Convertible, the can't-miss bits being the easier, quicker and quieter roof operation, a more robust roof build for a coupe-like cabin noise, more trunk space, better visibility and reduced in-cabin buffeting. The top release system has been completely redesigned with a single, center-mounted latch on the windshield frame instead of the dual latches of before. The driver can now release the roof without having to lean over into the passenger space, after which the top goes down fully automatically with the press of a button. Ford doesn't say how long it takes to stow, but it's apparently done in half as much time as before, so figure around 8 seconds.
The roof uses a five-bow structure, with the fabric outer and full inner headliner sandwiching ten millimeters of insulation. Detailing work on the top has eliminated "unsightly folds" in the corners when the roof is up and made it more compact when down; its Z-fold assembly is 6.7 inches lower than before at its highest point when put down. Ford says the new electric drive internals make less noise when in operation, and the fully-finished droptop look is achieved with snap-in caps that flank the rear seating and stow in the trunk when not in use (the outgoing Mustang's top was higher and the front when folded and always looked like it was catching air and creating drag).
The compact roof and newly independent rear suspension setup in back means liberated trunk space, 11.4 cubic feet ready to swallow golf bags and tourist swag. You can read a lot more about it in the press release below, check it out in the short video of running footage and learn about the aerodynamic improvements made to the entire Mustang lineup that decrease drag and increase fuel economy.

2022 VW GTI, Golf R and Ford's electric future | Autoblog Podcast #680

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They start off discussing their drives in the 2022 VW GTI and 2022 VW Golf R. They then discuss the news, which is jam-packed this week. The Mazda6 and CX-3 are going away, and Alfa is reportedly mulling a new GTV and Duetto. Plus, Ford teased an electric Bronco, confirmed a future electric Explorer and fully revealed the work truck version of the 2022 F-150 Lightning named the "Pro." They end by turning to the mailbag and responding to another listener's Spend My Money question. Autoblog Podcast #680 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2022 Volkswagen GTI 2022 Volkswagen Golf R News Mazda6 and Mazda CX-3 officially discontinued for 2022 Alfa Romeo's new CEO sees room to bring back the GTV and the Duetto Electric Ford Bronco could be coming, electric Explorer is confirmed F-150 Lightning Pro revealed as Ford's sub-$40K electric work truck Opinion We need to legalize adaptive driving beams already, for safety's sake Mailbag Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video: Podcasts Alfa Romeo Ford Mazda Porsche Volkswagen Hatchback Performance