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Ford GT heading back to Le Mans [w/video]

Ford is set to return to endurance sports car racing, and return in a big way. Announced this morning at Le Mans, the Blue Oval will be entering a version of the new Ford GT in endurance racing series on both sides of the Atlantic. The highly accomplished Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team will field the Ford GT next season in the LM GTE Pro class in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and in the United SportsCar Championship, culminating in a four-car entry at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. That will mark the 50th anniversary of Ford's landmark victory at Le Mans in 1966. The pivotal, dominant one-two-three finish lead to a further three back-to-back wins with the legendary GT40 - the historic progenitor of the new GT revealed in Detroit earlier this year. Ford isn't saying much about the technical specs underpinning the new competition-spec GT developed with Multimatic, but it's expected to follow closely along the lines of the road-going supercar we've already seen. That includes the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 developed in conjunction with Roush Yates and which has already proven a winner in Daytona Prototypes. We also know that the crazy diffuser you see here will be part of 2016's regulations. Look for the new Ford GT racer to mark its debut in January in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. In the meantime, you can scope it out in the high-resolution image gallery above, the video below and the press release at bottom. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Ford Returning to Le Mans in 2016 with All-New Ford GT, Marking 50th Anniversary of 1966 Victory - Ford returns to Le Mans in 2016 with the all-new Ford GT supercar to compete in LM GTE Pro class, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ford's 1966 overall victory - All-new Ford factory program to compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with a two-team, four-car effort – operated by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates - Ford GT is company's showcase for aerodynamics and lightweight carbon fibre construction, along with new twin-turbocharged Ford EcoBoost V6 – most powerful EcoBoost production engine ever LE MANS, France, June 12, 2015 – Ford announced today it is returning to one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world with its new Ford GT race car, based on the all-new ultra-high-performance supercar that goes on sale next year.

2015 Ford F-150 specs revealed, EcoBoost 2.7L to make 325 hp and 375 lb-ft [w/video]

Our new man Greg Migliore is in attendance at a Ford media event at the Blue Oval's Dearborn, MI headquarters today, and he's reported in with a handful of the 2015 F-150 stats that we've been dying to know. Ford is slow-playing the news release here, but we can still offer up some interesting output and performance figures after half-year of waiting.
We have all be quite aware that Ford's shift to aluminum construction would save a lot of weight for F-150 models, and the results we're hearing now are duly impressive. For instance: in Super Crew trim, a 2015 F-150 is a whopping 732-pounds lighter than was its closest 2014-model-year equivalent. That's like hauling three middle-aged dudes to your bowling alley's league night for free. Polish your balls, guys.
Ford isn't willing to offer up any actual curb weights just yet, but if we take that 732-pound loss and extrapolate with the 5,128-pound curb weight of the 2014 F-150 Super Crew with the 3.7-liter V6, we can guesstimate that 2015 models will measure out in the 4,400-pound range. That's impressive.

Ford recalls 434k vehicles for several unrelated issues

It seems that the hard winter in much of the country has been as rough on some Fords as it has on many people. The Blue Oval is recalling roughly 434,000 vehicles in two separate recalls, and one of them partially caused by the salt used to melt the snow on roads.
The first recall covers 385,750 2001-2004 Escape models in the Midwest, Northeast and Canada because a subframe could rust and eventually fail. This is partially due to the road salt used in those areas, and about 349,000 of the affected vehicles are in the US. To remedy the problem, dealers are installing a reinforcement cross brace on the frame to strengthen them. There has been one crash caused by the failure but no injuries. According to The Detroit News, this is not the first rust-related recall for Ford. It estimates the company has repaired over two million vehicles since 2010 for problems on vehicles related to the iron oxide, including the rear wheel wells of the Freestar minivan.
The second recall covers 48,950 2013-2014 Ford Fusion, Escape, C-MAX and Lincoln MKZ models because welds in their seatbacks don't meet National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standards. The fault affects the front seats, and the sub-standard welds joining the setback to the recliner could increase the chance on injury. There have been no reported injuries or accidents caused by the problem, but there are 42,972 affected vehicles in the US and 4,744 in Canada.