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1969 Ford Talladega GPT Special is a SEMA showstopper

Rad Rides by Troy has unleashed upon the SEMA crowds this custom 1969 Ford Torino Talladega GT Special, and it's a beauty. The car calls to mind the classic Holman Moody stock cars that circled NASCAR tracks in the late 1960's, driven by the likes of Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney and David Pearson, who won the Grand National title in both 1968 and '69 in a Ford Torino.
Even though it has plenty of stock-car influence, there's nothing retro about the car's design or powertrain, other than the fact that the engine is based on a Ford Boss 429 block. Fuel injection, aftermarket aluminum heads and a high-tech custom computer system combine to send 750 reliable ponies to the rear wheels through a Tremec five-speed manual transmission. Brakes measure 14-inches all around, with six-piston Wilwood calipers up front and four-piston units out back.
There's custom bodywork abound, painted in a two-tone Tennessee Whiskey Gold and Daytona Sand finish. Check out all the amazing details in the image gallery below, and scroll down to read all about it in designer Troy Trepanier's own words.

This is the 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum, full of Nirvana

We knew two the most important things about the Platinum trim on the Ford Explorer when the configurator arrived online at the end of last year: it starts at $52,600 and comes standard with just about everything. In advance of the Explorer Platinum arriving at dealerships in September, Ford's dropped details on the superluxe crossover and what its chief designer calls "the most upscale, high-quality interior we've ever offered on a Ford vehicle in North America." So-called Nirvana leather goes everywhere, on the micro-perforated front seats, the rear seats, the instrument panel, armrests, door bolsters, and upper door trim. It looks like it can be had in two colors, either Soft Ceramic or Ebony, with a headliner colored Anthracite that goes with a matching, fabric-wrapped A-pillar. Elsewhere, there's genuine aluminum and ash wood, a stitched-leather-and-wood steering wheel with a brushed aluminum Ford logo, and a gauge cluster with a 10-inch digital display flanked by analog dials. View 16 Photos Another first is the 500-watt Sony stereo, the first time that brand has incorporated its premium home audio technology into a vehicle. Twelve speakers in ten locations are said to be able to recreate the sound from several concert halls around the world, and to stage instruments and voices around the cabin the same way you'd hear them at home. The Explorer Platinum is less ostentatious outside, with LED headlights, silver skidplates front and back, and special 20-inch wheels denoting the Platinum from other trims. The 365-horsepower, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is standard, along with Terrain Management, active park assist that works for both perpendicular and parallel spots, lane keeping assistance, and rain-sensing wipers. The two press releases below go over all the goodies.

American automakers fall in latest Fortune 500 rankings

Not that it means anything beyond bragging rights, but if you're fixated on the positions of domestic automakers on the annual Fortune 500 list, both General Motors and Ford are still on it but they've slipped a couple of notches. The list ranks American companies and they're ordered solely by revenue. GM, fifth last year, came in seventh, while Ford fell from ninth to tenth even though both companies saw small gains in annual revenue.
GM's $152.3 billion in revenue was less than a third of that of the first company on the list: Wal-Mart, which regained the title from Exxon Mobil. Berkshire Hathaway and Apple are the firms that moved GM down. Ford, displaced by energy company Valero, had $134.3 billion in revenue.
On a side note, profitability isn't a factor, but both GM and Ford were down in this year's list compared to last year's: GM declined from $9.2 billion to $6.2 billion, Ford fell from $20.2 billion to $5.6 billion. If profits were included, Exxon Mobil would probably still be king: although the energy company made almost $20 billion less in revenue than Wal-Mart's $469.2 billion, it posted $44.9 billion in profit compared to Wal-Mart's $17 billion.