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2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility is ready to tackle Chicago's mean streets

As is the way of things, when a civilian vehicle gets a significant update, it's only a matter of time before its police counterpart gets similar upgrades. In the case of the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, it's debuting with the same visual updates as the Explorer on which it's based, at this week's 2015 Chicago Auto Show. Like the civilian-market Explorer, the PI Utility is available with a standard 3.7-liter V6 that pumps out 304 horsepower and 279 pound-feet of torque. The higher-caliber option is the tried and true 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, complete with 365 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. The standard Explorer's optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, meanwhile, won't be offered to the boys in blue. Regardless of engine, the Utility enjoys standard all-wheel-drive, as well as a six-speed automatic transmission. The tranny's default setting is primarily for fuel sipping, although if it detects more aggressive inputs – based on brake line pressure, deceleration and lateral acceleration rates – it switches over to Pursuit Mode, offering officers snappier upshifts and more aggressive downshifts. The PI Utility's other cool, new system is called Surveillance Mode. To protect officers from sneak attacks, Surveillance Mode warns them when someone approaches the rear the car, raising all four windows and locking the doors. While Ford says the system has "intermittent fault filter technology" to prevent "erroneous changes in sensor signals," we're betting it won't be long before veteran officers uncover some way to prank rookies with the tech. Beyond these new systems, this is the same Utility that officers know and love, only with a significant facelift reminiscent of what's found on the civilian model, which debuted at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The new grille has a positive impact on cooling performance, Ford claims, while a new headlight setup accommodates the high-beam-based "wig-wag" lights. The new look has also allowed Ford to offer police departments additional customized lighting options, for that special touch. Inside, a new steering wheel and center console should make officers' lives easier, as will the new (and requested) liftgate release button, found in the overhead console. Check out the first images of the new Police Interceptor Utility (and, sporty drivers, memorize that headlight pattern) up above. Be sure to check back for additional live images once we check out Ford's latest cop car, at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show.

Shelby Super Snake returns with 750+ horsepower

If you've been waiting for the ne plus ultra of new Mustangs, we're glad to report that the wait is over, friend. Feast your eyes on the new Shelby Super Snake. Based on the 2015 Ford Mustang GT, the new Super Snake is being offered with over 750 horsepower thanks in no small part to a Ford Performance supercharger. That's even more than the 605 hp in the last Super Snake released in 2007, the new 627-hp Shelby GT, or the 500-plus-hp Shelby GT350 you can order from the factory. Shelby American's latest also packs upgraded Ford Performance suspension components, a Borla exhaust, 20-inch wheels from Weld Racing and coated in Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber, six-piston Wilwood brakes, and more. Differentiating it visually from lesser pony cars are a carbon-fiber hood and aero kit, blacked-out grille, racing stripes, and special badging inside and out. Inside you'll also find a short-throw shifter and three-gauge instrument pod. The upgrades will set you back $49,995 on top of the price of a donor Mustang GT, and only 300 examples will be built this year. For the first time the Super Snake will be available with either a manual or (heaven forbid) an automatic transmission. Related Video: SHELBY SUPER SNAKE RETURNS WITH 750+ HORSEPOWER MUSCLE CAR BASED ON 2015 FORD MUSTANG GT • The legendary Shelby Super Snake returns for the 2015 Ford Mustang model year • 750+ horsepower option combined with new independent suspension and braking system • The first Super Snake available with an automatic transmission • Production limited to 300 Shelby Super Snakes per model year LAS VEGAS – June 16, 2015 – Shelby American is launching the newest Shelby Mustang to wear the legendary Super Snake badge, which will be based on the 2015 model Ford Mustang GT. With the option of over 750 horsepower, as well as unmatched performance enhancements to the handling, braking and cooling of the Ford Mustang GT, the new Shelby Super Snake continues the lineage of the best-selling and most sought-after Shelby car. Additionally, it will be the first Shelby Super Snake also available with an automatic transmission. There will only be 300 total 2015 model year Shelby Super Snakes built. "When Shelby American introduced the 605 horsepower Super Snake in 2007, the car became an instant sensation," said Joe Conway, CEO of Shelby American and co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International.

Landau yachts: The history of Lincoln's Designer Series

The Lincoln Designer Series was introduced in 1976, at the end of the imposing Mark IV Continental generation. Four big-name fashion designers of the era – all-American country clubber Bill Blass, psychedelic Italian pattern-maestro Emilio Pucci, venerable French jewelry-maker Cartier, and a la mode French fashionista Hubert de Givenchy – were asked to slather their elegance on LincolnÂ’s personal luxury coupe. This experiment was a wild success. According to documents uncovered in the Lincoln archives – with the incomparable guidance of official brand historian Ted Ryan – the Designer series “accounted for more than 27% of Mark IV sales” shortly after its introduction. It was such a runaway hit, that it continued on throughout the even larger Mark V generation (incidentally, the longest coupe ever produced by Ford Motor Company), and didnÂ’t really peter out on these big two-doors until the early 1990s.   But the true history of the series well predates the era of opera windows, crushed velour and wire wheel covers. “If you take a step back even further, when Ford purchased Lincoln in 1922, Edsel Ford was put in charge of the company. But more than that, he helped establish the first design studio at Ford,” said Ryan. The basic Model T didnÂ’t take much design. Lincoln was different. Edsel is famed for his quote. “Father wanted to make the most popular car, I wanted to make the best.” The specific genesis of the Designer Series, however, came along as a result of a long-term personal connection with the marqueÂ’s first chairman. “Edsel Ford had a relationship with Cartier, and correspondence going throughout the 1920s and '30s,” Ryan said. “His personal cards and stationery were always ordered from Cartier.” This enduring link wasnÂ’t formalized until the late 1960s. “I found in product development files, in 1967, that Ford had gone to Cartier for a special 1970 Cartier Continental coupe,” Ryan said. According to internal documents, this package would include unique interior leather/cloth/vinyl surfaces and trim, modified dials, and a Cartier jewelry box, as well as golden plating on the steering wheel ornament, dial face ornaments, keys, C-pillar ornaments, door monograms, and dashboard plaque. “Think of that. A car that never was, that could have been,” Ryan said, wistfully. Some Cartier magic did get glossed on Lincolns in the late 1960s.