2013 Ford Escape Sel on 2040-cars

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Toyo Tires will bring another wild catalog of rides to SEMA

Toyo Tires carts all kinds of toys to SEMA every year, the rubber company planning another 30 or so automotive exhibits this year in two locations. One of them, the Baja 911, comes with a pedigree not usually associated with the bewildering wares hawked at the Las Vegas show. TJ Russell was once lead fabricator for Singer Vehicle Design, now he's the head of Russell Built Fabrication in Sun Valley, CA. Sticking with the marque he knows well, Russell started with a 1991 Porsche Carrera 4 cabriolet, fitted the interior with a full roll cage, then built a hardtop around it to design a desert runner channeling the old Rothmans safari 911s. Underneath that bodywork lives a box-plate trailing arm suspension with 12 inches of travel, working 15-inch Fifteen52 FIA-approved Gravel wheels and 30-inch Toyo Open Country A/T II tires. Power comes from a purpose-built 3.8-liter air-cooled flat-six with about 350 horsepower — 100 hp more than stock — in a car that weighs 400 pounds less than the original. Oh, and as documented on Instagram with the tagline "All race outside, all business inside," the interior's full of quilted, cross-stitched leather, and Toyo says Russell's going to do a low-volume run of the Baja 911 starting early next year. ruffian-ford-mustang-sema-01 View 10 Photos Chris Ashton built a 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback called the Ruffian Mustang, inspired by the Trans Am Racing Series. The exterior changes are more subtle than one might think – the chin spoiler, hood scoop, and side mirrors are barely exaggerated versions of those on the original car, the intake vents astride the front lights and the steel bumpers teleported from 1970. Changes outside include de-chromed and flush-mounted glass, vented hood, front fenders that are dropped an inch, rear fender vents, dual side-exit pipes, and gargantuan fender flares over staggered Signature One wheels and Toyo Proxes 888 tires. The interior's fitted with a roll cage and race car workings. In spite of the Boss 427 badging, the engine's a 625-hp Chevrolet LS3 V8. button-built-ferrari-355-sema-01 View 13 Photos The Button Built Ferrari BB355TT picks up from last year's stanced BB328GTS widebody that gave many Internet denizens heart attacks. Laid up on a 1999 355 Berlinetta, the BB version appends a widebody kit designed Mitchell Button, rendered by Khyzyl Saleem and drenched in Azzuro la Plata, a color from Ferrari's Scagliette palette first used on a 1967 275GTB Le Mans racer.

UK Mustang buyers want big American V8s

Just before Ford ended its marketing partnership with Europe's UEFA Champions League soccer tournament last year, it showcased the 2015 Mustang during the event final in Lisbon, Portugal. Ford put 500 Mustangs up for pre-order to viewers in 20 countries, 130 of them right-hand-drive models for the UK. It didn't take 30 seconds for every car to be snapped up because almost 10,000 people tried to buy them. That's how hungry Europe is for the Mustang. That helps explain why orders for the pony car in the UK already number almost 2,000 units, which ties up production past July 2016. Ford UK released a few details on the order habits of that kingdom united, saying 80 percent have taken the coupe over the convertible, and 70 percent have gone for the 410-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8. That compares to 52 percent of US buyers taking the V8 instead of the V6 or the 2.3-liter Ecoboost. The UK V8 output number is 25 ponies down on our US model because of the switch to right-hand drive, the steering assembly location requiring a new exhaust manifold. The 2.3-liter EcoBoost is the only other engine offered there. The row-your-own set nips the slushbox crowd, 55 percent of buyers choosing the six-speed manual, and Race Red is the most popular of the ten available colors with 23-percent uptake. The graphic above breaks it all down, the press release below spells it all out. Related Video FIRST UK DELIVERIES IN SIGHT AS FORD MUSTANG ORDERS ACCELERATE TOWARDS 2,000 BRENTWOOD, Essex, UK, August 24, 2015 – Almost 2,000 Ford Mustang orders have been taken in the UK since January as the first right-hand drive cars begin to roll off the production line at Flatrock Assembly Plant in Michigan, North America. The Ford Mustang – introduced in the U.S. more than 50 years ago – has excited fans across the globe, but has never been available to order with right-hand drive, until now. The first UK customer deliveries are expected from November, with extra supply secured to meet the greater than expected demand. So far, 80 per cent of UK customers have opted for the fastback body style over the convertible and 70 per cent have specified the 416PS 5.0-litre V8 engine over the more fuel-efficient 317PS 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine. Mustang's six-speed manual transmission is the slightly more popular choice (55 per cent) over the six-speed automatic, which comes with sporty SelectShift paddle control.

Ford dominates most-stolen SUV list

The Ford Escape leads the NICB's list with 1,421 examples stolen.
If you drive a recent Ford SUV or crossover, you may want to keep a watchful eye out for thieves - especially if you live in the New York metro area or in Detroit. A new study from the National Insurance Crime Bureau has named three Ford models as the most likely vehicles in their genre to be stolen, with CUVs in general being especially attractive to bandits.