2004 Ford Excursion Hearse Truck 4 X 4 White Mint on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell revisit bitter F1 rivalry in... Ford Fusion campaign?

Formula One World Champions Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell haven't been on good terms since the 1986 season, when Piquet joined Mansell at the Williams team and Piquet spent the year privately fuming about not being granted the status of number one driver. Things only got worse from there - even though Piquet won the title the following year with Williams, still partnered with Mansell, the fuming was a lot less private.
They're back together after a 25-year silence, in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil to drive the new Ford Fusion. Called "Fusion Grand Prix," both men get the new Ford sedan, prepped to their liking - but still street legal, we assume - for a race to decide... well, who is faster behind the wheel of a Fusion.
There will be four episodes, with the first two having already aired. The third episode comes on January 29 and the race happens February 5. You'll find two video episodes and a press release below, but note - because it's a campaign for Ford Brazil, Piquet's dialogue in the vids isn't translated, so hit the Closed Captioning button to hear his side of the smack talking.

Chicago Auto Show: The really big reveals from shows past

The 2024 Chicago Auto Show may seem like a shell of its former self, but it still holds the title of the largest consumer auto show in the United States. It didn't get that reputation simply by being efficiently produced or convenient for locals desperate for something to do in February — it earned it over decades of breaking automotive news and powerhouse reveals, eventually earning an informal designation as America's truck show.  2024 may be a down year for Chicago, but let's not forget all of the great things that have come out of it, historically. Here's a look at some of our staff favorites. Bet you didn't know about a few of these cars that were first revealed in the Windy City.    2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8  I didn't just pick this one as a former Challenger owner, but instead to illustrate just how many cool Chicago debuts we take for granted. Chrysler often chose its home turf to debut new cars, so the few times its unveilings happened elsewhere tend to stick in our minds. The first Challenger SRT-8 was kind of garbage, if we're being honest. I mean, who buys a race-bred, V8-powered muscle car without a limited-slip differential? But the SRT-8 formula evolved over time into something truly special, and what we saw in Chicago was essentially the early version of the Scat Pack, which was ultimately very successful for Dodge. And who would have thought we'd be here, 15 years later, still talking about that debut? And still loving these big Mopars, flaws and all. — Associate Editor Byron Hurd SHO time in Chicago IÂ’ll always have a certain fondness for the return of the Taurus SHO at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Chicago has always leaned truck and van heavy for press reveals, but every now and then, as this list illustrates, something spicy would appear. The return of the SHO as a high-powered successor to the original that ran from 1989-1999 gave enthusiasts hope for FordÂ’s performance business, especially for sedans. With a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 packing 365 hp, all-wheel drive and five-spoke wheels, the SHO was a nice upgrade from the lower-rung Taurus models. It was a bit more sedate than the original SHOÂ’s Yamaha-sourced V6 that teamed with a five-speed manual transmission, but still a worthy response to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and later the Chevy SS. The SHO — Super High Output — begat things like the Fusion ST and gave Ford solid four-door performance for the rest of the decade.

Ford continues autonomous tech development

Some of the autonomous-driving features that Ford offers in Europe will come to the United States as soon as next year. The Blue Oval will add the pre-collision assist and pedestrian detection technologies that it has already installed on the Mondeo sedan in Europe. Those features, part of what Ford calls the "second of three phases" in driverless technology, will be brought stateside in a yet-to-be disclosed model, while most of Ford's US vehicle line will have the features by 2019. It has been testing an automated Fusion for more than a year. Ford is looking to build upon the autonomous-vehicle technology that it already has on models such as the Fusion, Taurus, F-150, Edge, and Explorer. Those amenities include active-park assist, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring. Ford said early last year that it was working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University to develop algorithms for use in driverless cars. The effort is part of Ford's so-called "Blueprint for Mobility" geared toward autonomous driving features that are being developed over the next decade. FORD COLLABORATES WITH SILICON VALLEY INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES, 3D PRINTING, WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY Autonomous vehicle technology is another step closer to production at Ford – moving from a research effort to an advanced engineering project Ford announces it is working with Silicon Valley-based 3D-printing firm Carbon3D to quickly produce high-quality automotive-grade parts Ford kicks off wearable technology development with MyFord® Mobile app extension – coming soon to smartwatches including Android Wear – providing customers the ability to check vehicle driving range, battery charge and more for their plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle quickly from their wrists Autonomous vehicle technology is another step closer to production at Ford, moving from a research effort to an advanced engineering program, the company announced today. Ford has appointed a director of autonomous vehicle development – 29-year Ford veteran Randy Visintainer – and created a global team to work on the advanced program. Ford Research and Innovation Center Palo Alto is working on the global Ford team to deliver the Ford Smart Mobility plan, which aims to take the company to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and big data.