2014 Ford F150 on 2040-cars

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1964 Ford GT40 prototype to be auctioned in April

The Ford GT40 owns a firm spot on the list of the greatest American racecars ever made, being the first car from the United States to take an overall win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And now Mecum will auction what it claims is second-oldest GT40 still in existence at its Houston sale on April 12.
The story of the GT40 is fascinating. Henry Ford II attempted to buy Ferrari in the early '60s, but Enzo refused. Ford decided if he couldn't have them, then he would beat the Prancing Horse on the track. Ford went to Carroll Shelby and asked him to spearhead the program. The early cars combined a steel monocoque chassis with Ford's 4.2-liter V8 engine pumping out around 350 horsepower. The first prototype made its public debuted on April 1, 1964, at the New York Auto Show.
Shelby kept building prototypes, including GT/104, which is for sale here. This version featured a lighter steel chassis and was raced at Le Mans in 1964. However, a fire forced it to retire. It was then repainted and had a 4.7-liter (289-cubic-inch) engine fitted. The chassis had its best finish at the 1965 Daytona Continental 2,000 Kilometers where it finished third with Bob Bondurant and Ritchie Ginther behind the wheel. Later that season, it was shipped back to Ford where it was restored and displayed at auto shows until 1971 when the automaker sold it. Since then, it has had many private owners.

Ford's Farley will challenge dealers to cut EV cost to customers by $2,000

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Jim Farley will go to Las Vegas next week to roll the dice on a strategy to convince dealers to cut as much as $2,000 from the cost of delivering an electric vehicle to a customer. Ford has told dealers that one key topic for the meetings will be a discussion of new agreements that would govern how dealers sell Ford's expanding lineup of electric vehicles. Farley told analysts in July that Ford needs to cut $2,000 a vehicle out of selling and distribution costs to be competitive with Tesla Inc and other electric vehicle startups that sell directly to consumers without franchised dealers. About a third of those savings could come from what Farley called a "low inventory model," where customers order a vehicle and Ford ships it to the customer, rather than stocking vehicles on dealer lots for weeks or months. "We think that's about -- worth maybe $600, $700 in our system," Farley told analysts. Tesla can also adjust prices rapidly on its website, and keep most of the gain from a price increase. Ford declined to comment other than to say “we are excited to meet next week with our North America dealers to grow and win together.” Dealers said they expect Ford to outline minimum investments for charging stations and other equipment to support electric vehicle customers. A key question will be how quickly dealers will be required to install chargers, which dealers said can cost as much as $500,000. "The manufacturers so far have let us scale into it and I think Ford will hopefully do the same thing. You just can't say, 'Listen, we're going to sell 2 million electric cars five years from now and we expect you to put in five superchargers,'" said Rhett Ricart, owner of Ricart Ford, a large dealership in Columbus, Ohio. Tesla's success at selling electric vehicles without franchised dealers is putting pressure on all established automakers to overhaul their retail networks. A shift by Ford to a Tesla-style build to order system could come with caps on the profit margins dealers can earn on a new vehicle sale, some dealers said. "I see dealer margins still being very competitive, but they are going to shift," Farley said in July. Ford intends to put more emphasis on selling products and services after the initial vehicle sale, he said. Dealers said state franchise laws could give dealers leverage to resist efforts by Ford to set fixed prices or fixed fees for delivering electric vehicles.

What to see at the Detroit Auto Show 2023

The 2023 North American Auto Show — also known as the Detroit Auto Show — is underway downtown. If you want to attend the public days of the show taking place September 16-24, hereÂ’s what you need to know about attending. But now that Autoblog has done our reconnaissance during the showÂ’s press days, we can tell you about the actual cars (and other things) you can see and experience. WhatÂ’s new? Ford The big new item from Ford is the 2024 F-150 pickup. You can check out the new trick tailgate, and see what the fuss is all about. The 2024 F-150 Raptor also debuted at the show, if you like high-power, off-roady full-size pickups. The show will also be a good opportunity to see the Mustang Dark Horse and Mustang Mach-E Rally up close and personal. Unfortunately, we only saw the wild 2025 Mustang GTD at an offsite event during press days, but it's quite possible Ford will roll it out for the public. Cadillac Cadillac revealed its refreshed 2025 CT5 at the Detroit show, and you can get a look at the revised front and the new tech-focused interior. Cadillac recently unveiled the all-electric 2025 Escalade IQ, so you can stop and see the most powerful Escalade ever while youÂ’re there. It wasnÂ’t on the floor during media days, but Cadillac told us theyÂ’d bring it for the public part of the show. Jeep Jeep unveiled its 2024 Gladiator at the show, and you can check out the new interior and trim levels in person at the Jeep stand. Jeep also has an indoor track set up for ride-alongs. If you havenÂ’t had the chance to see the refreshed 2024 Wrangler yet, you can see that, too, along with examples from the rest of the Jeep lineup, along with its Stellantis sibling, Ram. GMC GMC showed off the new, larger 2024 Acadia SUV for the Detroit Auto Show. ItÂ’s bigger than before, but does more to differentiate itself from its Chevy cousin, the Traverse. GMC also has its Sierra EV on display if youÂ’re interested in catching that in person. What else to see A number of automakers have large displays at the show with many of their models represented. In addition to those who debuted something new at the show, Buick, Chevrolet (check out the Silverado, Blazer and Equinox EVs, as well as the Corvette E-Ray), Lincoln with the new Nautilus, Toyota (get a look at the new Tacoma), Volkswagen, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mini, Volkswagen, Honda, Chrysler (the Airflow concept is there), Fiat, Ram and Dodge (see the Charger Daytona SRT concept) all have a sizable presence.