1957 Ford Fairlane 500 on 2040-cars

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The future's electric — but the present is peak gasoline. Burn some rubber! Do donuts!

I vividly remember the year 1993 as a teenager looking forward to getting my driver’s license, longingly staring into Pontiac dealerships at every opportunity for a chance to see the brand-new fourth-generation Firebird and Trans Am. Back then, 275 horsepower, courtesy of GMÂ’s LT1 5.7-liter V8 engine, was breathtaking. A few years later, when Ram Air induction systems freed up enough fresh air to boost power over 300 ponies, I figured we were right back where my fatherÂ’s generation left off when the seminal muscle car era ended around the year 1974. It couldn't get any better than that. I was wrong. Horsepower continued climbing, prices remained within reach of the average new-car buyer looking for cheap performance, and a whole new level of muscular magnitude continued widening eyes of automotive enthusiasts all across the United States. It was all ushered in by cheap gasoline prices. And as much as petrolheads bemoan the coming wave of electric vehicles, perhaps instead now would be a good time for critics to sit back and enjoy the current and likely final wave of internal combustion. Today, itÂ’s easier than ever to park an overpowered rear-wheel-drive super coupe or sedan in your driveway. Your nearest Chevy dealership will happily sell you a Camaro with as much as 650 horsepower. Not enough? Take a gander at the Ford showroom and youÂ’ll find a herd of Mustangs up to 760 ponies. Or if nothing but the most powerful will do, waltz on over to the truly combustion-obsessed sales team of a Dodge dealer and relish in the glory of a 797-hp Charger or 807-hp Challenger. Want some more luxury to go with your overgrown stable of horses? Try Cadillac, where you'll find a 668-horsepower CT5-V Blackwing. You could instead choose to wrap that huffin' and chuggin' V8 in an SUV. Or go really off the rails and buy a Ram TRX or Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 and hit the dunes after a quick stop at the drag strip. Go pump some gas. Burn a little rubber. Do donuts! There is nothing but your pocketbook keeping you from buying the V8-powered car of your dreams. Yes, just about every major automaker in the world has halted development of future internal combustion engines in favor of gaining expertise in batteries and electric motors. No, that doesnÂ’t mean that gasoline is going extinct. There are going to be gas stations dotting American cities and highways for the rest of our lifetimes.

Shelby Mustang stars with Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez in Getaway movie

Car movies. We keep watching them, they keep making them. Despite Fast & Furious 6 still blowing up the box office (No. 1 in theaters for the second straight week) and production on Transformers 4 being well underway (check out the Bugatti Veyron and Corvette Stingray as new cast members), there's still room on the marquee for more car movies. Next one up is an Ethan Hawke joint called Getaway, which prominently co-stars a Ford Shelby GT500. The first trailer for Getaway, which opens in theaters on August 30, was released yesterday and can be watched below.
The movie's plot centers around Hawke's character, former race car driver Brent Magna, who must somehow use this car, what appears to be a generation-old Shelby GT500 Super Snake he "commandeered," to save his wife. The movie's third co-star is Selena Gomez, whose character we're told is the owner of said Shelby. A 20-year-old having a car like this seems a bit far-fetched - especially in Europe - and on paper, this plot looks like it cribs liberally from Charlie Sheen's 1994 The Chase. But all we've got to go on is a brief plot description and the trailer below, so we'll withhold judgment until the studio firmly has our ticket money in its grasp.
The Shelby GT500 is, of course, no stranger to acting. Before this jump to celluloid, the most fearsome of all Mustang models starred in the return of Knight Rider to television on NBC back in 2008. That gig didn't pan out for the car, the show lasting only one season and 17 episodes. In fact, with its casting in Getaway, the Shelby GT500 is one of the few actors who escaped that debacle with a future in show biz.

Ford recalls more than 550,000 trucks and SUVs for various safety issues

Ford announced safety recalls for its current F-150 pickup along with several Ford and Lincoln crossovers early Wednesday. The recalls cover more than 550,000 vehicles and address various safety defects, ranging from a fire hazard to potential loss of braking power.  The most far-reaching of the recalls covers approximately 550,000 examples of the 2015-2018 Ford Edge and 2016-2018 Lincoln MKX, which may have been assembled with defective front brake jounce hoses (also commonly referred to as "flex lines"). These hoses run from fixed points on the chassis to the individual front brake calipers. Defective hoses could potentially rupture, allowing brake fluid to leak and resulting in a loss of braking function. Ford will replace the components in question with revised parts.  The next-largest recall is for roughly 3,000 2020 Lincoln Corsair crossovers. The affected models may have been assembled without proper clearance between their rear suspension springs and toe link brackets. The components could potentially make contact, wearing down the protective coating on the rear coil springs, allowing corrosion to occur over time. This corrosion could eventually lead to a failure of the spring. If this happens while the vehicle is being driven, it could result in a sudden change to the vehicle's handling characteristics, and the spring fragments could potentially cause further damage to the car or surrounding traffic.  Ford says owners will be notified that their Corsairs need to be inspected; if there is not adequate clearance between the rear suspension components, Ford's service technicians will remove material from the toe link bracket to allow for operation without contact.  The final (and by far the smallest) recall is for the 2020 F-150. Some units may have left the factory with the incorrect retention nut on the hot lead to the starter motor. Ford says it can cause increased heat generation or electrical arcing, which could potentially result in a fire. Ford says this issue is limited to just a few hundred examples sold in the United States. Dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace the nut if necessary.