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Ford to add Android Auto and CarPlay to 2016 SYNC 3 cars via update

Ford is updating a large number of 2016 model year cars equipped with SYNC 3 infotainment software, adding Android Auto and CarPlay to the vehicles with a free, over-the-air update via Wi-Fi, or using either USB or going through their dealer. The upgrade will be available for around 800,000 vehicles in total, giving a huge number of Ford car owners the chance to get big infotainment improvements without having to buy a newer model car. The OTA update option is also a big step for Ford – it's the company's first for software ever, and it's one of the major reasons that Ford recently hired around 400 new mobile smartphone engineers, the company tells me. For CarPlay, users will still also need to upgrade their vehicle's USB hub to make this work (which will also incur a dealer visit and a cost), but for those on Android, all that's required is a simple software installation. The USB install method is also faster, but the Wi-Fi update option is the start of the company's efforts to really increase its OTA update program, which will be used for security improvements as well as infotainment bumps. Even with a dealer visit and hardware upgrade for CarPlay, this sounds like a worthwhile thing for 2016 vehicle owners to do. CarPlay and Android Auto are huge upgrades vs. most in-car software, offering navigation and entertainment options that follow you from your phone to your car. Retroactively offering this kind of thing to car owners is a definite change in tone for carmakers, since they typically use these kinds of things as incentives to get people interested in vehicle model updates. But as data becomes increasingly important to automakers as a business, it makes sense to encourage greater in-car use of devices.Written by Darrell Etherington for TechCrunchRelated Video: Auto News Ford Lincoln Technology Infotainment android

Ford exec reveals new F-150 Raptor packs 450 horsepower

Between the new GT supercar, Shelby GT350R muscle car and F-150 Raptor off-roader, Ford had quite the array of performance machinery on display at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month. One thing it didn't reveal about any of the three, however, is how much power they'd pack, but a senior executive at the Blue Oval automaker has reportedly let the cat out of the bag when it comes to the Raptor. During a televised interview during the Rolex 24 at Daytona this past weekend, Ford's product development chief Raj Nair is said to have revealed that the new F-150 Raptor will offer 450 horsepower. That's pretty impressive from a 3.5-liter turbocharged V6, and would put the new Raptor out ahead of the 411 hp produced by the 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 in the previous SVT Raptor. That doesn't give us the whole picture, though, because in a vehicle this big especially, torque will play a huge factor. The outgoing Raptor offered 424 pound-feet of twist, and the existing 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine is already producing 420 lb-ft – so it seems fairly safe to assume the new Raptor will eclipse those figures as well, but we'll have to wait for official word to find out for sure. Related Video:

Shelby American cleans house of 14 concept cars

Typically when an automaker rolls out a concept car or pre-production prototype, it does its tour and then disappears into the company's archives. Maybe it will be displayed for the public to see in the company's own museum or maybe it will spend most of its time under covers in a warehouse somewhere, but every once in a while, an automaker will open up its history and start selling off its concept cars. For Shelby American, "once in a while" has just rolled around.
The House that Carroll Built is moving from its previous headquarters at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to a new facility off of the Las Vegas strip, and in the process is liquidating fourteen of the rarest cars in its collection. That presents a tremendous opportunity for muscle car collectors to bring one or more of these snakes home.
As you might expect, the catalog is composed mostly of Mustangs, but not exclusively. There's a pair of 289 Cobras: the last of the 50th anniversary slab-sided continuation cars and an original development vehicle, offered at $200,000 apiece. At the other end of the spectrum you'll find the 2013 Shelby Raptor concept for $125k and Focus concept for $50k. And of course there are the Mustangs.