2006 Ford Focus Zxw Wagon 5-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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GM also sheds parts from its pickups to boost payload ratings

The row between Ford and Ram over who boasts the best-in-class tow rating for heavy duty pickups has revealed a number of things. Chief among them is a report that Ford removes items like the spare tire, jack, radio and center console from its vehicles in a bid to lower its base curb weight and therefore keep the truck's gross vehicle weight rating down.
For those that need a refresher, GVWR is the vehicle's curb weight plus its maximum payload. A lower GVWR allows Ford to station its F-450 among the so-called Class III pickups, despite the fact that internally, it has the makings of a more brutish Class IV truck.
Ford explains away these deletions, saying a customer could order their vehicle in such a manner. It has also come to light that Ford is not the only automaker to engage in such practices.

Sunday Drive: Big debuts from the Big Apple dominated the headlines

New York Auto Show week has come and gone, and, not surprisingly, the week's biggest bits of news came from the halls of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in NYC. Our favorite debut from New York was the Lincoln Aviator, a sharp-dresses crossover that looks lovely inside and out, and sits on underpinnings at least partly derived from the Ford Mustang. While the Aviator may have caught our attention, it wasn't the most popular vehicle debut from New York, at least when judging by the number of page views here on Autoblog. That distinction goes to the 2019 Toyota RAV4, and we're hardly surprised. The RAV4 is the most popular compact crossover in America (in fact it's the most popular vehicle that isn't a pickup truck), and the 2019 version looks like a radical departure from the model that came before. We can't wait to drive the thing. Midsize sedans may not be the darling of the family car set, that honor taken over by the aforementioned crossover, but they still sell in large enough numbers that a brand-new model catches our attention. Such is the case with the 2019 Nissan Altima. We broke down the specs of the Altima and compared Nissan's bread-and-butter sedan with its biggest rivals. And finally, we got some official figures for the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt. It'll cost a cool $12,000 over the cost of a Mustang GT, and will benefit from a 480-horsepower, 420-pound-foot version of Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8 engine. As always, stay tuned this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2018 New York Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery | Start spreading the news 2019 Toyota RAV4 actually looks pretty cool 2019 Nissan Altima vs Honda Accord vs Toyota Camry: How they compare 2019 Mustang Bullitt orders open as Ford reveals price and horsepower Image Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty New York Auto Show Ford Lincoln Nissan Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Sedan 2018 new york auto show

Time to catch up with Jay Leno's Garage, including his Lamborghini Espada restoration

If you're already jealous of the time, effort and money that Jay Leno can devote to his massive car collection, prepare to get a little greener with envy with this latest video from Jay Leno's Garage. Instead of the usual format of discussing a model for about ten minutes and then taking it out for a test drive, this week Leno gives viewers on a tour of over a dozen projects concurrently happening in his stable. The breadth of the vehicles shown and the things being done to them run the entire span of the automotive hobby. At the same time, Jay's shop is working on just a simple restoration of his 1969 Lamborghini Espada (pictured), and at the other side of the building, the team is rebuilding a wood-bodied 1914 Detroit Electric from scratch. He eventually plans to slot a more modern electric drivetrain into it. If bikes are more your interest, there's a freshly completed Brough Superior just waiting for a ride, and if American models are your thing, a Ford Bronco is getting a Coyote V8 installed into it. You have some very specific tastes if you can't watch this clip and start wishing at least one of these vehicles could be in your own garage. Other than the personal projects his mechanics are working on in the shop, Jay gets to have them all, plus plenty more.