1929 Ford Model A on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen's latest ad is not subtle | Autoblog Podcast #509

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin and David Gluckman are joined by special guest James Riswick, who has been driving a lot of new cars lately. All of them are discussed, plus a few more from Mike and David, and Mike rants a bit about a new VW Atlas commercial. The episode wraps up with the traditional doling out of Spend My Money buying advice, during which David briefly goes out into left field. (He's back now, don't worry.) The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #509 Topics and stories we mention GMC Sierra HD Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Mazda CX-5 Honda CR-V vs. Mazda CX-5 Mini Countryman Honda Clarity Fuel Cell Ford F-150 Raptor Lexus RC 200t VW Atlas "Luv Bug" commercial Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 02:43 Ad of the week - 41:40 Spend My Money - 49:14 Total Duration: 56:27 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Marketing/Advertising Podcasts Ford GMC Honda Lexus Mazda MINI Volkswagen mazda cx-5 ford f-150 raptor gmc sierra hd volkswagen atlas mazda mx-5 rf lexus rc 200t

2016 Ford F-150 gets propane, CNG conversions

It's a complete mystery if a hybrid Ford F-150 will ever see showrooms, but for buyers looking for an alternative fueling method, Ford has an option ready. For the 2016 model year, the Blue Oval is offering a kit that converts the pickup's 5.0-liter V8 to run on compressed natural gas or propane. The package costs $315 and adds improved valves and valve seats to work with the gaseous fuels. From there, the F-150s go to an upfitter to install the actual fuel tanks, lines, and injectors. Ford estimates this costs $7,500 to $9,500, depending on how much CNG a buyer wants to carry. After the conversion, the tow rating remains the same as running on gasoline, and payload is only reduced by the weight of the system. Ford offered a CNG option on the last-gen F-150's 3.7-liter V6, and sales beat the automaker's forecasts. With the greater grunt available from the V8, the company is expecting the conversion to be even more popular on the new pickups. In times of high fuel prices, CNG models have been a way for fleets to reduce their costs. According to Ford, the average price of natural gas nationwide is $2.11, but it's as low as $1 in some areas. The US Energy Information Administration lists the average for regular gas at $2.57 and diesel at $2.81. Chevrolet and GMC also offer a CNG conversion option on some of their heavy-duty trucks, and Ram does, as well. 2016 F-150 WITH CLASS-EXCLUSIVE COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS, PROPANE CAPABILITY GROWS FORD'S ALTERNATIVE FUEL LEADERSHIP Responding to customer requests, 2016 Ford F-150 with the 5.0-liter V8 engine will offer a gaseous-fuel prep option, making it the only light-duty pickup capable of running on compressed natural gas or propane Ford has sold more than 57,000 vehicles prepped to run on clean, low-cost compressed natural gas and propane – seven times more than all other major U.S. automakers combined – since 2009 Ford has the broadest portfolio of natural gas and propane offerings, including 2016 F-150 and Super Duty trucks, and Transit and Transit Connect vans and wagons Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifiers offer a wide variety of CNG options to help customers find the best, most cost-effective solution to their diverse operating needs Ford, America's truck leader, will offer the 2016 F-150 with an available gaseous-fuel prep package that enables 5.0-liter V8-powered models to run on clean, low-cost compressed natural gas or propane, making Ford the only manufacturer of a CNG/propane-capable half-ton pickup.

Wrap up some fun with Ford's commercial vehicle configurator

Ford has combined multiple steps into one with its commercial vehicle configurator, which allows users to choose, design and place orders for the Transit, Transit Connect, E-Series vans and F-Series Super Duty trucks.
The most interesting part of the new configurator is a fairly robust design tool. Users are able to choose paint color and wrap the vehicle, and then create their own graphics. No materials are needed - Ford provides numerous background textures, text boxes, plenty of shapes and 20 categories of images including floral, construction, plumbing and skylines. Self-created designs or images can be uploaded to the system as well.
We played around with the design tool a bit and uploaded our own image to create the Autoblog Podcast Live van you see here. Feel free to check out the configurator and make your own design.