1970 Fastback Mustang 351 #s Match 89k Org. Miles on 2040-cars

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Should reflective paint earn automakers EPA credits?

No matter where you look around the world, governments are cracking down on vehicle emissions and aiming for higher fuel economy standards. Generally, automakers are pushing back against the increased regulation, and in the US, General Motors, Ford, and FCA US are looking for new compromises. The Big Three want to the EPA to grant them retroactive emissions credits for using tech that they claim reduces CO2 but not on the government agency's on-road testing. Among these technologies are things like reflective paint and glass, LED lights, ventilated seats, stop/start, and more efficient air conditioning compressors. Starting with the 2014 model year, the automakers can receive credits for a few grams per mile reductions on models with some of these solutions, according to Automotive News. However, the companies are also petitioning the EPA to make the credits apply to earlier vehicles with them, as well. The emissions advantages for systems like stop/start and less polluting AC refrigerants seem fairly obvious. For reflective paint and glass, the belief is that keeping a vehicle interior cooler should mean a lower need for air conditioning and therefore a decrease in CO2. Margo Oge, the former boss of the EPA's Office of Transportation Air Quality, told Automotive News these credits are part of the plan. "That's the whole point of what we tried to establish," she said. "We wanted companies to invest in and develop these technologies." The EPA wants vehicle emissions at the corporate average equivalent of 54.4 miles per gallon fuel economy by 2025, and so far that seems achievable. It will translate to less than 40 mpg on the EPA sticker. In a report last summer, the industry was about 10 grams per mile of CO2 better than the rules required, and that was solely based on 2012 model year vehicles. In an update for 2013, the companies were up to 12 grams per mile beyond targets. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Mark Humphrey / AP Photo Government/Legal Green Ford GM Emissions Fuel Efficiency FCA fca us

Ford reveals new Galaxy van for Europe [w/video]

Here in its home market, Ford may be focusing more on crossovers, but overseas, minivans are still playing a crucial roll for global automakers. So while the Aerostar, Windstar and Freestar may have given way to the Flex and Edge, over in Europe, the Blue Oval automaker has revealed the all-new fourth-generation Galaxy. Following up on the MPV initially launched in 1995, replaced in 2000 and again in 2006, the new Galaxy features updated styling and equipment to position itself as the luxury counterpart to the sportier S-Max that just relaunched last year. Behind the Aston-style grille that's been finding its way onto just about every new passenger car Ford makes is a range of updated engine options, including two EcoBoost gasoline engines (a 1.5-liter unit with 158 horsepower or a 2.0 with 237) and a 2.0-liter turbo diesel available in states of tune ranging from 118 hp all the way up to 207. The flexible seven-seat cabin features a flat load floor, seats that stow and even deploy at the push of a button and an available full-length retractable panoramic sunroof. The new integral link rear suspension promises a smooth ride, with an available self-leveling feature just one of the many convenience and safety systems integrated into Ford's new European family hauler – the full extent of which you can read in the press release below. On your way down, you may want to check out the stunt which Ford staged with illusionist Darcy Oake to launch the new Galaxy. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

This is what a 3D-printed liquid metal Ford Torino looks like

Artist Ioan Florea has encapsulated a 1971 Ford Torino with 3-D-printed liquid metal transferred onto the car using technology that he developed, and the result is a stunningly shiny, seamless design.
"The surface has the highest coefficient of reflectivity never achieved before," Florea told us in an e-mail, using "nano-materials and nano-pigments that create an internal three-dimensional structure and dictate the polymer how to behave." Sure... We'll leave it to him to make any more 3-D-printed liquid metal-transferred art pieces.
Florea grew up in Romania, and the motivation behind picking the old Ford as his canvas came from his childhood memories of what an American car is - "big and wide and fascinating," he says - and the European name of the car itself, which it shares with an Italian city.