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Alan Mulally talks about why Ford's Falcon had to die

When Ford made the decision to end production of the Falcon sedan and Territory CUV in Australia, it wasn't a popular move Down Under. The large, four-door Falcon had been in production for 50 years, and while Ford has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market, it's understandable that some people still aren't all that crazy about the Blue Oval's decision.
Speaking to CEO Alan Mulally after Ford's Go Further event in Sydney, Australian site Go Auto reports that the decision was not one made lightly, and that the automaker is doing everything possible to respect the Falcon and Territory's "stakeholders." It's an interesting piece that shows a softer side of a corporation, while demonstrating that Ford is doing everything in its power to make the end of production as smooth as possible for all parties.
Head over to Go Auto for the full series of remarks from Mulally, and then let us know what you think of Ford's handling of the Falcon and Territory discontinuations, in Comments.

Ford offering emergency strobes on Super Duty trucks [w/video]

If you're driving a Ford Super Duty, chances are you've got a job to do. It could be construction or maintenance, or it could be something big you're hauling, but either way, you may need to warn others in the vicinity that you're on the job. Which is why Ford is now offering strobe warning lights on its F-Series Super Duty trucks. The $700 option includes a pair of amber LED strobe lights on the hood (by the base of the windshield), another pair at the back on either side of the high-mounted stop light, and a trim panel with four switches on the center stack inside. The equipment can be factory-installed or dealer-installed after sale, are covered by warranty, require no drilling for installation (to reduce risk of corrosion), are programmable in different patterns and can be seen from up to a mile away at night or a thousand feet during the day. See a demonstration in the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Should heavy-duty pickup trucks have window stickers with fuel mileage estimates?

If you were to stroll into your nearest Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Nissan, or Ram dealership, you'd find a bunch of pickup trucks. Most of those would have proper window stickers labeled with things like base prices, options prices, location of manufacture, and, crucially, fuel economy estimates. But you'd also run across a number of heavy-duty trucks with no such fuel mileage data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA doesn't require automakers to publish the valuable miles-per-gallon measurement for vehicles with gross weight ratings that exceed 8,500 pounds. That makes it difficult for consumers to compare behemoths powered by turbocharged diesel engines – between one another, and between smaller, gasoline-fueled trucks. Consumer Reports doesn't think it should be this way, and it's spearheading an effort (PDF link) to get the government to require manufacturers to publish fuel economy estimates. In its own testing, CR found that heavy-duty pickups powered by Ford's Power Stroke, GM's Duramax, and FCA's Cummins diesel engines (which doesn't include the Ram's EcoDiesel) get worse fuel mileage than their lighter-duty gas-powered siblings. We're not so sure HD-truck buyers are unaware of this fact – big diesels don't really come into their own until big loads are placed in their beds or attached to their trailer hitches. Under heavy workloads, the diesel trucks will almost certainly return greater efficiency than a similar gas-powered truck. What's more, HD trucks with lumbering diesels in general make the driver feel more confident while towing due to greater torque at low engine RPM than gas trucks. They also offer greater max-weight limits. Still, we agree EPA fuel mileage estimates should be offered for heavy-duty pickups. And we think the comparisons provided by Consumer Reports might be interesting to potential buyers. Click here to see the results of CR's tests, and let us know what you think using the poll below. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty: First Drive View 22 Photos News Source: Consumer Reports Government/Legal Green Read This Chevrolet Ford GMC Nissan RAM Fuel Efficiency Truck Commercial Vehicles Diesel Vehicles poll gmc sierra hd chevy silverado hd