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2015 Galpin Ford GTR1

Last year in Monterey, we met GTR1 for the first time. Galpin Auto Sports pulled the wraps off its Ford GT-based supercar, powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.4-liter V8 good for a whopping 1,024 horsepower and 739 pound-feet of torque. The thing was totally custom-made and reportedly took some 12,000 man hours to create. And there it sat on the Pebble Beach grass, $1,000,000-plus price tag and all.
This year, the Galpin was back, albeit with one big change. That twin-turbo engine? Gone. In its place, a 5.4-liter V8 with a 4.0-liter Whipple supercharger bolted on, delivering an astonishing 1,058 hp and 992 lb-ft of torque on 110-octane fuel. 0-60? 2.9 seconds. Top speed? Somewhere above 225 miles per hour.
"Some things to keep in mind: no stability control, no traction control," were the only warnings given by Galpin's Brandon Boeckmann before taking me on a quick spin in the supercar. And after having my eyes thrown into the back of my skull a few times, laughing hysterically and trying to regain full use of my hearing after my ear drums being bombarded by the apocalyptic roar behind me, Brandon pulled over and said it was my turn, if I was ready to take the wheel.

The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.

Amazon can now deliver packages to some Ford and Lincoln vehicles

Nothing succeeds without complications popping up along the way. Sure, Amazon's Prime delivery services have made shopping more convenient than brushing your teeth, but leaving millions of packages on doorsteps comes with an inherent danger: Thieves might swipe them without anybody knowing. Amazon's solution is called Amazon Key, which allows delivery men and women to enter a customer's house or car to drop off a package. This week, Ford and Lincoln announced they would be partnering with Amazon to integrate the service into some of their vehicles. Ford is following in the footsteps of Volvo and General Motors, as both companies announced their participation about a year ago. That includes Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC. Key will be made available for 2017-and-newer Fords equipped with FordPass Connect, and 2018-and-later Lincolns with Lincoln Connect. Key is not available everywhere, but it can be used in dozens of city throughout the U.S., and the network is expanding. To look for compatibility for your car and city, check on Amazon's dedicated Key website. Like every other tech invention these days, Key requires a smart device application, which requires a one-time setup. The service is available on the Key app or the FordPass and Lincoln Way apps. While ordering on Amazon, customers will then select in-car delivery during checkout. Input a public delivery address, and park the car within two blocks of that address. While the order is in transit, Amazon will provide status updates, another feature that takes away some of the anxiety of waiting for a package to be delivered. The package will be put into the car within a four-hour window, and users will get notifications that the exchange is complete, and the car is again securely locked. Should customers change their minds, they can always cancel the delivery method, and the car will remain locked. In that case, the delivery could go to the building where the car is parked, or be rescheduled. Ford imagines this as the beginning of numerous car-based services in the near future that can be scheduled while the owner is not there, such as car washes.