2010 Ford Escape Xlt on 2040-cars

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Just in time for the holidays, Snowkhana 3 is here

The gift list for the 12 Days of Christmas is frightfully heavy on birds, so surely no one will mind if we sub out the three French hens for Snowkhana 3. Ford of Europe is back with another stop-motion video that – like versions one and two – throws a 1:64-scale Ford Fiesta in Ken Block livery around a fabulous world of action figures and make believe. This year's video "drives rings around some of the biggest YouTube hits," so those of you who've lost years of your lives to the greatest distraction since the human navel can put your knowledge to use. For anyone else just catching up, we'll help you get rolling: the opening Snowkhana scene channels Stalking Cat. You'll find the rest of your holiday homework in the video.

Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

Ford recalls 200K Escape, Transit Connect models over instrument panel

Ford is announcing two new recalls that cover a total of 203,494 vehicles in North America. By far the larger of the campaigns is a recall for 203,445 examples of the 2014-2015 Escape and Transit Connect in North America. Specifically, there are 182,520 units recalled in the US, 18,226 in Canada, and 2,699 in Mexico. For these models, the instrument cluster, warning messages, lights, and chimes might not work at startup. This problem puts the vehicles out of compliance with the federal motor vehicle code, and the fix is a software update. The other recall is minuscule and only affects 49 units of the 2015 Transit that are owned by a single fleet customer. The company's vans have a specially ordered front passenger seatbelt, but the parts aren't labeled correctly under the federal code. Everything works properly, though, according to Ford. The fix is simply a new decal with the required info. No accidents or injuries are known to be related to either of these two recalls. Related Video: FORD ISSUES TWO SAFETY COMPLIANCE RECALLS IN NORTH AMERICA DEARBORN, Mich., June 24, 2015 – Ford is issuing two safety compliance recalls in North America. There are no accidents or injuries attributed to these conditions. Details are as follows: Ford issues safety compliance recall for certain 2014-2015 Transit Connect and Escape vehicles for instrument panel issue Ford Motor Company is issuing a safety compliance recall for approximately 203,500 2014-2015 Transit Connect and Escape vehicles in North America for an issue with the instrument panel cluster. When starting the vehicle, the instrument cluster, warning chimes, messages and warning lights may not work, which is a compliance issue with FMVSS 101 and other applicable FMVSS requirements. If these displays don't work as intended, it could increase the risk of a crash. Ford is not aware of any accidents or injuries associated with this issue. Affected vehicles include certain 2014-2015 Transit Connect vehicles built at Valencia Assembly Plant in Spain, May 13, 2014 to Dec. 10, 2014 and certain 2014-2015 Escape vehicles built at Louisville Assembly Plant, May 19, 2014 to Feb. 6, 2015. There are 203,445 vehicles in North America, including 182,520 in the United States and federalized territories, 18,226 in Canada and 2,699 in Mexico. Dealers will update the instrument panel cluster software at no cost to the customer.