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Autoblog Podcast #317

Mitsubishi Mirage, Toyota thinks of beefing up US production, Marchionne on Alfa, Dart and minivans, Ford Atlas concept, Honda Gear concept
Episode #317 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Jeff Ross and Michael Harley bookend the other podcast topics with a pair from the Montreal Auto Show, the Mitsubishi Mirage and Honda Gear concept, and in between we talk about Toyota building all its US-market cars stateside, Hyundai building a Nurburgring test facility, Sergio Marchionne's latest words about Alfa Romeo, Dodge Dart powertrains and the future of Chrysler vans. Some chatter about the Ford Atlas concept finishes up the meat of the 'cast and then we wrap with your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #317:

Muscle wins big at 2013 Amelia Island Concours as 1936 Duesenberg, 1968 Ford GT40 take top honors

The 18th-annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance took place this past weekend, and in one of the show's biggest years yet (bringing in more than 25,000 spectators and attracting more than 300 vehicles), two powerhouses ended up winning the judges' hearts. The top Concours d'Elegance award went to a 1936 Duesenberg SJN, while the Concours de Sport went to one of the celebrated marques, a 1968 Ford GT40.
Owned by Helen and Jack Nethercutt of Sylmar, CA, this flawless Duesy is described as "one of the most powerful open cars of the 1930s," and it displays design cues of the era like rolled fenders and a tapered rear end. The SJN's supercharged straight-eight allowed it to accelerate to 100 miles per hour in just 17 seconds - surely not a disappointing feat for its day.
On a much different level of performance and timelessness, this Gulf-livery GT40 from the Rocky Mountain Auto Collection is not outdone by the elegance of the big Duesenberg thanks to some well-documented racing history. This not only includes winning at LeMans in both 1968 and 1969 - Chassis No. 1075 also managed to win a total of six times in just 11 races.

Aluminum Ford F-150 earns five-star crash rating [w/video]

The scores are in, and the 2015 Ford F-150 has been awarded a five-star Overall Vehicle Score in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's testing. That makes it, according to Ford, the safest F-150 ever. "The five-star safety rating is a terrific example of One Ford collaboration and innovation," Vice President of Global Product Development Raj Nair said in a statement. "Our truck team worked together for years to deliver this accomplishment, using an unprecedented combination of advanced materials throughout the all-new F-150. The 2015 model is engineered to be the safest F-150 ever, which matters to customers who depend on this truck to not only get the job done, but also get them safely home." The new F-150's aluminum and high-strength-steel construction posed some unique challenges to truck's engineers. "The team had to invent new ways to manage crash energy, because advanced materials like high-strength steel behave differently," Matt Niesluchowski, the truck's safety manager. "We found that changing certain shapes led to a weight reduction, while also improving crash performance." Beyond the structural safety features, the 2015 F-150 is loaded with additional safety features, including an adaptive steering column and Ford's inflatable seat belts, that protects drivers in the event of a collision. Beyond that, there's the usual array of active safety features meant to prevent a crash in the first place, including Curve Control and forward collision warning with brake support. Check out Ford's full press release on its five-star score, as well as video on the truck's safety features.