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We test the 2016 Ford F-150 Pro Trailer Backup Assist

There are some automotive tasks that are more or less impossible the first time you attempt them, no matter your skill level. Remember the first time you had to back a trailer into position? Yeah, you'd have more luck disarming a nuclear bomb than getting the trailer where you're aiming. Ford is preparing to debut a technology that takes the mystery out of reversing a trailer, with the new Pro Trailer Backup Assist. Available on the entire 2016 F-150 range, the system essentially allows owners to drive their trailers by way of a dash-mounted knob. Turn the knob and the steering wheel automagically turns to the correct angle, leading the trailer in the desired direction. The steering wheel twirls about as needed, although drivers still have direct control of the accelerator and brake pedals, much as they do with Ford's Enhanced Active Park Assist system. Ford has spent eight years developing the system, the company's engineers told us. Drivers will need to measure their trailers a certain way and fit the checked reference sticker you can see in the gallery, although once a measurement is stored in the system, it can easily be recalled using the display in the instrument cluster. The system can stow the measurements for 10 trailers, and can accommodate tow-behinds up to 33 feet long. As of right now, though, the PTBA can't work with gooseneck trailers or fifth-wheels, although we're betting Ford is hard at work to accommodate those more substantial setups. "Pro Trailer Backup Assist is a smart solution to save time and increase productivity for our customers," Doug Scott, Ford Truck's marketing manager, said in the attached statement. "Instead of struggling to back up their trailer, they can spend more time on the job or enjoying the lake." We took part in a hands-on demo of the new system off the Detroit River, near Grosse Ile, MI. Full disclosure, we didn't back the trailer into the water, (your author had no interest in potentially damaging the roughly $50,000 boat/trailer Ford brought in for the test). We did, however, conduct a brief test in the safe confines of a nearby parking lot. Our immediate impression of this technology is that it will be a boon to novices or first-time towers, a group of which your author is a member. It takes the mystery out of backing up a trailer, and while there's still a learning curve involved, it's significantly easier than doing things the old-fashioned way.

George W. Bush's 2009 Ford F-150 fizzles with $300,000 bid at Barrett-Jackson [UPDATE: w/video]

Despite some truly impassioned pleading from Jay Leno himself - including calling on Arizona's notoriously Republican-rich voters to beat the $600,000 level set the last time Leno sold a vehicle for this particular charity... in California - bidding for George Bush's 2009 Ford F-150 pickup truck stalled at $300,000.
All proceeds will be sent to the Fisher House Foundation, so at least it's $300K going to a good cause. Feel free to check out the live image gallery above, which includes shots showing Leno's skills helming the auction, and read through the official auction description below.
*UPDATE: Video of the auction and Leno's prods to the crowd for more money can now be seen below.

How Ford hid the 2015 Mustang from spy photographers

Now that we've finally seen the 2015 Ford Mustang, it's fun to go back and look at the spy shots we spent months pouring over, trying to dissect what was under all the camouflage. For the most part, Ford did a good job of concealing the car from spy photographers, and it released a video showing how much work went into doing so.
As crude as the Mustang's camo looked, all of the hard plastic, foam, vinyl and ratchet straps were actually created and put in place by a specific design team. The whole idea was to hide the car's identity, but it certainly ended up acting as a magnet for attention, too. According to Ford's press release, it took less than an hour for spy shots to appear online after the car was taken on public roads for the very first time - this is likely in reference to our first official spy shots of the Mustang from June, shown in the gallery below.
Scroll down for a press release and video, which shows footage of the 2015 Ford Mustang testing with minimal camouflage. This is probably the same track session where we got our first look at the Mustang's face back in August.