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Jeremy Clarkson chooses his top 10 cars for 2015 and 2016

Jeremy Clarkson is well-known for his role as co-host on the old Top Gear. But the frontman of the upcoming Amazon Prime Show, The Grand Tour, also has a standing column for The Sunday Times in the UK where he reviews the latest cars. With fall nearing, Clarkson put out a list of his top-10 cars from this year and 2015. Some on the list will surprise you, while others represent everything we've come to love about Clarkson. In order to make his list of star cars, the vehicles must offer what co-host James May calls "the fizz." The vehicles, Clarkson claims, have something that is out of the ordinary. Whether it's the car's looks, the way it gets up to speed, or its high-tech gadgets, Clarkson's top-10 list is made up of items that are more than just tools for getting from point A to B. So which ones made the list? Head over to the column in The Sunday Times. Mazda MX-5 Miata 2.0 Sport Recaro Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe Mercedes-AMG GT S Ford Focus RS Ford Mustang Fastback 5.0 V8 GT Volvo XC90 D5 AWD Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 1.6 CDTi Tech Line BMW M2 Ferrari 488 GTB Lamborghini Aventador Related Video: Featured Gallery Jeremy Clarkson's Star Cars For 2015 and 2016 View 11 Photos News Source: The Sunday TimesImage Credit: STEFAN HEUNIS / AFP / Getty Images Celebrities BMW Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Mazda Performance bmw m2 ferrari 488 gtb

Ford opens the doors on its Swedish rally skunkworks

It's always amazing to see how different kinds of racecars are made. Formula One racers are often constructed in modern architectural marvels that hint at some of the cutting-edge technology going into the racing. Conversely, rallying is all about sliding around on a varied course as fast as possible, but it often leaves a vehicle caked in mud. So it makes some sense Olsbergs MSE, or simply (OMSE) rally car shop in Nynashamn, Sweden, shows technological sophistication in a more down-to-earth setting. It builds Ford Fiesta ST racers for Global Rallycross there, and this new video gives viewers a tour through the work.
Former rally driver Andreas Eriksson runs OMSE. These days instead of racing, he and the company's 46 employees are building Ford racers from scratch. A ton of work goes into constructing each one, and according to Eriksson, it takes 400 hours to complete each body. At times, things are so busy that some of the technicians live in the shop in apartments that are on premises. There's even a restaurant to keep them fed. Sadly the dyno room is empty during this visit, though.
By the time OMSE is done, a rallycross car might resemble a Fiesta ST on the outside, but as you see in the video, it's a completely different beast underneath. Check out the work it takes to build one of them, and scroll down to read more about it in the official release.

Ford also opening up EV, hybrid patents, with a price tag

Like Tesla and Toyota before it, Ford is seeing the light when it comes to freeing up alternative powertrain patents. Of course, the Blue Oval does things differently, so free doesn't mean no cost. Instead of making its electric vehicle patents simply available to anyone, Ford is going to sell off its EV tech for an unspecified fee. Ford says it has 650 electrified vehicle patents and another 1,000 or so pending EV tech patent applications. Ford filed 400 such applications last year alone. To buy these patents, interested parties should contact Ford's technology commercialization and licensing office or work AutoHarvest. Or, you know, you could just go get Tesla patents for free. The jury is still out on whether these open patent programs are being used. The Tesla program, for example, didn't seem to be all that exciting to most OEMs right after it was announced. Ford has six vehicles with some sort of electrified powertrain: the Focus Electric, Fusion Hybrid and Energi PHEV, Ford C-MAX Hybrid and Energi plug-in hybrid and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. The only full EV in that group, the Focus Electric, starts at $29,995. Ford Opens Portfolio of Patented Technologies to Competitors to Accelerate Industry-Wide Electrified Vehicle Development Ford is opening its portfolio of electrified vehicle technology patents to competitive automakers to accelerate industry-wide research and development of electrified vehicles In 2014, Ford filed for 400-plus electrified vehicle patents – more than 20 percent of the total patents the company applied for last year Ford is set to hire an additional 200 electrified vehicle engineers this year as the team moves into a newly dedicated facility – Ford Engineering Laboratories – home to Henry Ford's first laboratories DEARBORN, Mich., May 28, 2015 – Ford Motor Company is offering competitors access to its electrified vehicle technology patents – a move to help accelerate industry-wide research and development of electrified vehicles. In 2014, Ford filed more than 400 patents dedicated to electrified vehicle technologies. This is more than 20 percent of the patents the company filed – totaling more than 2,000 applications. "Innovation is our goal," said Kevin Layden, director, Ford Electrification Programs. "The way to provide the best technology is through constant development and progress.