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Junkyard Gem: 1971 Mercury Comet 2-Door Sedan

When Ford introduced the original Maverick for the 1970 model year, Dearborn tradition required that a Mercury-badged version be created. That car ended up being the Comet, built from the 1971 through 1977 model years. Here's one of those first-year Comets in rough but recognizable condition, found in a Denver self-service yard not long ago. The Comet name had spent the 1960s affixed to the flanks of Mercurized Ford Falcons (1960-1965) and Fairlanes (1966-1969). Since the Maverick was the successor of the Falcon — sales of which went into an irrecoverable downward spiral once its sportier Mustang first cousin hit the streets — it made sense to move the Comet name over to the Mercury version. Nearly every American Mercury model ever sold was a U.S.-market Ford model with a different name and some gingerbread slapped on. Notable exceptions to this tradition include the 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar (mechanically based on the Contour but with a unique body) and the 1991-1994 Mercury Capri (an Australian-built mashup of Mazda components borrowed from the Ford Laser). The Comet was by far the cheapest Mercury model available in 1971, though it was considered more prestigious than its Maverick counterpart. The price tag on the '71 Comet two-door sedan started at $2,217 (about $16,505 in 2022 dollars), while the '71 Maverick two-door sedan cost $2,175 ($16,193 today). Meanwhile, AMC would sell you a new Hornet two-door sedan for one dollar less than a Maverick, Chevrolet had the Nova coupe for a dollar more than the Maverick, and Plymouth offered the Valiant Duster for $2,313 ($17,220 now). Toyota had a Maverick competitor as well that year, with the Corona at $2,150 for the sedan and $2,310 for the coupe. Having driven every one of the aforementioned models, I'd take the Duster if I went back in time and had to choose one (as a 1969 Corona owner, I'm not a fan of the 1971 facelift, though the Corona's build quality beats the Duster's). The build sticker on this car tells us that it was built at the Kansas City Assembly Plant (where Transits and F-150s are made today) and sold through the Los Angeles district sales office (there was a DSO in Denver, so it's a near-certainty that this car didn't start out in Colorado). The paint started out as Bright Blue Metallic (it's neither bright nor metallic 51 years down the road) and the interior was done up in Medium Blue Cloth & Vinyl.

2016 Ford Focus RS to start at $35,730? [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Unsurprisingly, Ford declined to comment on the pricing shown on the consumer page, with spokesman Aaron Miller telling Autoblog that the Blue Oval does "not comment on pricing speculation." The webpage showing the $35,730 figure has since been pulled down. We love it when automakers make little, tiny mistakes. You know, not the big stuff that leads to recalls, but the small things, like accidentally releasing pricing of a hotly anticipated model via its US consumer website. Such a thing has apparently happened to Ford, as Jalopnik's Car Buying sub-blog has uncovered a page on the site listing the starting price of the 2016 Focus RS. The cost of entry for the 345-horsepower, all-wheel-drive, torque-vectoring hot hatchback is $35,730, according to the website. That's $1,035 more than the base Subaru WRX STI, although it's $865 less than the Volkswagen Golf R. Considering the RS outguns both models by a very significant margin – 40 horsepower over the STI and 47 over the Golf R – that price seems very agreeable. If it's correct, that is. Aside from showing the RS' starting price, the page also gives us a glimpse into the options sheet. There's an RS2 equipment level that adds $2,795 to the base price along with navigation and leather Recaro seats, an $895 sunroof, and a 19-inch wheel and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tire package for $1,990 (or just $1,395 for the 19s alone). Some fiddling with the quite incomplete configurator – there are no images and the overall design is rather glitchy – revealed a max price of $42,275. We've reached out to Ford for confirmation of the pricing information displayed. Head into Comments and let us know what you think of the pricing. Has Ford hit it out of the park by slotting in a more powerful competitor between the Subaru and Volkswagen? Were you expecting a higher price (like your author), or is this still too much money for a jumped-up Focus? Related Video:

Ford sells 7-millionth Explorer in America

Say what you will about the evolution of the Ford Explorer, from roofed Ranger to body-on-frame sport utility vehicle to unibody crossover - the bottom line is that it's been a tremendously successful model for Ford. In fact, the Blue Oval automaker has sold seven million Explorer models in the United States alone.
The milestone, marked nearly a quarter-century after the introduction of the original in 1990, comes on the eve of the introduction of a new Explorer at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. We don't yet know how the new Explorer will shape up, but we're mere days away from finding out.
Now heading into its sixth generation, the Explorer has formed the basis of Ford's utility lineup for over two decades. The Explorer landed on the market right around the time that the Bronco was trailing off, predating the company's expansion into larger SUVs like the Expedition and Excursion and crossovers like the Escape, Edge and Flex.