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Ford adds third shift at F-150 plant to keep up with demand

The signs have been very positive for Ford's F-Series line of pickup trucks as of late, and after 24 consecutive months of increasing sales of the best-selling F-150, the automaker has added a third production crew at its Kansas City Assembly Plant that includes 900 new hourly workers to meet demand for the truck. This the first step in Ford's plan to add 2,000 hourly jobs at the plant to help meet demand for its trucks and to begin production of the new Transit van, the automaker says.
Despite some tough new competition, sales of the F-Series are the strongest they've been since 2006, according to Ford. The automaker sold 60,449 F-Series in July, the best sales figure for the mid-summer month since 2006, which also represents a 23 percent increase compared to July 2012. From January to July 2013, sales were up 22 percent compared to the same period last year.
Ford has committed to creating 12,000 hourly jobs by 2015, and with the 900 new employees added to the assembly plant in Missouri, the company says it has completed 75 percent of its goal. Ford has also invested $1.1 billion to retool and expand the Kansas City Assembly Plant to ready it for Transit production. Take a look at the press release below for more job and F-Series sales information.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla details factory expansion; Ford and SunPower raise money for Sierra Club

Tesla has revealed the details of the upgrade of its Fremont, CA factory. One major change is the addition of a dedicated production space for the dual-motor P85D version of the Model S. Robots will be doing the battery installation on the Model S to save some time, and new export docks allow Tesla to get the cars out the door and on the way to their new owners more quickly. The new robots that move the cars around the factory have been named after X-Men characters, which makes our inner geeks smile. Check out the factory upgrade in the time-lapse video below and read more at Teslarati or at the Tesla Motors Blog. A program in Beijing for privileged registrations for EVs hasn't had much success. Of the 1,424 lottery winners, only about 30 percent went on to register an electric car despite a two-month extension of the deadline to do so. Buyers are likely discouraged by the lack of charging infrastructure, which the city hopes to ameliorate with the addition of 1,000 new charging stations by the end of the year, and by requiring new and renovated developments to set aside parking specifically for EV charging. Read more at Green Car Reports. The UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies suggests that laws designed to protect dealers and consumers are stymieing the adoption of EVs. Laws like the ones certain states have in place that block or otherwise restrict Tesla's direct-to-consumer business model are not helpful for companies that want to introduce new products to the market. They prevent companies from passing on savings to customers for whom they would likely make the difference in a purchasing decision. One possible solution would be to allow exemptions to certain selling restrictions for a certain number of vehicles sold. "This could give automakers the degree of control needed to work out kinks with early customers, develop scalable processes for supporting PEVs, and ensure that effective dealer performance standards are in place before handing the reins over to wholly independent retailers," according to UC Davis ITS. Read more at the UC Davis website. Volkswagen says its environmental program, called "Think Blue. Factory," is meeting the automaker's own sustainability targets. The main purpose of the program is to move toward eco-friendlier carmaking at each of its plants worldwide.

Next Shelby Mustang to wear GT350 nameplate

Earlier this month, rumors started to swirl 'round the web about the next-generation Ford SVT Mustang - the halo version of the all-new 2015 'Stang seen testing in the gallery above. Originally, we heard that the Shelby GT500 moniker would be dumped in favor of "a name you're familiar with," which some sources guessed could mean a return of the Cobra nameplate.
That might not be correct. According to Road & Track, citing a report from Mustangs Daily, the new range-topping Mustang will bring back the Shelby GT350 name - currently used on an aftermarket version of Ford's Pony produced by Shelby American (take a look at our recent Quick Spin of that car). Expect the new GT350 to be quite a bit different than the current GT500 - it will be all motor, using a V8 that's derived from the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote engine (though it will no doubt have a higher displacement). The GT350 will be a lot more powerful than the next Mustang GT, which is expected to offer something like 450 horsepower, but won't be quite as absurd as the 662-horsepower GT500 we currently enjoy.
The Shelby GT350 will reportedly bow with the rest of the new Mustang range at the 2014 New York Auto Show, which coincides exactly with the original Mustang's debut at the New York World's Fair in 1964. If that seems far out, don't worry, we'll be seeing the rest of the 2015 Mustang range before then, but Road & Track reports that the 2014 Detroit Auto Show stage will be reserved for the reveal of the next Ford F-150 pickup.