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Ford halves summer shutdown, ramps SUV production

For the third consecutive year, Ford is reducing the length of its summer shutdown for several factories to keep up with high demand for some models. This year, the decision means 40,000 more units of popular trucks and crossovers like the F-Series, Edge, Escape, and Explorer. Rather than the normal two-week break, workers at the Chicago, Dearborn Truck, Kansas City, Kentucky Truck, Louisville, and Oakville factories will only get a week off starting on June 29. Additionally, 10 plants for producing components to support these assembly lines will also have the shorter vacation. The rest of the Blue Oval's manufacturing locations will shutdown from June 29 to July 10 for maintenance and retooling. According to Ford, the decision comes because of low inventories and high demand on some of its popular models. The 2015 F-150 is lasting around 20 days at dealers, and the Edge spends an average of 10 days before being sold. Ford is hardly alone in deciding to keep locations open during the normal summer break, though. FCA recently made the decision not to shutdown four assembly plants and all of its factories for components to keep up with demand for models like the Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Dodge Durango. Related Video: FORD REDUCES SUMMER SHUTDOWN TO MEET DEMAND FOR FORD F-SERIES TRUCKS, EDGE, ESCAPE AND EXPLORER JUN 2, 2015 | DEARBORN, MICH. In response to increased customer demand, Ford will add capacity this summer to produce its most popular trucks and utilities Ford will shorten its summer shutdown from the traditional two-week summer shutdown to one week for a majority of North American assembly plants, increasing production by close to 40,000 units In April, Ford F-150 was turning at just 20 days on dealer lots, Edge sales were up 78 percent, and Escape and Explorer remained in tight supply. 2016 Explorers are now hitting dealer lots In response to customer demand for Ford's newest products, the company this year will produce close to 40,000 extra units by idling select plants for only one week during what has been the traditional two-week summer shutdown.. "To meet surging customer demand for our top-selling trucks and utilities, we are continuing to run our North American facilities during the traditional two-week summer shutdown in order to add close to 40,000 units," said Bruce Hettle, Ford vice president, North America Manufacturing.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R named Road & Track Performance Car of the Year

With a 526-horsepower, 5.2-liter V8 that roars to 8,250 rpm, it's really hard to consider the 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R an underdog in any fight. However, the Shelby held the lowest as-tested price and was only middle of the pack in terms of power in Road & Track's 2016 Performance Car of the Year challenge. The 'Stang's numbers clearly didn't tell the whole story about the potent coupe because Ford's muscle car grabbed the title in this year's test. A model needs to be new or significantly updated to be eligible for the honor, and R&T found an impressive slate of eight candidates this year. The challengers included the Bentley Continental GT3-R, Cadillac ATS-V Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper ACR, Mercedes-AMG GT S, and Porsche Cayman GT4. The Ferrari 488 GTB was the most expensive of the bunch with an as-tested price of $347,942, which is five times more than the Shelby. Once the group was together, R&T hustled them over curving roads and on the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. There was a lot to love about the Shelby, even in this impressive crew. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," editor-in-chief Larry Webster said in the announcement of the results. The GT350R joins some great company. Past winners include the Porsche 911 GT3 last year and the Corvette in 2013. For some fantastic photography and the complete appraisal of these performance machines check out R&T's website for the full story. Related Video: ROAD & TRACK NAMES THE FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT350R THE 2016 PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR New York, NY (November 9, 2015) – Road & Track today named the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R the 2016 Performance Car of the Year, beating out seven of the world's best new sports cars. The article appears in the December/January issue, on newsstands November 17, and on RoadandTrack.com. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," said Larry Webster, editor-in-chief of Road & Track. "Not only does the car have soul and harness so much firepower with such ease, but the real achievement here is that it's so approachable. It's a car you can't help but love." The Mustang Shelby GT350R was the winner by a runaway vote.

Autoblog Podcast #417

Episode #417 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about what we're expecting to see at the upcoming 2015 Chicago Auto Show that kicks off on February 12. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #417 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics 2015 Chicago Auto Show In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Bentley Continental GT Speed 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor Long-Term 2015 Volkswagen GTI Long-Term 2014 Jeep Cherokee Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:25:53 Rundown Intro and Garage – 00:00 Chicago show – 27:37 Q&A – 47:27 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes