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Man has surgery to remove T-Bird turn signal that's been in his arm for 51 years

In 1963, real estate agent Arthur Lampitt was driving a new Ford Thunderbird near East Peoria, Illinois on his way to an appointment when he collided head-on with a truck. A massive accident that was so bad that it was originally reported as a fatal crash, Lampitt suffered a broken hip and that became the focus of doctors' efforts. In fact, no one noticed the fact that the turn-signal stalk had been broken off the steering column and had lodged itself in Lampitt's arm. Fast-forward to around ten years ago, when Lampitt set off a courthouse metal detector because of a "slender object, about the size of a pencil" in his arm. Despite that unnerving discovery, the doctor who examined Lampitt said that since it didn't hurt, he needn't worry about it. This year, however, it did start hurting and the affected arm started to bulge. Lampitt decided to have the issue seen to, and suspected it might have something to do with his 1963 accident. When he looked through photos of the wreck taken by a friend, he noticed the turn-signal stalk of the Thunderbird missing and figured that was the culprit. After a 45-minute outpatient surgery, the surgeon verified it: a slim, slightly bent and corroded, seven-inch metal cylinder with a trumpeted end. The surgeon said a protective pocket had formed around it, which is why it could remain in Lampitt's arm so long, but it was still unusual - "We see all kinds of foreign objects like nails or pellets, but usually not this large." Lampitt, who is expected to make a full recovery, says he might make a keychain out of it, once he's done just holding it. News Source: St. Louis Post-DispatchImage Credit: Jesse Bogan, St. Louis Post-DispatchTip: Jon Auto News Ford Coupe accident wreck ford thunderbird turn signal

Ford could post best-ever profits in Q1 2013

Analysts are saying that Ford Motor Company may have earned a record $2.7 billion pretax profit in North America during the first quarter of 2013, a number that represents its highest first quarter profit ever. The impressive earnings are further proof that the American automaker is making a solid comeback as the economy begins to recover.
Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase are estimating that Ford's first quarter North American profit may have topped 12 percent. The firm cited the automaker's fresh lineup, but noted that CEO Alan Mulally needs to uphold the pace as the company works to gain ground in the car and utility segments.
Ford's success has been led by increased demand for its F-Series pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the US for 31 years, and by the Fusion sedan that recently recorded its best-ever quarterly sales in the domestic market. Ford is expected to release its first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, of this week.

2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee vs. midsize crossovers and SUVs: How they compare on paper

In a world full of SUVs and crossovers all competing for similar buyers in similar segments, there are still some models that find their own little niches that lack such fevered fighting. The Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of those vehicles. It's an oddball in the sense that it's a midsize crossover SUV with a unibody chassis and independent suspension, but it still uses rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive systems and has some off-road capability. It's also a midsize crossover, but only offers two rows of seats. Despite the Grand Cherokee's odd nature, we did come up with a few crossovers and a classic SUV that seem to match the Jeep in size and pricing. We looked at the numbers to compare them on paper. You can find the raw data in the chart below and deeper analysis after that. As always, this is just a comparison of specifications and you'll want to check out our driving impressions of each car if you're getting serious about one or all of these vehicles. And if you want to compare any of these against other vehicles, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Engines and Drivetrains When comparing base engines, the Jeep Grand Cherokee's 295-horsepower is the clear power winner, beating the next most powerful 4Runner by 25. But in torque, the 4Runner takes the laurels with 278 pound-feet, narrowly edging out the Edge's (no pun intended) turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder's 275. That four-cylinder in the Edge will also be picking up another 5 horsepower for 2019, but it still won't win this power contest. Both Ford and Jeep also have another advantage in the fact that you don't have to settle for the base powertrain. Ford has two other engine options, a naturally aspirated V6 and a twin-turbocharged V6, the latter of which outguns the Grand Cherokee's gasoline V6 in both power and torque. That engine will also be bumped up to an impressive 335 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. View 20 Photos The Jeep has the most engine options, though, and it's the only to offer V8 and diesel options. On most Grand Cherokees, the options include a 5.7-liter V8, which is only available with 4WD. It makes 360 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque, outperforming even the 2019 Edge's twin-turbo V6. The diesel engine doesn't make much power with just 240, but it makes up for it with torque at 420 pound-feet. And of course there are the SRT and SRT Trackhawk models with even bigger and supercharged V8 engines respectively.