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Muscle wins big at 2013 Amelia Island Concours as 1936 Duesenberg, 1968 Ford GT40 take top honors

The 18th-annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance took place this past weekend, and in one of the show's biggest years yet (bringing in more than 25,000 spectators and attracting more than 300 vehicles), two powerhouses ended up winning the judges' hearts. The top Concours d'Elegance award went to a 1936 Duesenberg SJN, while the Concours de Sport went to one of the celebrated marques, a 1968 Ford GT40.
Owned by Helen and Jack Nethercutt of Sylmar, CA, this flawless Duesy is described as "one of the most powerful open cars of the 1930s," and it displays design cues of the era like rolled fenders and a tapered rear end. The SJN's supercharged straight-eight allowed it to accelerate to 100 miles per hour in just 17 seconds - surely not a disappointing feat for its day.
On a much different level of performance and timelessness, this Gulf-livery GT40 from the Rocky Mountain Auto Collection is not outdone by the elegance of the big Duesenberg thanks to some well-documented racing history. This not only includes winning at LeMans in both 1968 and 1969 - Chassis No. 1075 also managed to win a total of six times in just 11 races.

Ford's simple suit makes you feel like a drunk driver

We've all heard about the dangers of drunk driving for practically our entire lives. Whether it's from PSAs on TV or lectures in school, no one can claim ignorance of drunk driving being extremely dangerous. However, that doesn't prevent some people from still doing it. Ford is trying to take the safety message directly to young drivers with a special suit that allows them to simulate driving under the influence. It is all part of Ford's Driving Skills for Life program that gives free driving education to young people. The program is meant to "train kids in skills they don't learn in driver's ed," said Kelli Felker, Ford Safety Communications Manager, to Autoblog. The drivers don a few items to impair their senses and make them off-balance to simulate having a few too many drinks and then go out on a closed course with an instructor to see the effects. Felker said that the suit is a new part of the program, and Ford just received the outfit in the US. It will be incorporated into the training here in the late spring or early summer. Scroll down to see the effect it has on drivers in Europe. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ford bringing 10 custom Transit Connects to SEMA

With 57 vehicles planned for its SEMA display, it comes as little surprise that Ford has plenty of teasers for its show cars. After showing us what it has in store for the Mustang, Fiesta and Focus ST, now we're getting a look at some of the custom creations based on the redesigned 2014 Transit Connect van.
These nine Transit Connects are decked out to various degrees of customization, but our favorite might be the chopped and lowered Transit Connect from Mob Steel (shown above), which has a similar slammed stance that we see on some custom VW Buses. On the opposite extreme, LGE & CTS Motorsports has jacked up a Transit Connect to make a Cross Country cruiser that we wouldn't mind taking on a road trip.
There are seven other teasers from various companies, and you can check them all out in the gallery above or in the press release below. Ford is also promising a tenth Transit Connect for SEMA, so stay tuned for that as well.