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Why Edmunds took a sledgehammer to its 2015 Ford F-150

The discussion around repair bills for the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 pickup continued from the beginning of last year to the end, and haven't abated; as an aside, some Tesla Model S owners have been shocked at disquieting repair estimates for minor damage to their aluminum wunder-sedans. Edmunds decided to inject some fact into the fray: it bought a $52,000 long-term 2015 F-150 and clouted it with an eight-pound sledgehammer. Twice. The rear of the bedside took the impacts since it couldn't be replaced, it would have to be repaired. To the pickup's credit, the only reason associate editor Travis Langness hit it twice was that the first sledgehammer blow didn't do as much damage as Edmunds wanted. After the second, the visible damage included the two direct impacts, a few creases, and a cracked taillight, so they drove the pickup to Santa Monica Ford to get an estimate, complete with a fictitious story about how the damage occurred and the mercy plea that Langness was paying for the repair out-of-pocket. In Part 2 Langness hits on some of the details with getting the truck fixed, such as the massively expensive taillight and the list of tools Ford recommends dealers have to work on aluminum. But he was promised he'd have his truck back in seven days, and Santa Monica Ford got it back to him in seven days. In Part 3 we get the bill. It's not small, but it's quite a bit less than it could have been if the service manager had charged Edmunds the official labor rate for aluminum. We're not going to spoil it here, so check out the videos above and below for the beginning and the end, and head over to Edmunds for the complete story about how it all happened and some riffing on the repair numbers. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Video:

Ford Shelby GT350 shows off HUD shift light [w/video]

We're getting pretty geeked about the upcoming Ford Shelby GT350 as Ford continues the slow trickle of news about the upcoming Mustang track beast. To review: 526 horspower, optional carbon-fiber wheels, and a wicked exhaust note from the flat-plane crank V8. And the latest piece is a programmable shift light that projects onto the windshield The head-up display, officially called Performance Shift Light Indicator, throws a line of amber lights in front of the driver's line of sight. Chevrolet uses a similar system on Camaro and Corvette models with an optional head-up display. While the GM HUD offers additional information like vehicle speed and a tachometer, the Ford system is more customizable. Depending on which of three modes, the lights flash in different patterns: Tach mode moves left to right, Track mode moves from the outside to the end until it makes a solid line, and Drag mode flashes all the light when the rpm limit is his. On the Shelby, the Performance Shift Light Indicator settings are programmed through menus in the instrument cluster's multifunction display. Stay tuned for more GT350 news next week, and check out the full press release below. View 6 Photos Ford Shelby GT350 Gets Racing-Inspired Customizable Shift Light Indicator to Help Drivers Optimize Track Time • Shelby GT350® Mustang features Performance Shift Light Indicator display with Track, Tach and Drag mode • Performance Shift Light Indicator provides the benefits of a shift light while allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the track at all times • Heads-up shift light was developed by reimagining existing hardware and is standard on all-new Shelby GT350 and Shelby® GT350R DEARBORN, Mich., July 23, 2015 – When driving the high-revving, 526-horsepower Shelby GT350® Mustang, drivers would do best to keep eyes on the road. So that's where Ford put the Performance Shift Light Indicator. For decades, race drivers have used shift lights that signal the perfect engine speed for the shift point for maximum acceleration and lower lap times during the intensity of on-track driving. Shift lights allow drivers to concentrate on the road in front of them rather than watching a tachometer. However, most shift lights either obscure the forward field of view or are located low in the instrument cluster where the driver must look down to see it. The Performance Shift Light Indicator is a heads-up display located in front of the driver.

Mulally to stay at Ford through end of 2014 at least

Alan Mulally isn't going anywhere... at least not just yet. The CEO who helped turn around Ford Motor Company has been linked to the top job at tech behemoth Microsoft, leading to a flurry of rumors about potential successors. Those rumors, though, may have just been put to rest - at least for a little while.
Speaking to Edsel Ford II (great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford) at the unveiling of the new Mustang, Automotive News Europe confirmed that Mulally would stick around until the end of next year. "Alan is staying through the end of 2014 and that's all I know," said Ford. "Frankly, he has told us that his plan is to stay with Ford through the end of 2014."
Presuming that Edsel Ford is correct and that Microsoft isn't so hot on Mulally that it saves the position for him, it seems increasingly likely that the 68-year-old exec is more interested in continuing to work in Dearborn rather than in Redmond.