2006 Ford Freestar Se Mini Passenger Van 4-door 3.9l on 2040-cars

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2016 Ford Fusion hybrid, plug-in getting $900 price cut

While the overall the green car market in the US suffered a slump in 2014 with a 6.5-percent drop in sales, the demand for electric vehicles and plug-ins actually jumped a healthy 28 percent. The Ford Fusion Energi plug-in was among the winners in the segment with a nearly 90 percent boost to 11,550 examples sold for the year. To keep the ball rolling in the face of low gas prices and updated challengers entering the field, the Blue Oval is slashing $900 off the cost of both the Energi and standard Fusion Hybrid to make them even more attractive to buyers. Ford's Monique Brentley told Autoblog that, the reduction was done, "basically, just to attract more customers and promote sales." The cut affects every trim of both electrically assisted versions of the Fusion for the 2016 model year, according to Cars Direct, and it comes without the removal of standard equipment. On the contrary, the Energi reportedly gets a new EcoSelect driving mode that activates additional regenerative braking and more gentle acceleration. The $900 pricing adjustment is only for these models and not available on the versions with only an internal combustion engine, which makes it clear Ford wants to tantalize green car buyers towards this pair. According to Cars Direct, the models should go on sale in late 2015. The least expensive 2016 Fusion Hybrid S will retail for $25,675, plus $825 destination on all of them, and a 2016 Energi start at $33,900. Autoblog's own pricing pages for them show the same numbers (here and here). Cars Direct also predicts for the Blue Oval to keep most incentives in place even after the adjustment. Assuming these figures don't change before the sedans actually go on sale, the price cut makes a 2016 Energi less expensive than a 2015 Chevrolet Volt starting at $34,345 (plus $825 destination). The cost of the updated 2016 model for the Chevy isn't announced yet.

More evidence GT500-replacement will be named GT350

During the recent unveiling of the 2015 Ford Mustang, we saw the car in both V6 and GT form, but we'll have to wait a little bit longer to see the successor to the Shelby GT500. In the meantime, though, it looks like SVTPerformance.com has confirmed reports that this high-performance model will bring the Shelby GT350 name back to Ford.
According to the forum post, a user found the Shelby GT350 name on a Ford promo website listing its 2015 lineup. The Shelby GT350 name was first used on a Mustang back in 1965, and most recently it has been a model created for customers as a post-title purchase by Shelby American. As for that car, Shelby confirmed earlier in the year that its GT350 would be phased out at the end of this month.
The million-dollar question for Mustang and Shelby enthusiasts is when we'll see next factory Shelby GT350. Last we heard it was planned for a debut at the New York Auto Show. We've included our previous spy shots of this hi-po, sixth-gen Mustang, and we've also captured it on spy video showing off its exhaust note.

1969 Ford GT40 Mk III found roaming the halls in Geneva

The halls of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show are filled with all manner of exotic racing machinery, from the likes Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus to McLaren. But there's one peculiar bit of history tucked away that we thought you'd be equally interested to see: a 1969 Ford GT40 Mk III. One of only seven known to be built, this Mk III coupe was intended as a road-going alternative to earlier racing-bred GT40 models, like the original Mk I and 427-cubic-inch, Le Mans-dominating Mk II. Due to its street-legal intentions, the Ford GT40 Mk III boasted revised bodywork that allowed for some luggage and new headlights, along with a redesigned interior with left-hand-drive and a shifter in the normal, center position. The Mk III wasn't very popular when it was new in the 1960s, in part because it looked different from other GT40 models and because it was pretty expensive, but that just means it's an awfully rare gem today. Take a look at the piece of history in our high-res image gallery above. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1969 Ford GT40 Mk III: Geneva 2015 View 18 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Geneva Motor Show Ford Automotive History Coupe Racing Vehicles Special and Limited Editions Performance Classics 2015 Geneva Motor Show ford gt40 autoblog black