1966 Ford Mustang on 2040-cars

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Second trailer for 'Ford vs. Ferrari' hints at a good racing drama

The second trailer for the movie "Ford vs. Ferrari" just dropped, and ooooh, the movie that director James Mangold calls "Butch and Sundance in the world of racing" is looking good. We previously covered Entertainment Weekly's sneak peak into the film, and we've also included the first trailer, below, in case you missed it. The new trailer, above, focuses on Ford's motivation to get into the race, which was Enzo Ferrari backing out of a deal to sell his car company to Ford when Ferrari realized Ford wouldn't let him run Ferrari's racing department the way he wanted. And with Enzo's flair for final words, he apparently sent Ford emissary Lee Iacocca off with various insults of Ford's cars, factories and CEO. The second trailer lays into the battles within Ford over the GT40 program, specifically the clashes of ego and temperament between Henry Ford II, GT40 impresario Carroll Shelby, star driver Ken Miles, and various Ford Motorsport functionaries. At one point, Henry Ford II mentions to Carroll Shelby that Ford Motor Company knows how to go to war, referring to the battle with Ferrari. Based on the trailer, the more pressing matter might have been getting everyone to stop waging war on everyone else. The second trailer is below. The film, based on an original screenplay, stars Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II, Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale as Ken Miles, Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles, and Jon Bernthal as Lee Iacocca, and is due in theaters Nov. 15. If the movie ends up turning you off, though, you can hang out for the television series about the same events, to be based on A.J. Baime's book, "Go Like Hell." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ford Fiesta ST gets worked out on the track

We're big fans of the turbocharged Ford Focus ST, and we're plenty excited that the Blue Oval will be offering a similar treatment on the smaller Fiesta here in the United States, too. We first saw the production-ready Fiesta ST five-door at the Los Angeles Auto Show last fall, and Ford has now released this video of a Euro-spec three-door ST being flung around the track.
But not just any track - the challenging Track 7 of Ford's Lommel Proving Grounds in Belgium. The course features 20 turns and plenty of elevation changes along its 2.7-mile loop, and David Put, a vehicle dynamic specialist at Ford, shows just how good the pint-sized Fiesta ST is at handling the lot, even getting the smallest ST up on three wheels every now and then.
It sure does look like a lot of fun, and makes us really eager for our chance to try this ourselves. Scroll down to see the hot little Ford getting busy.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.