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New 2020 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator recalled for minor safety issues

Ford has announced a small recall on 2020 Explorers and 2020 Lincoln Aviators. Select units might be missing a manual park release cover, while others might have instrument clusters stuck in Factory Mode. The recall affects 14,135 SUVs in total.  While a vehicle is in production in a manufacturing facility, Ford might put them in what is known as Factory Mode to help reduce battery drain. Affecting the instrument cluster, this mode disables warning alerts, warning chimes, and does not show the PRNDL gear selector display. Ford says one vehicle was in an accident at a production facility as a result of the issue, but nobody was injured.  Separately, Ford found that some of these Explorers and Aviators might be lacking a manual park release cover. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require a manual park release cover that is only removable with a tool. Without the cover, there is a very minor chance the manual park release could be accidentally actuated, which could allow the vehicle to move on its own.  The recalls affect 13,896 vehicles in the U.S. and 239 in Canada. The Explorers were built between March 27, 2019, and July 24, 2019. The Aviators were built between April 10, 2019, and July 24, 2019. Owners can use Ford's recall number 19C06, and if affected, can take their vehicles in for fixes.

Pickup prices rising at 2x industry average

We've said it before, but bears repeating: Pickup trucks are the financial engines of America's automakers. Good thing, then, that the segment is in rude health - in fact, Automotive News is suggesting that pickup truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, even though the segment's volume is still significantly down from where it was before the bottom fell out of the US economy. That's because per-unit profits on full-size trucks are skyrocketing, outpacing the industry's average price increases by more than double since 2005. According to data from Edmunds, the average transaction price of a full-size pickup is now $39,915 - a heady increase over the $31,059 average price in 2005 - a gain of over 8 percent after inflation is factored in.
Just how important are trucks to automakers' bottom lines? Automotive News quotes a Morgan Stanley analyst as saying the Ford F-Series is responsible for 90 percent of the company's 2012 profits, and General Motors isn't far behind, with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra twins chipping in about two-thirds of the automaker's earnings.
Automotive News points out that Detroit's automakers now have the money to invest in modernizing their full-size truck offerings, in part because they don't have the same overhead and legacy costs that pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Certainly, the pickup segment has seen a lot of innovations as of late, including turbocharged V6s, coil-spring rear suspensions and active aero. Those improvements in important areas like fuel economy and ride comfort have given existing pickup buyers new reasons to upgrade. In addition, automakers are piling on the tech and luxury goodies, creating more and more high-content, high-profit models like the Ford F-150 King Ranch, Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn and Chevrolet Silverado High Country (shown).

Ford gets dirty testing the 2017 Raptor

Want to hear the sweet sound of turbochargers spinning merrily away underhood of a 2017 Ford Raptor pickup truck test mule? Of course you do. And we're happy to oblige. Fortunately for you, those aren't the only sounds you'll hear when you watch the video above. We noted plenty of birds and insects, too, which means Ford has finally seen fit to share some good old fashioned muddy off-road footage of its upcoming off-road superstar as it is subjected to rigorous testing ahead of its on-sale date in the fall of 2016. It's no secret that we're big fans of the first generation of the Ford Raptor. If there was one complaint we've voiced about the truck, it's that the off-road-specific pickup could use a touch more power. Fortunately, more power is coming for 2017 as Ford replaces the outgoing 6.2-liter V8 with a new version of its 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. We don't know exactly how many horses the new truck will corral, but we know it will be more than the 411 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque offered by the previous truck. This is the second time Ford has let out some interesting information about its tests of the next Raptor, the first focusing specifically on grueling desert trials. Considering the promises Ford is making about the 2017 Raptor's various off-road capabilities, we're keen to put the pickup through its paces ourselves. For now, though, join us in watching the video above. Related Gallery 2017 Ford SVT Raptor Desert Testing News Source: Ford Ford Truck Off-Road Vehicles Videos ford f-150 svt raptor ford raptor