1946 Ford F-1 Stepside Pickup on 2040-cars

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Shelby American cleans house of 14 concept cars

Typically when an automaker rolls out a concept car or pre-production prototype, it does its tour and then disappears into the company's archives. Maybe it will be displayed for the public to see in the company's own museum or maybe it will spend most of its time under covers in a warehouse somewhere, but every once in a while, an automaker will open up its history and start selling off its concept cars. For Shelby American, "once in a while" has just rolled around.
The House that Carroll Built is moving from its previous headquarters at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to a new facility off of the Las Vegas strip, and in the process is liquidating fourteen of the rarest cars in its collection. That presents a tremendous opportunity for muscle car collectors to bring one or more of these snakes home.
As you might expect, the catalog is composed mostly of Mustangs, but not exclusively. There's a pair of 289 Cobras: the last of the 50th anniversary slab-sided continuation cars and an original development vehicle, offered at $200,000 apiece. At the other end of the spectrum you'll find the 2013 Shelby Raptor concept for $125k and Focus concept for $50k. And of course there are the Mustangs.

Bomb threat closes Ford Romeo Engine Plant [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Ford has released the following statement about what's happening at the factory: "The Ford Romeo Engine Plant was reopened at 12:47 PM after law enforcement investigated and cleared the site. The afternoon and evening shifts are expected to report at their usual start times. Further questions on the investigation by law enforcement can be directed to the Romeo Police Department." Due to a bomb threat, Ford has evacuated its Romeo Engine Plant, and law enforcement is on the scene. According to the Detroit News, police with bomb-sniffing dogs are searching the building, which covers over 2 million square feet. Ford spokesperson Mike Moran wouldn't disclose to Autoblog how the threat was received but said that it came in between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Eastern on July 30. "The day shift was sent home," he said. According to the Detroit News, the second shift was also asked not to come in. About 500 people work at the plant, Moran indicated. At this time, Moran said that there hadn't yet been an update from law enforcement whether anything had been found in their search. The Romeo Police Department confirms to Autoblog that it's handling the investigation. However, the authorities wouldn't comment further about what is happening at the plant at this time. Related Video:

Obama to herald auto industry turnaround from idled Ford plant

President Barack Obama will tout the recent successes of the American auto industry in a speech on Wednesday. This would be a fine and dandy plan aside from two small hitches. First, the president is visiting Ford's Wayne, MI factory, which is rather strange considering the government bailed out the company's local rivals, Chrysler and General Motors. Even more worrying, considering the topic of the speech, is that the Wayne facility has been idled due to a lack of demand. According to The Detroit News, the White House said the speech will focus on "the workers in the resurgent American automotive and manufacturing sector now that the auto rescue has been completed and the decision to save the auto industry and the over one million jobs that went with it." Wayne Assembly employs some 5,100 Michiganders when its lines are up and running, but as gas prices have plunged below $2 per gallon in some areas over the past month, its fuel-efficient products – the Focus and C-Max – have seen their sales plummet, as well. In December, the Focus' year-over-year sales were down 4.4 percent, while the C-Max dipped 3.3 percent, Ford told The News. Lagging sales for the two compacts aren't a new thing, though. Focus sales in all of 2014 were down 6.4 percent, while the C-Max struggled with a 21.6-percent drop last year. According to The News, Ford made the decision to idle the factory before being approached by the White House. Considering that, we wonder what the team at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was thinking when it selected the Ford facility, and what impact the location will have on the president's message. News Source: The Detroit NewsImage Credit: Mira Oberman / AFP / Getty Images Celebrities Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Ford