1994 Ford Ranger Xlt on 2040-cars

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Ford honors Chinese Year of the Horse with Vaughn Gittin Jr., Mustang video

Calendar years and fiscal years tend to be the only timetables automakers concern themselves with, but that doesn't mean there isn't recognition of other measures of time. Ford has opted to observe the Chinese zodiac, largely because the Year of the Horse ended just last week. That's fortuitous timing, considering the first Ford Mustangs were making their way towards the People's Republic as celebrations were carrying on. To recognize this fact, and the end of the Year of the Horse, Ford recruited drift king Vaughn Gittin, Jr., to take a 2015 Mustang GT to the streets of Ordos City, in north-central China. It's not as dramatic as some of Ford's recent videos, like the one starring Ken Block and the Ford Focus RS, but it's pretty cool all the same. Take a look. Related Video: News Source: Ford Performance via YouTube, Yahoo! Autos Ford Coupe Performance Videos

Lewis Hamilton owns 15 cars, uses tow trucks to keep the mileage low

No matter how you feel about Lewis Hamilton off the track, it's impossible not to respect his talent behind the wheel. Currently, Hamilton is the second most successful Formula One driver of all time. His 67 wins and four championships place him only behind Michael Schumacher's 91 wins and seven championships. With all those winnings, Hamilton has racked up a decent personal fortune, much of which he uses to buy cars. Except he doesn't drive them quite as much as you might think. According to The Sunday Times, Hamilton's net worth of just over $207 million makes him one of the richest sports figures in the UK, just behind David Beckham. In a recent interview with the British newspaper, Hamilton gave some details on his personal car collection. His first car was a used Mini Cooper, soon followed by a Mercedes-Benz C200. Both have long since been replaced by a pair of original Shelby Cobras, a 1967 Shelby GT500, a Ferrari 599 SA Aperta, two LaFerraris (a red coupe and a white Aperta), a McLaren P1 and a Pagani Zonda 760 equipped with a manual transmission. All in, Hamilton has about 15 cars split between homes in Monaco and Los Angeles. Unsurprisingly, he has a Mercedes-AMG Project One ( a car that shares more than a little with his F1 W09 EQ Power+ race car) on the way. Hamilton has some hot takes on his personal collection. "The Zonda is terrible to drive," he said. "It's the best-sounding car I own, but handling-wise it's the worst. I got it in manual because I didn't like the tiptronic version. The tiptronic Pagani offered was worse than the Smart Roadster I had." He also says his Shelby Mustang is a "beautiful car, but a heap of junk." In order to keep the miles down (and valuations up), Hamilton apparently has a tow truck on retainer in Los Angeles. When he's finished driving one of his Ferraris, he'll have the car towed back to his place. Classic cars are becoming a solid and serious investment, and Hamilton doesn't want to squander his wealth like some other athletes. That said, there are a couple more cars Hamilton would love to own, including a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (the one with the gullwing doors) and a Ferrari 250GT California Spyder (the one from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"). Related Video:

Production Ford Escort heading for Beijing

Ford's long-dormant Escort nameplate returned affixed to a sedan concept at last year's Shanghai Motor Show. While not exactly a beauty, it showed a clean, straightforward take on Ford's current styling. The Blue Oval said at the time that it wanted to create a model that was stylish "but not one that is arrogant or pretentious." Job done. A year later, it looks like the minimalist vehicle might make its production debut at the Beijing Motor Show.
Autocar claims that the streetgoing version has been confirmed to it for the upcoming show, but so far, Ford isn't saying. If unveiled, the Escort is likely to be produced locally for the Chinese market with a domestic partner. Powertrain details remain a secret, but it seems highly likely that any production model would use a small three- or four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive. Sales in other major world markets like ours are unlikely, but a test car was recently spotted in Europe.
Autoblog contacted Ford for confirmation, but the automaker demurred, with a spokesperson saying only, "At the moment, we are not confirming any vehicles planned for the show." It looks like we will have to wait to know for sure.