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Ford Mustang is the world's best-selling sports car

The Ford Mustang is unquestionably a performance icon in the US, but now the venerable pony car can tout being among the world's favorites, too. According to the latest global data by IHS Automotive, the 'Stang is the world's best-selling sports car through the first half of 2015, with 76,124 registrations. That's a 56-percent increase for the Mustang over 2014's numbers. Making the title slightly more impressive is that this honor comes before the right-hand drive variants go on sale. The first shipments of those don't arrive until at least November. However, a line is already forming. According to Ford, there are nearly 2,000 Mustang pre-orders in the UK, almost 3,000 in Australia, and 400 in New Zealand. The popular model is also launching in South Africa, Japan, and a few other right-hand-drive countries. The Mustang's introduction is also going quite well in China, but the car is of course still most popular here in the US. Through August, deliveries are up 53.1 percent with 86,769 examples going to dealers. The 'Stang is beating its arch rival Chevrolet Camaro in sales, but given the Chevy's age that fight isn't too fair. When production of the sixth generation Camaro gets up to speed, the battle should get really interesting. Related Video: Ford Mustang: World's Best-Selling Sports Car in Early 2015; Production Begins on Right-Hand-Drive Model - Mustang is the world's best-selling sports car in the first half of 2015, according to IHS Automotive global registration data - Global Mustang momentum continues to build as production of the right-hand-drive model officially kicks off at Flat Rock Assembly Plant - 2015 marks first year Mustang is available to customers around the world in more than 100 markets and the first time a right-hand-drive model will be widely available DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 8, 2015 – Customers around the world have made Ford Mustang the best-selling sports car on the globe during the first half of the year, according to global IHS Automotive registration data. During the first six months of 2015, customers globally registered 76,124 vehicles – a 56 percent increase versus the same period last year. "Initial global response to the Mustang has been strong, and we are only in second gear," said Stephen Odell, executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service.

What an Atlas-based Ford F-150 might look like

Just ahead of January's Detroit Auto Show, surprising rumors pegged Ford as revealing some sort of F-150 concept, perhaps as a hurried effort to deflate some of the buzz building around General Motors' new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra twins, which were also making their auto show debut. Those rumblings turned out to be true, as Ford rolled into the Motor City with its Atlas concept (inset, right), touting the truck's bold styling as a precursor to the next-generation F-Series.
The show truck featured all kinds of clever details, including active wheel shutters and a front air dam that raised and lowered to improve aerodynamics while preserving off-road ability. It also had a genuinely snarly face. And it's that pugnacious snout that may well be on its way to production. The good folks at TopSpeed have worked up the plausible-looking artist's rendering above by cross-referencing the Atlas concept with what little has been revealed from recent spy shots. The look is toned-down pretty dramatically from the concept truck, but its Atlas roots are clear, with a massive three-bar grille and bracket-shaped headlamps hiding a next-generation EcoBoost engine. In the rendering, the show truck's deeply contoured hood and roofline have been ditched and larger, more traditional side mirrors have been fitted - all likely concessions in the move to production sheetmetal.
While Ford has yet to officially announce when it will unveil the 2015 F-150, all signs point to next year's Detroit Auto Show - one year after the Atlas shrugged off GM's new pickups.

Weekly Recap: Volvo buys Polestar, makes performance a priority

Volvo is taking its performance business in-house, and the Swedish carmaker announced Tuesday that it bought tuning company Polestar, which has long been known for producing sporty Volvos. The move allows Volvo to ramp up its performance business, and it plans to increase Polestar-branded vehicle sales to 1,000 to 1,500 annually, up from the 750 total projected for this year. The companies have been working together on motorsports projects since 1996. Financial terms of the sale were not released, and Polestar workers will move over to Volvo. Former Polestar owner Christian Dahl will keep control of the Polestar racing team and operate it under a new name. In addition to sales volume, Volvo has ambitious plans for other parts of Polestar, including its aftermarket business. Volvo also said it will use its twin-engine hybrid technology for Polestar models in the future, though specifics and timing were not revealed. Meanwhile, Volvo announced it will offer a run of 265 total Polestars in the United States for the 2016 model year, with S60 and V60s available. "Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, get nose jobs Automakers tend to refer to light updates as 'facelifts,' and that's exactly what Chevy gave the 2016 Silverado and GMC Sierra. Chevy slightly changed the front end of the truck. Using the one photo released of the new Z71 model as a guide, we can see that the headlights went from a stacked vertical design to single bulbs, and they are set on top of LED running lights. The grille has more body-colored elements instead of shiny metal, and the hood has a new line running down the middle (look really closely). The design theme will be similar across the portfolio, though materials and details will vary, a spokesman said. Some models, like the High Country and LTZ will have more chrome, and the LEDs are only for the upper trims. Chevy also said it will use the eight-speed automatic transmission on more versions of the Silverado, and it updated the MyLink feature to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.