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Ford readying 2015 F-150 drift truck for SEMA

Between the Mustangs you'd find in Formula D and the Fiestas in the Global and World rallycross championships, there's no shortage of Ford drift cars on the scene. But at the upcoming SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the Blue Oval automaker intends to show off a different kind of drift machine.
Created in collaboration with driftmeister Vaughn Gittin, Jr., this custom F-150 has been designed for "on- and off-road capabilities, as well as drifting and jumping." It's got a suspension with components from Kibbetech King and Air Lift Performance to give it 12 inches of travel and comes packed with 5 Recaro seats. Other details remain limited, but if the rendering above is anything to go by, it ought to be pretty awesome.
Alongside the Gittin truck, Ford will also be showcasing another F-150 designed together with freestyle motorcross rider Brian Deegan, packing the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine and a long list of enhancements. Between these two trucks, Ford hopes to extend its winning streak for the Hottest Truck award that it's taken four years running now. Feel free to read more in the press release below.

Ford halves summer shutdown, ramps SUV production

For the third consecutive year, Ford is reducing the length of its summer shutdown for several factories to keep up with high demand for some models. This year, the decision means 40,000 more units of popular trucks and crossovers like the F-Series, Edge, Escape, and Explorer. Rather than the normal two-week break, workers at the Chicago, Dearborn Truck, Kansas City, Kentucky Truck, Louisville, and Oakville factories will only get a week off starting on June 29. Additionally, 10 plants for producing components to support these assembly lines will also have the shorter vacation. The rest of the Blue Oval's manufacturing locations will shutdown from June 29 to July 10 for maintenance and retooling. According to Ford, the decision comes because of low inventories and high demand on some of its popular models. The 2015 F-150 is lasting around 20 days at dealers, and the Edge spends an average of 10 days before being sold. Ford is hardly alone in deciding to keep locations open during the normal summer break, though. FCA recently made the decision not to shutdown four assembly plants and all of its factories for components to keep up with demand for models like the Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Dodge Durango. Related Video: FORD REDUCES SUMMER SHUTDOWN TO MEET DEMAND FOR FORD F-SERIES TRUCKS, EDGE, ESCAPE AND EXPLORER JUN 2, 2015 | DEARBORN, MICH. In response to increased customer demand, Ford will add capacity this summer to produce its most popular trucks and utilities Ford will shorten its summer shutdown from the traditional two-week summer shutdown to one week for a majority of North American assembly plants, increasing production by close to 40,000 units In April, Ford F-150 was turning at just 20 days on dealer lots, Edge sales were up 78 percent, and Escape and Explorer remained in tight supply. 2016 Explorers are now hitting dealer lots In response to customer demand for Ford's newest products, the company this year will produce close to 40,000 extra units by idling select plants for only one week during what has been the traditional two-week summer shutdown.. "To meet surging customer demand for our top-selling trucks and utilities, we are continuing to run our North American facilities during the traditional two-week summer shutdown in order to add close to 40,000 units," said Bruce Hettle, Ford vice president, North America Manufacturing.

We drove the Ford Ranger | Autoblog Podcast #520

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, we discuss our recent trip to New Zealand to drive the global Ford Ranger. As always, we talk about the BMW i3 and a Jeep Wrangler with a whole suite of modifications from Omix-ADA and Rugged Ridge. Finally, we close the podcast with by spending your money. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #520The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Ford Ranger and New Zealand BMW i3 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rundown 00:00:00 - Intro/New Zealand 00:11:28 - What We're Driving 00:22:30 - 4th of July Roadtrip Cars 00:30:00 - Spend My Money 00:33:35 - Outro Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts BMW Ford Jeep