Ford

Carbon Revolution to Build Wheels for Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford technology and tagged 2015 ford shelby gt350 mustang 2016 carbon fiber ford gt350r shelby on by (updated 3424 days ago)

GT350R-WheelThrough its 50-plus year history, the Ford Mustang is not a nameplate that has been renowned for showcasing cutting edge technology. Now a year into the sixth-generation model that debuted last fall, that view of the car is starting to change with debut of the new Shelby GT350R. When deliveries start later this summer, the GT350R will be the first mass-produced car in the world with standard carbon fiber wheels and Australian wheel-maker Carbon Revolution will be supplying the rolling stock.

(more…)

Would Lincoln Ever Challenge for Overall Le Mans Victory?

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford Lincoln racing the business and tagged dan neil facebook ford gt le mans lincoln lmp1 motorsports on by (updated 3449 days ago)

Lincoln_LE_MANS_6A day before the 2015 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford Motor Company executive chairman Bill Ford announced that the company bearing his family name would be partnering with Ganassi Racing to field four of its new GT supercars in the French enduro next year. Wall Street Journal auto critic Dan Neil wrote about this on the newspaper’s website on Sunday after the race. More interesting perhaps was what he wrote when he linked to his Journal piece on Facebook.

There he said that he felt the GT should be badged as a Lincoln rather than a Ford to help support the premium brand. I’d like to suggest a different strategy for what Ford might be thinking here. Full disclosure, when I left the Ford communications team in mid-2014, I was privy to some future product information which had not yet been revealed at the time including the Lincoln Continental, Ford GT, Focus RS and Shelby GT350. All of that information has now been publicly announced and what comes next is pure speculation on my part with no basis in fact.

(more…)

Ford GT Officially Heading Back to Le Mans in 2016

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford racing and tagged 2017 ford gt 24 hours of le mans endurance racing ford ford gt ford gt40 ford performance ganassi racing gt le mans lm-gte multimatic tudor united sports car championship world endurance championship on by (updated 3451 days ago)

FORD_LE_MANS_14In early 1963, Ford Motor Company very nearly acquired Ferrari. Fortunately for automotive enthusiasts the world over, Enzo Ferrari rebuffed the offer from Henry Ford II at the last possible moment. There is no way of knowing what would have happened if the Dearborn automaker had succeeded in subsuming the then tiny Italian sports car manufacturer and racing team. However, we do know that the rejection spawned one of the greatest rivalries and some of the greatest cars of the past half century. The day before the 2015 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, starting with “We’re Back!” Henry Ford II’s nephew Bill announced the next stage in that rivalry with a 2016 return to Circuit de la Sarthe powered by the all-new GT.

(more…)

The 2015 Ford Shelby GT350 V8 – When Flatter is Better

This entry was posted in Carmakers Ford technology and tagged 2015 ford shelby gt350 mustang ford gt350 gt350r mustang shelby voodoo voodoo v8 on by (updated 3461 days ago)

gt350 v8 - 20

A few weeks ago we got an in-depth look the platform changes that the SVT/Ford Performance engineering crew made in the process of transforming the 2015 Mustang GT into the new Shelby GT350. However, a great chassis can only you get you so far. Every great sports car also needs a great powerplant and here the engineers appear to have come through again. Unlike the last couple of generations of SVT Mustangs, this time around the team have come up with something completely different, the 5.2-liter Voodoo V8.

(more…)

Ford SYNC3 Launching This Summer on Fiesta and Escape

This entry was posted in Carmakers Ford technology and tagged connectivity ford infotainment myford touch sync 3 on by (updated 3462 days ago)
The SYNC 3 home screen features three zones, Navigation, Audio and Phone, as well as a quick access function tray along the bottom making for a more straight-forward user experience.

The SYNC 3 home screen features three zones, Navigation, Audio and Phone, as well as a quick access function tray along the bottom making for a more straight-forward user experience.

In 2007, Ford changed the way we connect our mobile devices to our cars with the introduction of SYNC on the Escape. In 2011, Ford almost overnight destroyed the goodwill toward SYNC with the introduction of the hugely troubled MyFord Touch which was known internally as SYNC V2. While Ford made MFT much better over the last couple of years with software updates, it also began work on a complete reboot. The result of those efforts debuts this summer as SYNC 3 and the Fiesta and Escape will be the first vehicles to get this all-new connectivity and infotainment system.

(more…)

The Design of the 2017 Ford GT

This entry was posted in Carmakers Ford technology and tagged 2017 2017 ford gt design ford ford gt on by (updated 3483 days ago)

2016 Ford GT design - 18 of 61

When the all-new third-generation Ford GT hits the streets in 2016, it will in many ways be the most radical departure in the more than 50 year history of the brand. But that doesn’t mean this new edition has completely broken with its DNA. Enough hints of its heritage remain visible to connect this 21st century supercar to its ancestors while bringing it up to most modern technical and design standards. Ford recently invited us down into the secret basement room under its design studio to talk about how this car came to be.

(more…)

2015 Ford Shelby GT350 – Built From the Wheels Up

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford technology and tagged 2015 Ford Shelby GT350 2015 ford shelby gt350 mustang brakes carbon fiber ford mustang suspension on by (updated 3489 days ago)

IMG_7543

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Shelby-badged Ford Mustang, the 1965 GT350. With an all-new Mustang having hit the streets last fall, 50 years after the original, the first true GT350 since the 1960s is now in the final stages of development and it promises to be truer to the spirit of that first model than any of the cars to wear that badge since.

(more…)

From Mustang I to 2015 – Evolution of the Ford GT over 50 Years

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford and tagged carroll shelby design ford ford gt ford gt40 mustang I sports cars supercars on by (updated 3080 days ago)
By July 1963, the upper intake had been added

By July 1963, the upper intake had been added, courtesy Ford Motor Company Archives

It’s not often anymore that automakers actually get to keep anything completely secret heading into auto show season. Aside, from the Buick Avenir concept which no one really saw coming, the closest thing to a true secret at this year’s North American International Auto Show was the all-new third-generation Ford GT. While rumors had been swirling about this car ever since someone associated with long-time Ford Racing partner MultiMatic mentioned something in passing last summer, there were none of the usual teasers from Ford, no spy photos, nothing at all in fact to indicate what the new Dearborn supercar would look like.

(more…)

2015 Ford F-150 XLT, 2.7 EcoBoost

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford reviews Trucks and tagged 2015 ford f-150 auto start-stop car review car reviews ecoboost engine start stop ford fuel economy pickup trucks review on by (updated 3150 days ago)

2015 Ford F-150 XLT 01

The constant push to one-up the competition while at the same time meet ever tightening fuel economy standards is driving a transformation in America’s most traditional vehicle segment, the full-size pickup truck. This year, perennial market leader Ford has tried to leap-frog the competition with a dramatic shift from the traditional steel body and bed construction to aluminum intensive construction along with an all-new mainstream twin-turbocharged V6 engine. Is it enough to keep the F-150 out in front of the pack? I spent a week driving one in search of some clues.

(more…)

2015 Ford Mustang GT – The Best Pony Yet

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford reviews and tagged 2015 ford mustang gt car review car reviews ford mustang gt mustang pony car review on by (updated 3150 days ago)

15Mustanggtstatic 12_lzn

Let me make this perfectly clear right up front. I am now and have been for as long as I can remember a Mustang fan. When I was a kid, a family friend had a blue 1970 Mach 1 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Of course, after 50 years in continuous production, there have certainly been plenty of Mustangs which were far short of lust-worthy, but at least they kept the brand alive. In 2014, as pony car fans from around the world celebrated those first 50 years, Ford debuted an all-new sixth-generation (or ninth depending on how you count) Mustang and I finally got to spend some quality time with one as winter melted into spring.

(more…)