1996 Ford Bronco 5.8, Auto Trans on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Meet Shelby Mustang GT500 Miller, Iowa's latest hatchet-wielding criminal

Well, we've found the long-lost cousin of yesterday's Bentley-tattooed criminal from Florida. This is Shelby Mustang GT500 Miller. No, seriously. While his name seems just like the sort of thing we'd expect the Sunshine State to produce, he actually hails from Iowa. Despite coming from the Hawkeye State, Miller was arrested for a decidedly Floridian offense – getting in a bar fight and then returning with a hatchet. The only way this story could be more Florida is if meth, a manatee or bath salts were involved. The fight, which was at the Cheap Seats Sports Bar, started off typically enough, with a verbal argument in the parking lot (please, please let his nemesis be named "Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Smith"). This, naturally, attracted passing police officers. Things were broken up and some friends took Miller to his home, which was apparently just behind the bar. That's when he returned with the hatchet tucked under his shirt. Miller promptly proceeded to take out the implement of destruction in the bar's bathroom and... forget about it entirely. Fortunately, the police hadn't left the area yet. Not surprisingly, Miller was arrested for a parole violation, as well as public intoxication and going armed with intent. Still, cool name, bro. News Source: Iowa City Press CitizenImage Credit: Polk County Sheriff's OfficeTip: Mike Government/Legal Ford crime shelby iowa

A closer look at the 2015 Ford F-150

Despite having to share Ford's Detroit Auto Show stand with the hot new 2015 Mustang, the brand-new F-150 was arguably an even more important debut. Why? Ford moved some 700,000 examples of its F-Series truck in 2012, making it not only the best-selling pickup truck, but the top-selling vehicle in the US, by a long-shot.
The 2015 F-150 raises the bar for pickup trucks in a big way, with big-time use of aluminum. Because of this, roughly 700 pounds have been removed from the truck's overall weight, making it even more efficient than before, while still offering all of the capability that pickup owners expect. And with a host of engines under the hood, including a new 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, the 2015 F-150 will surely offer something for everyone.
During the Detroit Auto Show, west coast editor Michael Harley took a closer look at the new F-150, talking to some of the truck's engineers. Have a look at the full video, below.

Amazon looking to bring Kindle to your next car?

Maybe so. The online retailer and digital media monolith recently announced the Amazon Cloud Player, an application for Ford Sync that allows users to stream media from their Amazon Cloud account directly to a Ford vehicle. This foray into automotive technology got the minds at Gigaom.com thinking about what could be next for Amazon. As Kevin Fitchard writes, the logical step is to make audio versions of your Kindle library selections available in your car. As he points out, Amazon has already laid the groundwork for such a move.
Amazon pulled the sheets back on Whispersync for Voice last year. The tech pairs ebooks with an Audible book for a small extra fee, allowing users to either read along with a narrator or switch between audio and text versions on command. Fitchard says it wouldn't be some great leap to apply the same principles to a car, where voice recognition software would allow users to pause or select chapters without ever taking their eyes off of the road.
It all sounds just fine to us, but Amazon hasn't said a thing about such a move. Still, we wouldn't be surprised to see the company come down this road in the near future just the same.