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Ford Shelby GT350R, GT successor, F-150 Raptor and more rumored for Detroit debut

According to a pair of reports from Hearst's car mags, Car and Driver and Road & Track, Ford has a whole mess of good stuff on deck for the Detroit Auto Show in January. And it all sounds awesome. First, expect to see a hotter version of the Shelby GT350 in Detroit, likely called GT350R. Think of this as the already-hot Shelby with even more track-focused bits baked in – brakes, tires, aero, etc. Everything about the GT350 sounds great, so expect this R variant to be something seriously fierce. As R&T suggests, if the GT350 is the company's new Boss 302, the R is the Laguna Seca. But that's not even close to the biggest news. Road & Track believes a proper Ford GT replacement will debut in Detroit – a road-going version of the Le Mans GTE-class car the Blue Oval is working on for 2016. We've heard about this before, but having the street-legal car debut in Detroit would be absolutely huge news. The performance story continues, though, with R&T suggesting that the next-gen Ford F-150 Raptor will bow in Detroit. Details are scarce about what, exactly, the aluminum-bodied desert stormer will hold, but we expect good things. Finally, Ford's hot hatches might make some news in the Motor City, too. Car and Driver seems to think the all-wheel-drive Focus RS will bow in The D, and that an updated version of the Fiesta ST will also show its face. Road & Track, meanwhile, believes the Focus RS showing will be saved for a European auto show – think Geneva – and our gut feeling is to agree with the R&T theory. All of these rumors point to Ford officially announcing its dedicated performance division – like Mercedes-AMG, BMW M, and so on. We've heard reports of a new, global performance brand from the company already, with the name 999 thrown out as a possibility. In any case, if these rumblings prove to be true, there's going to be a ton to drool over from Ford in January. Stay tuned.

Ford to announce Mulally retirement, Fields CEO as early as May 1

Ford CEO Alan Mulally may be about to announce his long-rumored retirement from the Blue Oval, according to a pair of insiders who spoke to Bloomberg. An official statement on the succession could arrive as soon as May 1. Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields is rumored to step up as the new CEO. The company is said to be readying the announcement soon to ensure an orderly transition of power, according to the insiders.
Mulally's retirement from Ford has been a hot topic for a while. He was seriously rumored last year to be leaving the automaker to take over as the CEO of Microsoft. The board even said at one point that it was okay with them if he stepped down early. However, the CEO maintained he would stay with the business through at least the end of 2014. Fields has been rumored as a frontrunner to take over the top spot at the company since he was promoted to COO.
For the moment, Ford isn't officially confirming any of these plans. "We don't comment on speculation. We do have succession plans in place for our key leadership. We take succession planning very seriously," said Susan Krusel, Ford Global News Manager, to Autoblog.

Ford's Mulally makes shortlist for Microsoft CEO

Ford CEO Alan Mulally has made the short list to take over tech giant Microsoft, lending further credence to rumors that the 68-year-old former Boeing exec would ditch Dearborn and move to Redmond.
The report comes from Reuters, which claims that alongside Mulally, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and three candidates from within Microsoft are on the short list to succeed Steve Ballmer at the company's helm, although previous reports claim the Ford exec is the number one candidate. Mulally is currently working without a contract, although Bill Ford seems to believe that he isn't likely to depart. Despite this belief, Ford was quoted just last month talking about the depth of talent on the Blue Oval's executive team.
"There is no change from what we announced last November. Alan remains fully focused on continuing to make progress on our One Ford plan. We do not engage in speculation," said Ford spokesman Jay Cooney.