2009 Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor, Asset # 24045 on 2040-cars

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Hennessey Ford GT sets 267.6-MPH record at Texas Mile [w/videos]

The record-setting Hennessey-powered camouflage Ford GT we showed you at this time last year headed back to the Texas Mile and managed to bring home yet another record. As you may recollect, last year saw Mark Heidraker's machine sprint to a record 257.7 mph thanks to propulsion from its twin-turbo 5.7-liter V8. The big mill sucks down race gas, and this year the creation pulled off a 267.6-mph run over the weekend. That feat set a new record for the event. Something tells us neither Heidraker nor Hennessey are done squeezing more thrust from this machine.
This particular Ford GT has already gone through a number of permutations. Hennessey started by tweaking the factory supercharger set up before abandoning the blower in favor of two turbos. Since then, the crew has poked and prodded it to coerce as much grunt as possible out of the car. We expect Hennessey will probably come out with a video of the record-setting run shortly, but in the meantime, you can see a couple of videos of the car's runs in Texas below (one of which actually captures the record run). Enjoy.

Ford finally issues recall for 230K minivans over rust problems

The rust issue in the rear wheel wells of 2004-2007 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans has finally led to a recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation into the matter in 2011, said investigation being upgraded to an engineering analysis a year later while NHTSA tried to figure out how many model years should be included in the assessment.
Ford has decided to recall all of the 230,000 minivans potentially affected, namely those sold in salt-belt states and countries like Canada. The excess rust in the rear wheel wells was also able to prevent the third-row seats from locking to the floor of the minivan. To repair the problem, owners can take their minivans to dealers, and the dealers will place new panels in the wheel wells, replace the third-row seat mounting brackets and relocate the latches to an area away from any corrosion.
Ford says it will begin notifying owners during the last week of March.

Ford Australia debuts Ranger-based Everest SUV concept

Ford has been in hot water in Australia ever since it announced plans to end local production of the Falcon and Territory SUV. Besides canceling a model that is to Oz what the Mustang is to America, the end of production means more than a few folks will be out of work.
Keen to prove that it has a plan for the market, Ford has unveiled the Aussie-penned Everest Concept, a rough-and-tumble, seven-seat SUV. While not a direct replacement for the aging Territory (that role will eventually be filled by either the Edge or Flex, according to Car Advice) it's an indication from Ford's brass that the Blue Oval is still committed to Australia.
To prove that fact, Alan Mullaly, Mark Fields, Jim Farley and regional execs descended on Sydney for the debut of the new concept. Ford's Australian president and CEO, Bob Graziano, said of the Everest, "Our customers, our employees and Australia can be assured that we're connected to the nation and committed to our customers through terrific products with class-leading technologies."