2006 Ford Expedition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 Saleen 302 Black Label Mustang unveiled with 730 horsepower

The last time Saleen made these pages it was to report that the firm was out of money. However, just before that announcement, the tuning specialist told us about the three Saleen 302 Mustangs it was developing at three levels - White Label, Yellow Label and Black Label, with those latter two trims to put out 640 horsepower and 565 pound-feet of torque. Well, the Black Label is here - don't let the California Sunset paint fool you - and it's more powerful than planned, with 730 hp and 600 lb-ft blasted out of a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 hooked up to a twin-screw supercharger. Saleen says it's the most powerful, refined, and advanced Mustang it has ever built. Keeping all that power on the road is the increase in downforce that comes from a body that's been extended one inch in front and two inches in the back, and the wing suspended over the decklid. The stock suspension is refitted with Saleen S4 springs, shocks, swaybars and bushings, and the 20-inch wheels on 275-section rubber hide 15-inch dimpled rotors. The interior gets the requisite frills in leather and contrasting stitches, as well as new gauges and badging. It'll take $73,214 to open the door, but just $2,015 to put down a deposit. For more info, check out the press release below. Related Video: 2015 Saleen 302 Black Label Mustang March 15, 2015 -- Earlier this year, Saleen Automotive released their 2015 White and Yellow Label 302 Mustangs to much fanfare. To round out their fleet, Saleen pulled out all the stops and developed one of the best Mustangs to date. This car is set to change the way pony cars are looked at from here on out. At a one-of-a-kind event in Downtown LA, Saleen raised the curtain on the latest pony car out of their Corona, CA headquarters. "Since I started building cars in 1984 my goal has always been to go above and beyond where anybody has been before", said Steve Saleen. "This will by far be the most refined and advanced Mustang we have built to date." With over 30 years of experience in both racing and manufacturing vehicles, it was only a matter of time before Saleen built a Mustang as comprehensive and technologically advanced as the 2015 302 Black Label. Power Saleen combined the reliability and potency of the 5.0L Coyote motor with a twin-screw supercharger. The pair produces the most power from a production Mustang yet at 730 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque on 91 octane gas.

Obama Administration wants 200-mile EV that charges in under 10 minutes

When it comes to electric vehicles, you can find issues preventing mass adoption pretty much anywhere. Which is why you can then also look for solutions pretty much anywhere. That's the method the Obama Administration announced yesterday and it involves everything from shorter charging times to more public chargers, from bigger government fleets of electrified vehicles to an "Electric Vehicle Hackathon." The new plan is looking into blistering charging speeds of up to 350 kW. Perhaps most exciting, there was a commitment made to try and increase the speed of fast charging. Today, Tesla's Supercharger network has the fastest public charging available ( up to 145 kW), but the new plan is looking into blistering speeds of up to 350 kW. That's fast enough to recharge a 200-mile EV in under 10 minutes. Another cool future was promised by the Battery500 Consortium goal, which wants to create better batteries that cost under $100 per kWh. There was no actual technology revealed at this time, but announcements like this are about new ways to approach the future, not the nitty-gritty technical details. That's why the new announcement touts the fact that 12 utilities and charging companies have committed to increase their deployment of EVs and charging infrastructure, that there are 35 new partners (businesses, non-profits, universities, and utilities) for the DOE's Workplace Charging Challenge, and that there will be an EV "Hackathon" this fall to, "discover insights and develop new solutions for electric vehicle charging." The White House's announcement comes on the heels of the first-ever Sustainable Transportation Summit (STS). The STS was sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and was held earlier this month in Washington, DC. After all this activity, almost 50 companies and organizations have signed on to the new "Guiding Principles to Promote Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure" document, including the usual suspects: Tesla, BMW, Nissan, Ford, General Motors, Chargepoint, the California Air Resources Board, and the State of California (notably, the usual suspects are also missing). You can read the entire announcement from the White House here, but we've put the Guiding Principles below. The Obama Administration has made strong pushes for electric vehicles before, including proposals to increase the tax credit for EV buyers to $10,000, among other things.

Weekly Recap: Ford GT inspires guitar, foosball table, sailboat

Ford design vice president Moray Callum had just wrapped up a briefing on the interior of the Ford GT last month, but something seemed out of place. He grinned and pointed behind him, "You might be wondering why I have a boat behind me," he said mischievously. It was there because Ford set its designers on a mission to stretch and showcase their talents: design non-automotive objects inspired by the interior of the GT supercar. Callum received quite a response, too. His team produced a guitar, a foosball table (yeah bro!), a racing sailboat, a Wi-Fi speaker and some furniture. As the veteran design chief explained, "It's a really great exercise both to highlight our designers' talents, but also to really see how our design philosophy can work and how you can use it and get a common response back from a worldwide design team." Guitar View 25 Photos The objects have been on display this week at the Salone del Mobile furniture and fashion design fair in Milan, Italy, where Ford has had a presence for three years. There's also a light exhibition that apparently was inspired by the GT, as well. While this might seem a little far-fetched for the automaker, Ford said exhibitions like the Salone del Mobile give its designers another way to be creative and ultimately produce striking interior style. Ford wants this to be a differentiator, as research shows consumers are placing emphasis on the layout and features inside when they're making a decision about buying a new car. It's a little light hearted – but it's also potentially big business. Other News & Notes Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for Buick General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said the Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for a large Buick, though "not yet," Automotive News reported. The underpinnings can accommodate rear-wheel or all-wheel drive and would give Buick the large flagship it lacks. The report jibes with comments Reuss made at a roundtable with Autoblog and other reporters at the New York Auto Show. When asked if Buick had space for a large car on the CT6 chassis, he replied, "Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think we do." Buick has revamped its lineup in recent years with attractive crossovers and small and midsize sedans, but hasn't added the proverbial flagship that's yearned for by enthusiasts. Buick surprised industry observers with the stylish Avenir concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year that raised the possibility of a halo sedan.