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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year entries announced

Over 40 vehicles will compete for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year awards. If that name looks a little strange, it's because the competition added a third category. In years past, pickup trucks, crossovers, SUVs, commercial vans, and minivans competed for the same award. That's why there were occasionally weird comparisons, like last year's competition between the Volvo XC90 and Nissan Titan XD. The new format separates pickups and commercial vans into the truck contest and CUVs, SUVs, and minivans into the utility competition. A complete list of eligible vehicles is below, but here are a few highlights. For one, the entire list of entries has a luxurious lean. Of the 43 vehicles, nearly half of them are from premium brands. There are two eligible Bentleys – the Bentayga and Mulsanne – the Rolls-Royce Dawn, Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q7, and the Mercedes-Benz GLS-, E-, and S-Class Maybach. The performance ranks are lofty, too, with the Audi R8, Acura NSX, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Mercedes SL- and SLC-Class, Porsche 718, and F-150 Raptor. The mainstream entries are just as comprehensive. From the Chrysler Pacifica to the Chevrolet Cruze to the Fiat 124 Spider to the Mitsubishi Mirage, NACTOY has covered an enormous price range with this year's contestants. Of course, these are only the eligible vehicles. They'll need to run through three rounds of judging, starting in September at NACTOY's traditional Hell, MI, test drive. The Canadian and American journalists involved in the judging will announce this year's nine finalists – three in each category – on December 6. Cars Acura NSX Alfa Romeo Giulia Audi A4 Audi R8 Bentley Mulsanne Buick Cascada Buick LaCrosse Cadillac CT6 Chevrolet Bolt Chevrolet Cruze Fiat 124 Genesis G90 Hyundai Elantra Infiniti Q60 Jaguar XE Kia Cadenza Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Mercedes-Benz S550 Maybach Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class Mini Clubman Mitsubishi Mirage/G4 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman Rolls-Royce Dawn Toyota Prius Prime Volvo S90 SUVs Audi Q7 Bentley Bentayga Buick Envision Cadillac XT5 Chrysler Pacifica GMC Acadia Infiniti QX30 Kia Sportage Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 Nissan Armada Trucks Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups Ford F-150 Raptor Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan half-ton Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley Bentayga View 23 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub.

Ford debuts Fusion NASCAR racer that edges closer to stock [w/video]

The sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar, which will make its competition debut at the 2013 Daytona 500 this weekend, marks the closest thing to a "stock car" that the sport has seen in more than 20 years. No longer using just stickers to distinguish the different brands, the image above shows the lengths NASCAR and automakers went in order to create a racecar design that more closely resembles the individual cars they represent.
Ford, one of the more open and vocal OEMs regarding the Gen6 car's development, is giving us a closer look at its racing version of the Fusion with a pretty revealing side-by-side comparison with last years' racer (click above for an expanded view). Aside from the more realistic front end and production-like body lines, the overall shape, dimensions and proportions have also been designed to give the racecar a more stock appearance. Most of the new racer was designed by the Ford Design Center, which the automaker says was the first time it has been so involved in the design process since the 1960s. Of course, one area the Sprint Cup Fusion really differs from the production Fusion is its Ford Racing 5.8-liter V8 producing around 850 hp. Can you say Fusion SVT?
Scroll down for a quick video from Ford Racing showing a production Fusion morph into a Cup car.

1969 Ford Talladega GPT Special is a SEMA showstopper

Rad Rides by Troy has unleashed upon the SEMA crowds this custom 1969 Ford Torino Talladega GT Special, and it's a beauty. The car calls to mind the classic Holman Moody stock cars that circled NASCAR tracks in the late 1960's, driven by the likes of Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney and David Pearson, who won the Grand National title in both 1968 and '69 in a Ford Torino.
Even though it has plenty of stock-car influence, there's nothing retro about the car's design or powertrain, other than the fact that the engine is based on a Ford Boss 429 block. Fuel injection, aftermarket aluminum heads and a high-tech custom computer system combine to send 750 reliable ponies to the rear wheels through a Tremec five-speed manual transmission. Brakes measure 14-inches all around, with six-piston Wilwood calipers up front and four-piston units out back.
There's custom bodywork abound, painted in a two-tone Tennessee Whiskey Gold and Daytona Sand finish. Check out all the amazing details in the image gallery below, and scroll down to read all about it in designer Troy Trepanier's own words.