1999 Ford Explorer Xlt Sport Utility 4-door 4.0l On New 22s on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mustang GT350 reveal coming Nov 17?

Ford looks to have something really big planned for the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The Blue Oval has released the first of five teaser videos on the brand's performance heritage, and aside from some great images of racers over the years, the video includes a series of teaser images, the last of which points to November 17, 2014.
That's the day before press days open in LA, and considering the propensity of global automakers to plan lavish debuts the night before a major international auto show, it's a virtual certainty that Ford will be showing off some sort of special vehicle.
That'd be news in and of itself, but based on the images shown in Ford's teaser video - which include an Alcantara steering wheel, a "Powered by Ford" valve cover, aluminum pedals, sticky tires, a big, round exhaust tip, a honeycomb grille and a serious set of wheels - it seems very likely that Ford will be showing something performance oriented.

What's in a trademark? Sometimes, the next iconic car name

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is a treasure trove for auto enthusiasts, especially those who double as conspiracy theorists.
Why has Toyota applied to trademark "Supra," the name of one of its legendary sports cars, even though it hasn't sold one in the United States in 16 years? Why would General Motors continue to register "Chevelle" long after one of the most famous American muscle cars hit the end of the road? And what could Chrysler possibly do with the rights to "313," the area code for Detroit?

Ford Focus RS will go global, come to US

"We are transforming our approach to performance." – Mark Fields Ford will launch a new high-performance Focus RS around the world, including the United States, company CEO Mark Fields confirmed at a press conference Thursday morning. It is expected to debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show, though launch timing is unclear. "We are transforming our approach to performance," Fields said. The RS will serve as a hotter variant of the Focus, which will be redesigned next year as part of Ford's 16 product launches. Our spy photographers have already captured images of a purported RS, which you can see above. Ford last sold a Focus RS in Europe in 2009, and it continues the long lineage of RS-badged performance cars, which dates to 1968. "The RS has a significant heritage and pedigree," Ford product chief Raj Nair said. The Focus RS will slot above the Focus ST, which will continue, a spokesman said. The ST runs a turbocharged, 252-horsepower four-cylinder that's paired with a six-speed manual transmission. It also has chassis and design upgrades to reinforce its athletic dynamics. The most recent intel suggests that the new RS could use Ford's 2.3-liter turbo-four, tuned to anywhere from 325 to 350 hp. All-wheel drive is also rumored to be part of the new RS formula. Meanwhile, Ford announced it is putting all of its sporty units under the umbrella name of "Ford Performance," which will be led by Mustang chief engineer Dave Pericak. Ford Performance will include Ford Racing, SVT (which is responsible for the Raptor and Shelby GT350) and RS. "We're changing Ford's performance business," Nair said. Ford is placing a renewed emphasis on performance, as the customers tend to be younger, wealthier and better educated, Nair said. In other news, Nair said the company is working on a Raptor version of the new, aluminum-bodied F-150, which launched this year. "I want to get it out as quickly as we can," he said.