2013 Ford Explorer Limited Sport Utility 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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2014 Ford Fiesta ST

Concentrated ST Formula Proves Just As Potent
I'm not the jealous type... usually. But I will fully admit to being somewhat of a Pouty Polly when I read executive editor Chris Paukert's report after driving the then-new 2013 Ford Focus ST through the impossibly pretty southern French Alps region last June. I feel like a broken record saying this yet again, but hot hatchbacks hold a special place in my heart. And while I'm always giddy to drive any sort of small, turbocharged three- or five-door at home in Detroit, my jealousy was indeed piqued after hearing Paukert tell about the challenging yet breathtaking roads he encountered while driving the flamin' yellow Focus. You know, the sort of roads that, from above, look like carelessly drizzled lines of icing on the frosted Alpen caps.
Several months later, I found myself piloting a Focus ST just west of metro Detroit, pitting it head-to-head against one of Autoblog's perennial favorite cars, the Volkswagen GTI. It was fantastic - enough so that I fully stand behind my statement that in terms of balls-out performance, the Focus ST cannot be beat as far as today's front-wheel-drive hatches are concerned.

Ford Ka Concept shown in Brazil, could enter production by 2014

The Ford Ka (pronounce it like a Bostonian saying "car") is the Blue Oval's sub-Fiesta offering in a number of markets that aren't North America. It's been a staple in Europe since it launched in 1996 and in South America since 1997, where it's enjoyed quite a bit of popularity as an affordable, efficient city car.
The European and South American models grew apart over the years, until Europe ended up with a Fiesta-inspired car and Brazil retained a more evolved version of the original Ka's styling. With this Ka Concept, which is really a concept in name only, Ford is previewing a Ka not just for the European market, but as the brand's new, global small car. With city car sales expected to grow dramatically in coming years and the ever increasing price of fuel, Ford's move to get a new, competitive car into the market on a global level isn't surprising.
Wearing Ford's new, familial grille, the Ka Concept features the same crisp, sculpted sheetmetal that's adorned the Fusion and Fiesta. Developed in-house by Ford Brazil, a production version could launch by 2014, according to Ford's press release. It's unclear what engines will sit under this car's hood, although we'd bet the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Fiesta will be available at some point.

Ford celebrating 80 years of Aussie utes as it prepares to shutter Oz manufacturing

Ford is ending Australian production after 90 years in 2016, and with it may go perhaps the most iconic vehicles in its auto market - the ute. Car-based pickup trucks like the Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino were always more of a curiosity than a true market force here, but in Australia, they have long proven hugely popular.
As the legend goes, Ford invented the niche after a farmer's wife had asked Ford Australia's managing director for a more utilitarian car. Her request was simple: "My husband and I can't afford a car and a truck but we need a car to go to church on Sunday and a truck to take the pigs to market on Monday. Can you help?"
Ford's design team came up with a two-passenger, enclosed, steel coupe body with glass windows and a steel-paneled, wooden-frame load area in the rear. The sides of the bed were blended into the body to make it look more unified, and to keep costs down, the front end and interior were based on the Ford Model 40 five-window coupe. Power came from a V8 with shifting chores handled by a three-speed manual. Within a year, the new vehicle was ready, and production began in 1934. Lead designer Lewis Bandt christened it the coupe-utility.