'81 Ford F100 Custom Explorer Pick Up on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog's June 2019 Editors' Picks

Each year we review, test and rate hundreds of brand-new cars, trucks and SUVs. We rate these vehicles using the Autoblog score, giving a select few our Editors’ Pick. Here are the best cars we drove in June 2019. 2019 BMW 8 Series Everyone on the Autoblog staff loves a good grand tourer, so we were excited to get behind the wheel of the revived BMW 8 Series, specifically an M850i Coupe. A good GT needs to be as fast as it is stylish and comfortable, and the new 8 Series delivers. We particularly like the 523-horsepower twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8Â’s copious power and smooth ride quality, even on MichiganÂ’s pockmarked post-winter roads. We dig the interior design, too, though not everyone was in love with the exterior. ItÂ’s not the best-handling car in its class, and doesnÂ’t hide its sizable proportions very well, but itÂ’s still worth a look if youÂ’re looking for a big, fast cruiser.  2019 Ford Expedition Crossovers may be the hottest vehicles on the market, but thereÂ’s still a sizable demand for traditional body-on-frame SUVs like the Ford Expedition. These behemoths offer plenty of space in addition to truck-like capability. We like the Expedition's smooth ride, powerful twin-turbo V6 and sharp exterior design, though the interior can feel a bit cheap, especially on some of the more expensive trims. Adding options quickly puts it into Lincoln Navigator territory, and itÂ’s hard to recommend the Ford over the Lincoln when the latter packs the same capability into a far nicer package. Still, the Expedition is as good or better than the competition in most respects, and thatÂ’s why itÂ’s one of our picks. 2019 Toyota 86 Few cars at any price point are as much fun as the Toyota 86 (and its twin, the Subaru BRZ). We like the 86Â’s balanced chassis and sharp steering, and while itÂ’s not as nimble as its close rival the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the ToyotaÂ’s back seat and trunk make it a more usable vehicle. But while we like the 86Â’s driving position, the rest of the interior feels cheap and dated, especially the infotainment system. We complained about the anemic powertrain back in 2012, and itÂ’s only gotten worse as the years have gone by.

Ford builds Lightweight Concept with Fusion shell [w/video]

It's a fairly well known fact that removing weight from a car is essentially a panacea for many of the modern automobiles problems. Does it handle like crap? Remove weight. Underpowered? Don't add power; trim the fat. Need to improve fuel economy? It's diet time.
Actually executing a major weight reduction program, though, much like with human beings, is no easy task. Unlike you or I, where motivation is the issue, the prohibitive measure in trimming a car's waistline is money. Lightweight materials are expensive, with carbon fiber and carbon-fiber reinforced plastic still primarily in the domain of higher end vehicles. Even aluminum construction, pioneered on a mass-produced level by Audi and Jaguar, is only now starting to make its way into the mainstream, thanks to the upcoming Ford F-150.
With this concept, though, Ford is attempting to show that a mass-produced, lightweight vehicle isn't too far off. This is the Lightweight Concept, and while it may look like a Fusion, it weighs as much as a Fiesta. For reference, the lightest Fusion available to the public is the 3,323-pound, 2.5-liter model with a manual transmission. A manually equipped, 1.6-liter Fiesta, meanwhile, is just 2,537 pounds.

Ford F-450 claims best-in-class towing, company abandons practice of removing items to boost payload number

The ongoing heavy-duty truck battle between Ford and Ram is showing no signs of slowing down. The Blue Oval is trying to remove at least one point of contention between the two brands by testing its 2015 F-450 Super Duty using the Society of Automotive Engineers J2807 towing standard, which Ram also uses. In the new evaluation, the F-450 is rated at a max towing capacity of 31,200 pounds. That's an identical amount as under Ford's own, previous test.
"We leave no doubt with customers that the F-450 pickup truck has best-in-class towing of 31,200 pounds - whether tested using our own internal towing standards or SAE J2807," said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president for Global Product Development, in the company's release.
At the same time, Ford is also changing how it calculates the F-450's payload. Instead of using its minimum curb weight as before, the brand is now using the truck's base curb weight. The revision lowers the pickup's rating to 5,300 pounds, compared to 5,450 pounds previously. The company said in its announcement that the reason for this is "aligning its payload rating practices with other manufacturers to make it easier for customers to compare vehicles." General Motors made a similar switch for its pickups in August.