2003 Ford F-150 on 2040-cars

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Radical RXC is a Mustang-hearted racecar for the road

Radical has been building fantastic open-cockpit racers and roadcars for years, for the track day enthusiast who wants a vehicle that looks like it could show up for a start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The company's latest creation is the RXC, and while this coupe looks like a prototype racer, it's road legal in the UK and in some parts of the US. When testing a car this, um, radical, the first thought is likely to get it to the track for some big slides and wide open acceleration, but XCar Films takes the opposite approach in its latest video to learn how this racer fares on public roads. The version tested here is the standard RXC with the 3.7-liter V6 out of the Ford Mustang tuned to 350 horsepower with a seven-speed sequential gearbox; but Radical also offers the same engine with 380-hp, a 454-hp Ford EcoBoost 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, or even a 500-hp V8. Even in the most basic guise, it's a handful to control in the wet, if this video is any indication. The cliche of a road-legal racecar is bandied around a lot in the motoring world, but it truly applies to the RXC. The only problem with seeing the RXC exclusively on the road is that it can never really open up and show its full potential. This racer is indeed chomping at the bit to rocket off into the horizon, but all those pesky road safety laws hold it back. Still, the video is a chance to get a better impression about this thoroughbred sports car. Scroll down to check it out. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

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.

Ford talking unibody Ranger replacement

Now here's some welcome news. Car and Driver reports Ford is seriously mulling a replacement for the recently deceased Ranger, but the successor to the compact pickup's throne may not look anything like what we've seen from the nameplate in the past.
While speaking at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, Doug Scott, marketing manager for Ford Trucks, said there's still a market for a smaller pickup, but that buyers expect to see a larger differentiation between the smaller utility vehicles and their full size counterparts in price, capability and fuel economy.
According to Scott, that means a vehicle with a payload capacity of around 1,000 pounds paired with a towing capacity of 3,000 pounds and "a dramatic reduction in fuel consumption." But the biggest piece of that recipe is the price tag, and Scott says to keep the MSRP far enough away from the already cheap F-150, the answer could come in the form of a unibody design. Scott says target customers in this market don't care whether the truck has a traditional frame or not, so long as it's tough enough to do the job and has the capability they need.