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Saleen SA-30 Mustang, Camaro and Challenger help celebrate the big 3-0

After 30 years of tuning performance cars and building racecars, Saleen is celebrating its racing heritage with a limited-production car line called SA-30. Based on the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, Saleen will only build 10 of each SA-30 model at a base price of $95,000.
For that money, buyers will get upgraded suspension, brakes and engines, and while the power figures have not been released for the SA-30 620 Camaro and SA-30570 Challenger models, the SA-30 302 Mustang will be the top performer with 625 horsepower. Each car will be painted up in a custom pearl white hue with black and yellow accents, and get white wheels shrouding yellow powder-coated brake calipers. Inside, the SA-30 offerings will all get a proper Saleen interior with black leather and white Alcantara on the seats, along with the expected smattering of SA-30 badges.
On all three SA-30 models, customers will have various options available to further customize their cars, including a rear-seat delete option that transforms each car's cabin into a race-inspired interior with a chassis-strengthening rear cross brace. Perhaps the coolest feature of all, though, is the Saleen Frost-Touch Glass that is an option on the SA-30 302 Mustang. Similar to the Mercedes Sky Control roof first introduced on the Mercedes SLK, the Saleen Frost-Touch Glass allows the Mustang's optional glass roof and rear window to be switched from transparent to opaque at the push of a button.

Ford of Europe celebrates Mondeo's 20th anniversary

Ford's European operations are celebrating a milestone of sorts as the Mondeo, the Blue Oval's bread-and-butter D-segment sedan in the old country, celebrates its 20th anniversary. The mid-sizer, which was sold in the US for a short time as the Contour, has been a far more popular vehicle in Europe - even receiving regular praise from one Jeremy Clarkson.
Narrated by Cockney actor Ray Winstone, the video goes through the Mondeo's years and how it's evolved from 1993 to the as-yet-unreleased fifth-generation model, which is essentially the same as the Ford Fusion that's sold in America. Take a look below for the full video from Ford of Europe.

Hot-selling Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator get production boost

Ford is investing an additional $25 million in its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville to increase by 25 percent production of the hot-selling and all-new Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition SUVs. The investment adds to $900 million in previously announced spending at the plant, which also builds F-Series Super-Duty pickups and employs 8,400 workers. Assembly-line workers are putting in overtime and working voluntary weekend shifts to keep up with demand. The new investment will cover upgrades to the assembly line but does not involve further hiring, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker says. The popularity of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator is a bright spot as Ford stock has been battered by Wall Street amid concerns concerns about the automaker's future vision and slowness to detect trends. Ford says the investment is an example of its bid to improve "operational fitness," one of CEO Jim Hackett's common refrains. Ford says Navigator retail sales more than doubled in January, and Navigators are spending an average of just seven days on Lincoln dealership lots as customers trade in vehicles including Land Rovers and Mercedes-Benz. Nearly 85 percent of buyers are opting for high-end Black Label and Reserve trim packages, contributing to an average transaction price increase of more than $21,000 in January compared to a year ago. The 2018 Navigator won the North American Truck of the Year award and also topped a Detroit News poll of public favorites at last month's Detroit Auto Show. Sales of the Expedition, meanwhile, were up almost 57 percent last month as the full-size SUVs also spent an average of just a week on dealer lots. Platinum trim models represented 29 percent of sales, pushing transaction price increases up $7,800. Ford gave the 2018 Expedition an all-aluminum body to save mass in its first significant redesign since 2007. The plant last year got nearly 400 new robots, mainly in the body shop, to help increase line speed, and Ford added a robot lab where employees can test software tweaks or troubleshoot issues away from the factory floor. The Louisville plant also benefits from extensive new data analytics, with seven big-screen monitors providing minute-by-minute updates showing progress against hourly targets or alerting workers to pending parts shortages. A huge spare-parts "vending machine" lets workers more quickly locate needed parts and keep inventory at necessary levels.