2012 Ford F150 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lincoln trumpets $129M investment, 300 new jobs in Louisville for MKC

Remember when we used to talk about how close Lincoln was to being axed and how it seemed any day now the Grim Reaper would use it as a car service back to the grave? Last time we did it was, oh, not even a month ago. What a difference 27 days makes: Ford and Lincoln are trumpeting a $129M investment in the Louisville Assembly Plant that builds the MKC.
In July the MKC was the third-best-selling Lincoln of the brand's six offerings, beat by the MKZ and - by a much smaller margin - the MKX. It has sold 2,895 units in the two months it's been on sale, which is more than half the year-to-date sales of the MKS, MKT and Navigator. It's already important, is what we're trying to say, and this is before the Chinese market gets a crack at it later this year.
The money headed to Kentucky will be joined by 300 new workers, another marker in Ford's march to create 12,000 hourly jobs in the US by next year. You can read more about it in the press release below.

Watch this lead sled go rallying in Finland

Custom cars generally fit into neat little boxes in terms of how they are used. For example, you're unlikely to see a modded Corvette going rock crawling; it's just not what it's made for (though we bet it'd look awesome, for a minute). In the same way, chopped, channeled and customized '50s hot rods aren't really meant to go racing. They look great and go fast, but they are generally more cruisers than sports cars.
However, if this video is any indication, the people of Finland don't adhere in these stereotypes, because this rodder is happy to play in the dirt with his lead sled.
According to the video, the driver is a member of the Ford-Freak Club of Finland, and he clearly knows how to have some fun. Possibly inspired by his country's great rally drivers, he gets the tail way out going around this gently curving gravel track. The stunt is somewhat reminiscent of the stock cars races on the sand at Daytona Beach, and this is probably close to what it sounded like too. Scroll down to watch a very cool Finn getting his hot rod a little dirty.

Ford Focus RS ready to make our hot hatch dreams real

Ford's current hot hatch siblings the Fiesta ST and Focus ST are already two pretty great entries into the segment, but there's always a desire for a little more. Thankfully, it looks like the Blue Oval is ready to satiate that need because it's continuing to test the even more powerful Focus RS around Europe. According to our spy shooters, these shots come from near the Nürburgring.
As with previous photos, Ford engineers continue to heavily camouflage the front end of the RS prototypes, but there's a big difference here. Unlike earlier ones, this example appears to have a closer-to-production-ready front bumper rather than just a horizontal strip for the license plate. That may point to development getting somewhat closer to wrapping up. Although, this one lacks the larger rear wing from prior testers, and the exhaust also appears to be a work in progress with the rear diffuser covered in mesh in these latest shots.
The RS is rumored to be using the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the 2015 Mustang, but power is reportedly turned up from 310 horsepower in the 'Stang to somewhere between 325 hp and 350 hp for the Focus. Routing all that just through the front wheels could be a recipe for serious torque steer, and all-wheel drive is potentially being used for better traction.