2014 Ford F150 Platinum on 2040-cars

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Autoblog Podcast #394

Episode #394 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Michael Harley talk about the possibility of a supercharged Dodge Viper, the Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition, the newly released supercharger kit for the Honda CR-Z, and rumblings of an Alfa Romeo 6C. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #394: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Supercharged Viper Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition Honda CR-Z Supercharged Alfa Romeo 6C In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ford Fiesta SE 2015 Cadillac Escalade 2015 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro 2015 Audi A8 L TDI Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Harley Runtime: 01:32:30 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Supercharged Viper - 44:25 Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition - 55:19 Supercharged Honda CR-Z - 01:00:52 Alfa Romeo 6C - 01:07:29 Q&A - 01:13:41 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes

2015 Ford C-Max gets a corporate nose job [w/video]

Ford might not have the splashiest booth here at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, but the automaker is showing off quite a bit of hardware that will actually end up on roads across Europe. Parisians are no doubt tickled at getting to see the specifications of the Mustang tuned for The Continent (which has a revised suspension for European roads, and a few visual nips and tucks), in addition to the revised face of the family-friendly C-Max.
As you can see, C-Max styling has been revisited with a deft touch, grafting Ford's six-sided corporate grille on the nose, in place of the outgoing car's two-part affair. New headlights can also be found on the car's revised front fascia, though the rear end of the C-Max looks only slightly different than the current version.
Inside the cabin, Ford has consolidated controls and upped the ante in terms of material quality, with "black satin" and chrome details and more storage capacity, overall. Grocery-lugging moms and dads everywhere should appreciate the hands-free liftgate feature, as well.

2015 Ford Mustang to offer solid-rear axle, sort of

One of the biggest knocks against the last Ford Mustang was its solid-rear axle. Not one to actively court criticism, Ford dutifully swapped out the old-fashioned rear end for something a bit more modern in the redesigned 2015 Mustang, adding an independent rear suspension across the board.
While an IRS Mustang is great news for those that value handling and ride comfort, there's one big group that it's bad news for - drag racers. See, a solid-rear axle is a big deal for drag racers, because not only is it more durable and cheaper, but it's better for the hard launches that can make or break a race.
To satiate this vocal demographic, Ford will sell a body-in-white version of the Stang, complete with a nine-inch rear axle, that will debut at the 2014 Performance Racing Industry show. The news came from gas2.org, which cited an unnamed employee of Ford Racing at this year's PRI show.