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Brits recreate iconic Bullitt chase scene

Recreating the famous chase scene from Bullitt has become almost an art form in its own right. We've seen it done in a music video, with scale models and even in commercials. There are few films that are as defined by a single scene as the 1968 classic. Even if you don't know a single beat of the plot, the Highland Green Ford Mustang racing a Dodge Charger through the hilly streets of San Francisco is famous. It's so well known that the Silverstone Classic has created a homage to promote its celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Mustang at this year's event in July.
Filmed around the famous UK circuit, the short film generally gets the key points of the scene right. It even has a green Volkswagen Beetle that keeps reappearing, as in the movie. Unfortunately, its Steve McQueen stand-in looks a little too old for the role. While the video shortens the chase considerably, it's still great to see these '60s behemoths leaning and sliding around the track. Scroll down for a touch of nostalgia thanks to one of the greatest scenes ever in cinema - we've got both the recreation and the original chase seen from the movie waiting for you.

Would you pay $17 a month to give your older Ford connectivity?

When it was first introduced in 2007, there was nothing like the original Ford Sync system, since it allowed car owners to connect and use a portable device better than anything that came before it. And because it was a brought-in/tethered and software-based system, Sync leveraged a device's connectivity and was easily updated. It took competitors awhile to catch up: Toyota Entune wasn't available until 2011, and Chevy MyLink didn't roll out until 2012. But now Ford is the one playing catchup since it stuck with the brought-in strategy while most other automakers were quicker to add connectivity via an embedded cellular modem. Ford initially installed 2G/3G modems in its small fleet of electric and plug-in electric vehicles starting in 2012 so that owners could keep tabs on charging. Embedded connectivity came to Lincoln in 2014, and Ford began adding onboard 4G LTE via Sync Connect to select cars starting with the Escape in 2015. To get more cars connected more quickly, last week the automaker rolled out its FordPass SmartLink solution that plugs into the OBD port of 2010 to 2017 model year vehicles. This lets owners retroactively get onboard Wi-Fi, set up a "geo-fence" to keep tabs on a car's location, receive vehicle health reports and allows remote engine starting and door locking/unlocking using a smartphone app, among other features. But to connect older Ford vehicles will cost owners $16.99 a month for two years, not including installation. Ford throws in 1 GB of data or a 30-day trial, whichever comes first, after which owners have to add the vehicle to their Verizon shared data plan, which supplies connectivity for SmartLink, or establish a new account. (Disclosure: Autoblog is owned by Verizon.) By comparison, GM's 4G LTE data plans start at $10 a month for 200 MB and goes up to $30 for 3 GB, and owners can also add a car to an AT&T shared-data plan. But OnStar doesn't have a separate monthly subscription for the embedded modem or an installation charge, and standard features via the RemoteLink Mobile App are free for the first five years of ownership. FCA's Uconnect Access service also uses an embedded modem to provide similar telematics features for $20 per month following a free one-year trial, while a la carte in-car Wi-Fi is offered for $10 per day, $20 per week or $35 per month.

Ford and GM link bonus checks to quality scores

The poor first quarter earnings of Ford and General Motors are having an effect all the way up the food chain. Both automakers struggled with recalls in the first three months of the year, and, according to The Detroit News, they have responded by increasing the percentage of bonuses tied to vehicle quality for salaried workers, including top executives.
GM announced that 25 percent of bonuses (up from 10 percent) for all salaried workers would be tied to its vehicle quality standards. The automaker revealed in its financial report that it spent $1.3 billion on recall-related repairs in the first quarter, and net income was down 86 percent.
Ford also increased the quality proportion of bonuses for about 26,000 salaried workers all the way up to CEO Alan Mulally from 10 percent to 20 percent. The company announced in its report that the amount paid out in warranty and recall claims was about $400 million higher than expected in the first quarter. Its net income fell 39 percent from the previous year. "The change reflects how critical quality is to our overall business," said spokesperson Todd Nissen speaking to Autoblog.