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Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang is a lean, mean, Z/28-fighting machine [w/video]

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that the renewed rivalry between the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro will never, ever cease. For every version of Ford's pony car, there's an equally potent Chevrolet. And so with the debut of the Camaro Z/28 earlier this year, Ford has responded with a track-focused 'Stang of its own, resurrecting the Shelby GT350 name.
It looks to be a fine piece of work, this Mustang, with power coming from a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V8 that will produce "more than 500 horsepower" and "above 400" pound-feet of torque. That grunt runs to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission, and a Torsen limited-slip differential keeps everything in line.
But that's hardly the most impressive piece of the GT350 puzzle. Ford has increased the Mustang GT's chassis stiffness for duty here in the Shelby, and the coupe employs MagneRide damping which automatically adjusts based on road conditions and driver inputs. It's a first both for the Blue Oval and for the segment. And speaking of firsts, the GT350 uses a flat-plane crankshaft - something Ford has never included in a production V8 before.

Ford not backing down on MPG-based marketing strategy

The Blue Oval may have to back off a bit from the green messaging. Ford has had to lower fuel-economy ratings on a number of 2013 and 2014 model-year vehicles, namely its hybrids. And that may force the US automaker to rethink some of its marketing strategy, Automotive News reports. Ford has spent much of the year pushing its fuel-efficiency improvements, with everything from a Super Bowl ad saying its Fusion Hybrid gets "almost double" the fuel efficiency of an average vehicle (after the recalculation, it's now more like 75 percent better) to claiming the Fiesta is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid in the US (it's actually the Mitsubishi Mirage) to stating the C-Max Hybrid gets better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius V (it doesn't). Nonetheless, Ford doesn't plan on changing its mpg marketing emphasis anytime soon, the company said in an e-mailed statement to AutoblogGreen. "Providing customers great fuel economy is a key part of our Ford vehicle DNA." "Providing customers great fuel economy is a key part of our Ford vehicle DNA," the company said. "We will continue to highlight our vehicles features and attributes in our advertising and marketing, which includes fuel economy and fuel-saving technologies like EcoBoost and hybrids." Earlier this month, Ford said it would lower the fuel-economy ratings of models such as the C-Max, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ Hybrids as well as most of the Fiesta line because of mistakes in the company's internal testing data. It was the second change for the C-Max Hybrid. The good news for Ford is that its fleetwide fuel economy is up almost 40 percent from a decade ago, compared to an improvement of around 23 percent for Toyota. Still, while sales of Ford hybrids and plug-ins are about even with last year through the first five months of 2014, C-Max Hybrid sales have plunged 49 percent from a year earlier. Earlier this year, Ford admitted that the first fuel economy downgrade had a negative effect on sales and we can find proof in the numbers. Before that the change was announced, in August 2013, Ford was consistently selling over 2,000 – and sometimes over 3,000 – C-Max Hybrids a month. In September, it dropped to 1,424, then to 1,438 in October. It didn't climb back above 2,000 until May 2014. The second mpg adjustment was announced in June.

First-edition Detroit muscle raises millions for charity at Barrett-Jackson

Amidst all the classic metal crossing the auction block each year in Scottsdale, AZ, Detroit automakers have a tradition of donating the first examples of their most enticing new muscle cars, with the proceeds of their sales going towards worthwhile charities. This year, Barrett-Jackson handled three noteworthy examples. The highest price among them was the first Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang with the VIN #001, which raised $1 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. General Motors donated the first new Chevy Corvette Z06 Convertible, the first retail example of the droptop supercar garnering $800,000 for the United Way. Along with the Z06, GM also donated the first new 2016 Cadillac CTS-V sedan, which brought in $170,000 for Detroit's College for Creative Studies. Although these were the headline Motown muscle machines furnished by the automakers themselves, they weren't the only vehicles auctioned off for worthy causes. A 1950 GM Futurliner bus donated by collector Ron Pratte led the charge when it brought in $4.65 million for the Armed Forces Foundation. Other lots included a custom Jeep Wrangler donated by SEMA ($85k), a new M5 donated by BMW ($800k), a '79 Oldsmobile Cutlass Hurst ($140k), '39 Cadillac LaSalle C-Hawk ($410k), Jeff Gordon's 1999 NASCAR-spec Chevy Monte Carlo ($500k) and a Victory Cross Country 8-Ball motorcycle ($180k). All told, the charity lots raised over $8.7 million for local and national charities. BARRETT-JACKSON REACHES HISTORIC HIGHS FOR SALES, CROWDS AND CELEBRITY APPEARANCES IN SCOTTSDALE • Barrett-Jackson sold 1,611 vehicles, which went for more than $130 million (unaudited), smashing records in the company's 44-year history during the 10-day auction at WestWorld of Scottsdale • Automobilia sales nearly tripled world records, with 2,000 pieces selling for more than $6.55 million • Celebrity attendance and crowds, along with ratings on Discovery and Velocity, spike SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Jan. 18, 2015 – Barrett-Jackson, The World's Greatest Collector Car AuctionsTM, reached historic highs during the Scottsdale auction at WestWorld from Jan. 10-18, 2015. During the 10-day auction, Barrett-Jackson recorded more than $130 million in vehicle sales (unaudited) and a world record $6.55 million in automobilia sales (unaudited), making it the highest auction in sales to date. The Ron Pratte Collection alone brought in over $40.44 million in vehicle and automobilia sales.