2004 Ford Mustang on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Edmunds ranks the best used cars for 2013

When people ask us what car we would recommend for them, it's usually not easy to answer. To make a useful recommendation we must consider which of the numerous vehicle segments fits their needs best, and then choose one of the many vehicles offered in each segment. For some people, new cars don't meet their expectations of value, because they lose so much of it the moment they are purchased and driven off the dealer lot. For them, there's always the used-car market, where great deals can be found, but cars' histories of reliability and maintenance records - and perhaps that Certified Pre-Owned warranty - become ever-important factors playing into purchase choice.
To help out, Edmunds has done us the favor of assembling a list of the best used vehicles money can buy, covering model years 2006-2011, according to what it considers the most important criteria when shopping for used autos: reliability, safety, value and availability. That means unreliable, unsafe, super-expensive or limited-edition models don't appear on the list, but instead cars from each segment that are more likely to satisfy the general population.
There are some real goodies on the list, including but not limited to vehicles such as the capable Honda Fit, the cultish Honda Accord coupe (which can be had with a 240-horsepower V6 and a six-speed manual transmission some years), and the powerful Chevrolet Corvette. While Edmunds' choice of the Volvo C70 for best used convertible baffled us at first (not that it's a bad car), it redeemed itself by stating that the Mazda MX-5 still is an unofficial top choice if you don't require more than two seats.

Ford set to target pre-school market with next F-150 variant

How do you build a strong group of loyalists from the next generation of American drivers? You start em' young. Ford has taken that lesson to heart, as we can see in the first batch of images of the company's new entry to the pre-school market, the Power Wheels F-150. This particular example was caught returning from testing around Ford's base of operations in Dearborn, MI – covered in tiny little bits of camouflage, too. Now, this could very well end up being a collaboration between Power Wheels and Ford. Then again, it could just be some bored engineers that decided to troll the local congregation of spy photographers, who earlier today captured images of the next Focus RS and SVT Mustang. Whatever it is, it's pretty darn cool. Take a look up top for images of the new Power Wheels F-150.

Hands on with Ford Sync 3

It's kind of funny (not funny) how the infotainment systems in our vehicles seem to lag behind the consumer products in our pockets. Long after we had easy-to-use touchscreens on our phones, the glass panels in the center stack of our cars remained obstinately mired in the muck of technology past. We are happy to report it's getting better. We had a chance to go hands-on with the new Sync 3 system from Ford at a technology event. Not once were we struck by the urge to reach out and offer a bit of knuckled encouragement. The processors kept swiping smooth, and the voice recognition could understand even our mumbly mouthings. The voice prompts were certainly fewer and less frustrating than in times past. Ask for the nearest Indian restaurant, and it quickly brought up a list to choose from, ready to offer directions. Want to listen to NPR, just say the word. Sync 3 also improved its ability to get along with others, by which we mean it nicely integrates a range of apps from your phone and can incorporate their individual areas of expertise. With Pandora installed, we could ask for a particular playlist and it would begin streaming. If we wanted a certain artist, it would pull it from the phone's memory upon request. To get a sense of what how the new system functions, check out the video above for a quick look at the improved layout and a demonstration of its smoothness and smarts. To get a look at how it integrates with music streaming services, scroll down for a Pandora-centered Short Cut below.