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Ford tells Congress it collects and protects some driver data

Last month Ford's Jim Farley made waves at the CES when it was reported he told show attendees, "We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing. By the way, we don't supply that data to anyone." Farley and Ford later partially retracted and clarified that statement.
Spurred by a desire for further transparency on data collection policies, Ford representatives answered questions from Congress, specifically Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), about driver privacy.
The Detroit News reports that Ford told Congress it does collect some vehicle location data in an effort to "troubleshoot and improve our products" on behalf of the driver. Ford went on to say that it only collects limited data after receiving permission from owners.

Ford F-Series Super Duty earns Truck of Texas award

Texans love their pickup trucks, which you already knew. That means the Texas Auto Writers Association and its "Truck of Texas" award is a big deal. And the latest trophy goes to the 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty. The pickup truck managed to snag TAWA's award at the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. The award marks the 13th time Ford's F-Series has been named the pickup king of the Lone Star State. Roughly 70 journalists converged outside at the Longhorn River Ranch, just outside of Austin, TX, for the 23rd annual Texas Truck Rodeo where a host of Ford's vehicles won awards. In addition to the F-Series Super Duty being named the "Truck of Texas," the 2017 Ford Super Duty won the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck award, while the 2017 Ford F-150 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine won the Best Powertrain award. The journalists also awarded Ford for having the "Truck Line of Texas." Ford wasn't the only winner at the Texas Truck Rodeo, as Nissan brought home five awards, including one for the 2017 Titan in the fullsize pickup category and one for the Armada in the SUV segment. Ram also won a few accolades with its trucks. The 2017 Ram 1500 won for being the most luxurious pickup truck, while the 2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon won the off-road pickup truck award. Last year, TAWA named the 2016 Nissan Titan XD the Truck of Texas, but Ford's all-new F-Series Super Duty managed to keep the Japanese automaker's full-size offering at bay. For the 2017 model, Ford placed aluminum body panels into the F-Series Super Duty's body, which not only shed weight, but also make the truck stronger. Scroll down to see the entire list of TAWA's winners from the 2016 Texas Truck Rodeo. Truck of Texas: 2017 Ford Super Duty SUV of Texas: 2017 Nissan Armada CUV of Texas: 2017 Volvo XC90 Truck line of Texas: Ford Motor Co.

2018 Ford Expedition spied looking stylish

The Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator got a cool reception for their 2015 warmed-over redesign. But with big, high-riding vehicles once again in vogue, Ford is pushing ahead with a ground-up redesign of its biggest SUVs. Based on these spy shots, the Expedition will continue to serve as the Navigator's more affordable twin. Yes, that's a bold prediction, considering we still haven't spotted Lincoln testing the new Navigator, but study the greenhouses on this Expedition prototype and the Navigator Concept from New York – from the arrow-straight belt line to the extra-long rear window to the aggressively raked windshield, this Expedition's overall profile is broadly similar to what Lincoln previewed earlier this year. While our spies claim the new Expedition will look to the F-150 for design inspiration, we see a departure from past Expedition tradition. Unlike the supposed Expedition spy shots we showed you nearly a year ago – which was nothing more than an SUV with an F-150's nose grafted on, this prototype's front-end styling looks softer and more aerodynamic, with a smaller grille and headlights, almost like an Escape or Edge. This kind of change would explain the additional front-end camouflage. In back, our spies rightly point out that Ford fitted a faux rear end to disguise the rear window's rake – expect the real thing to feature the angled rear window previewed on the Navigator Concept. Look at the last image in the gallery for a better idea of how the Expedition's rear window will actually look. We can't say a lot about the taillights, because of the camo, but non-LED taillights are present. We'd expect Ford to offer LEDs on higher trim levels. While the F-150's styling might not make the transition to the Expedition, its powertrains and emphasis on lightweight aluminum will. Our spies report the biggest SUV will ride on a new T3 platform and feature an aluminum body, with the F-150's 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Expect a ten-speed automatic transmission and start/stop tech for sure, while the smaller 2.7-liter, twin-turbo V6 could slot in as the Expedition's base engine – we're less sure on that one. And we're even more uncertain of the rumors of an Expedition Hybrid. Our spies report it could mate a 3.5-liter V6 with an electric motor(s) and battery packs for a more economical full-size SUV. Expect to see the 2018 Expedition debut in January, at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.