1997 Ford Thunderbird Lx No Reserve Auction on 2040-cars

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Ford updates Power Stroke diesel V8, strengthens F-450, tweaks King Ranch

Ford is giving its F-Series Super Duty trucks some upgrades for 2015, and we're happy to say that one of them is an improved Power Stroke diesel V8. Also, Ford is strengthening the top-of-the-line F-450 to handle more abuse. And if wild west-style luxury is your thing, the automaker has performed minor cosmetic updates to its King Ranch Edition trucks, as well.
The turbocharged 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 is currently rated at 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque, and Ford only tells us the new and improved Power Stroke can "produce power beyond today's" engine. What, then, did Ford actually improve upon? First, the Blue Oval swapped in a new, larger turbocharger. The new Garrett GT37 turbine unit is 72.5 millimeters in diameter, eclipsing the old GT32's 64-mm diameter piece. Ford states output increases with the new turbo setup, but since the new turbocharger operates at a lower peak pressure than the old one, the automaker was able to eliminate the wastegate system and reduce the engine's complexity. Ford even redesigned the turbo's oil and cooling lines to make the powerplant simpler. A byproduct of the larger turbo is better engine exhaust braking, which is controlled manually by a button on the dashboard.
Ford claims the upgraded diesel engine is more powerful, more robust, more efficient and more refined than before.

The 11 best scenes from the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Over the last three days, the Goodwood Estate has played home to the eponymous Festival of Speed. Thrown by the biggest gearhead in the British aristocracy – Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Earl of March and Kinrara – the Festival of Speed is essentially a tremendous, gasoline-fuelled party, complete with a very large lawn sculpture, that features the world's hottest, weirdest, fastest, and loudest race, production, and historic models. While there are quite literally dozens and dozens of videos from the event – not to mention the full-day replays (of which only day one is available, at present) – we've sifted through them to pluck away the very best. There's stuff from the official Goodwood YouTube channel, as well as several videos from automakers and other third-party channels, and it's all available below. 2015 Ford Mustang GT350R Looks Barely Controllable If you thought the highest-performance Ford Mustang would somehow get more tractable or civilized once it moved to an independent rear suspension, this video shows you have nothing to worry about. Watch as an unnamed driver wrestles the new Shelby GT350R and its flat-plane, 5.2-liter V8 up the hillclimb circuit. Even with the new suspension and sticky tires, this Mustang wants to go any direction but straight, especially following its launch. 2016 Ford Focus RS, Is Very Loud, Blue Ken Block makes his first appearance on our list. Before he steps into his Hoonicorn Mustang, though, the Gymkhana expert tackled the hill in the all-new Focus RS. The vicious bellow of the 2.3-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder is the star of this commentary-free video, although the gorgeous Nitrous Blue paint job is a nice accompaniment, as well. 1965 Ford Mustang Hoonicorn Runs Hill, Nearly Kills Lord March Mr. Block's two runs behind the wheel of the Hoonicorn were, unsurprisingly, very eventful. While one attempt goes off without a hitch, seeing the American rally driver slip and slide his way to the top of the hill while taking a short break for a donut, the other is slightly more dramatic. Block, along with Lord March in the passenger seat, carries a bit too aggressive an angle into a turn and nearly puts the NASCAR-powered Mustang into the hay bales. Check out the first video above, and the second one below. Kimi Raikkonen Makes Us Miss F1's V8 Era The latest Formula One cars have been maligned for the lackluster noise produced by the new 1.6-liter, turbocharged V6.

Ford profits soar as problems mount

Ford is doing well. It can't make enough examples of its new Fusion, it can barely make enough of the aging F-150, it's getting good brand rankings, people like its turnaround story, it's selling oodles of product and its quarterly profit numbers end in the word "billion." As other high-flying examples have demonstrated over the past few years, though, big numbers can come with problems that aren't exactly small.
Automotive News has published a good "nutshell" report of Ford's progress and problems. The Dearborn automaker's optimistic "general label rule" determination of gas mileage for the C-Max Hybrid has led to lawsuits, hybrid software updates, a downward revision of C-Max fuel economy and millions in rebates. AN notes the C-Max was the "worst-scoring model in this year's J.D. Power Initial Quality Study," but Ford will probably be happy that it managed not to be mentioned further in the study's results after last year's mediocre showing. Its MyTouch and SYNC systems, the bugbears sabotaging Ford's J.D. Power results, have also led to lawsuits, software updates, more software updates and a center console rethink. On top of that, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost in the 2013 Ford Escape that Ford called a "hero" was soon catching fire for three different reasons. And let's not even get into the troubled launch of the Lincoln MKZ.
The Automotive News piece notes that industry observers have been surprised at Ford's stumbles because everything has been looking so good. Nevertheless, there is still the issue of those billions in profits - the company is doing plenty of things, plural, right. Ford says it is tackling its problems, hiring engineers and instituting new quality control processes as part of its effort to find solutions. The test will be to see if in a year from now we begin the discussion of these issues with "Remember when Ford...", or "Problems continue at The Blue Oval."