1975 Ford Bronco Custom Sport Utility 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Big electric trucks won't save the planet, says the NYT

When The New York Times decides that an issue is an issue, be prepared to read about it at length. Rarely will a week passes these days when the esteemed news organization doesn’t examine the realities, myths and alleged benefits and drawbacks of electric vehicles, and even The Atlantic joins in sometimes. That revolution, marked by changes in manufacturing, consumer habits and social “consciousness,” may in fact be upon us. Or it may not. Nonetheless, the newspaper appears committed to presenting to the public these pros and cons. In this recently published article titled, “Just How Good for the Planet Is That Big Electric Pickup Truck?”—wow, thatÂ’s a mouthful — the Times focuses on the “bigness” of the current and pending crop of EVs, and how that impacts or will impact the environment and road safety. This is not what news organizations these days are fond of calling “breaking news.” In October, we pointed to an essay in The Atlantic that covered pretty much the same ground, and focused on the Hummer as one particular villain, In the paper and online on Feb. 18, the Times' Elana Shao observes how “swapping a gas pickup truck for a similar electric one can produce significant emissions savings.” She goes on: “Take the Ford F-150 pickup truck compared with the electric F-150 Lightning. The electric versions are responsible for up to 50 percent less greenhouse gas emissions per mile.” But she right away flips the argument, noting the heavier electric pickup trucks “often require bigger batteries and more electricity to charge, so they end up being responsible for more emissions than other smaller EVs. Taking into consideration the life cycle emissions per mile, they end up just as polluting as some smaller gas-burning cars.” Certainly, itÂ’s been drummed into our heads that electric cars donÂ’t run on air and water but on electricity that costs money, and that the public will be dealing with “the shift toward electric SUVs, pickup trucks and crossover vehicles, with some analysts estimating that SUVs, pickup trucks and vans could make up 78 percent of vehicle sales by 2025." No-brainer alert: Big vehicles cost more to charge. And then thereÂ’s the safety question, which was cogently addressed in the Atlantic story. Here Shao reiterates data documenting the increased risks of injuries and deaths caused by larger, heavier vehicles.

Ford reserving 50th Anniversary Mustangs for service members

Think getting your hands on one of the 1,964 50th Anniversary Ford Mustangs is hard as a civilian? Imagine how tough it might be for the Mustang fanatics in our nation's military. Perhaps recognizing this fact, Ford Emerging Market Services and the Overseas Military Sales Corporation (the only Ford-authorized retailer on the military's bases) ran a raffle, with the winners receiving the opportunity to purchase one of the limited-edition muscle cars. Ford EMS and OMS received 300 entries to the raffle, although with only eight 50th Anniversary Stangs to hand out, we imagine there were quite a lot of disappointed soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. "We are pleased to offer limited-edition anniversary Mustangs to members of our military through our Military Appreciation Program, and we are delighted at the response it's receiving," Doug Walczak, EMS' fleet sales manager, said. The first Mustang was delivered to Army Maj. Del Boyer, shown above. While Maj. Boyer took delivery in New York, the raffle was open to servicemembers both at home and abroad.

Saleen SA-30 Mustang, Camaro and Challenger help celebrate the big 3-0

After 30 years of tuning performance cars and building racecars, Saleen is celebrating its racing heritage with a limited-production car line called SA-30. Based on the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, Saleen will only build 10 of each SA-30 model at a base price of $95,000.
For that money, buyers will get upgraded suspension, brakes and engines, and while the power figures have not been released for the SA-30 620 Camaro and SA-30570 Challenger models, the SA-30 302 Mustang will be the top performer with 625 horsepower. Each car will be painted up in a custom pearl white hue with black and yellow accents, and get white wheels shrouding yellow powder-coated brake calipers. Inside, the SA-30 offerings will all get a proper Saleen interior with black leather and white Alcantara on the seats, along with the expected smattering of SA-30 badges.
On all three SA-30 models, customers will have various options available to further customize their cars, including a rear-seat delete option that transforms each car's cabin into a race-inspired interior with a chassis-strengthening rear cross brace. Perhaps the coolest feature of all, though, is the Saleen Frost-Touch Glass that is an option on the SA-30 302 Mustang. Similar to the Mercedes Sky Control roof first introduced on the Mercedes SLK, the Saleen Frost-Touch Glass allows the Mustang's optional glass roof and rear window to be switched from transparent to opaque at the push of a button.