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2016 Ford Shelby GT350 First Drive [w/video]

Red meat. America's signature protein has necessarily violent origins. Slaughter, butcher, open flames and iron – you don't need a recently lapsed vegetarian (me) to lay it out for you. Of course the blood and the cuts are all part of the appeal, a reminder with every forkful of beef that we still like to be visceral creatures in an increasingly sanitized world. There is much in the makeup of Ford's Mustang that matches these carnivorous tendencies. Not only does it offer a hint of violence with potential for speed every time the engine kicks over, it's also the motive meal we Americans salivate over more than any other. Ford's pony car is among the most popular car searches online, year in and year out, and truly special versions stress servers and storm forum spaces when they hit the streets. I'll be honest, I've been just as frothed and drooling to see and drive the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 as the rest of you netziens, too. Engineers have hacked and carved away at the stock car, to make a wicked V8 morsel that's bloody-minded and racetrack ready. The flat-plane crank V8 revs to the moon and sounds like a supercar when spinning hard. The palpitating heart of newest Shelby is a 5.2-liter, naturally aspirated V8 engine that bucks the current, popular trends for performance cars, while also breaking new ground for Ford. Fast cars from all over the world have made impressive numbers using turbos and superchargers in recent years, but Ford wanted revs to make its racing machine go right. So the company tossed out the forced-induction formula, and created a flat-plane crank V8 that revs to the moon and sounds like a supercar when spinning hard. The light, strong crankshaft reduces inertial mass in the engine and allows for a mind-blowing redline at 8,250 rpm. Perhaps more importantly it makes for beautiful rising wave of available torque as one digs deeper into the throttle, which feels like fast magic when doing something like climbing the hill to The Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. At 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque, some 102-hp per liter, there's enough power for staggering acceleration whenever you ask for it. Providing, of course, you keep the pot boiling at three grand or more. To call the power delivery below that mark "weak" would be ludicrous, but it does feel more inert there than the cars in the turbo-quick jet set that's so popular these days.

2015 Ford F-150 [w/videos]

To learn more about the all-new 2015 F-150 and get an early read on its potential hero-or-zero status, we flew to the heart of full-size pickup truck country, San Antonio, TX, to spend a day driving, towing and playing in the mud with an assortment of Ford's innovative new trucks.
First, a caveat - while we feel we have a reasonably good handle on the new F-150 after attending this first-drive event, we are far from ready to pass definitive judgment on the success of this radically new rig. Our time in the various models was lamentably limited and we felt rushed. With so much at stake and with so much to talk about and experience, we had zero alone time with the vehicle - there were Ford folks shadowing us at every moment.
And we still don't know everything there is to know about the trucks, as Ford is withholding some of its most crucial numbers, including curb weight data and anticipated EPA fuel economy figures. We don't even have a firm on-sale date. All of this information is typically disclosed - or at least officially estimated - at the time of a new vehicle's first drive. This limits the scope of the judgments we feel comfortable making based on our first encounter.

Ford sets world record for biggest Hot Wheels track loop

Take Your Child to Work Day looks like a pretty amazing experience for a child if their parent works at Ford. For the recent event, workers at the Blue Oval set up the world's largest Hot Wheels track loop in the atrium of the company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, MI, and launched toy cars from over three stories. The idea came from Ford dynamometer technician Matt West who had been building progressively larger loops with his son. This one was the biggest ever, though, with a ramp 35.5-feet high and a 12.5-foot loop to crush the previous record of nine feet, nine inches tall. Fittingly, the track was inaugurated with a Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car taking the first run. To support such a massive size, the Hot Wheels track fits into a plywood structure that's bolted together. Beyond just being fun and looking incredibly cool, the stunt was meant to teach kids about mathematics and engineering. Ford Sets World Record for Biggest Hot Wheels Car Track Loop in Support of Take Your Child to Work Day • To help children cultivate an interest in science and engineering, Ford attempted to set a new world record for building the largest Hot Wheels® car track loop as part of this year's Take Your Child to Work Day • Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car started at more than three stories high inside Ford Research and Innovation Center • Old record loop stood at nine feet, nine inches tall DEARBORN, Mich., April 23, 2015 – Ford ran circles around the old Hot Wheels® record loop as part of this year's Take Your Child to Work Day. When the effort was complete, Ford had made a world record attempt with a Hot Wheels car track loop that exceeded 12 feet tall. The world record attempt was the brainchild of Ford dynamometer technician Matt West, who had built increasingly large Hot Wheels loops with his six-year-old son Blade at their home in Monroe, Michigan. The attempt took place in the three-story atrium of the company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn in support of Ford's participation in national Take Your Child to Work Day. "It started as part-fun, part-physics lesson with my son at home," said West. "We built one in our playroom, and then built a five-foot- tall loop in our backyard.