2006 Ford E-250 Base Standard Cargo Van 2-door 5.4l on 2040-cars

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Monsoon rains disrupt production for Ford, BMW in India

Even modern production techniques can be stymied by Mother Nature. This was demonstrated most recently in India, as torrential, monsoon rains caused a deluge that forced multiple automakers to suspend production. Ford, Renault, and BMW all halted work at their Indian facilities around the southern city of Chennai, also known as Madras. The annual rains disrupted public transport around the city, preventing employees from making the trek into city's factories. According to Automotive News, Chennai saw 48 inches of precipitation last month alone, which is more than Seattle, WA saw in all of 2014. While Ford and BMW closed things down for all of December 1, Renault just cancelled a pair of shifts at its Chennai factory. This is the second time in the past month that automakers in southeast India have been forced to stop production due to severe flooding, and things aren't likely to improve. According to The Weather Channel, forecasts call for thunderstorms over five of the next seven days, while the chance of rain won't fall below 80 percent until December 8. Ford, Renault, and BMW are far from the only automakers that could stand to be impacted by the rains. The city has been nicknamed "The Detroit of India" for its extreme automotive presence. Daimler, Hindustan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Nissan all own factories in the region. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: STR / AFP / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing BMW Ford Renault

Weekly Recap: Auto execs face life in prison for recall delays under proposed legislation

The stiff punishments are part of broader transportation legislation, but clearly McCaskill has automakers in her sights.
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill threw down the gauntlet this week, proposing a bill that could send auto executives to prison for life if they were found to have delayed a recall. She also wants to eliminate the limit for fines for auto safety violations, which are currently capped at $35 million.

BMW V8-powered Ford Model A is the definition of Hot Rod

Today, hotrodding has a pretty staid definition. Take one classic American car, add one classic American V8, sprinkle with tire smoke and you pretty much have every hot rod to roll out of a shop in the last 40 years. Mike Borroughs knows it wasn't always this way. Once upon a time, getting your bucket to go faster meant grabbing whatever parts were lazing about the yard, bolting them together with a bit of ingenuity and laughing your way down the quarter mile. It's in that spirit that Burroughs built his 1928 Ford Model A.
Rather than turn to the tired flathead or the common Chevrolet small block, Burroughs plucked a 4.0-liter V8 from a 1995 BMW 7 Series. With 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, the engine has no trouble shuffling the old A around town. He had to build a custom chassis to get everything to cooperate, but the result is a 1,500-pound heathen that looks built to harass dry lake beds. You can check it out in the video below. Be warned, the soundtrack by Hanni el Khatib may not be safe for work - awesomeness of this caliber rarely is.