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Ford to announce Mulally retirement, Fields CEO as early as May 1

Ford CEO Alan Mulally may be about to announce his long-rumored retirement from the Blue Oval, according to a pair of insiders who spoke to Bloomberg. An official statement on the succession could arrive as soon as May 1. Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields is rumored to step up as the new CEO. The company is said to be readying the announcement soon to ensure an orderly transition of power, according to the insiders.
Mulally's retirement from Ford has been a hot topic for a while. He was seriously rumored last year to be leaving the automaker to take over as the CEO of Microsoft. The board even said at one point that it was okay with them if he stepped down early. However, the CEO maintained he would stay with the business through at least the end of 2014. Fields has been rumored as a frontrunner to take over the top spot at the company since he was promoted to COO.
For the moment, Ford isn't officially confirming any of these plans. "We don't comment on speculation. We do have succession plans in place for our key leadership. We take succession planning very seriously," said Susan Krusel, Ford Global News Manager, to Autoblog.

Ford Tourneo ready for duty in Connect, Courier and Custom flavors [w/videos]

Ford was relatively quiet at the Geneva Motor Show, but it did take the opportunity to roll out its new family of Tourneo vans: the Courier, Connect, Grand Connect and Custom. As the passenger version of the Transit cargo vans, the new range of Tourneo models vary from the B-segment Courier up to the fullsize Custom. The Connect and Grand Connect are based on the redesigned 2014 Ford Transit Connect.
With an overall length just three inches longer than the Fiesta hatchback, the Tourneo Courier seats four to five passengers, and it offers a choice of three engines: the 1.0-liter EcoBoost or two small diesels. Like the 2014 Transit Connect was saw in Paris last year, the Tourneo Connect comes in a five-seat configuration while the Grand Connect can seat seven. Finally, the Tourneo Custom seats up to nine passengers, and it is available in two lengths up to 210 inches long putting it just six inches shorter than a standard-length E-Series van and about a foot longer than the Explorer.
Check out our live image galleries, and be sure to scroll down below for the press release and to watch some videos.

Ward's reveals annual 10 Best Engines list for 2013

Ward's Auto has released its annual 10 Best Engines award winners. The 2013 list covers the full width and breadth of the internal combustion spectrum, from a spate of efficient four-cylinders to the most powerful production V8 on the planet. As always, the entries must be available in a production vehicle in the first quarter of 2013 with an MSRP of less than $55,000. The supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Audi S5 held on for the fourth consecutive year, and BMW earned two spots on the list with its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
Ford pulled in two awards for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and and the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 from the Shelby GT500. Honda matched BMW and Ford with two wins of its own. Wards awarded the 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the Honda Accord Sport as well as the 3.5-liter V6 from the Honda Accord. Chrysler, General Motors and Subaru each garnered a spot on the list as well for the 3.6-liter V6 in the Ram 1500, the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder the Subaru BRZ, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information.