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Ford acquires Livio to bolster connectivity biz

Ford Motor Company has announced the acquisition of Livio, a Ferndale, MI-based software development company best known for aftermarket in-car connectivity devices, but also as a supplier of technology for proprietary systems for automakers. Livio, co-founded by Sigal and Massimo Baldini, will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Global Technologies.
"With the additional expertise Livio provides us, Ford intends to continue to lead the next generation of in-car connectivity with technology advancements that give consumers more options to access their devices on the go," said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and Innovation, in a statement.
Ford is clearly trying to beef up its in-house tech capability around telematics and device connectivity. While the Blue Oval has been a leader in these areas with SYNC and MyFord Touch in terms of getting the systems into as many cars as possible, the execution of the applications have been criticized for glitches.

2015 Ford F-150 gets Power Wheels treatment [w/video]

With the introduction of its forthcoming 2015 F-150, Ford is breaking with convention by shifting from steel-intensive construction to aluminum. But what if it weren't made of metal altogether? What if it were made of plastic instead, and packed an electric motor instead of an internal-combustion engine?
Feast your eyes, boys and girls, on the new Power Wheels F-150. Built by Fisher-Price and licensed by Ford, the third-generation ride-on toy started development nine months before the full-size version debuted at the Detroit Auto Show this past January, and is hitting sidewalks and driveways across the country this September.
The Power Wheels F-150 carries a sticker price of $349.99, and there's a special version at Toys R Us with LED headlamps (just like the real F-150) for an extra $10.

Watch Tanner Foust hustle the Fiesta ST 'round the 'Ring

The last time we saw Tanner Foust at the Nürburgring he was sloshing an SVT Raptor from kerb to kerb. Sticking with Ford but swapping keys, this time the drift champion and Top Gear USA host goes to the opposite end of the manufacturer's tuner garage and plucks a Fiesta ST for 'Ring duty.
The 179-horsepower front-wheel-driver acquits itself well by the end of the video. But be warned, Foust doesn't set a 'Ring time and it's shot like a commercial... because that's what it is. Still, you can enjoy all two minutes and 31 seconds of it below.