2011 Ford F-150 Platinum Ecoboost Sunroof Nav 20's 19k! Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Diesel Power finds the ultimate modified oil-burner

For nine years, Diesel Power magazine has run the Diesel Power Challenge, this year's grindfest being "a week-long torture test that features seven events, nine trucks, 8,000 horsepower, and nearly 15,000 pound-feet of torque." The road to being crowned "the most powerful truck" starts with a dyno run, and then continues through the completion of a CDL-style obstacle course, an eighth-of-a-mile drag race while towing a 10,000-pound trailer, a quarter-mile drag race without a trailer, a fuel economy test in the mountains and finally a sled-pulling test through a 300-foot-long packed-mud pit.
What kind of trucks get into such a fight? Last year's winner, for instance - who upgraded his truck this year to prove he didn't "luck into the win" - drives a 2008 Ford F-250 Super Duty with a 6.4-liter Power Stroke V8 upgraded with a custom intake, Elite Diesel triple turbos and a two-stage nitrous system. Another competitor has a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 powered by a 5.9-liter Cummins inline-six, upgraded with Garrett turbos, dual-stage nitrous, a seven-inch exhaust stack and twin fans built into the bed to cool the Sun Coast Omega transmission. The numbers on that truck: 1,255 horsepower, and 2,063 pound-feet of torque at the wheels. Naturally, as the image above might suggest, things don't always end well.
You'll find all five videos covering this years challenge below. A scene in the dyno video sums it all up perfectly: a competitor leaves his nitrous on too long and the crew is treated to some ominous poppings, he leans out the window, throws both hands up and shouts, "Amer'ca!"

Jay Leno sees how the other half lives with CHP cop cars new and old

Comedian Jay Leno is changing gears from driving fast cars to checking out some of the police cruisers that regularly chase down and dish out punishment to those fast cars. In this episode of Jay Leno's Garage, we get the lowdown on the modifications made to the Ford Explorer for the Interceptor package (which looks pretty tough in its California Highway Patrol livery).
The new Ford is cool, but cooler still are the pack of classic CHP cars that Jay has along for the episode. A 1982 Mustang, 1966 Dodge Polara, 1970 Mercury Monterey and 2000 Crown Victoria are all in the shop. Better still, Jay lays out an argument for ones of the classic cruisers as the best cop car of all time. Get your guesses in now, and then scroll down to watch and learn.

Autoblog Minute: New car customer satisfaction down according to latest ACSI report

Customers have spoken and automobile satisfaction is down in 2015. Autoblog's Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Customers have spoken and automobile satisfaction is down in 2015. I'm Chris McGraw and this is your Autoblog Minute. The American Customer Satisfaction Index or ACSI released its updated numbers and according to the survey, new car buyer satisfaction is down for the third straight year. According to an ACSI press release, customer satisfaction with new automobiles has fallen 3.7 percent, to 79 on its 100-point scale. The ACSI report is based on over 4,100 customer surveys collected in the second quarter of 2015 Sitting at the top of the industry in customer satisfaction is Toyota's Lexus brand with a score of 84. Which was good enough to dethrone Mercedes-Benz, which fell 3% to a score of 83. Of the Big Three, Ford was the only domestic automaker to maintain overall customer satisfaction with its score of 81. General Motors slipped 3% to 79 and Fiat Chrysler had a 5% drop, registering a score of 75 out the possible 100. What's driving this trend of customer dissatisfaction? ASCI points to the rise in recalls and car prices. Where do you land on customer satisfaction spectrum? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the current state of car ownership and brand quality. For Autoblog, I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Lexus Mercedes-Benz Car Buying Ownership Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video