1999 Ford F250 Xlt on 2040-cars

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2014 Roush Stage 3 Mustang

Up until now, it's been some years since I managed to get behind the wheel of the hot Mustangs tuned by the folks at Roush Performance. My memories of those vehicles are fond, as the Roush up-fits usually make for better-driving examples of the iconic Ford pony, with better-tuned suspensions, excellent short-shift kits and, of course, huge additions of power. The wake-your-neighbors aural characteristics of these cars have been nothing short of outstanding, too.
But in the years since my last experience with the Roush formula, Ford's own development team has churned out some pretty potent 'Stangs. We currently live in a world where the Blue Oval will sell you a Mustang with 662 horsepower from the factory, and the recently departed Boss 302 remains one of the best Mustangs - and best sports coupes - the Autoblog crew has ever driven.
So with great-driving and hugely powerful Mustangs coming straight off the line at Ford's Flat Rock Assembly Plant, does the Roush package still offer that extra special something to make it stand out? I spent a week with a Stage 3 coupe to find out.

Sunday Drive: Big debuts from the Big Apple dominated the headlines

New York Auto Show week has come and gone, and, not surprisingly, the week's biggest bits of news came from the halls of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in NYC. Our favorite debut from New York was the Lincoln Aviator, a sharp-dresses crossover that looks lovely inside and out, and sits on underpinnings at least partly derived from the Ford Mustang. While the Aviator may have caught our attention, it wasn't the most popular vehicle debut from New York, at least when judging by the number of page views here on Autoblog. That distinction goes to the 2019 Toyota RAV4, and we're hardly surprised. The RAV4 is the most popular compact crossover in America (in fact it's the most popular vehicle that isn't a pickup truck), and the 2019 version looks like a radical departure from the model that came before. We can't wait to drive the thing. Midsize sedans may not be the darling of the family car set, that honor taken over by the aforementioned crossover, but they still sell in large enough numbers that a brand-new model catches our attention. Such is the case with the 2019 Nissan Altima. We broke down the specs of the Altima and compared Nissan's bread-and-butter sedan with its biggest rivals. And finally, we got some official figures for the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt. It'll cost a cool $12,000 over the cost of a Mustang GT, and will benefit from a 480-horsepower, 420-pound-foot version of Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8 engine. As always, stay tuned this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2018 New York Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery | Start spreading the news 2019 Toyota RAV4 actually looks pretty cool 2019 Nissan Altima vs Honda Accord vs Toyota Camry: How they compare 2019 Mustang Bullitt orders open as Ford reveals price and horsepower Image Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty New York Auto Show Ford Lincoln Nissan Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Sedan 2018 new york auto show

NHTSA opens investigation into Ford Explorer PI brakes

This year more than most, it's pleasant when we can string together a few days without word of an automaker or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announcing a bunch of new recalls. It's seemingly been a little quiet on this front lately (barring a spider-related Suzuki issue revealed early today), but now we have word of the government safety agency opening a Preliminary Evaluation into the 2013 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor, a probe that could potentially affect an estimated 20,000 vehicles.
The issue being investigated concerns failures of the front brake hose on the vehicle that show "small splits in the hoses near the body side ferrule of the hose assembly," according to the agency, and the issue could result in longer stopping distances. The feds have reports of 13 malfunctions affecting 11 Explorer units. However, it's important to note that all of the incidents come from a single, unnamed metropolitan police fleet that operates 46 of them. According to The Detroit News, the failures generally took place between December and July.
NHTSA is investigating further to find if this is a more widespread issue than just this one fleet. Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker confirmed to us, "We are cooperating with NHTSA on this investigation, as we always do." Scroll down to read the agency's report.