1978 Ford Ranchero 500 Standard Cab Pickup 2-door 5.8l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GM also sheds parts from its pickups to boost payload ratings

The row between Ford and Ram over who boasts the best-in-class tow rating for heavy duty pickups has revealed a number of things. Chief among them is a report that Ford removes items like the spare tire, jack, radio and center console from its vehicles in a bid to lower its base curb weight and therefore keep the truck's gross vehicle weight rating down.
For those that need a refresher, GVWR is the vehicle's curb weight plus its maximum payload. A lower GVWR allows Ford to station its F-450 among the so-called Class III pickups, despite the fact that internally, it has the makings of a more brutish Class IV truck.
Ford explains away these deletions, saying a customer could order their vehicle in such a manner. It has also come to light that Ford is not the only automaker to engage in such practices.

Jerry Seinfeld doesn't love Sarah Jessica Parker's new Country Squire in latest CiCGC

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee has finally returned for its fourth season of combining Jerry Seinfeld, a miscellaneous celebrity and a cup of java. But rather than fondly remembering some older piece of automotive machinery, this time around, Seinfeld is utterly unable to keep his hatred of Sarah Jessica Parker's 1976 Ford LTD Country Squire from coming out to hilarious effect.
However, Parker has such a high level of infectious enthusiasm for her recently purchased Country Squire that she seems to win over Seinfeld by the end - at least a little bit. For most of their time together, the two of them drive around Manhattan and the suburbs waxing nostalgic about what things were like when these wagons were ubiquitous.
Since this is actually SJP's car, she and Seinfeld trade off driving duties, and the image above should give you some indication of Seinfeld's reaction to the Sex and the City star behind the wheel. It seems this '70s land yacht might be a little too much for her to handle in New York traffic. Regardless, she is absolutely in love with her Ford.

Driving the Kia K5 and Mini Cooper JCW GP, plus an interview with Jimmy Chin | Autoblog Podcast #637

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. They veer off right away into talking about their dream project garages. Next up is news, including some info on the next Nissan Z car, the Honda Fit being discontinued in the U.S., new Mercedes-Benz EQS details, and some talk about the new, electric GMC Hummer being adapted for the military. Then they talk about driving the new Kia K5 sedan and the Mini Cooper JCW GP, before they opine about the 1966 Pontiac GTO. Autoblog Senior Producer Chris McGraw interviews Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin about his collaboration with Ford for the Bronco reveal, and more. Finally, our editors help a listener in the U.K. pick a used vehicle in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #637 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Some thoughts on project cars News Nissan suggests the next-generation Z won't be electrified at launch Fit Is Gone! Honda drops subcompact hatch in U.S. Mercedes-Benz announces the electric EQS will offer over 435 miles of range GMC's electric Hummer could someday serve alongside the Humvee in the U.S. Army Driving the 2021 Kia K5 Driving the 2020 Mini Cooper JCW GP 1966 Pontiac GTO: Love it or hate it? We talk Ford Bronco and other adventures with Oscar-winning filmmaker Jimmy Chin Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: