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Here's the new face of the Ford Ranger

Ford Asia Pacific has put a teaser video on YouTube showing off details on the 2015 Ranger pickup, and at the end we get a quick glimpse of the whole truck. This is the T6 Ranger that we still don't get in North America, but that shares its underpinnings with the Everest SUV recently introduced at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The Ranger gets a chunkier front end than the Everest, identified by its grille with three floating slats, reminiscent of designs on the previous F-150, and a less-stylized lower front bumper. Ford says it will be smarter, safer, smoother and stronger, but we'll have to wait for its reveal to find out what that means. Meanwhile, you can admire its new looks in the video below.

Ford Shelby GT350R sets 7:32.19 Nurburgring lap time

It was over a year ago that the Chevy Camaro Z/28 clocked a Nurburgring lap time of 7 minutes and 37.47 seconds, propelling itself up the leader boards as the fastest American muscle car to lap the infamous Nordschleife. But now word has it that another piece of Detroit iron has clocked an even faster time. According to Evo, the new Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang has lapped the Green Hell in a blitzkrieg 7:32.19. That's more than five seconds faster than the Z/28, and propels the GT350R into proper supercar territory: incrementally quicker than the Ferrari 458 Italia and in league with lap times posted by the Nissan GT-R (though not the fastest Godzilla has clocked over the years). With output quoted at "more than 500 horsepower and more than 400 lb-ft of torque," and no 0-60, quarter-mile or top end figures revealed to date, this marks the first genuine measure of performance we've seen for the track-focused pony car - though the numbers have yet to be officially confirmed. The GT350R packs a 5.2-liter V8 unburdened by 130 pounds of excess weight – helped along by carbon-fiber wheels coated in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. Related Video:

J Mays on the 2015 Ford Mustang

J Mays, head of design at Ford, may be retiring from the company after 16 years, but not before showing the world his swan song: the 2015 Mustang. Ford officially revealed its new coupe and convertible to the public at events around the world on Thursday, including a live unveiling on ABC's Good Morning America, and Mays was in attendance at the automaker's home event in Dearborn, MI, which is where we caught up with him for a few words about his new baby.
"It's a joy" to design the Mustang, Mays told Autoblog, adding that this sixth-generation coupe is his "favorite design so far." Of course, the 2015 model takes cues from all of the generations that came before it, but Mays said it was important to edit down the specific elements from previous models, leaving just enough off to let the customer "participate and fill in the blanks."
"If it doesn't sell itself, you probably aren't a Mustang fan."