2007 Ford Escape Xlt Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l 4x4 on 2040-cars

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2015 Shelby GT bows in Scottsdale with 627 supercharged ponies

Between the base V6, the EcoBoost turbo four, the eight-cylinder GT, the monstrous GT350 and the new GT350R (to say nothing of transmission and convertible options), muscle-car enthusiasts have a staggering array of Mustangs to choose from. And now there's one more as Shelby American has introduced the new 2015 Shelby GT. Building off the success of the 2007 Shelby GT and the 2013 follow-up, the new 2015 model was just introduced at the Ford booth at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, AZ. It's based on the latest Mustang GT (whether factory fresh or commissioned from an owner's existing pony car) but upgrades with an enviable list of enhancements from Ford Racing Performance Parts, Shelby's own upgrades and top-shelf third-party components. For starters, the engine is supercharged up to 627 horsepower (with over 700 available through further upgrades). It's got 3.73 gears, a Borla exhaust, WELD Racing wheels, Michelin tires and Wilwood six-piston front brakes. Visual enhancements include a carbon-fiber body-kit (including a two-piece rear diffuser) and billet aluminum front grilles. Designed from the get-go to be sold around the world, the 2015 Shelby GT is certified for use in all 50 states and comes with a Shelby American CSM number registered in the company's registry, but all those enhancements don't come cheap: Shelby's charging $39,995 for the new GT, and that's just for the modifications. Add that to the $32k sticker on a Mustang GT donor and you're looking at over $70k – which is not only more than Ford itself is expected to charge for its own GT350, but more than Dodge gets for a Challenger Hellcat. Related Video: SHELBY AMERICAN LAUNCHES 2015 SHELBY GT MUSCLE CAR FOR ENTHUSIASTS WORLDWIDE LAS VEGAS – Jan. 16, 2015 – Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI:PK), launched the first global Shelby GT muscle car, which is based on the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang GT. One of the most popular cars in Shelby history the 627 HP 2015 Shelby GT was unveiled today at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in Ford Motor Company's booth. Shelby is now taking orders with delivery of cars planned for the beginning of the second quarter of 2015.

Lincoln Aviator could make a comeback

The idea of Lincoln dropping its alphanumeric scheme in favor of real names was welcomed by fans of the marque and even appeared possible after the rousing reception to the Continental concept. Now, rumors suggest that the next of the luxury brand's nameplates to see a possible revival just might be the Aviator. Don't get your hopes up quite yet, though. The Truth About Cars admits that this tip comes from a second-hand source, but the person reports that Lincoln has a project codenamed Aviator as a model based on the Explorer. There's evidence to give the rumor some shaky support, though. Ford already has the trademarks for the name and AV8R. Also, an Explorer-based vehicle in 2019 is included for the brand's predictions in the recent Car Wars forecast. Autoblog reached out to company spokesperson Sam Locricchio, but he would not speculate about future products. The same source claims to The Truth About Cars that the Blue Oval might not replace the Ford Flex or Lincoln MKT when the current generations come to an end. Also, the next-gen Expedition and Navigator could use 10-speed automatics and follow the F-150 to get aluminum bodies, which is also already rumored. Although, all of this should be taken with a big grain of salt until anything more official has arrived. Lincoln spokesperson Stephane Cesareo gave The Truth About Cars no comment on the rumor, but said, "By 2020, we expect to expand the segments that we participate in by adding two new nameplates to the Lincoln brand. We have not provided any indications about the products or their names." Related Video:

8 automakers, 15 utilities collaborate on open smart-charging for EVs

We're going to lead with General Motors here. GM is one of eight automakers working with 15 utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) at developing a "smart" plug-in vehicle charging system. Why did we start with GM? Because it's the first automaker whose press release we read that mentioned the other seven automakers. Points for sharing. For the record, the collaboration also includes BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Ford. The utilities include DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. The idea is to develop a so-called "demand charging" system in which an integrated system lets the plug-ins and utilities communicate with each other so that vehicle charging is cut back at peak hours, when energy is most expensive, and ramped up when the rates drop. Such entities say there's a sense of urgency to develop such a system because the number of plug-in vehicles on US roads totals more than 225,000 today and is climbing steadily. There's a lot of technology involved, obviously, but the goal is to have an open platform that's compatible with virtually any automaker's plug-in vehicle. No timeframe was disclosed for when such a system could go live but you can find a press release from EPRI below. EPRI, Utilities, Auto Manufacturers to Create an Open Grid Integration Platform for Plug-in Electric Vehicles PALO ALTO, Calif. (July 29, 2014) – The Electric Power Research Institute, 8 automakers and 15 utilities are working to develop and demonstrate an open platform that would integrate plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) with smart grid technologies enabling utilities to support PEV charging regardless of location. The platform will allow manufacturers to offer a customer-friendly interface through which PEV drivers can more easily participate in utility PEV programs, such as rates for off-peak or nighttime charging. The portal for the system would be a utility's communications system and an electric vehicle's telematics system. As the electric grid evolves with smarter functionality, electric vehicles can serve as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability and efficiency. With more than 225,000 plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads -- and their numbers growing -- they are likely to play a significant role in electricity demand side management.