1996 Ford Explorer Xlt 4dr 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Ford recalling 370,000 Crown Vic, Grand Marquis and Town Car models

The Detroit News is reporting that Ford will recall some 370,000 Crown Victoria (pictured), Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car vehicles from model years 2005 through 2011, for an issue regarding the lower intermediate steering shaft. 355,000 of the vehicles in question were sold in the US, with the other 15,000 sold in Canada.
The report indicates that corrosion of the lower intermediate steering shaft could cause a "loss of steering," presumably because of a partial or complete failure of the part. The report points out the dealers will inspect and replace the offending steering component for recalled cars, and may also secure a lower steering column bearing and replace the upper intermediate steering shaft as needed. The company is unaware of any reports of the faulty part causing any accidents or injuries.
Ford helpfully lists states in which corrosion is more likely to have taken place, mostly in the Snow Belt, as you might guess. Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia are listed.

White House clears way for NHTSA to mandate vehicle black boxes

At present, over 90 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States today are equipped with event data recorders, more commonly known as black boxes. If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gets its way, that already high figure will swell to a full 100 percent in short order.
Such automotive black boxes have been in existence since the 1990s, and all current Ford, General Motors, Mazda and Toyota vehicles are so equipped. NHTSA has been attempting to make these data recorders mandatory for automakers, and according to The Detroit News, the White House Office of Management Budget has just finished reviewing the proposal, clearing the way. Now NHTSA is expected to draft new legislation to make the boxes a requirement.
One problem with current black boxes is that there's no set of standards for automakers to follow when creating what bits of data are recorded, and for how long or in what format it is stored. In other words, one automaker's box is probably not compatible with its competitors.

How the Ford Shelby Mustang came to be

Even as rumors swirl that the next-generation of high-performance Ford Mustang will drop the Shelby name, Ford has released a short video telling how the legend of the Shelby Mustang came to be. In its latest installment of its video series entitled Mustang Countdown, Ford dug up some footage from Carroll Shelby to give a little insight into how this automotive icon was created.
While it's definitely interesting to hear the late legend tell the story in his own words (including numerous references to the 1964 Mustang as a "secretary's car"), it's also pretty funny learning exactly how the Shelby GT350 got its name in the first place - a name allegedly making a comeback as the replacement for the current Shelby GT500. As development work continues on the 2015 Ford Mustang, the Shelby video posted below shows that the automaker is always looking at its past - even as it looks ahead to the future.