1988 Ford F Series F350 Truck With Flat Bed on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ford Everest Concept shows China also has an affinity for big trucks

The Ford Everest Concept SUV at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show shows the future of the Blue Oval's truck line in China. While a concept for now, we're told that JMC, Ford's Chinese joint-venture partner, will build a production version sometime in the near future.
With design from Ford's Asia Pacific design team, the handsome seven-passenger SUV shows off some very muscular styling with wraparound headlights that hook into the contours of the angular trapezoidal grille. The beltline rises up the body in the rear and makes the back appear higher than the front. The rear is made from hard, chiseled contours that give the truck a very tough look. The Everest looks ready for some rough roads.
Ford is keeping the interior and mechanical details about the Everest a secret for now, but the SUV is rumored to share some components with the overseas Ranger pickup. The company has no plans to sell the truck in North America. Scroll down to read the official announcement, including the few details on its production.

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."

Ford, Volvo, Google, Uber and Lyft form self-driving alliance

Five companies arguably leading the worldwide effort to develop autonomous cars said Tuesday they're forming an organization to lobby the federal government to better prepare America's roads for self-driving technology. The founding members include some of the biggest companies in the automotive, autonomous, and ride-sharing realms – Ford, Google, Lyft, Uber and Volvo. Operating as the "Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets," they aim to work with lawmakers and regulators to clarify a disparate set of rules and regulations at both the state and federal levels that could hinder the deployment of autonomous cars. "The U.S. risks losing its leading position due to the lack of federal guidelines for the testing and certification of autonomous vehicles." – Hakan Samuelsson David Strickland, a former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who issued the first set of autonomous-related policies in that role (pictured below), will serve as the group's counsel and spokesperson. "The best path for this innovation is to have one clear set of federal standards, and the Coalition will work with policymakers to find the right solutions that will facilitate the deployment of self-driving vehicles," he said in a written statement. In January, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said his department would accelerate efforts to craft such federal standards. Those efforts include holding two public hearings on standards, the second of which is scheduled to be held Wednesday in Palo Alto, California. Foxx signaled the intent to deliver them by June. Google has been leading the efforts to ensure such standards are national in scope, warning their cars could run afoul of state-specific laws should they cross state borders or if standards varies between the federal efforts and regional ones. The complexity of such efforts was underscored recently, when NHTSA agreed that Google's software could be considered the driver of a vehicle for the purpose of meeting federal motor vehicle standards, an interpretation that would conflict with preliminary California rules that mandate a licensed driver operate a self-driving car that comes equipped with human controls like a steering wheel and brakes. At South By Southwest last month, Jennifer Haroon, Google's self-driving car business leader, said the company couldn't accomplish its goals under those regulations.