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Gooding to auction 2016 Shelby GT350 to benefit vets

Gooding & Company will be auctioning off a brand-new 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 on August 15 at Pebble Beach. The chance to own Dearborn's new flagship muscle car is surely enough all on its own to garner some serious bids. Combine that desirability with a hefty dose of star power and the desire to support a good cause and we're sure this particular pony car will be boosted even further. The GT350 is being sold to support the Military Service Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, a program that seeks to support post-9/11 military veterans and their families as they transition into civilian life. The car's dashboard has been signed by the former president, and will be auctioned off by none other than Jay Leno – who in addition to being an unsurpassed showman and car nut is also known as a passionate supporter of American servicemen. Gooding expects the super-Stang to fetch between $75,000 and $100,000 for the cause – or roughly twice the car's $47,870 MSRP. The 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang debuted late last year at the LA Auto Show. It packs a new 5.2-liter V8 with a flat-plane crank, kicking out 526 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. That makes it the most powerful naturally aspirated engine Ford has ever made. "This is one of the most exotic engines ever produced by a major American manufacturer plus the fact that it's going into the most American of cars," said Jay Leno. "I am proud to help auction this car off where the proceeds will go to helping our veterans." Related Video: 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 to be Auctioned to Benefit the George W. Bush Institute's Military Service Initiative at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach Auctions Jay Leno to present the Ford Shelby GT350 as it crosses the block on Saturday, August 15 SANTA MONICA, Calif. (August 3, 2015) – Gooding & Company, the official auction house of The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance®, is thrilled to offer for sale a 2016 Ford Shelby GT350. The sale of this Shelby will benefit the George W. Bush Institute's Military Service Initiative, a charity that honors the service and sacrifice of post-9/11 veterans and military families by bridging the civilian-military divide and fostering a successful transition and reintegration from military service to civilian life. The 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 is the first vehicle to implement Ford's new race-derived flat-plane crank 5.2-liter V-8, the most powerful naturally-aspirated engine ever to grace a Ford.

The U-2 spy plane needs high-performance cars to help land

Typically, aircraft deploy their landing gear from three main points. Most military aircraft, for example, deploy two gears at the back and one forward, like a tricycle. Some civilian aircraft flip the layout, with two in front and one in back - tail-draggers. The U-2 Dragon Lady is wildly different than any of these. With a 103-foot wingspan but a body that's just 63-feet long, the layout of the U-2 makes a traditional landing setup infeasible. Instead, the U-2 utilizes a pair of wheels, one up front and one in back. With such a bizarre layout, landings are so tough that since the U-2's earliest flights at Area 51, the US Air Force has used high-performance chase cars to guide the pilot down safely. The landing process isn't over there, though. As this video from Sploid shows, balancing out the aircraft to fit the detachable "pogos" – think training wheels for spy planes – is a comical procedure requiring a number of airman using their full body weight to even out the U-2. This video also recaps some of the great vehicles that have served as chase vehicles for this legendary spy plane. They include Chevrolet El Caminos, and the Fox-body Ford Mustangs so favored by the California Highway Patrol. For the last several years, the USAF has utilized products from General Motors, using fourth-generation Chevy Camaros, before switching over to the Pontiac GTO and most recently, the awesome Pontiac G8. It's fair to say that if you're a gearhead in the Air Force, this is the job you want. Check out the video, embedded up top. News Source: Sploid via YouTubeImage Credit: Sploid Chevrolet Ford GM Pontiac Military Performance Videos

The history and future of the Ford Bronco

Some have suggested that the Bronco's demise was hastened by the fallout from the O.J. trial.
Twenty years ago today, ex-NFL linebacker Al "A.C." Cowlings drove his friend and onetime running back Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson on a parade lap of the Los Angeles highway system and onto an ignoble page of the history books. If you're in your late 20s or older, or a fastidious young student of 1990s American history, you're absolutely aware that Al and O.J.'s steed for the 'chase' was a white Ford Bronco. The white Ford Bronco, even.