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2015 Ford Mustang Convertible makes inappropriate appearance in Detroit [w/video]

With the polar vortex fresh in the minds of Autoblog's Detroit-based staff, we're finding it funny that any manufacturer would choose January in the Motor City to show off a new and highly anticipated convertible to the general media and public for the first time. But Ford has done just that, giving us our first real peek at the new Mustang Convertible in the flesh.
The new Mustang Convertible is more or less unchanged from the standard coupe, with some subtle styling tweaks to accommodate the retractable soft top. Engine and transmission choices are identical to the hardtop, although we should expect slightly lower performance due to the hardware for the roof. Like the coupe, neither prices nor performance metrics have been published yet for the convertible.
Hop up top for our live gallery of images from the floor of the Detroit Auto Show.

Honda giving away free Civics in Forza Horizon to celebrate launch

Just a friendly reminder from Honda: The Honda Challenge Pack DLC is now available for Forza Horizon. To reward you for the trouble of pressing a few buttons on your Xbox controller, you'll get the 2013 Honda Civic Coupe, an HPD Rally Fit and a 1986 Honda Civic Si Coupe in your garage, and you'll get them free. The event of the new DLC has also kicked off a photo contest that will reward someone with an Xbox 360 console wrapped in a Honda Civic Si theme.
Otherwise, the word "Challenge" keeps coming up because of the chance to run an online race against IndyCar driver Scott Dixon. The track for that digital throwdown has already been decided by Xbox players who voted before January 8. Yet it's not too late to hop into the Honda section in Xbox Live and lay down a time fast enough for a shot at the title "The Driver That Shellacked Scott Dixon," and meeting the man in person.
Check out the press release from Honda below, and the sweetness that is the 1986 Civic Si in the gallery above.

Ford considering bringing Ranger pickup back to the US

When Ford announced last month that it was moving Focus and C-Max production out of the Michigan Assembly Plant after 2018, it said that it was looking for other products to build at the facility and such proposals would be part of discussions with the UAW on a new contract. According to a report in The Detroit News, one of those vehicles could be a new Ford Ranger midsize pickup. We're a long way out from a decision being made, and both the UAW and Ford's board of directors would have to sign on, but the report says it's in the air. The last Ranger was built in the now-shuttered Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul, MN, in December 2011. After 29 years on the market, slow sales for the truck itself and the midsize truck segment doomed it, annual Ranger sales numbers having dropped from a peak of roughly 350,000 in 1999 to just 70,832 in 2011. The midsized truck market is still coming out of its own doldrums, with 211,797 sold through July 2015, the Toyota Tacoma accounting for 50.1 percent of that, followed by the Chevrolet Colorado, Nissan Frontier, and GMC Canyon. Even with analyst predictions that the market will grow to 300,000 in the near future, compare that to the fullsize truck market that has already sold 1.2 million units this year. The Wayne plant has built trucks before over its 57-year history, but it would likely need more than just the Ranger to keep it afloat; it builds five vehicles now, pumping out 265,000 units last year. According to Bloomberg, this could also mean the possible return of the Bronco. If we do get a new Ranger, it probably won't be anything like the old Ranger. Ford still makes it for 180 global markets, but if you've seen one you know it's a different animal. The wheelbase on the 2015 Ranger sold in Australia is fifteen inches longer than our 2012 Regular Cab model, about an inch longer than the 2012 Supercab. It has a bulkier design, weighs 700 pounds more, and can be had in numerous configurations we didn't get like a five-seat Dual Cab. A new version for us would also need updating for US regulations, and Ford would want to make sure it could be built with price and size separation from the fullsize F-Series.