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James May picks 13 most significant cars ever for London Classic Car Show

James May tends to be the most pragmatic of the Top Gear UK hosting crew. Jeremy Clarkson obviously likes his vehicles loud, brash and preferably British, and Richard Hammond seems to have a thing for American muscle. May appears to find joy just in the mechanical nature of things, whether high performance or simply made for getting around. He's getting a chance to put that appreciation on display by curating a 13-car collection at the London Classic Car Show called The Cars That Changed The World. May actually wants to provoke debate from visitors about the exhibit and is separating his choices into two categories: The Halls of Obviousness and The Chambers of Bloody-mindedness. The first bunch includes the usual important vehicles you expect to see, but the other group has the really interesting picks. As May explains these selections in the event announcement, "I believe they are just as significant historically but they've simply been forgotten or misunderstood." The obvious choices are: 1886 Benz Motorwagen 1908 Ford Model T 1938 Volkswagen Beetle 1959 Austin Mini 1964 Ford Mustang 1997 Toyota Prius And the more eccentric ones are: 1901 Waverley Electric 1906 Cadillac Model K 1933 Standard Superior 1972 Honda Civic 1980 Lada Riva 2009 Bruno ExoMars Rover If you notice, there are only 12 vehicles listed above. That's because the final one is being kept secret for show attendees, but May considers it the most significant car ever made. The London Classic Car Show runs at the ExCeL in London's Docklands from January 8-11, 2015. In addition to May's exhibit and the other vehicles there, Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey is also curating a display from his own collection. May is hoping to spur conversations with his choices. Let us know in Comments if you notice any glaring omissions that should be among the 13. Read the full announcement below, along with a brief explanation for each choice from May. GET READY FOR A CLASSIC ARGUMENT 30/12/14 James May has chosen the 13 most significant cars of all time for The London Classic Car Show... but is he right? It's bold, controversial and bound to cause arguments... and that's just the way BBC Top Gear's James May wants it. May has stuck his neck on the line and has chosen what he regards are the 13 most influential cars of all time. The result is The Cars That Changed The World and it's one of the star exhibits at the London Classic Car Show taking place at ExCeL in London's Docklands from 8-11 January 2015.

Ford starts GoDrive carsharing service in London

Automaker-supported carsharing services like BMW's DriveNow and Daimler's Car2Go are already well established in many cities around the world. Ford is no stranger to this business, either, with collaborations with companies like ZipCar in the US and Flinkster in Germany. Now, The Blue Oval is taking a new step by establishing its own dedicated offering in London called GoDrive. The operation is actually the expansion of an earlier 100-person pilot program and allows the automaker to test out ideas on a small scale. GoDrive is now growing to support 2,000 people in London, and they can share 50 vehicles that are scattered around 20 locations in the city. The fleet is split between Focus Electric models and Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoosts. One of the major selling points for the service is that users can take one-way trips through the city and have a guaranteed parking spot at their destination. Like any high-tech service today, much of the user interface for GoDrive works through a smartphone app that allows users to book cars and pay for trips. The driving is covered under an all-inclusive, pay-by-the-minute model, which includes London's congestion charge, and the first five minutes are free. To entice new users, the company is currently offering a free membership and 20 pounds ($31) in credit to sign up. GoDrive's small size also lets it gather and adjust to customer feedback quickly. For example, users reportedly enjoy getting to try out a vehicle with the latest infotainment and safety features. The company is already working on different pricing plans and parking options for the future, as well. The video below shows a little more the service in action. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. FORD BRINGS DYNAMIC CAR-SHARING EXPERIMENT TO LONDON; FIRST SERVICE TO OFFER ONE-WAY TRIPS WITH GUARANTEED PARKING Ford will offer Londoners flexible, practical, and affordable GoDrive car-sharing service; invites 2,000 members to register free for service that offers 50 cars across 20 locations GoDrive is unique in offering one-way trips with guaranteed parking. Pay-as-you-go approach with pay-per-minute pricing covers all fees. Drivers book and access cars via smartphone app Zero-emission Focus Electric makes up half of the GoDrive fleet; fuel-efficient Fiesta 1.0-litre EcoBoost available.

Ford builds two-millionth EcoBoost engine

Ford's EcoBoost engine lineup is only four years old, but it is growing into an important and popular global engine. As proof of its popularity, Ford just produced its 2 millionth EcoBoost engine - a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder - which rolled off the assembly line in Louisville, Kentucky under the hood of an Escape.
Ford now offers five EcoBoost engines around the world ranging from the 1.0-liter inline-three to the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6, and the automaker is expanding production of two of its engine lines to keep up with demand. Earlier this year, Ford announced that the 2.0-liter EcoBoost would be built in Cleveland, Ohio starting in 2014 and, more recently, Ford said that it will be doubling production of the 1.0-liter EcoBoost in Germany. That turbo-three will also be produced in China at a new Ford engine plant in Chongqing.
Scroll down for Ford's full press release on this EcoBoost production milestone, including a breakdown of where all the engines were made.