VIDEO: Ford Model T’s Assembly Process Still Looks Amazing Even Today

Few cars have revolutionized the automotive industry like the Ford Model T did. Besides being the first affordable vehicle, the “Tin Lizzie” is also known for its devilishly efficient mass assembly process, enabling Ford to build 15 million units in 19 years. Granted, it had a fairly simple design, but the rate at which workers were able to build one is amazing even today. The video we found shows how the front axle is built and attached to the frame. Hit the jump to watch the clip.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Vintage Ford Facts

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Sollers Ends Negotiations with Fiat Group for Joint Venture in Russia, Then Signs Deal with Ford

Italian automaker Fiat SpA and Russia's Sollers OJSC, backed out of a potential partnership today following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in February 2010 for the launch of a Russian joint-venture to produce passenger cars and SUVs.

Fiat, which controls US automaker Chrysler, and Sollers did not give any explanation for the breakup of negotiations, with both companies simply stating that they intend to continue expanding their existing operations and activities in the region. The 2.4 billion-euro deal signed last year was aimed at producing as many as 500,000 cars annually by 2016 and would have been supported by a 1.2 billion- euro loan backed by the Russian government.

Literally only minutes after the joint statement by Fiat and Sollers, Ford Motor Company came out with a press release announcing that is has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sollers, under which the two parties intend to launch a new 50:50-owned joint venture called Ford Sollers for the production and distribution of Ford vehicles in Russia.

Under the new proposed joint venture with Ford, Sollers, which is the second largest producer of passenger and light commercial vehicles in Russia, local plants in Vsevolozhsk (St. Petersburg region) and in the Republic of Tatarstan, will manufacture a range of Ford passenger cars and light commercial vehicles at local production facilities.

“We are delighted to be taking this next step for Ford in Russia with our proposed partner, Sollers,” said Stephen Odell, chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe. “This is a great opportunity, and will provide Ford customers in Russia with more products and better service.

“We are inspired by the opportunity to work with Ford,” said Vadim Shvetsov, general director of Sollers. “We are confident that our mutual efforts on the development of manufacturing facilities, new product launches and localization of parts content will ensure success for our strategy, and a leading position for the future joint venture company on the Russian market.”

Ford, which has been producing cars in Russia since 2002, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal with Sollers.

Polish Ford Mustang Club Shows how to YouTube America's Original Pony Car

It’s no secret that I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Mustang man. Though I acknowledge the gorgeous styling, sweet-as-syrup handling and raw power of cars like the Chevy Camaro, I know at heart I’d take a ’67 Mustang fastback over one of them any day.

So when the chaps and chapettes at the Mustang Klub Polska (Polish Mustang Club) release a video that not only features a dozen great Mustangs but also the cinematography to do these cars justice, you know I’m gonna pounce on this quicker than the news pounces on any story about Lindsay Lohan.

There are so many Mustangs in this vid, it’s hard to keep track of them all, but you’ll surely pick out the 2008 Mustang Bullitt, Dark Highland Green ’67 GT Fastback, red ‘65 convertible with the white top, a handful of 2010 Shelby GT500 Super Snakes and countless others including a few Foose Mustangs and a handful of Gen 4’s.

It’s a Mustang orgy. It’s like Adam West dropping the ‘66 Batmobile off at your house. It’s like Hollywood making a movie adaptation of an old TV show that doesn’t suck. It’s like Justin Bieber and George Lucas retiring on the same day, promising to not record any more songs or make any more Star Wars spin-offs.

It’s that good. So check out the video and leave your mark in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

Via: Motofilm

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Ford Launches Limited Edition Fiesta Sport+ with 134 Ponies in Europe

Ford is expanding the Fiesta’s European lineup with the Sport+ limited edition based on the three-door variant, and boasting several exterior and interior appointments, plus a tweaked 1.6-liter gasoline engine in order to attract more performance-oriented customers.

On the outside, the Sport+ (dubbed Sport S in Germany and S1600 in the UK) is set apart from its more mundane siblings by the custom Performance Blue or Frozen White paintjob with contrasting racing stripes and comprehensive bodykit that includes a new front bumper, wider side skirts, roof-mounted spoiler and rear diffuser with integrated twin-pipe exhaust. The special Fiesta rides on 17-inch alloys, also finished in white.

Inside, the driver and passenger get sport seats with blue stitching, while the leather steering wheel, handbrake handle and gear knob, side airbags and Motorsport-branded floor mats and scuff plates are all part of the standard equipment list.

However, the biggest change is the spiced up 1.6-liter Duratec Ti-VCT four-pot, delivering 134HP and 160 Nm (118 lb-ft) of torque or 14HP and 8 Nm (6 lb-ft) more than the regular engine. While this doesn’t seem like a major improvement, the Fiesta Sport+ sprints to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.7 seconds, 1.2 seconds faster than the 120HP 3-door variant. Top speed is pegged at 195 km/h (121 mph).

With a base price of €18,090 (US $24,440 at today’s exchange rates) in Germany, the Sport+ is also available in the UK, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium.

By Csaba Daradics

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2011 Ford Ranger

Ford keeps its streak alive with its compact Ranger pickup. The Ranger is a true compact truck, sized below the mid-size Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Dakota and Nissan Frontier. Only GM's truck twins, the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, still offer the smaller dimensions in the truck class. There’s no true four-door version of the Ranger, but the SuperCab has two small access doors for cargo stowage.



Three versions are offered--XL, XLT and Sport. Last year, the Ranger adopted standard seat-mounted side airbags and electronic stability control.

The biggest drawback is the 2011 Ford Ranger's dated design.



The "2011 Ford Ranger" is a compact pickup truck available in regular-cab and extended-cab (SuperCab) body styles. Both are available in XL, XLT and Sport trim levels. The Ranger Sport receives upgraded wheels (16-inch alloys on 4x4 models), a full-size spare tire, heavy-duty gas shocks (SuperCab), skid plates (SuperCab 4x4 models only), sidestep bars, bucket seats and a center console.



The 2011 Ford Ranger comes standard with a 2.3-liter inline-4 that produces 143 horsepower and 154 pound-feet of torque. This engine is only available with rear-wheel drive. Rear-wheel drive and a five-speed manual are standard, with four-wheel drive and a five-speed automatic available separately.



The 2011 Ford Ranger comes standard with four-wheel antilock disc brakes, front-seat side airbags and stability control. In government crash testing, the Ranger earned a top five-star rating for driver protection in frontal impacts and four stars for front passenger protection. SuperCab models can be had with a pair of rear-seat access doors and small, inward-facing rear jump seats.



Ford Ranger is a series of pick up trucks manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company. First generation (1998 to 2006) of Ford Ranger (international model) was engineered and designed by Japan engineers and second generation (2006 to 2011) by Mazda and marketed as Mazda BT-50 and third generation of Ford Ranger will be designed by Ford Australia.



2011 Ford Ranger is a compact pock up truck available in regular can and extended cab styles. All cab styles are offered with 6 foot bed and 7 foot bed is optional for all regular cab models.

2011 Ford Ranger XL trim is equipped with trailer hitch, 15 inch steel wheel, vinyl upholstery, split front bench seat, AM and FM stereo and air conditioner. Ford Ranger XLT 4X4 model is added with 15 inch alloy wheels, two hooks and heavy duty shock absorbers. This powertrain is available only with rear wheel drive channel.

2012 Ford Falcon GT-H

When a 450-horsepower supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 is not enough, Ford will soon offer an even more powerful version of the engine — in the Australian Falcon sedan. That model — the Falcon GT-H, is shown here, winter testing.



The car you’re seeing here starts with the 2011 Mustang’s 5.0-liter V-8 and adds a supercharger for Falcon GT duty. Upgrading to the GT-H means including twin intercoolers, pushing horsepower closer to 500.



Ford’s Falcon GT hit the streets at the very end of 2010. The model represented the first time Ford Performance Vehicles used a supercharger.



“FPV’s customers certainly won’t be disappointed by the performance of the new GT range, or in the way the cars drive, and they have real presence with the new graphics package,” said FPV general manager Rod Barrett about the Falcon GT.



The GT-H may borrow the GT-P’s 13-inch Brembo brakes with six-piston calipers front and rear. The prototype shown here wears chunky, five-spoke wheels and has a big spoiler like the GT model. It remains to be seen whether the GT-H will be offered with eye-catching paint packages seen on other high-performance Falcons.



LED daytime running lights similar to those seen on the Fiesta, Taurus, and Edge might be integrated into the lower fascia. Then again, with those two intercoolers, the space normally reserved for fog lights may have been removed to provide more space.

2012 Ford Focus Electric

Like Toyota did when it made the first Prius hybrid, Nissan and Chevy chose to invent new names and shapes for their EVs. Ford is taking a different approach with the 2012 Focus Electric, the company’s first all-electric passenger car. Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Focus Electric is based on a regular, soon-to-be-familiar, high-volume production car.



Ford seems less concerned with differentiating the Focus Electric from internal-combustion Focus models than it does with beating its competitors for EV bragging rights—even as, it should be noted, those competitors will have beat it to the electric-car market by about a year. The Focus Electric will arrive here at the end of 2011 and will spread internationally a year later.



The Electric’s guts include a 123-hp electric motor that makes 181 lb-ft of torque from 0 rpm—less horsepower but more torque than the 155-hp, 140-lb-ft, 2.0-liter four in the conventional 2012 Focus. The electric car’s single-speed transmission allows for a top speed of 84 mph.



A total of 23 kWh of energy is stored in a battery pack located under and behind the rear seat. The pack is comprised of cells sourced from LG Chem and assembled by a supplier in Michigan. The EV powertrain is installed in the same Wayne, Michigan, plant that assembles non-EV North American Focus models. Aside from the lack of shifting, quieter operation, and additional weight (Ford quotes a curb weight of 3691 pounds, or about 700 pounds heavier than a gas-powered five-door), the company says that the experience will be like that offered by a regular Focus. Since adding that much weight seriously affects ride and handling, what Ford really means is that it will offer the same options in the same five-door wrapper.



Ford expects the Focus Electric to have a better miles-per-gallon-equivalent rating than the Chevrolet Volt’s 93 MPGe, and one comparable to those of other all-electric cars—we assume that refers to the Nissan Leaf, which scores a 99. The Focus Electric’s battery is about the same size as the Leaf’s, which, based on our experience, should be good for about 70 miles on a charge. The Focus’s additional mass means its range will be a bit lower.



Charge time on 240-volt power is pegged at three to four hours, or about half that needed by the Leaf; this is accomplished through the fitment of an on-board charger that is twice as powerful as the Nissan’s: 6.6 kW versus the Leaf’s 3.3. A charge on 120-volt household current will take somewhere between 18 and 20 hours, or about the same as a Leaf. This is because either charger is limited by the amount of juice available from a 120-volt circuit, whereas the Ford charger can better exploit the higher limits of a 240-volt system. Ford will include a 120-volt cord with the Focus, and a Ford-branded 240-volt home charger will be available through Best Buy for approximately $1500, including installation. A “value charging” function times recharging to coincide with the lowest energy rates.

Monster World Rally Team Unveils Ken Block’s New Fiesta RS WRC [with New Videos]

Despite stating that 2010 was his best year ever, Ken Block had a disappointing FIA World Rally Championship campaign and was often plagued with mechanical issues in Rally America as well. However, with the support of the Monster World Rally Team (MWRT), the American driver is hoping for a much better 2011 season, as he’s going to participate in more races and events at the wheel of his all-new Monster Energy Ford Fiesta RS WRC rally car.

Block’s schedule includes more WRC rounds as well as the Summer X Games, Gymkhana GRID and select RallyCar rallies and RallyCross events held on U.S. soil.

“2011 is going to be really big for me and the Monster World Rally Team”, Block said. “We’re doing more WRC races this year, kicking off the Gymkhana World Tour, racing in Summer X Games, filming Gymkhana 4, plus hitting up a lot of other rally-related events worldwide. We even have a few top-secret projects in the works. I’m a lucky bastard to be doing all this, it’s going to be an amazing year!”

Aside from unveiling Ken’s new ride, MWRT also released three videos. The first one features the Fiesta RS WRC and some additional eye-candy represented by the lightly dressed Monster Girls. The second clip shows Block answering fan questions, while the third is full of sideways action from his pre-Rally Sweden test.

By Csaba Daradics

The Ken Block and Monster World Rally Team 2011 schedule:

WRC Rally Sweden: February 10-13

WRC Corona Rally Mexico:March 3-6

Goodwood Press Day: March 17

WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal: March 24-27

WRC Rally Argentina: May 26-29

Weston Festival of Speed: June 3-5

Goodwood Festival of Speed: July 1-3

X Games 17: July 25-30

WRC ADAC Rally Deutschland: August 18-21

WRC Rally Australia: September 8-11

WRC Rallye de France: September 29-October 2

WRC RACC Rally de Espana: October 20-23

SEMA 2011: November 1-4

WRC Wales Rally GB: November 10-13

+

Select RallyCar events

Select RallyCross events

Gymkhana World Tour Australia

Gymkhana World Tour Los Angeles

Gymkhana World Tour Austria

Three top-secret events to be announced

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VIDEO: 83 Y.O. Drives Ford F-150 on the Opposite Side of the Highway, Crashes but Survives!

A freaky but luckily non-fatal highway accident that involved an elderly man driving a 2007 Ford F-150 on the opposite side of the road was caught on film last Friday. The incident took place on the Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton in San Diego when passengers of a vehicle on the other side of the highway noticed the driver of the Ford, who was later identified as 83 year-old Clarence Kinney, going the wrong way at an unknown speed and then suddenly crashing into the median wall.

According to Police reports, the force of the collision was so strong that it tore the pickup truck in two sending the cab of the F-150 into another lane an onto a tractor, while a Land Rover and a Toyota Sienna were also involved in the crash. Amazingly, no one was seriously injured in the incident.

The police reported that the 83 year-old driver of the F-150 was cited for driving the wrong way as well as for driving on a suspended license., adding that his driving privileges will be examined by the DMV.

Via: Signon Sandiego

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Ford Sues Ferrari Over F150 Formula 1 Car Moniker, the Italians Hastily Change it to the F150th Italia

In order to celebrate the 150 years that have passed since the unification of Italy, Ferrari recently chose to name its newest Formula 1 car the “F150”. It seems that Ford wasn’t too impressed with the patriotic gesture and sued the Italian maker over the race car's moniker. The Blue Oval claimed that it closely resembled its own F-150 nameplate, thus causing “irreparable harm” to the trademark.

According to the paperwork filed in Detroit, the lawsuit also referred to Ferrari’s www.ferrarif150.com website and accused the Italian company of cyber theft and trademark infringement.

Ford aimed to prevent the use of the F150 name in the United States, and expected Ferrari to give up any revenue and profits earned through the disputed nameplate in the States.

Furthermore, under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, which protects against trademark infringement due to the use of confusing Internet domain names, Ford wanted $100,000 in damages.

However, Ferrari reacted quickly and today changed the F1 car's name to the “F150th Italia”, which was first used in a routine Formula 1 test report posted on the Ferrari website.

The report stated that “the first day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro got off on the right foot at the Cheste circuit, near Valencia. Before the lunch break, Fernando Alonso completed just over 200 kilometers at the wheel of the Ferrari F150th Italia”.

Later on, Ferrari released an official statement as well, available below.

By Csaba Daradics

[Ferrari Press Release] The name of the new Ferrari Formula 1 car

Maranello, 10th February - On the subject of the name of the new Ferrari Formula 1 car, the Maranello company wishes to point out that it has sent a letter of reply to Ford, underlining the fact that the F150 designation (used as the abbreviated version of the complete name, which is Ferrari F150th Italia) never has, nor ever will be used as the name of a commercially available product – indeed there will definitely not be a production run of single-seaters. In fact, it has always been the case in the history of Scuderia names, that they represent the nomenclature of a racing car project and are linked to a chronological order with a technical basis, or in exceptional cases, to special occasions. This year, the decision was taken to dedicate the car name to a particularly significant event, the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, an event of such great importance that the Italian government has declared, for this year only, a national holiday.

For these reasons, Ferrari believes that its own contender in the forthcoming F1 championship cannot be confused with other types of commercially available vehicle of any sort whatsoever, nor can it give the impression that there is a link to another brand of road-going vehicle. Therefore it is very difficult to understand Ford’s viewpoint on the matter.

Despite this and to further prove it is acting in good faith and that it operates in a completely correct manner, Ferrari has decided to ensure that in all areas of operation, the abbreviated version will be replaced at all times with the full version, Ferrari F150th Italia.

Sources: Ferrari, Detnews & Autoweek

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Shelby Introduces Limited Edition 2012 Shelby GT350, Adds Convertible Option for the First Time Since 1970

At the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, Shelby unveiled the limited edition 2012 Shelby GT350, which enters the new model year with two fresh color options and, for the first time since 1970, a convertible body style. Based on the Ford Mustang GT, the Shelby GT350 comes with three engine choices, including a base version with a naturally aspirated 430HP V8 mated to either a manual gearbox or an automatic transmission, and two supercharged variants delivering 525HP and 624HP.

The new color options are Race Red and Kona Blue, both with white Le Mans stripes, while the Performance White with blue Le Mans stripes combo continues for the 2012MY. Last but not least, the new GT350 convertible can be ordered with a light bar, while other options include a once piece drive shaft and color coordinated billet aluminum engine cap set.

“Last year, we brought back the GT350 45 years after it was launched,” said Carroll Shelby, founder of Shelby American. “They look and sound just like the ones we built in 1965. We’re repeating history by offering two additional colors and building a few convertibles for the second year of production.”

Prices, not including the donor Mustang GT, start from US$26,995 for the naturally aspirated version and US$33,995. The company said it plans to keep production limited to 350 units.

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