Ford Shows Topless Mustang Shelby GT500 In Chicago

If you like a little extra velocity with your sun-in-the-face, wind-in-your hair convertible experience, here’s some good news: Ford is showing its Mustang Shelby GT500 ragtop at this week’s Chicago Auto Show. Like its hardtop sibling, the drop-top Shelby comes packing a blown 5.8-liter V-8, good for some 650 horsepower. To translate that into real-world performance, the new Shelby convertible can lap the legendary Sebring circuit nearly three-and-a-half seconds quicker than the model it replaces. Read more…

Can Classic Muscle Car’s Handle, Too? Matt Farah Finds Out: Video

It’s human nature to look at the past with rose-colored glasses, and remember (incorrectly) how good things “used to be.” Take muscle cars, for example: most of us remember them as being stupid fast and punishing to drive, while today’s equivalents somehow seem more docile and user-friendly. In reality, however, today’s muscle cars and pony cars can (generally) kick the crap out of the stuff built four decades ago. Read more…

Ford Unhappy About Chevy’s Apocalyptic Super Bowl Ad: Video

Given the recent string of cataclysmic events across the globe, Chevy’s Super Bowl ad for the Silverado pickup was, at best, insensitive. Events like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. and last spring’s outbreak of tornadoes in Alabama make end-of-the-world videos not quite as funny as they used to be. Add in the ongoing situation in the Middle East, and the video hits a bit close to home for anyone following world events. Read more…

Ford’s New NASCAR Fusion May Even Make Us Watch Stock Car Racing

We love racing, in almost all of its forms. On any given Sunday from March through November, you’ll find us glued to our TV sets, watching F1 or IndyCar, and when that’s not on we’ll switch to Grand Am or American LeMans. When we can find it, we’ll watch WRC and DTM, too; in fact, we’ll watch just about everything except stock car racing. Read more…

‘To Swerve And Protect:’ Video

It’s Monday, and if you work for the government, it’s a federal holiday to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. If you’re lucky enough to have the day off, you’d probably enjoy a nice car-versus-motorcycle drift video, complete with stunts, a radio-controlled chase car, mirror shades and a plot with enough cheese to serve up about a dozen large pizzas. If you have to work today, chances are you’ll need a diversion at some point, too. Read more…

2013 Ford Fusion Looks To Set The Bar For Midsize Sedans

For a long time, Ford’s midsize sedans were steeped in mediocrity. The Ford Tempo was a perfectly adequate people mover (that also came in coupe form), but it was far from inspiring, even in sporty GLS trim. The Ford Contour (excluding the Contour SVT) was more of the same, but it was saddled with the same bizarre ovoid styling as the Taurus from the same era. By the time the Fusion was introduced into the Ford lineup for the 2006 model year, it was easy enough to shrug off the domestic midsize sedan without a test drive, and buy a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord instead. After all, how good could the Fusion be? Read more…

SPEED TV Wants To Give You A Custom Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

If you’re a die-hard gear head, chances are good you’ll be tuned in to the annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction on SPEED. Even if you’re not lucky enough to be bidding by phone from the comfort of your yacht anchored in Monaco, it’s still entertaining enough to drool over the cars coming across the block, and to test your knowledge of collector car prizes. Read more…

Ken Block Visits Twin Peaks: Video

Twin Peaks was arguably one of the best television series of all time. Set in the small (and fictitious) town of Twin Peaks, Washington, the supernatural-serial-crime-dramedy blended the ridiculous with the sublime to deliver a clear message: in small towns, all is not what it seems. Read more…