The debate about the relative merits of electric vehicles is certain to be ongoing for years to come. For some, it represents the new frontier in automotive engineering and design. Electric powered vehicles for the masses; no more oil taken from the ground and clean air for all. It’s an interesting concept, but I am not fully convinced at this time in history to throw all my gasoline-powered chips in that pile and call.

Companies such as Tesla have made significant waves in the industry and I do think they’ll continue to experience success going forward. In my opinion, Elon Musk is a true automotive pioneer in the same vein as Karl Benz and Henry Ford. I don’t dispute the idea of EV’s for all; I just see a balance between gasoline, diesel, electric and possibly hydrogen-powered vehicles as a better alternative; at least for now.

It appears Ford is hedging its bets on this combination as well. I recently had the chance to test drive the 2016 Ford Focus EV for a week. In short, I was very impressed for the most part. It was comfortable, quick to accelerate, looks un-EV-like and turned a surprising number of heads, which to me is always a good thing.

But is it a car I would buy? On that question, I am keeping my cards to close to my chest.

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“Three to five 727-horsepower Mustangs leave the lot daily,” TTAC’s associate editor, Steph Willems, wrote this past weekend.

Naturally, that got me thinking.

After Ohio’s Lebanon Ford dealer began marketing its 727-horsepower Lebanon Ford Performance Mustang GT as a $39,995 performance bargain, Chris Tonn’s story blew up on TTAC a month ago. Now, Lebanon Ford answers 1,000 Performance Mustang-related inquiries per day and says it sells three to five per day.

So let’s do some math. It’ll be fun. Read More >

“Please hold,” the woman with the handheld Hertz computer said, as if she and I were on opposite sides of a WATS call instead of standing twenty-four inches apart, “for a manager.” I didn’t have to hold long. The manager was a short Hispanic man with an all-business disposition.

“You have fun?” he inquired, kneeling to pay close attention to one of the odd little carbon-fiber winglets between the rear wheelwell and the doors. His tone implied that I could be in trouble for having fun, but also, perhaps, that I would have been equally remiss in not having fun. After all, this was a rental car that cost a staggering $343 per diem. In a country where the SNAP program provides a struggling family just $14/day for meals, what kind of bloodless, Zuckerberg-esque Asperger’s alien from the posthuman investor class would spend that kind of money to not enjoy this sullen-faced snorting Mustang?

“I had … ” and here I did some rough privilege calculus of the sort familiar to all college-educated German-Americans in the year 2016, balancing my Chester Barrie sport coat and the dull glitter of my platinum AMEX against my coarse features, Allman Brothers haircut, and visibly crippled left leg, just trying to figure out what I was allowed to say without committing a microaggression.

“… a bit of fun, yeah. But really, I drove it to the hotel and back. Mostly.”

“Is that so,” he said, like a pint-sized Torquemada, and with a quick, knowledgeable motion he swiped his finger across the gap between two spokes of the left front wheel. “Is that so.”

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Ford Motor Company says it will get to the bottom of a report that purports to show 2.3-liter EcoBoost Mustangs getting slower in acceleration tests over time.

The 0–60 mile per hour times, recorded by Motor Trend during four separate vehicle tests, show a widening acceleration gap that left reviewers puzzled as to the cause. Read More >

You remember Lebanon Ford — the suburban Cincinnati Roush Performance dealer that suddenly began offering the country’s greatest performance bargain early last month?

Well, its 727-horsepower supercharged Mustang GTs are now flying off the lot (at the insanely low price of $39,995), and the once-sleepy Ohio dealer has become a nationwide performance mecca, Automotive News writes. Read More >

Ford’s comparing itself to the Germans again, but this time the vehicle isn’t a Granada, and the disco era isn’t still raging.

The automaker just announced it boosted the output of the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 in the 2017 Fusion Sport, keeping horsepower levels the same while adding an extra shovelful of torque. Read More >

An updated version of Ford’s tiniest offering was just spotted on the road, and while the camo is strong with this one, it’s clear the subcompact Fiesta now sports higher-end clothes.

Expected to bow in mid-2017 as a 2018 model, the Fiesta (the unofficial car of TTAC) keeps its old platform, but makes big changes in design and, apparently, price. Read More >

Over the last two or three decades, the American full-size pickup truck has morphed into something thoroughly and completely different. What was once utilitarian and practical is now imposing, luxurious.

Is it possible that the truest successor of the original F-Series is currently sold in Europe with a five-cylinder diesel engine?

I tested the new Ford Ranger to find out.

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If you want to own one of the world’s best engines (as ranked by a panel of multi-national auto journos), you don’t necessarily have to find a higher paying job or buy a plane ticket to Europe.

Most categories at the recently announced 2016 International Engine of the Year Awards were won by high-end powerplants and European mills you won’t find in North America — except for one entry dominated by Ford. Read More >

If you’re going to hit a pole in a Dodge Challenger, it’s better to nail that sucker head-on or it miss altogether.

That’s the takeaway from a series of crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, where Dodge’s muscle coupe scored itself a “marginal” rating in the small front overlap test.

The IIHS normally doesn’t test niche vehicles, but V8-powered Challenger, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro models are hot-selling items and buyers demanded it. Read More >

If you missed your chance getting into a limited edition Ford GT supercar last week, your EcoBoost-powered dreams might not be over.

Dave Pericak, director of Global Ford Performance, recently told Autocar that the 600-plus horsepower heart of the GT could beat on — in other low-volume specialty models. Read More >

Ford Motor Company probably wishes it had gone with a CVT.

After weathering years of complaints about the performance of its six-speed PowerShift dual clutch transmission, Australia just added to the misery with a class-action lawsuit, CarAdvice reports.

The suit, which alleges the transmissions are unsafe, concerns 2010–2014 Ford Fiesta and Focus models.  Read More >

The Ford Edge has always grabbed my attention due to its styling.

From a distance, the look — especially that of the second-generation Edge — is certainly pleasing to the eye. The front grille, fog light assembly, stylish wheels and a nice silhouette give the midsize crossover an Edge — pardon the pun. And the 2016 model can be configured in a number of ways to suit consumers’ needs, with a choice of powertrains and a nice choice of optional equipment.

But, as they say, the devil is in the details, and that’s where the Edge starts to lose its sharpness. The main issue is one we’ve seen here before: quality of the fit of the exterior panels of the Edge. However, I have another major gripe about the Blue Oval’s lifestyle-mobile, and it sits under its misaligned hood.

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If you’re looking to get into a cutting-edge vehicle and would like to wait until 2019 before driving it, the Tesla Model 3 isn’t your only choice.

Ford announced today that the limited edition GT is gone from shelves for the next two years following an avalanche of applications. Only 500 of the limited edition supercars will be produced for the 2017 and 2018 model years, meaning a long wait for those with cash in the bank but a dodgy reputation. Read More >

It’s official: the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will have more gears than a typical IROC-Z owner has teeth.

General Motors revealed today the new aluminum-cased beauty, touting 10 forward gears and upshifts quicker than a dual-clutch automated-manual transmission, will make its non-truck debut in the Camaro ZL1.

Did Camaro tell Mustang to step outside for a fuel-economy contest? Maybe not.

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