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ROUSH Building Two Propane-Fueled Mustangs for NMRA

For the next season of NMRA competition Roush Performance will be building two propane-fueled Mustangs to compete. The first one being developed is a 2005 Roush Stage 3 Mustang that will be driven by Donnie Bowles with testing going this month. The second one is a 2010 Roush Stage 3 Mustang which will be driven by Susan Roush-McClenaghan, Jack Roush’s daughter. Both propane-fueled Mustangs will use a naturaly aspirated all-aluminum 5.4-liter V-8 that was originally designed for the Ford GT.

For more on these propane-fueled Mustangs check out the press release below.Press Release:

Jack Roush is highly recognized for generating horsepower and performance out of engines. Roush also has a long and successful motorsports history with the first of his numerous championships coming in drag racing. And today, Roush is finding great success in engineering, building and selling alternative fuel vehicles to the fleet markets.

So what do you get when you combine all three of these things? A pair of propane-fueled ROUSH® Mustang drag cars, ready to challenge for the NMRA championship next season.

The drag cars are an offshoot of the kits that ROUSH® Performance uses to convert gasoline-powered Ford pickups and vans to run on clean-burning propane. As a leader in the development of green technologies for the automotive industry, Roush sees several benefits in using propane as a “right here, right now” alternative fuel; he cites facts such as propane is the third most popular motor fuel (behind gasoline and diesel), and there are already more than 12 million propane-fueled vehicles on roads across the world.

On the topic of propane, Roush said, “It’s as American as NASCAR. More than 90 percent of the propane used in the United States is produced in North America, much of it from the U.S. natural gas supply. Propane has so many positive aspects and it is finally getting the recognition it deserves as an alternative fuel. Propane can help to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Propane can help to clean up our environment. And propane can help to create new ‘Green Collar Jobs’ for displaced auto workers who can return to the lines to build alternative fuel vehicles.”

And as a green fuel, on average propane fleet vehicles reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 percent and create 20 percent fewer nitrogen oxides, up to 60 percent less carbon monoxide, and fewer particulate emissions, as compared to gasoline. From an economic standpoint, propane used as a motor fuel can be purchased for about one dollar per gallon with applicable federal incentives.

But, one advantage that propane has, especially in a drag racing application, is that it has an octane rating of 106 (premium unleaded is typically around 93 octane). The first car being developed is a 2005 ROUSH® Stage 3™ Mustang which will be driven by Donnie Bowles and expected to be testing in mid-November. The ROUSH® engineering team is also building a 2010 ROUSH® Stage 3™ Mustang for Susan Roush-McClenaghan which should debut in February. This is Roush’s daughter who is adding the next chapters to her father’s legendary history in drag racing.

McClenaghan finished third in the NMRA Modular Muscle class this year, with Bowles one place higher. In NMCA Open Comp competition, they switched positions with Bowles finishing the season in second and McClenaghan third so both are highly skilled pilots.

Both cars will use an all-aluminum 5.4L, V-8 Ford engine that was originally designed for the Ford GT supercar. This engine will be converted to be naturally-aspirated, the compression ratio will be altered to 12.5:1, and several other changes will be required to run on liquid propane. These include CNC ported cylinder heads, high performance camshaft and valvetrain, and a wet sump lubrication system. All these changes should help this engine generate in excess of 600 horsepower.

Despite popular misconceptions, propane is actually very safe to use as a motor fuel and has a significantly lower flammability than gasoline. It is also good in cool or hot weather making it ideal for motorsports applications.

Bowles car will be on display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas from November 3-5. It can be seen outside at the Cruisin’ Legends lot with the Ford Mustang corral.

Based in Livonia, Mich., “The Art of Performance Engineering” takes place at ROUSH Performance. To get a look behind the scenes at what goes on at ROUSH and how the vehicles are designed, manufactured and produced logon to www.ROUSHtv.com. For more information see your local ROUSH dealer, visit www.ROUSHperformance.com or telephone toll-free (800) 59-ROUSH. Follow us on Twitter @_ROUSH_ or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/roushperformance

Source: Mustang Heaven

Dunkel Industries Luxury 4X4 Expedition Truck

Click Here to read more about this Expedition Story in Trucktrend.com, I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

2011 Ford Fiesta Revealed

Small Is Good

The Ford Motor Company unveiled their 2011 Ford Fiesta at the Los Angeles Auto Show, giving small car fans something to look forward to on the domestic front. The Fiesta, a nameplate that some Americans might recall from decades ago (or more recently if they've traveled to Europe in the last few years, where the Fiesta has been a perennial hit), will go on sale next year.



Not A Carbon Copy of European Model

Despite the fact that the Fiesta has been on sale in Europe and Asia for some time, the 2011 Fiesta for North America is a decidedly different car: the exterior is tweaked and Ford claims there's only a 60% carryover from the European model. Paradoxically, this leaves a lot of enthusiasts wondering (or, hoping) that the U.S. version of the car will be similar to the European model, one that was lauded for its driving character. At this point all signs point to the two being very similar.



Efficiency

Ford claims the new 2011 Fiesta will achieve 40 MPG on the highway, something that will make it a near hybrid competitor (or in some cases, even better than a hybrid). The engine is, not surprisingly, a four-cylinder 1.6 liter. But what is surprising is the six-speed automatic transmission (an expensive and fuel-saving move by Ford), something that helps the Fiesta get that high mileage rating.



Multiple Styles

The Fiesta will be available in two body styles: a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback. This configuration makes sense for the U.S. market, where smaller three-door cars tend to underperform the rest of the market.



Small But Packed With FeaturesThe interesting part about Ford's strategy for the Fiesta is that the little car will come packed with features. The car comes standard with a very nice LCD display and a push-button start mechanism. Ford' SYNC system (for audio and hands-free controls) is available, as is heated seats, heated side mirrors and a sunroof. That's more than most small cars offer.

Source: Autos AOL

2012 Ford Grand C-Max

Ford's big Frankfurt show splash triggers the beginning of the new, global Blue Oval. A dozen years ago, the North American Focus launched with hopes we would get a small, C-segment Ford as good as the European one. Instead, it was brought down by recall problems and lacked the European model's constant updates.

The 2011 Focus, which also underpins the C-Max and makes its debut at January's Detroit show, is different. Ford says the '11 Fiesta coming to America will share 60 to 70 percent of its parts worldwide. The '11 Focus and Focus C-Max will score more like 75- to 80-percent common parts. And suppliers to the new Focus will make the same parts and components around the world.

Europe gets both a five-passenger and a new seven-passenger C-Max, while North America is slated just for the seven-passenger C-Max, so far. There's good reason for this: Ford also will update the Escape/Mariner C-segment crossover, a big seller here but not overseas.



The U.S.-bound Focus C-Max looks much like this five-passenger model in a front-three-quarter view, but the seven-passenger model will have minivan-style sliding rear doors. It's more Mazda5 competitor than Chevy Orlando competitor.

Ford isn't talking engines, but an updated version of the current Focus' 2.0-liter four will be standard, and a new 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine will be optional in the Focus/C-Max lineup. A 2.0-liter EcoBoost four could power a hot hatch version of the Focus up to a year after the '10 launch.



Ford says it's growing its North American sub-C/D-class (Fusion/Milan/MKZ) lineup from four models (two- and four-door Focus, Escape, and Mercury Mariner) to nine: four- and five-door '11 Focus (the two-door is being cut), Focus C-Max, the Focus BEV (Ford counts its electric version as a separate car) a C-segment Mercury on the Focus platform and two '11 Fiestas, four- and five-door.

Like General Motors, Ford sees huge growth in sub-C/D cars in the coming decade. Ford and GM are selling much better-equipped compacts and four-cylinder midsize cars at higher transaction prices these days than in the recent past. This is important to Ford's strategy: Popular C-segment cars already sell for the equivalent of $25,000to $30,000 in Europe.

Read more: Motortrend

Review: 1967 Classic Recreations Eleanor Mustang is the real movie deal

1967 "Eleanor" Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

H. B. Halicki was a used car salesman who wanted to make a movie. With a little money, one big idea, and a 1971 Mustang Mach 1, he made Gone in 60 Seconds. And in that particular way that movies, especially '70s movies, can be, it wasn't all that good, but it was awesome. Fast forward to Michael Bay's remake in 2000, and the Mach 1 was replaced by a 1967 Shelby GT500. When we got a call offering us the actual car from that movie for the weekend, we felt obliged to say yes... and then drive it like we stole it. The verdict: Eleanor is the hottest piece of car we've spent a weekend with in quite some time.

To bring up another enduring movie character, do you know why so many people quote Tony Montana? Because he had a way with words, and those words were often right, such as when he said, "First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the woman." A common shortcut is to swap "the power" part of that equation for "a hot car," and then you can go straight to step three.

There are different kinds of hot, though; more often than not, when a guy buys a car, he's just a guy in a hot car. On rare occasions, and in rare cars, however, the combination of driver and car instantly renders a guy – and everything he touches – hardcore hot. The kind of car that makes people want to call you "Wolf," or "Hawk." The kind of car that makes hot women stand in your vicinity twirling their hair, hoping you know how to combine the words "love" and "dashboard light." The kind of car that is like putting on a cape.

That car is Eleanor.



A 1967 Mustang Fastback isn't enough to pull off that transformation on its own. To go all the way, to ring the bell, you have to go to – of all places – Yukon, Oklahoma. That's where the crew at Classic Recreations will, after you've given them at least $109,000, turn an ordinary Mustang into Nicolas Cage's greatest desire.

The transformation is comprehensive. An in-house 401 c.i. racing engine with aluminum heads goes up front, topped with an aluminum crossflow radiator, two 12-inch cooling fans, Mass Flo fuel injector system, Concept One serpentine belt drive system and ceramic coated headers. Power runs straight back to the rear wheels via a five-speed Tremec TKO manual (or an optional six-speed Tremec, or an automatic, if you're that guy) and Posi-Traction. The base model puts out 535 horsepower. At the other end, the engine has been worked to 770 hp and will relieve you of $189,000. The vintage body is held in check from twisting around all that power with enough bracing to qualify as scaffolding.









Inside, the car is overhauled with new seats bearing five-point harnesses, Classic's in-house gauges, a wood and aluminum steering wheel at the end of a Flaming River column, and the interior treatment from the deluxe versions of 1967 Mustang models. A feature you could not have gotten on your 1967: a NOS system with an "Armed" toggle on the dash and a "Go Baby Go" red button on the shift knob. The decision to add such accelerated go gas eliminated the possibility of a trunk; there is a space back there behind the rear window, but it's occupied by a giant tank of nitrous.

Underneath, the modern mech theme is upheld by a Total Control suspension conversion that puts coilovers and sway bars front and rear. And behind those Classic Recreations wheels are Baer brakes holding fast to slotted and cross-drilled rotors.

Outside is where we had only minor hesitations about a thoroughly beautiful car. We don't fault Classic because it is merely recreating a movie car. The issue is with Eleanor herself. She's a bit... busy. Mainly up front, and only in certain places and from certain angles, we just kept feeling "Hmm, there's a lot going on." We think it's the number of curves and bulges running from the hood bulge down to the lower grille and the twin, center-mounted lamps; that area of arc and shadow is quite a contrast to the otherwise straightforward lines of the car. It's still a hot piece, and call us blasphemers if you like, but we do prefer it to the 1971 Mustang from the original film.







Outside, though, doesn't matter when you get inside, which is our favorite attribute of Eleanor. And our favorite thing about the inside is this: it's simple. Spend a few moments getting locked into your harness, after which you'll realize that there's nothing to do in Eleanor but drive her. The windows are manual. The locks are manual. The climate controls are Mesozoic: heat comes from the engine, the air conditioning isn't worth fiddling with because even with it on, you will sweat in this car. There are no LEDs to adjust the color of. The key is a tiny, flat piece of metal. Compared to today's lumps of plastic, Eleanor's key looks like something you'd open a suitcase with. The only buttons in the entire car are on the stereo.

Stick that little key in the slot on the dash, turn, and unleash a barrage of rambunctious. The dual 2.5-inch pipes running through Spintek mufflers and exiting just behind the doors barely contain the engine's explosions. Eleanor is easily the loudest car we've ever driven – it set off at least two car alarms every time we took it out. So loud that we practically avoided cemeteries out of respect for the dead. So loud that you could turn a corner and see people already looking down the road for you, trying to figure out where to run to escape the bellow. So loud that wholesome, innocent bystanders would shake their heads as you drove by, thinking "That's a bad, bad man."

You damn right.









That sweet, sweet thunder rendered the sole buttons inside the car, on the Panasonic stereo, useless. Don't be fooled by that speaker array, either – it's just for show. Well, not actually, but it might as well be because you've got to have the volume cranked up so high that it feels like your ears are being assaulted on another flank. And that's before you hit the gas. When you do that, forget about hearing anything.

So you turn the stereo off and you play with the gas as often as possible, for the sound and the fact that the 550 horsepower in the car we had makes a 1967 Mustang run like Niagara. We welcomed the chance to stop at any light, not only for the opportunity to take off, but just to get 60 seconds to play with the throttle. Highway cruising is pure ease, and when you drop down a gear and turn the noise up to "Battleship Engine Room," you exercise the pedal and the car bolts. The suspension is on the firm side but not at all uncomfortable, doesn't squat, and only gets snippy with when going over large, sharp bumps.





Yet for all of the changes made to the car, we can't tell you how it drives at the limit. This is the actual car from the movie, and it's owned by Denice Halicki, the widow of the man who made the original film in 1974, H. B. Halicki. She lives in the hills and didn't want to get a workout every time she turned the wheel, so Eleanor is set up to drive somewhat like an old Buick. The power steering boost comes on so strong and so quickly that when you turn the wheel a fraction in either direction, the wheel practically turns itself after that. One finger – no, make that one knuckle – is enough to explore the limits of lock. That meant we couldn't quite tell where the wheels were, so we couldn't get them placed quickly on the twists.

What we could tell from broad sweepers, where you could set the wheel and then test how quickly you could run through the turn, leads us to believe that the car's abilities are also far beyond those of a stock 1967 Mustang. Sure, with no electronic aids, if you get gimme-gimme with the accelerator, especially out of a turn, you are going to have some issues with the back end. But if you refrain from stabbing, put the knife away, and chauffeur with a sound mind, the 275/40 tires out back hold on to the road at speeds we'd be happy with in any modern sports car.



While we would certainly love to find out what Eleanor can really do, we have to admit we'd be more than happy with the limits of the movie car even if it does have Park Avenue steering. It can still do plenty, it's a perfectly raw dog, and the sensations trigger all the right areas of the brain. This is one of the terrifically few cars that can actually make you a star.

Just a few months ago, this particular blogger hadn't driven a Mustang in donkey's years. Now, a new one seems to come every other month, and each one is better than the last. We had to go back before we were born to top the last one, but we're pleased to announce that the streak continues. Eleanor is – ready for it? – our new favorite Mustang. Go, baby, go...

Source: Autoblog

Spy Shots: Unibody 2011 Ford Explorer cometh

2011 Ford Explorer

A 2011 Ford Explorer prototype has begun making runs around Michigan, and although the camo is thick, we're getting out first glimpse of what Ford has in store for its unibody 'ute.

Built on the same platform that underpins the Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKS and – more importantly – Flex, the all-new seven-seater Explorer will trade a bit of off-road prowess and towing capacity for a smoother ride and increased fuel efficiency. Under the hood, expect a choice of Ford's newest EcoBoost engines – the 3.5-liter V6 and a new 2.0-liter inline-four – with the latter possibly mated to an all-new dual-clutch gearbox.

Although the camo obscures most of the design details, the A-pillars and greenhouse are reminiscent of the Flex, although the hatch appears canted slightly inward, with a set of LED taillamps mounted in back. The overall shape is sure to take cues from the Explorer America concept show at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, and we plan on getting our first look at the production model early next year before production begins at Ford's Louisville, Kentucky plant in late 2010.



Source: Autoblog