Everything Car Shows and more!!

Race driver Tanner Foust is known for his great drifting and rallying skills, so it only makes sense that Ford reps allowed him to jump behind the wheel of the new 2012 Ford Focus ST-R racecar to wring it out at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Focus ST-R takes the forthcoming performance-oriented Focus ST hatchback and transforms it into it a turnkey racecar. The same 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 carries over from the ST with its 247 hp intact, as well as with its six-speed manual gearbox, though the powertrain has been optimized to run on high-octane race fuel. Recaro racing seats, an FIA-spec roll cage, and larger brakes complete the change from street car to track car. The only thing missing for teams that pick up a Focus ST-R are their safety and radio equipment.

In the video below, Foust tosses the Focus around Homestead-Miami’s bends and discusses how excited he is about the Focus – and Ford – entering more racing competitions this year. The ST-R will make its racing debut later this month at the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge during Grand Am weekend from January 26-27 at Homestead-Miami. Check out Foust and the Focus ST-R in the video below.

Source: http://rumors.automobilemag.com

Monster Truckin’!! Maybe our friend at theassassinram.com knows a little something about this? Well, probably not as the Assassin Ram has not seen a spec of dust

Any who, why did this guy come to a tug-of-war match with his lego truck? LOL

Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions™.

It began in Scottsdale, Arizona – a Wild-West town that had yet to spread its wings and create its own identity. Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett were drawn together by a car advertised for sale. Mr. Barrett was selling his 1933 Cadillac V16 Town Car, and it appeared Mr. Jackson was interested. “Appeared” may be the operative word, as a deal was never struck. However, the beginning of a lifelong friendship and partnership was firmly cemented between these two car guys.

That initial enterprise set the tone for what would become the Barrett-Jackson legacy. In 1967, Barrett and Jackson presented a car show they called, with the appropriate flair, “Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes.” The event was a fundraiser for local charities, including the Scottsdale Library and the community art center.

In 1971, the two combined their talents to present the company’s first collector car auction, featuring classics from their individual collections. Barrett’s Mercedes 770 Phaeton captured industry headlines, selling for $153,000 and grabbing the attention of collectors worldwide. The sale and the inaugural event thrust the Barrett-Jackson name into international prominence.

The 1980s represented a “growth spurt” throughout the collector car industry, with record prices and record participation at events across the country. However, the Barrett-Jackson partnership was not content to ride the wave, as the two men continued to set the standard.

Barrett brought the very best and rarest automobiles to the event, earning the reputation as the “Grandfather of the Collector Car Industry,” while Jackson expertly collected and restored cars for show. It was during this time that Jackson brought his sons Brian and Craig onto the team, while wife Nellie ran the day-to-day operations of this thriving collector car auction company.

Change continued to be the theme as Barrett-Jackson grew through the 1990s. Russ Jackson passed away in 1993, Brian Jackson succumbed to cancer in 1995, and Tom Barrett, who retired in 1997, passed away in 2004. Craig Jackson, who had actively worked daily within the company and on-site during the auction, assumed the reins in 1997.

With Craig Jackson at the helm, Barrett-Jackson rose to even greater heights using an aggressive plan of growth, expansion and hi-tech innovations. The auction began airing live on SPEED in 1997. Internet live bidding was also introduced that same year. A $17 million sale, 65 percent sales success ratio and over 100,000 spectators marked the 1998 event as did a cyber-simulcast on the Internet, a bidder liaison service and the introduction of an international designer fashion show. Read the rest of this entry »

Stylized, affordable, and with a dollop of sport, the ponycar formula has changed little in its 46-year history. The quartet of modern versions we assembled here are draped in rakish, come-hither sheetmetal; equipped with smaller, fuel-efficient V-6 engines; affordable to the masses; and yet still offer satisfying power.

If you’re experiencing deja vu, there’s good reason. We last assembled this crew in July, when the Mustang put a 3.7-liter smackdown on its domestic brethren, but lost to the Korean newcomer. (The resulting outrage ignited Internet forums for months.) Then, we were looking for the sportiest, most fun among them — the best hustle car.

But that wonderfully balanced Hyundai? Those manual transmissions? Fanboy fantasy. When it comes to the real world, people buy high-content, automatic/V-6 pairings. In this gang, that combo accounts for around 50 percent of each marque’s volume (the Genesis is the exception, mostly selling with the far less-expensive turbo 2.0-liter mill).

We attempted to gather players most representative of this ponycar class. Two caveats: A Camaro couldn’t be delivered in time, so we rented one from Hertz. The only Genesis trim available was the Track variant ringer that won the previous comparison.

Our quest was to find the holy grail of the people’s ponycar, the one that best combines sport, functionality, and value in a daily driver. We learned there are three very good cars here that are as close to a tie as you can get.

Source: www.motortrend.com

Ford’s aging Crown Victoria is barely relevant to most consumers, but cabbies and police officers across the country will bemoan its demise once production ceases next fall. The Transit Connect van may satisfy the livery fleets, but to appease law enforcement officers, Ford crafted its new 2012 Police Interceptor.

Without a doubt, Ford’s new Interceptor is a clean break from the decades-old body-on-frame, V-8-powered, rear-wheel-drive Crown Vic formula. Although Ford was once rumored to be modifying its rear-drive Australian Falcon platform for police use, Ford instead went to its American-built Taurus sedan for the new car.

As is the case with the consumer model, police departments will have their choice of two different powertrains in the Police Interceptor. The 265 hp, normally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6 is standard, and sends its power to the front wheels only. Those looking for a veritable pursuit special will likely opt for the other driveline, which is ripped straight from the Taurus SHO. Ford’s EcoBoost twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 provides “at least” 365 hp, which is channeled to all four wheels. While power looks to be on par with a standard Taurus, Ford engineers did upgrade the Police Interceptor’s brakes — something we’d love to see transition to the SHO.

Like the Crown Vic, the Taurus Police Interceptor has been designed to pass 75-mph rear-end crash testing, and a heavy-duty alternator and an enlarged radiator have been added. In addition, the car has also undergone certification testing designed by the Michigan State Police and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Departments to emulate the rigorous duty police officers will no doubt put the car through.

Most of the other changes made to ready the Taurus to protect and serve are relatively minor. A revised center console provides room for various aftermarket law enforcement devices and is nestled between bespoke cloth bucket seats, and a column shifter has been added to better access the gear. Along with an anti-stab plate installed in the backrest, the seats receive special bolsters designed to accommodate a standard police utility belt. Ford’s SYNC system is comes standard, and can be custom-mapped to accommodate the needs of law enforcement.

The rear seat area is naturally less hospitable, but still an improvement over the Crown Victoria’s setup. The vinyl bench seat is sculpted for easier handling of detainees and is specially positioned to improve legroom. The revised rear door hinges feature an extra ten degrees of travel to further aid perpetrator loading and unloading.

Apart from the light and push bars, there are subtle ways to ID the Police Interceptor from a normal Taurus. The large, 18-inch steel wheels are an obvious giveaway, and the car also eschews the standard Taurus three-bar grille in favor of a black mesh insert. The car could look virtually stock if these were replaced with standard Taurus parts — and we’re sure officers desiring the ultimate stealth cruiser will do just that.

Ford says production of the Police Interceptor will occur alongside the Taurus at its plant in Chicago, Illinois, and will start as soon as Crown Victoria production ends. Look for it to appear on city streets (or, God forbid, your rearview mirror) next fall.

Source: http://www.automobilemag.com

California Special. GT. Mach. These are not just names of Mustangs. These are the names of Mustangs that got two chances at life. There was only one Mustang that Ford had yet to recreate — the baddest of all, the Boss. That is, until now. Meet the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302, the best, most well-rounded Mustang ever.

What exactly did Ford do to get such great performance? Lots. Engineers started with a standard 5.0-liter engine, but instead of just throwing a supercharger on it, Ford kept this engine au natural and made it a free-flowing, high-revving screamer with a new “runners-in-the-box” plenum/velocity stack combination. Ford used revised camshafts with a more aggressive grind, and CNC machined the intake, exhaust ports, and combustion chambers of the aluminum heads.

All internal components are lightweight. A high-rpm valvetrain was designed, while a race-spec crankshaft and stronger main and rod bearings accommodate the increased load and high engine speeds. An oil cooler helps prevent the engine’s blood from boiling, and revised oil-pan baffling keeps things pumping properly during hard cornering. The Laguna Seca edition gets a transmission scoop under the car to cool those fast-spinning gears.

An all-new quad exhaust system makes the Boss sound as good as it performs. Two pipes exit in the rear, and two new pipes were added almost purely for sound. The two new outlets exit to either side of the crossover pipe, funneling exhaust through a set of metal discs that act as tuning elements. The pipes end just ahead of the rear wheel opening and flow very little exhaust, but create a sound unlike any other Mustang.

Source: http://www.motortrend.com