Tag Archives | Mustang

2011 F-150′s EcoBoost V6 Power Ratings Released

By on September 21, 2010 in News

By Chris Haak

We just got word from Ford PR that the power ratings for the 2011 Ford F-150 pickup’s new optional 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 have been published.  Actually, the power figures for the entire 2011 engine lineup for the F-150 was released today.  You may recall that the 2011 F-150 is receiving an all-new engine lineup for the 2011 model year, set to improve the power and economy (at least theoretically) of the best-selling vehicle in the US.

To recap the engine lineup, the base engine is a 3.7 liter V6, marking the return of a six-cylinder to the F-series lineup for the first time since 2008.  This engine produces 302 horsepower at a high-revving 6,500 RPMs and 278 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 RPMs, which is amazing for a base six-cylinder truck engine.  GM’s 4.3 liter V6 base engine, in contrast, produces just 195 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque.  According to Ford, the base engine can tow 6,100 pounds.

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Review: 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Convertible

By on September 2, 2010 in Reviews

By Chris Haak

How deep does the 2011 Mustang GT Convertible’s beauty go? Hopefully it’s more than just skin deep, but we set out on a week’s worth of using the car for everything from commuting to the office, to running errands, to hours-long drives off the beaten path to definitively find the answer to that question.

Surely, it’s an attractive car. The design improvements made to the 2010 Mustang, which carry over nearly intact in the 2011 model, improved the breed by adding additional contours to the car’s flanks, plus chamfered corners that lend a sleek look to the original pony car, as well as helping the car’s aerodynamics. It retains all of the classic Mustang styling cues, yet manages to look trim and modern as well.

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Review: 2011 Ford Mustang V6 Premium Coupe

By on August 24, 2010 in Reviews

By Chris Haak

In December 1967, South African surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human heart transplant.  Though the patient unfortunately died, Dr. Barnard’s procedure was the first of many heart transplants to occur around the world.  Today, some 3,500 heart transplant operations occur annually, extending the lives of the patients and improving the quality of life for those individuals and their loved ones.  So what do heart transplants have to do with a Mustang?

One famous heart transplant recipient was racing legend Carroll Shelby, a guy who might just have had a small relationship with the Ford Mustang over the years.  By now we’ve all heard the news about how the Ford Mustang, fresh off a refreshed body and refreshed interior for the 2010 model year, has received what amounts to a heart transplant for the 2011 model year.  If you’ll humor us, you could say that the Mustang is receiving a heart-lung transplant, because in addition to a new heart in each model, six-speed transmissions have proliferated across the entire lineup.  It’s easy to argue that the powertrain and other upgrades that Ford bestowed upon the Mustang for 2011 have extended the model’s life, and certainly made it more vigorous and lively.  Like the 2011 Mustang’s two new tickers, Mr. Shelby received two heart transplants, as well as a liver transplant.

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2011 Ford F-150 to Get Three New Engines

By on July 16, 2010 in News

By Chris Haak

Ford announced yesterday that its 2011 F-150 pickup will receive three new engines for the 2011 model year, and all should improve fuel economy, power, and torque over their predecessors.

For the first time since the 2008 model year, the F-150 will be available with a V6 as its base engine.  Back in 2008, the V6 was an agricultural 4.2 liter unit, but the new one should sound familiar to Mustang fans – it’s a derivative of the 3.7 liter Ti-VCT unit installed in the 2011 Mustang Coupe.  Speaking from firsthand experience, this excellent engine is a strong V6 and surely will not leave base F-150 buyers wanting for more power.  In Mustang trim, the V6 produces 305 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque; the former base engine, a 4.6 liter 2-valve V8, produced a paltry 248 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque.  The V8′s torque peak came at 4,000 RPMs and the V6′s comes at 4,250 in the Mustang; not a significant difference, and one that may be altered via tuning before installation in the truck.  The 3.7 liter, you may recall, returns an impressive 31 mpg on the highway in the Mustang.  Our crystal ball says to expect low- to mid-20s in the F-150.

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2011 Ford Mustang GT500 Video – Aluminum Block Saves 9 Seconds Per Lap

By on May 19, 2010 in News

By Kevin Gordon

Tomorrow, two Autosavant staffers are attending a press event where we should be able to experience the 2011 Mustang V6 and 2011 Mustang GT in person for the first time. At this point, it is expected that these cars should be a major step forward from their predicesors. The other major change to Mustangs this year is the GT500 having its cast iron 5.4 liter block replaced with one made from aluminum. The result is a savings of 120lbs of weight from over the front wheels. So, the question that I have been dying to answer is if the removal of a bunch of cast iron has transformed the 2011 Mustang GT500.

The simple answer appears to be, “absolutely!” In this instance, the 2011 is nine seconds per lap faster than the 2010 version. That may or may not seem like a lot (depending on your frame of reference), but to think that this car would lap last year’s car on the 20th lap is impressive.   The video after the jump is of Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) Engineers running the new GT500 around the Grand West track at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).

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2010 Ford Mustang GT Convertible Review

By on December 31, 2009 in Reviews

By Kevin Gordon

12.31.2010

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Have you ever struggled for too long over a purchase? Weighing the pros and cons, going to the store, looking at your desired item, and ultimately pushing off your decision? Then finally, you pull the trigger only to find out that a new version will be released in the next few weeks. If you could remove yourself from the situation, you would probably realize that you still purchased something great, but that new and improved version is always going to haunt you. That is the story with the 2010 Mustang GT. Right after spending a week with Ford’s mid-level muscle car offering, they announced that the 14 year-old 4.6 liter V8 that lives under the hood of GT Mustangs will be replaced with a completely new 5.0 liter motor. As Alex posted, this new engine will gain 97 horsepower next year while retaining its same EPA MPG numbers.

The current Mustang GT’s 315 HP is adequate, but the muscle car wars of the 2010s require a larger number. That notwithstanding, the current version of the 4.6 is a sweet little motor. It may need to be revved to make all of its power, but it sounds just wonderful in the process. Overall, the 2010 Ford Mustang GT Convertible delivers almost everything a pony car buyer could want. The question remains if it can live outside of the shadow of its soon-to-be born big brother.

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Ford Works To Unload Some of Its Mazda Stake

By on October 16, 2008 in News

By Chris Haak

10.16.2008

According to a report in Japan’s Nikkei business daily newspaper, Ford has approached auto parts supplier Denso (which is part of the Toyota Group of companies, and supplies parts to Toyota as well as to several other manufacturers) about the possibility of selling some of its 33.4% stake in Mazda.  The 33.4% that Ford currently owns gives Ford control of the company, so selling that stake in a cash-raising move could result in Ford giving up control of Mazda, though according to sources cited in the aforementioned article, Ford is only talking about selling less than 1% of Mazda’s stock.

Ford’s stake in Mazda is valued at about $1.36 billion, and while that is a big number, it alone will not be enough fundraising to support Ford’s cash burn for the next few years.  According to Nikkei, Ford has also approached 20 or 30 other companies about purchasing some of its stake in Mazda.  Further, according to Bloomberg, it is likely that in the next few weeks, Mazda may itself buy back part of its own company from Ford.  Mazda would likely not be going alone in the repurchase, but would likely join with other Japanese companies in the purchase to spread the risk.

Ford ceding control of Mazda wouldn’t likely have any short-term repercussions for either company, but longer-term issues might surface.  For instance, Mazda-based platforms now underpin several Ford vehicles, such as the Fusion, MKZ, and Milan.  The well-regarded Mazda3 compact car also shares its platform with the European Focus (which is going to eventually make it to the US) and Volvo S40/C30, and the Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta subcompacts are very closely related.  If Ford still retained a significant ownership stake, it might still maintain access to Mazda’s chassis development expertise, but without absolute control of the company, Mazda may feel free to move in a different direction that Ford doesn’t care for. Continue Reading →

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The Rise of the Organic Machines

By on September 15, 2008 in Features

By Sam Boni

09.15.2008

Recent reports told about Lotus displaying an eco-friendly car at the London auto show. Yes, Lotus of racing and engineering fame has done the Eco-Elise with natural materials.

Organic cars? Do these environmentalists not shy away from anything? Hold on – it’s not just the tree huggers any longer, it’s the ‘bean counters’ getting on the bandwagon now. Green cars produce black numbers on profit & loss sheets – far too much red ink has flooded into the Detroit River of late.

Rewind to just short of one hundred years ago.

“The use of Vegetable oils for engines [now called Bio Diesel] may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as Petroleum and Coal tar products of the present time”; so said Rudolf Diesel in 1912.
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