Good Deal #1

What: Buy A 2010 Suzuki SX4 For Under $15,000
Where: Suzuki Dealers
Regular Price: $15,849
Black Friday Price: $14,599
Savings: $500 Holiday cash on top of current deals, for a total savings of $1,300.
Why Its A Good Deal: You won't find a better utilitarian vehicle in this price range. Better yet, it comes with an in-dash navigation system featuring Garmin software.

Good Deal #2

What: GM Dealer Closing Sale: $2,000 Off For Certain Customers
Where: Cadillac, Buick-GMC, Chevrolet Dealers
Regular Price: Already heavily discounted
Savings: $1,000-to-$2,000
Black Friday Price: Between $1,000 and $2,000 cheaper
Why It's A Good Deal: Nearly one-million customers living near a closing dealership will receive a letter in the mail this week offering them an additional $1,000-to-$2,000 to purchase a vehicle at a dealership staying open. Deal ends at the end of the month.

Good Deal #3

What: BMW Diesel Luxury Sedans — More Than 10% Off
Where: BMW Dealers
Regular Price: $43,900
Savings: $4,500
Black Friday Price: $39,400
Why It's A Good Deal: BMW is trying to get U.S. buyers to accept diesel vehicles as luxury vehicles and is putting $4,500 in cash where its mouth is. Powerful and efficient, BMW diesels at a discount is a great deal.

Good Deal #4

What: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V: $5,000 Savings
Where: Cadillac Dealers
Regular Price: $58,575
Black Friday Price: $53,575
Savings: $5,000
Why It's A Good Deal: The CTS-V is a world-beater and the few remaining 2009 vehicles on dealer lots qualify for a $5,000 cash back deal. It's the fastest stocking-stuffer on the block.

Good Deal #5

What: Remaining 2009 Dodge Rams Up To $5,500 Cash Back
Where: Dodge Dealerships
Regular Price: $21,510 - $39,935
Black Friday Price: Up To $5,500 Off
Savings: $5,500
Why It's A Good Deal: Dodge is hoping they'll have a few less 2009 Rams sitting under their tree and are offering up to $5,500 in cash back if you'll help rid them of a nicely-loaded one.

Bad Deal #1

What: Ford's Year-End Sales Event Unremarkable
Where: Ford Dealers
Regular Price: Fairly Cheap
Black Friday Price: $1,000 less plus 0% financing
Why It's A Bad Deal: Ford is not as poorly positioned as other American automakers so they're offering a measly $1,000 cash back and 0% financing. This is a good deal — on Black Friday 2006.

Bad Deal #2

What: Baja MotorSports Phoenix 250cc Street Motorcycle A Bad Deal Free
Where: PepBoys
Regular Price: $1,999.99
Black Friday Price: $1,499.00
Savings: $500.01
Why It's A Bad Deal: Even with a $500 discount you're still buying a cheap-for-a-reason Chinese bike that's going to require riding lessons, a license and possibly being abandoned two weeks later on the side of the road.

Bad Deal #3

What: Get Less Than 3% Off Of A BMW M3
Where: BMW Dealerships
Regular Price: $54,850
Black Friday Price: $53,350
Why It's A Bad Deal: BMW knows it has a great product in the M3 sports sedan and it's throwing its smallest cash back offer on them. For less than 3% off most buyers won't notice it.

Bad Deal #4

What: Get A "Free" Upgrade To An AWD Charger You Didn't Want
Where: Dodge Dealerships
Regular Price: $30,540
Black Friday Price: $25,700
Why It's A Bad Deal: Dodge has a slate of attractive incentives for those wanting to buy a new car from them, but the "free" upgrade to an AWD Charger is selling you an unpopular AWD upgrade instead of more cash off the car you actually wanted.

Bad Deal #5

What: Subaru Donates $250 To Charity For You
Where: Subaru Dealers
Regular Price: Regular Price
Black Friday Price: Still The Regular Price On Many Models
Why It's A Bad Deal: We think Subaru's "Share The Love " event is great for the five charities that get $250 when you buy their car, but it's not a great deal for consumers. Blame it on Subaru building cars people want.

The little beastie will be showing off at Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the S2000 World Cup races starting in 2010 and based on M-Sport's performance in the past, should run very well. The car runs a built 2.0 liter Duratec with 280 HP and 206 lb-ft of torque, driving a permanent all-wheel-drive system through a sequential six speed transmission. Brembo brakes and a "sports" suspension along, a roll cage, Sparcos and a fire supression system finish things off. We'll take one in Squeeze green with a road plate, thank you.

* California Special (GT/CS) Returns (Package 402A)
* SVT Performance Package (Option 67F)
* Brembo Brake Package (Option 55D)
* 6-speed Automatic Transmission available
* (3) – 19-inch tire options available
* Order Banks open January 18, 2010
* JOB 1 begins March 15, 2010

[GMInsideNews via MustangHeaven]

Photo Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

[DC Shoes]

So to test out my theory I left the camera at home today and went about my day. In the afternoon, while walking to a meeting, what do you know, I come across a beautiful vintage Ford Transit (Mk II I think, the '78 to '86 production run, yes the Ford streak continues!).
Well technically I stumbled upon a beautiful yellow one first, and then, hidden by a moving truck, there was a grey/blue/bondo beater one with a high roof ( a camper top of some kind) that was even cooler, or at least more sinister.
The guys in the moving truck were quite amused by the weird dude in the Corduroy suit, snapping pictures of two old vans with a look of genuine happiness on his face...
I hope you find these two vans as I cool as I did!
bon weekend

Confession time: A few us have driven a Police Interceptor. One of us even owns one. Some of us, on the other hand, have barely even sat in one. (There was that one time with the live chickens and the three hundred pounds of prime rib, but for legal reasons, we're not allowed to talk about it.) So from a personal standpoint, we can't really explain why we dig this, or why it gets us excited, or why it makes us want to get all Good Cop/Bad Cop and go hunt down some junkie fool with a dirty mouth and blood on his mind.

The skinny: The next Interceptor arrives in 2011. Ford claims it will be engineered and built in America, and that it will offer better fuel efficiency, quality, safety, and performance than the current Crown Vic. (Given that the Crown Vic was designed when Calvin Coolidge was in diapers, none of this should difficult.) Further details should arrive in the first quarter of 2010.

The speculation: For starters, the picture above is the Ford Interceptor concept first shown at the New York auto show in 2002. That car was based on the '03 Police Interceptor; it sported crush-resistant bumpers, push bars made of reinforced steel, eighteen-inch alloy wheels, and a 4.6-liter, four-valve V-8 that produced 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. As you might guess, it is not what Ford is unveiling next year.

What's actually on the way? Our bets are on a rear-wheel-drive ass-hauler based off the Australian-market Ford Falcon. There's a slim chance that it could be Taurus-based, but durability issues would likely preclude that from happening. Note that all of this comes on the heels of Chevrolet's Caprice announcement. Nothing like a good cop-car shoot-out, is there?

[Full press release here: Ford]

Cast inside the valley of the Boss 6.2-liter V8 are the words "The Boss Is Back." It's the kind of Easter Egg from a confident company. Of course, if they were so confident we're not sure why they seem to be holding back on marketing it as the "Boss."

(Hat tip to Fastlane!)

$5.5 million is a helluva a lot of ducats to spend on a 45-year-old car with no heater and an original sale price of $3,318.60, but this sucker's apparently been established as the very first Mustang to roll down Ford's assembly line. That means it's got a born-on-date of March 9, 1964, making it the 212th Mustang built — following 211 prototype and promotional cars built in the Allen Park prototype facility. Although it now lives as a museum piece, this first of an unbroken progeny of nine million cars wearing the same name, still managed to get over 55,000 miles on the odometer in its lifetime.

The eBay listing is worth a look for no other reason than to check out the cool history of the early cars. [Ebay

At this point, it's not clear why or how this suicide occurred, though the mayor of the town where his business is located said he'd been told by Richard Burd himself that business was good and mentioned they were in the process of replenishing their sold-out stock. It's possible he was just one of the many Americans suffering from depression and the location of this suicide isn't significant. Until the police release a note or details it's all just speculation.

You can see Christine in one of their "Burd Is The Word" commercials below. (Hat tip to Carrew!) [IndyStar]

Photo Credit: MICHELLE PEMBERTON/Indianapolis Star

A marketing ploy, sure, but we have a thing for any marketing exercise which carries risk of serious injury and/or death. This should also definitely prove to armchair racers that they're faster in their minds than they would be behind a real steering wheel (force feedback doesn't count). Of course it also proves that the 2010 Ford Mustang GTs stability control is now so good that it kept four nincompoops from killing themselves in a powerful RWD car, I mean really, did you see how they were driving in the game?

Features include functioning exhaust, working battery and standard Primus cassette tape, it's sure to be a hit.

Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus

Mobsteel took the SHO and added its trademark mobster style with custom front and rear fascias, black-out grille, restyled fender chrome (it's not a side vent, let's not pretend here) and rear bumper trim. Of course, the whole car gets a heavy coat of black. Running gear includes a set of huge 380mm cross-drilled and vented Brembos, Air Runner front and rear air system with custom Mobsteel bags in the back, 22 inch wheels on Pirelli tires turned by a 400 HP tuned 3.5-liter twin turbocharged Ecoboost V6 breathing through a Magnaflow cat-back exhaust.

It's hard to judge any bagged car when it's layin' frame, right now it looks a little goofy with those huge wheels tucked up under the fenders. Considering we've loved everything Mobsteel's ever made, we want to see this car out in the wilds before passing final judgment.

The seat belt, which Ford has said clearly and often is not an air bag, inflates via an inert cold compressed gas that flows through a channel in the buckle in about the same time it takes a car traveling at highway speeds to go two feet.

A balloon in the belt expands to five times the size of the belt in order to distribute pressure from the crash more evenly across a developing child's or riddled-with-Alzheimers elderly adult's body. What Ford neglects to mention is the opportunity this provides to go after the coveted and not-so-much-growing "little people" market.

Without a demonstration to witness, we broke for lunch. Full press release below:

FORD INTRODUCES INDUSTRY'S FIRST INFLATABLE SEAT BELTS TO ENHANCE REAR SEAT SAFETY

* Ford introduces the auto industry's first-ever production inflatable seat belts, which are designed to provide additional protection for rear-seat occupants, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to head, chest and neck injuries
* Ford's inflatable rear seat belts will debut on the next-generation Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle, which goes into production next year; Ford eventually plans to offer inflatable seat belt technology in vehicles globally
* Ford's inflatable rear seat belts spread crash forces over five times more area of the body than conventional seat belts; this helps reduce pressure on the chest and helps control head and neck motion for rear seat passengers
* More than 90 percent of Ford research participants indicated that Ford's inflatable seat belts are similar to or more comfortable than traditional belts, which could help increase the lower rate of rear belt usage

Visit our Rear Inflatable Seat Belt minisite for fact sheets, profiles and multimedia content.

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 5, 2009 – Ford Motor Company is bringing to market the world's first automotive inflatable seat belts, combining attributes of traditional seat belts and air bags to provide an added level of crash safety protection for rear seat occupants.

The advanced restraint system is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat passengers, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to such injuries.

Ford will introduce inflatable rear seat belts on the next-generation Ford Explorer, which goes into production next year for the North American market. Over time, Ford plans to offer the technology in vehicles globally.

"Ford's rear inflatable seat belt technology will enhance safety for rear-seat passengers of all ages, especially for young children who are more vulnerable in crashes," said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of Sustainability, Environmental and Safety Engineering. "This is another unique family technology that builds on our safety leadership, including the most top safety ratings of any automaker."

Safer and more comfortable
Advances in air bag inflation and seat belt construction methods have enabled Ford and its suppliers to develop inflatable seat belts that are designed to deploy over a vehicle occupant's torso and shoulder in 40 milliseconds in the event of a crash.

In everyday use, the inflatable belts operate like conventional seat belts and are safe and compatible with infant and children safety car and booster seats. In Ford's research, more than 90 percent of those who tested the inflatable seat belts found them to be similar to or more comfortable than a conventional belt because they feel padded and softer. That comfort factor could help improve the 61 percent rear belt usage rate in the U.S., which compares to 82 percent usage by front seat passengers, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

"Ford is pioneering inflatable seat belt technology to help enhance crash safety protection, while encouraging more people to buckle up with a more comfortable belt," said Paul Mascarenas, Ford vice president, Engineering, Global Product Development.

In the event of a frontal or side crash, the inflatable belt's increased diameter more effectively holds the occupant in the appropriate seating position, helping to reduce the risk of injury.

Vehicle safety sensors determine the severity of the collision in the blink of an eye and deploy the inflatable belts' air bags. Each belt's tubular air bag inflates with cold compressed gas, which flows through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat.

The inflatable belt's accordion-folded bag breaks through the belt fabric as it fills with air, expanding sideways across the occupant's body in about the same amount of time it takes a car traveling at highway speed to cover a yard of distance.

The use of cold compressed gas instead of a heat-generating chemical reaction – which is typical of traditional air bag systems – means the inflated belts feel no warmer on the wearer's body than the ambient temperature. The inflatable belts also fill at a lower pressure and a slower rate than traditional air bags, because the device does not need to close a gap between the belt and the occupant.

"It's a very simple and logical system, but it required extensive trial and error and testing over several years to prove out the technology and ensure precise reliable performance in a crash situation," said Srini Sundararajan, safety technical leader for Ford research and advance engineering.

The inflated belt helps distribute crash force energy across five times more of the occupant's torso than a traditional belt, which expands its range of protection and reduces risk of injury by diffusing crash pressure over a larger area, while providing additional support to the head and neck. After deployment, the belt remains inflated for several seconds before dispersing its air through the pores of the air bag.

Ford's safety leadership record continues to grow
The inflatable seat belt debuting on the next-generation Ford Explorer continues Ford's record of safety innovation. Ford today has more 5-star U.S. government ratings and "Top Safety Picks" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety than any other automaker.

Ford was the first automaker to introduce seat belts in 1955 and led the way in making driver and front-passenger air bags standard in most vehicles by 1993.

This year, Ford introduced radar-enabled Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning with Brake Support and Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®) with Cross Traffic Alert (CTA). These technologies – introduced on the new 2010 Ford Taurus and Fusion – help drivers avoid potential dangerous crash situations using radar to detect the relative position of other vehicles and warn the driver with a combination of visual and audio alerts.

Ford's other recent seat belt and air bag innovations include the industry-first BeltMinder system in 2000, which the U.S. government credited with increasing front belt usage by 5 percent in Ford vehicles. On the 2002 Explorer, Ford launched the industry's first rollover-activated side curtain air bags – called Safety Canopy – as well as Roll Stability Control technology that goes a step beyond traditional stability control systems by helping measure and prevent side-to-side skidding and dangerous situations that could lead to rollovers.

Ford also introduced on the 2009 F-150 and 2010 Taurus some of the industry's first pressure-based air bag technologies that help deploy side air bags up to 30 percent faster.

# # #

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 200,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

This little coupe might look old, but it's an all-new car, with a new old stock body, new suspension and interior bits. What's most intriguing is what's going on under the skin though. Up front is the first front-to-back application of Ford's EcoBoost engine lineup. It's a 3.5 liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost unit developing 400 HP, 400 lb-ft of torque and, here's the tricky part, mated to an engine plate adapter and then hooked to a Tremec TKO five-speed manual transmission. Very nice. We're thinking those little goodies need to make it into the Ford Racing catalog pronto. Detroit Street Rods did a fine job putting this little gem together.

The latest Cobra Jet maintains the theme of all CJ's in the past — a factory chassis stripped of all non-essentials and outfitted with all the goodies drag racers want to go fast in a straight line. For 2010, Ford's taken things to a whole new level, making the Cobra Jet Mustang so good they're envisioning customers who buy the car and don't have to waste time replacing bits before taking runs down the strip.

What we're looking at here is the "Super" Cobra Jet, the top-of-the-line model with all options and the goodies, this one's even painted a special silver for SEMA, all others will be the traditional white. It's equipped with a 5.4 liter V8 with a 4.0-liter Whipple supercharger with headers, adjustable front and rear shocks, manual steering and an NHRA certified roll cage, competition shifter with trans brake, Hoosier drag radials on Weld wheels, a rear mounted battery and fuel cell, as well as a cut-off switch.

Those things are pretty normal for any drag racer, but the stuff making this factory runner a unique proposition is a little more thoughtful. Instead of just reusing the standard Mustang wiring loom, the CJ's is unique, which affords the Ford Racing guys some unique opportunities. Since there are no airbags in the car, they relocated all the fuses to the glovebox area, which has an easily removable upper cover. Also hidden in there is a computer hookup for convenient data recovery and diagnostics, which is pretty cool on it's own. The IP is otherwise fully instrumented with a lovely row of toggle switches in front of the performance shifter and transmission brake. You'll notice the hand brake lever is missing because that whole system is superfluous.

Speaking of brakes, the Cobra Jet is equipped with manual brakes because most racers prefer them to vacuum boosted brakes, and you can forget about traction control and ABS for that matter — this car doesn't even have side mirrors. This model is again, the top of the line, and will run in Superstock A and B Auto, but there will be other flavors available with different engines, options and race gadgets. Having been bathed in the tire smoke of this fine automobile in the Ford Racing shop's parking lot, we can attest to both the noise and fury of this latest iteration. We at admit to having gone a little weak in the knees a the sound of that big mill at full chat.

What better way to make arguably the most belligerently awesome pickup truck ever built even better than to add a stonking 91 HP to the bottom line?

The power figures for the Raptor's new heart apply only to this truck and are still missing for the standard F-Series lineup, but for this guise it'll do 411 HP @ 5,500 RPM and 434 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 RPM. That additional grunt is good for an acceleration kick too, getting the truck from 0-60 MPH 1.5 seconds quicker than the standard truck. The upgrade over the 5.4 liter will cost buyers a very reasonable $3,000 and the order books for the truck open up in December and we're betting dealers are foaming at the mouth. At the moment, there are about 3,000 standing orders with 600 trucks sold and only a 16 day turn on dealer lots, with plenty of indication those orders will be updated for the stronger mill. Astounding figures when the full-size truck market is less than half the 2.5 million annual sales from 2007. Of course, the Raptor is as much for full-size truck stuff as an Impala is for NASCAR racing.

So it doesn't have the ridiculous carbon fiber body, but that's okay. It does have performance shocks, 1.5" lower suspension, stiffer rear anti-roll bar, cross-drilled brake rotors, a 9 HP bump from a Ford Racing K&N intake and freer-flowing exhaust and performance Falken tires on fancy wheels. You also get a pretty cool chin spoiler, paint and rear spoiler. The package will be available as a dealer installed option and will most certainly not come close to the RTR-C's $135,000 asking price. [Mustang RTR, Speed Hunters]

The car was built by Autosport Dynamics (ASD) in Charlotte, NC and aside from the crazy dry carbon fiber body, it also features goodies like in-car adjustable shocks, and carbon fiber HRE wheels. If you're interested in some serious weight savings in a Mustang, get your wallet ready cause the ten available for public consumption will cost $135,000. These are just teaser images now, but we'll try to take a look when it debuts this week at SEMA. [Mustang RTR-C, Speedhunters]

Keep in mind that despite a $997 million profit this quarter, it's an aberration more than a real sign that Ford's fully turned around. First, this big showing comes in large part from Cash for Clunkers — both here in the U.S. and in Europe. Secondly, Ford's still showing a net $573 million loss through the first three months of the year — including special items. NOT including special items, they've lost over $1.3 billion. So, good work by Ford this quarter, but in no way does this signify Ford's out of the water.

And don't even get me started on that SAAR number they're predicting for the rest of 2009 and 2010.

Press release and commentary in the gallery of slideshow pages below.

Look, Ford's saving money by even using only black and white in their slideshows. Good work Ford!

Note those nine month losses on the right...

This is sort of a big deal — Ford's now predicting an industry volume — SAAR — of 12.5 million vehicles they're predicting will be sold here in the U.S. Really? That high? Really? Is someone in a Cash For Clunkers-induced fever dream.

Here's the big number — $1.3 billion in full pre-tax operating losses for the year. Here's the full press release:

FORD POSTS THIRD QUARTER 2009 NET INCOME OF $1 BILLION; CASH FLOW TURNS POSITIVE; NORTH AMERICA PROFITABLE+

* Reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share, an improvement of $1.2 billion from the third quarter of 2008. Pre-tax operating profit totaled $1.1 billion, an improvement of $3.9 billion from a year ago. It is Ford's first pre-tax operating profit since the first quarter of 2008
* Ford North America posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, its first profitable quarter since the first quarter of 2005
* Reduced Automotive structural costs by $1 billion, bringing the total reduction to $4.6 billion through the first nine months of 2009, and exceeding the full-year target of $4 billion
* A strong product lineup drove market share gains in North America, South America and Europe as well as continued improvements in transaction prices and margins
* Ended the quarter with $23.8 billion of Automotive gross cash, up $2.8 billion from the end of second quarter 2009++
* Achieved positive Automotive operating-related cash flow of $1.3 billion for the third quarter, a $2.3 billion improvement over the second quarter
* Ford Credit reported a pre-tax operating profit of $677 million, a $516 million improvement from a year ago
* Ford now expects to be solidly profitable in 2011, excluding special items, with positive operating-related cash flow

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 2, 2009 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] today reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share, in the third quarter as strong new products, structural cost reductions and improved results at Ford Credit lifted the company's results despite continued weak global economic conditions. This is a $1.2 billion improvement compared with the same period last year.

Excluding special items, Ford posted pre-tax operating profits totaling $1.1 billion, an improvement of $3.9 billion from a year ago. This marks the company's first operating profit since the first quarter of 2008. On an after-tax basis, excluding special items, Ford posted an operating profit of $873 million in the third quarter, or 26 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3 billion, or $1.32 per share, a year ago.

Ford's North American operations posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, its first quarterly profit since the first quarter of 2005. Ford South America, Ford Europe and Ford Asia Pacific Africa also posted pre-tax operating profits in the third quarter.

"Our third quarter results clearly show that Ford is making tremendous progress despite the prolonged slump in the global economy," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Our solid product lineup is leading the way in all markets. While we still face a challenging road ahead, our One Ford transformation plan is working and our underlying business continues to grow stronger."

Ford's third quarter revenue was $30.9 billion, down $800 million from the same period a year ago. Automotive revenue is up $100 million from a year ago. This improvement was offset by a decrease in Ford Credit's revenue reflecting a decline in receivables.

Ford reduced its Automotive structural costs by $1 billion in the quarter, largely driven by lower manufacturing and engineering costs, which included benefits from improved productivity, personnel reduction actions primarily in North America and Europe, and progress on implementing its common global platforms and product development processes. Through the first nine months, Ford has achieved $4.6 billion in Automotive structural cost reductions, exceeding its full-year 2009 target of $4 billion.

Ford finished the third quarter with $23.8 billion in Automotive gross cash, compared with $21 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2009. Automotive operating-related cash flow was $1.3 billion positive during the third quarter of 2009, an improvement of $2.3 billion from the second quarter 2009. Automotive operating-related cash flow was $3.4 billion negative during the first nine months.

"The Ford team delivered another solid quarter of results with strong contributions from all our business regions," said Lewis Booth, Ford executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Positive cash flow, a stronger balance sheet and a third quarter operating profit are evidence that Ford is meeting the global economic challenges."

The following discussion of third quarter highlights and results are on a pre-tax basis and exclude special items. See tables following "Safe Harbor/Risk Factors" for the nature and amount of these special items and any necessary reconciliation to U.S. GAAP. Discussion of Automotive overall operating cost changes is at constant volume, mix, and exchange, and excludes special items; discussion of Automotive structural cost changes is at constant exchange and excludes special items.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

* Ford again increased year-over-year market share in North America, South America, and Europe and continued to achieve improvements in transaction prices and margins. Ford maintained market share in the Asia Pacific Africa region and Volvo gained market share. Other sales highlights:
o In the U.S., third quarter market share increased 2.2 percentage points compared to last year as the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands all posted sales gains
o Ford Europe's market share was 9.2 percent for the quarter, up 0.6 points from last year and the highest third-quarter level in 10 years. Market share was 10.1 percent in September, the highest monthly share in eight years
o Record growth in China continued as Ford third quarter sales jumped 63 percent
o At the end of the third quarter, worldwide sales of the new Ford Fiesta reached 470,000 units since its launch last fall. The No. 2 best-selling car in Europe posted its highest September sales since 1994. In September, Fiesta also had its best sales month ever in China. Fiesta arrives in the U.S. market in 2010
o Began selling the new Ford Taurus and Transit Connect in North America. Taurus sales in September were up 60 percent from a year ago
o The Ford Focus and Ford Escape were among the top new vehicles purchased in the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" program
o Ford's U.S. hybrid sales have risen 73 percent this year compared to a 14 percent decline in U.S. hybrid industry sales. More than 60 percent of Ford Fusion hybrid sales have come from non-Ford owners
* Began production of the Ford Transit Connect small commercial van at the new manufacturing plant in Craiova, Romania
* Announced investment of $500 million at Ford India's Chennai assembly plant to build the new Ford Figo, a small car targeted at the heart of the Indian market, debuting in 2010
* Announced a new $490 million assembly plant in Chongqing, China, which will be completed by 2012, and will produce the Ford Focus for the Chinese market
* Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles in the U.S. had the fewest number of "things gone wrong" among all automakers, according to the third quarter GQRS study of new vehicle quality
* Received $886 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy for development of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Ford has been approved for up to $5.9 billion in loans in support of projected expenditures through mid-2012
* Raised $565 million in new equity as Ford completed its previously-announced plan to issue up to $1 billion of equity
* Ford Credit completed $10 billion in funding in the third quarter, including $2.8 billion unsecured, and now has essentially completed its full-year funding plan
* The Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKT both earned a "Top Safety Pick" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Ford Motor Company continues to have more IIHS "Top Safety Pick" ratings than any other automaker
* Unveiled the all-new Ford C-MAX at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The C-MAX and the Grand C-MAX will debut in Europe in 2010, and the Grand C-MAX debuts in the U.S. in 2011. The new global C-car platform will underpin up to 10 models and more than 2 million units annually by 2012
* Announced that Ford's 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engines will make their debut in 2010 across Europe, North America, and Australia
* Unveiled the new Ford Figo to compete in India's small car segment beginning in 2010
* Launched the new Ford Fiesta in Taiwan and continued the successful rollout of the Ford Focus and Ford Everest SUV in additional Asian markets
* Revealed the new 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty and two new powertrains developed by Ford – a 6.7-liter V8 diesel engine and a 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine
* Began selling the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, an off-road performance truck, which captured the "2009 Pickup Truck of Texas" award from the Texas Auto Writers. The Ford F-150 won the overall "Truck of Texas" award, the seventh straight year a Ford truck has earned the honor

Those of you on the other side of the Atlantic might note that the Kent was installed in plenty of beloved British Ford machinery, including the Anglia and Cortina. In fact, the Kent qualifies for our upcoming Longest-Lived Vehicle Engines Of All Freakin' Time feature, being manufactured from 1959 until the present day. Variations of the Kent (some with overhead-cam heads) were used in cars ranging from the Fiesta to the Lotus Elan to the TVR Vixen.

[Wikipedia , image source: Burton Power]

The Galaxie 500 was the middle-of-the-road trim level for the full-sized Ford in 1964; much spiffier than the Custom but not quite as glitzed-out as the Galaxie 500XL. You got a 260-cubic-inch V8 as standard Galaxie 500 equipment, but a few bucks more would buy you the 289 or 390.

Detroit needs to bring back badging that looks like this! And I don't mean that faux-chrome plastic stuff- I mean genuine low-bidder peely-ass chrome and won't-stay-shiny-for-long aluminum, like in the old days!

Those of you who come to 24 Hours Of LeMons races already know Jeff; he's the guy who makes the LeMons carnival function correctly when it clanks into your town. A former pro racer who got his start in his early teens with a hooned-out autocross MGB, Jeff now prefers Italian iron. Remember his DOTS '65 Giulia SS?

When he first obtained the Cortina, it was powered by a semi-hot Fiat Twin Cam engine. After the punishment of quite a few rallies, the ol' Fiat gave up. What next? Hmmm... you can get wrecked Honda S2000s pretty cheap these days!




My crappy photographs don't really convey the super-slick setup of this Anglo-Japanese monster; Jeff was a fabricatin' demon to get this Hell Project together. All the Honda wiring and ECMs are in use, and it runs fine; all that remains is a bit of brake work and a couple of thousand little details. 1,800 pounds and 247 horsepower is a combination that sounds pretty good to us! And with legendary wheelman Jeff at the controls, it's gonna be terrifying a blast! Anyone who has ridden with this guy in a rental car on a race track can vouch for that. Did you know that a Honda CR-V can do 110+ at Carolina Motorsports Park? Neither did I!

And that's just the beginning of the fun stuff to be found under Jeff's house. The entire footprint of Chez Jeff's Oakland abode is taken up by an 1,800 square foot garage. For starters, here's Mrs. Jeff's ride: a lowered 1966 VW Transporter with a built-to-the-hilt 2,000cc engine.

Just inside, you'll find this 1971 Fiat 850 Sport Coupe, also belonging to Jeff's SO; don't those Alfa wheels look good on it?

When she doesn't feel like driving the bus or the Fiat, there's always her '69 Alfa Romeo Duetto.

Sometimes Jeff needs to change things up with this 1971 BMW 2002Tii with "lots of mods."

Tired of four wheels? Hop on one of the Lambrettas!

Tired of internal combustion? Hop on a Bianchi!

Can you hurl a paint-splattered ladder into the bed of your truck from 20 feet away and not flinch when it hits? The owner of this fine American machine- which parks just a couple blocks from Chez Murilee- can do that!

Back in '59, a base half-ton Ford Styleside pickup would have run you $1,938, or about $14,500 in 2009 bucks. For that price you got a 223-cube I6 and a three-speed manual transmission. That's way cheaper than the least expensive Ford sedan, which was the $2,132 Custom 300 Six business coupe. What a deal!

[Source: Ford]

Booth, in a statement today says,

"Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand"

Yes, because any time we see a Chinese restaurant offering Swedish meatballs, we think we're getting the heights of culinary delight.

Of course that can't be any worse than when we see Swedish meatballs at Denny's — which, come to think of it, we've been seeing since 1999's sale of Volvo Cars to Ford for $6.45 billion. [via AutoNews]

The report will show that, among American automakers, Ford did the best on the survey achieving an average or better-than-average with 46-of-51 models. This compares to an unimpressive 21-of-48 for GM and a depressing 1-of-26 models for Chrysler. Additionally, in the family sedan reliability category, the new Ford Fusion and Merury Milan are only bested by the Toyota Prius.

It's more good marketing news for Ford, who is already benefiting from the marketing boon of not taking federal bailouts.

[CNBC]

The return of the Interceptor makes us wonder if this movie will be some kind of prequel, as Max's rare-in-story Ford XB Falcon was thoroughly blown to smithereens in The Road Warrior. The truck on the other hand looks like a hot wheels car, with a ridiculously huge supercharged engine and a thoroughly chopped top. Looks like every Billetproof builders wet dream, and we wouldn't sneeze at taking it for a spin either. The two are part of what's expected to be quite an armada of vehicles planned for the $100 million Warner Brothers backed film which will be constructed over the next year. The cast is currently completely up in the air, after Miller refuted previous reports of lead roles going to Sam Worthington and Charlize Theron. Filming will begin next summer in New South Wales, Australia.

[ABC News]

The accident apparently happened at turn eight of the track, and the results, as you can see from the gallery above, couldn't be any more dramatic. After ramping the tire wall, the car planted nose-first into the ground and flipped forward, coming to a halt on its roof. You can see in the post-pancake-flipping images that the bolt-in roll cage simply punched through the floor, completely failing in its duty.

Incredibly, neither the driver nor passenger were injured in the accident. Reminds us why we prefer weld-in cages with big thick contact pads. (Hat tip to Michael Banovsky, Brian Makse!) [The Mustang Source]