Ford Mustang 2003 News

Ford is seeing yellow for this year's SEMA show. The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas is always a temple for excessive modification, but Ford has kept the cosmetic custom weirdness to a minimum for their Project Yellow Jacket Mustang.However, the real beauty -- and brawn -- lies under the yellow skin. Created by Ford and Vortech Superchargers, the car is powered by a 5.0-litre Coyote V8 engine that was treated to one of Vortech's V-3 Si blowers. The result is 451 kilowatts and 640 Newton metres of torque with 7.5 psi of boost. That's a big improvement over the 313 kilowatts and 528 Newton metres the Coyote makes in a stock 2014 Ford Mustang GT.However, it's not quite enough to outdo the Shelby GT500's 5.8-litre supercharged V-8, which chucks out 494 kilowatts and 855 Newton metres. Ford has to maintain its Mustang hierarchy, after all.The Yellow Jacket sports a carbon fibre cowl-induction hood and 3D Carbon Boy Racer body kit for a bit of added visual muscle, and rolls on iForged Icon wheels (20- x 9-inch front, 20- x 11-inch rear) and Falken Azenis FK453 tires (275/40/20 front, 315/35/20 rear). Other modifications include Baer brakes with six-piston calipers, a tuned suspension, and a Webasto sunroof.www.motorauthority.com 

Up to 300 Ford workers in Geelong may still have work after they are made redundant when the company stops making cars in Australia in 2016, after a small Melbourne company yesterday announced it was planning to recruit them. Power Systems Australia is looking to make gas-fired generators to export to markets in Asia and the Pacific. It currently employs 22 people in the Melbourne suburb of Campbellfield, but is planning to start a new factory in Geelong. The company currently makes electrical and electronic switchboards, and repairs and recalibrates power supply systems, but has also been researching the development and manufacture of power generation and supply systems. Ford announced earlier this year it would cease building cars in Australia, and in a special Ford event in August -- attended by global CEO Alan Mulally -- confirmed that we would see the next Ford Mustang here as a hero car in place of the Falcon.  

The 2015 Ford Mustang is on track for an auto show debut within the next six months and already many of its details are becoming known. Today, we learned that engineers developing the car have targeted a substantial weight saving for the new model. A source familiar with the car’s development told Edmunds that the 2015 Mustang will be only slightly smaller than the model it replaces but weigh around 180kg less. The 2014 Mustang equipped with a V6 tips the scales at just over 1587kg which means the new 2015 Mustang may be as light as just a bit more than 1400kg. The source said engineers were trying to improve the fuel economy of the car, though no doubt lobbing off around 180kg from the current Mustang will also yield significant gains in virtually every dynamic statistic. Combined with a new independent rear suspension, the lighter weight should see the Mustang turn in new levels of performance at the track. The 2015 Mustang is expected to be about 38cm shorter than the current car and 15cm narrower. Getting the weight down will be done by using lighter materials such as aluminium instead of conventional steel. Improved chassis design will also mean less reinforcement will be needed. www.motorauthority.com  

Watch the full Ford Mustang RC chase video

Have you ever wished your transmission were smarter? We're not talking about a dual-clutch or a paddle-shift automatic, but a manual. No? Well, maybe you should have. Ford has developed a smart shift knob for manual transmissions (in this case, a 2013 Shelby Mustang GT500), that can help drivers learn how to shift properly. It's not available for purchase, as it's a Ford engineer's project using the company's OpenXC research platform--but the project is open-source, and the design files and firmware are available for download. So you can make one for yourself. So how does it work? It takes a haptic vibration motor from an Xbox 360 controller and a Bluetooth link to the car's data output and packages them all into a fairly compact shift knob. Then the system senses the car's rpm and speed, and vibrates to tell the driver it's time to shift. Engineer Zachary Nelson also says it could be modified to vibrate to indicate other information, including the optimal shift points for gas mileage. While the knob itself might not have all that much use for us--or for most people in the real world--the idea that a car maker is developing and prototyping products, then releasing those designs into the wild for further development by the automotive community, is downright amazing. www.motorauthority.com    

James Bond ‘Goldfinger’ Aston Martin was epic, and the $4.62 million that Steve Champagne (yep, a real name) gave American customiser George Barris for the real Batmobile was serious money, then you'd be wrong.Ford as part of an ongoing product placement arrangement with Warner Bros who financed the movie. Ford also offered two big Galaxie 500s for the baddies to drive in the chase scenes but they were rejected and the producers bought two new Dodge Chargers. And so the main players in this iconic car chase were gathered for the fray.David Burrell is the editor of retroautos.com.au

Driving simulators such as Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed are well-known--and well-loved--here at Motor Authority.However, there is a new title in the works that may upset these video game heavyweights, and that’s GRID 2 from Codemasters.The sequel to 2008’s GRID, the focus of the new game is having arcade-style fun rather than creating a totally realistic driving experience.Nevertheless, the graphics are still as realistic as that of any of the rival games and the lineup of cars looks promising.The list includes the likes of the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, McLaren MP4-12C and the Pagani Huayra. The game’s creators say the total list of cars spans four decades and three continents.GRID 2 will be released early to mid-2013 and will be available for the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC.Motor Authority  

For a cool $US59,900 - that's about $56,500 in Australian currency - a replica of a car Ford never made - the 1965 Mustang wagon - is yours. Plus shipping. The replica, built on a 1965 Mustang Coupe and using as many original parts as possible, was built about 10 years ago by US specialist body builder Joe Ramp. It is based on a single wagon built by Intermeccanica at the request of Ford advertising agency J. Walter Thompson in 1965 to be shown to Ford as a potential new model. It didn't take off. Decades later and the Intermeccanica car is long gone but Joe Ramp decided on making his own. From the Coupe, the roof is stretched and new rear side glass added to the new D-pillars. The interior has a pseudo-bench style front seat in tan vinyl. It's actually a custom centre console with a padded filler between the seats to give the illusion of a bench. Under the bonnet is a late-model fuel-injected 5-litre V8 mated to a T5 five-speed manual gearbox. Out the back is an eight-inch Ford diff and 3.00 gears, custom control arms and upgraded shocks. It's now for sale on eBay US by RK Motors of Charlotte, North Carolina with a buy-it-now price of $US59,990. Last time we looked, bidding was at $US15,100.

A Mustang is a wild brumby in the USA but also one of the all-time best muscle cars; the LandCruiser does just what the name says, even if the land is the worst of the Australian outback; and the Enzo is a tribute to the man who founded the world's best-know supercar company, Ferrari.But the name game can go badly wrong.  The Nissan Cedric was never going to be a hit in Australia with a name that creates a picture of an aging uncle Arthur in a cardigan, Taurus is tough in the USA but was always going to flop against the Falcon, and the Skoda Roomster has just been dumped after failing to find a home down under.Holden was careful to avoid the VD in its Commodore line, but why did it start with the VB and not the VA? And what about the Statesman, which went well as the WB but was never updated into the WC?  Just this week I was following a Citroen Jumpy delivery fan in Portugal, and wondering if the name was a reflection of the driver's behaviour or the way it runs on the road.The craziness goes on and on, like the Citroen Picasso people mover which is anything but an oil painting.  Today's showrooms also have cars whose names have more numbers and letters than a cryptic crossword, with just as much meaning. Who really knows the difference between an A7 and a C350?But head back in history and there are some absolute clangers.  Henry Ford named the 1950s Edsel after his son, but is now recorded as one of the biggest flops in blue-oval history.  Japan has given us everything from the Daihatsu Rocky and Rugger to the Honda Ascot and Acty Crawler and on through the Isuzu Big Horn to the Subaru Justy.Nissan created the Tiida name from nothing, even though it claims it has something to do with waves breaking on a beach, and Lexus is even a made-up brand name, in contrast to Mercedes which was named after an early Daimler customer's daughter.  Over in America, the AMC Gremlin was a flop, the Dodge Neon never went up in lights, Plymouth Reliant never lived up to its promise, and the Lincoln Town Car was so big it needed its own postcode.Even some of the names which have worked create more questions than answers about their creation.  The Kia Mentor is more likely to need one, the Honda Jazz is not much of a music machine and the Suzuki Cappucino was too frothy to sell in Australia.Some names also paint a picture because of their history.  Mention Celica and lots of people in Australia think hairdresser.  Ask about the Nissan GT-R and you'll hear about Godzilla.Camry is shorthand for fridge-on-wheels, Kingswood is classic sixties kitsch, and then there is the Goggomobil.  So, what's causing a Rukus today? The Toyota Rukus, for a start.We could also get the Nissan Cube, which is as boxy as its name, although Nissan Australia is also pushing for a return of the Pulsar badge which worked so well before the silly switch to Tiida.  Right now we have the Skoda Superb in Australian showrooms. If that's not a name which creates a serious expectation then we don't know our Falcodores.When Toyota was looking for a new name for a mid-sized car alongside the Camry it thought it had the ideal choice. It settled on Centaur - the mythical man-horse - because it sounded tough.  But no-one at Toyota Australia had taken into account a nasty incident in World War II during the battle for the Pacific.A hospital ship called the Centaur was sailing towards Brisbane when it was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. The idea of a Toyota Centaur sunk even faster.  The Centaur badges were crushed, all the paperwork was changed and so was the advertising. The Centaur quickly became the Avalon for Australia.  How do we know? Carsguide made the call to Toyota to warn about the problem. Japanese cars have always led the way in the silly-names race.  How about the Mazda Bongy Brawny? No, not the name for an off-road tough SUV, it was the badge on the back of a city delivery van with a 1.3-litre engine.Everyone has heard the story about the Mitsubishi Starion, and whether the company's sales team actually meant to call the turbo coupe the Stallion.  And then there is the Pajero. It's called the Montero in Spain, because Pajero is the word for something usually done alone in private.

The Bonhams & Butterfields auction featured actor McQueen's 1949 Chevy pick-up truck offered for sale for the first time by his widow Barbara Minty McQueen. It sold for $37,570.McQueen died in 1980 and left a legacy of films, many of which included car and bike stunts performed, in large part, by the ruggedly handsome actor. They include the motorcycle chase scene in the 1963 war movie The Great Escape and the car chase through the streets of San Francisco in the 1968 movie, Bullitt, which is considered by critics to the best of all time.The auction included a first special edition Mustang Bullitt presented by Ford to McQueen's son Chad who is a professional race driver. Number 1 in the series and dubbed ‘McQueen 1’, the Mustang is in factory original and unmodified condition and has only 2012 miles (3238km) on the odometer. It was not sold but was estimated to go for up to $85,000.McQueen not only performed many of his own film driving and riding stunts, but also raced cars and bikes and represented America in the International Six-Day Enduro motorcycle event. His 1940 Indian Chief motorcycle used as his ‘Hollywood bike’ and featured on the cover of the book Steve McQueen: The Last Mile sold for $106,450 while his 1919 Indian Daytona twin with FLXI sidecar did not sell but was estimated to be worth as much as $135,000. It may not be a car or bike, but its McQueen motoring credentials are bona fide: a Heuer-mounted stopwatch set, used in the film Le Mans, starring McQueen was sold for an undisclosed price.A spokesman for Bonhams & Butterfields said they could not comment on post-sale negotiations, nor publicise the last bid price on unsold items. "But I'm sure Bonhams would certainly entertain offers from interested buyers," he said.Other celebrity vehicles in the auction included a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz formerly owned by Frank Sinatra which was bought for $131,000 and motoring enthusiast Sam Garrett's collection of 28 American and European cars.Garrett invented the mascara brush by taking a brush used in the maintenance of camera equipment and, together with Max Factor, applying the concept to make-up.His collection includes a 1927 BNC type 110 Roadster, 1935 Brewster Town Car, 1937 Rolls-Royce 25/30 Limousine, 1948 Packard Custom 8 Wagon, 1950 Morgan SS and 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB.