Just A Car Guy: 7/20/08

Just A Car Guy: 7/20/08

No doors and no seatbelts; no front brakes, air bags, shoulder strap, safety glass windshield, roll over crush cage roof thingy to keep you from being squished under the car, no bumpers, no safety equipment of any kind. And its one of the most fun cars you can drive legally on American roads. Because its all Ford, even though it's the best of the Model T and Model A parts, and built in a garage instead of the Ford factory. Between the I beam and the radiator, above the leaf springs, are Hassler springs that reduce side to side sway and lean. The above canister is a Carbonate powder gas generator that would have been supplying gas for the headlights, well before headlights evolved into electric illumination. The above shows the Hassler shock absorber also, normally installed on the tall and heavy model Ts to prevent tipping when turning corners, but in a lightweight, it added stiffness to the suspension.

The back area is also used for a pickup bed that bolts on. The innovations that Henry Ford brought to making cars are historically and presently important, and were simple genius in action. Henry Ford realized that the more you sell, the more you profit, and that means longevity in business. So Henry learned as he went, and progressively made his cars cheaper. 20 years and how it's evolved. Think 1988 Mustang compared to 2008 Mustang, 1988 F150 vs 2008 F150. Big changes in technology, design, and powertrain. Ford had the transmission crates that were delivering transmissions to the assembly line made to specific dimensions that would be perfect to use as floorboards for the car! No longer disposing of the crates, or wasting them by reusing them to move more transmissions, they made a one way trip, just like the transmissions, and labor was saved from moving them back to repack more trans in. Henry Ford learned of a process for turning wood scraps from the production of Model T鈥檚 into charcoal briquets. So, he built a charcoal plant 鈥?and the rest is history. The Kingsford Company was formed when E.G. Kingsford, a relative of Ford鈥檚, brokered the site selection for Ford鈥檚 new charcoal manufacturing plant. The company, originally called Ford Charcoal, was renamed Kingsford Charcoal in his honor. How inventive and clever is that! Finding a use for the waste and the cast off byproducts of your factory to make more products, and more profit.

All-new Venue set to be the lowest-priced SUV in the U.S. 2020 Acura ILX vs. 2020 Acura MDX vs. 45,395 | Price Yours Above Average: Reputation, reliability, and resale are outstanding. 2020 Acura TLX vs. 2019 Acura RDX vs. 38,295 | Price Yours Above Average: Lux cabin, good resale, tons of safety features. 2019 Honda HR-V vs. 21,515 | Price Yours Above Average: Good fuel mileage; good cargo space; fun to drive; good ride. 2020 Honda Pilot vs. 2020 Honda Civic vs. 2020 Honda Accord vs. 2019 Kia Niro EV vs. 2019 Kia Stinger vs. Practicality with Presence The luxury compact SUV category continues to be one of the country's fastest-growing vehicle segments. The most affordable luxury cars are some of the most fun. For many, the best SUVs come in small packages. Have you seen Subaru鈥檚 new 3-row midsize SUV, the 2019 Ascent? How about the totally redesigned 2019 Toyota RAV4 compact SUV?

There are plenty of great family cars out there, but none offers anything close to the purpose-built practicality of the minivan. Like it or not, Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. Our annual awards are among the most coveted in the industry because they're among the most valued by car shoppers. Show Highlights: The Ford Mustang Mach-E, Chevy Corvette and Porsche Taycan are sure to be among the biggest draws at the show. 2018 Paris Motor Show: Last tango in Paris? The last major auto show of the season is certainly by no means the least. We're spending 12 months with this Volvo S60, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 12 months with this Hyundai Kona Electric, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 12 months with this Kia Telluride, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 12 months with this Mazda CX-5, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 12 months with this Nissan Altima, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We鈥檙e spending 12 months with this Honda Clarity, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 6 months with this Jeep Wrangler, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 12 months with this Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We're spending 12 months with this Volkswagen Atlas reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates. We鈥檙e spending 12 months with this Subaru Ascent, reviewing the full ownership experience with ongoing updates.

Yesterday Ford officially announced the debut date for the Mustang-inspired EV that is likely to be called the Mach-E. Ahead of that unveil, less than a month away, something interesting has turned up on Facebook via Allcarnews. The publication has laid hands-on alleged CAD files for the Mach-E and used those files to generate some renderings of the EV. The renderings look very good, and the CAD file does appear to have the styling cues that you can make out in the teaser video and photo that Ford released this week. The publication states that it is 98 percent sure this is what the Mach-E will look like. The renderings show an EV with no grille openings, but an indent that looks like the Mustang grille. The three-panel taillights on each side are a certainty. The renderings do a very nice job of offering Mustang styling cues without looking like someone took a Mustang and put larger wheels and a suspension lift on it. We know a little about the Mach-E at this point. Ford has made it clear that the EV will offer a range of about 300 miles per charge in U.S. Bill Ford has said that the Mach-E will 鈥済o like hell,鈥?indicating the vehicle will offer impressive performance. If Ford can bring an EV with good looks and a long driving range to market at a fair price, it could take business from Tesla. The Mach-E will be sold in the U.S.