Obviously the vehicle [pictured] is not the all-new police edition of the Explorer. But fear not! When Ford unveils its latest police package, photos will be posted!

“This is not about being sneaky,” says Fargo, N.D., Police Chief Keith Ternes, whose department recently began using unmarked vehicles. “This is about trying to change people’s habits and having them pay attention to their driving even when they don’t think a police officer is watching.”

Police departments say the move is necessary because some of the nation’s worst, habitual speeders constantly spot marked cars in time to avoid hefty fines that could change their behavior.

It’s a deadly cycle: Speeding contributed to 31% of all fatal crashes in 2008 — 11,674 lives — at a cost of $40.4 billion, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Among police agencies making it harder to spot traffic enforcers:

•About 15%-20% of the Iowa State Patrol’s cars are unmarked — mostly Ford Crown Victorias, says Capt. Curt Henderson. “The officers we assign these vehicles to see violations that officers assigned to a fully marked car never get to see,” he says.

•Fargo recently began using three unmarked cars. “I want people in Fargo to think a police officer may be in any car,” Ternes says.

James Shell, 55, of South Bend, Ind., got a ticket after he roared past a gray Mustang at 80 mph in a 60-mph zone. “After I got around it, in the rearview mirror I could see him put on his Smokey Bear hat,” says Shell, 55, a Labor Department investigator. “That’s when he hit his lights. I was like, they now use souped-up Mustangs?” Shell’s inattentiveness cost him about $120, but he learned a lesson. “Most definitely, it had an impact,” he says. “Since that happened to me, I said never again. It made me slow down.”

According to Autodata, Mustang sold 7,489 models to Camaro’s 7,486. However, Camaro topped Mustang for the first seven months of 2010, 53,864 to 47,524. But the new 2011 Mustang could be a game changer for the Blue Oval.

This is the pony car that gets more than 30 miles a gallon from its 300-plus V-6 engine. Ford thinks that’s the first time that milestone has been achieved in a production car. And the V-8 is an absolute, blow-you-back-in-your-seat hoot.

In the end, both Chevy and Ford can take solace in one fact – they beat out The Dodge Challenger, which only made it to 3,695 sales in July.

Source: USA Today

From our sources at Jalopnik – The image, tracked down by the ‘stang-lovers at The Mustang Source, looks to be the first image of the all-new 2012 Explorer. While we have no firm details yet, we can tell you it’s built on Ford’s D platform — a platform that until now has only produced pedestrian soft-roaders like the Ford Flex and the Lincoln MKT. Ford’s planning a non-auto show unveil for sometime in the near future — but for now let’s talk about the looks of the replacement to the king of the body-on-frame SUVs.

Basically, it looks like either a current-gen Ford Explorer mated with a Ford Flex or somebody knee-capped a late-gen model Explorer.

A new press photo released by Ford, featuring Chief Engineer Jim Holland, has him leaning on the hood of a 2011 Explorer. We can peek at a thicker grill and an interesting headlight design, sporting that thick blinker over the actual light. It looks like the corners are rounded and slope down to the large bumper.

According to Ford & Motor Authority, “In development for more than two and half years, the new Explorer will be just as tough as past generations despite the move to a car-based platform and the adoption of new four-cylinder EcoBoost powertrains. That’s the promise from the vehicle’s chief engineer Jim Holland, whose previously worked on the redesign of the Range Rover SUV back in 2002.”

From Auto Blog: Ford has jumped into the burgeoning urban car segment with both feet at the Beijing Motor Show with the Start concept. The design study was developed to look at ways of building a smaller, more affordable car using fewer raw materials. The structure is a combination of aluminum and high strength steels to keep weight down without sacrificing safety, while the body panels are made from recyclable composites that already have the color molded in, eliminating the need to paint.

The Start’s styling is clean and simple, but not as interesting as the “Kinetic” design of cars like the all-new 2011 Focus. The simpler shape is surely less expensive to manufacture than Ford’s current crop of vehicles and that simplification strategy extends to the interior where the Start introduces MyFord Mobile. This MyFord iteration relies on smartphones to provide much of the functionality provided by MyFord Touch without having to install all the extra hardware.

Ford emphasizes that, with one exception, the Start is purely a design study with no production plans for the time being. However, the Start’s powertrain – Ford’s newest EcoBoost engine – is sure to see production. In the past, Ford officials have hinted at a smaller three-cylinder Ecoboost, and this 1.0-liter turbocharged and direct-injected engine in the Start is what will be power future small Fords. The automaker isn’t giving specific numbers yet but says that the 1.0-liter will have output similar to a normally aspirated 1.6-liter inline-four. That should put it at approximately 105-110 horsepower. A small car with this engine should be able to get CO2 emissions under 100 grams per kilometer something reserved for diesel and hybrid vehicles up to now. All the details, including a thorough breakdown of the styling and new drivetrain, is available in the press release after the jump.

Source: Auto Blog

VEHICLE TYPE: The 2011 Ford Fiesta (US) will be a front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan or a 5-door hatchback. Base Price for the sedan is $13,995 with a $15,795 tag for the 5-door. Its engine will be a DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection .Power will come from a 120 bhp @ 6350 rpm with torque of 112 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm.

These power plants will be matted to a 5-speed manual or 6-speed dual-clutch automated manual. Performance charts for the 2011 Ford came back with results of Zero-to-60 mph: 8.8–9.0 sec, and a top speed of 118 mph.

Dimensions for the 2011 Fiesta include a wheelbase of 98.0 in Length: 160.1–173.6 in Width: 67.8 in Height: 58.0 in. Curb weight for the Fiesta is a light 2550–2650 lbs.

Estimated fuel economy ranges around an EPA city/highway driving: 29–30/38–40 miles per gallon. When can you get the all new 2011 Ford Fiesta in America? Check out Ford dealerships later this year.

The Source: Car and Driver

The original Mustang was approved and created in only 18 months, sent to show room floors and ended up selling 80,000 Mustangs in its first year, that classic 1964 model – it sold more than a million in its first two years.

Frey went on to many other achievements, aside from making one of the most popular muscle cars ever – He was chairman of the Bell & Howell Company, recipient of the National Medal of Technology, and an executive member of the World Bank. Frey claims his proudest moment was helping to introduce safety improvements like disc brakes and radial tires to Fords.

In 1967, Time magazine called him “Detroit’s sharpest idea man.” At his death, Frey owned an original Mustang, his son Christopher said he liked to drive it fast.

Source: NY Times