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When the 2015 Ford Mustang hits dealers, it will be with a new batch of features that will power up Sync’s 911 Assist feature, and provide an even greater degree of information to first responders in the event of an accident.

911 Assist will already make a phone call, via a Bluetooth-connected phone, should you bin your car. The automatic message to first responders is a pre-recorded blurb from Ford. With the new enhancements, though, emergency personnel can learn about the maximum change in velocity and whether the crash involved a front, rear, side or a rollover impact. 911 Assist will also send information about how many seat belts were in use and if airbags deployed, allowing more accurate dispatch of resources.

“Sync will only broadcast relevant information to save time, and it constructs a very efficient message for the operator,” said David Hatton, the global project leader with Ford Connected Services. “After the introductory message, the voice line opens automatically and occupants can speak directly with the operator via Sync’s hands-free functionality.”

Take a look below for the official press release from Ford, as well as a video of 911 Assist in action.

2015 Ford Mustang will tell authorities how you crashed and if you were belted [w/video]

2015 Ford Mustang will tell authorities how you crashed and if you were belted [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When the 2015 Ford Mustang hits dealers, it will be with a new batch of features that will power up Sync’s 911 Assist feature, and provide an even greater degree of information to first responders in the event of an accident.

911 Assist will already make a phone call, via a Bluetooth-connected phone, should you bin your car. The automatic message to first responders is a pre-recorded blurb from Ford. With the new enhancements, though, emergency personnel can learn about the maximum change in velocity and whether the crash involved a front, rear, side or a rollover impact. 911 Assist will also send information about how many seat belts were in use and if airbags deployed, allowing more accurate dispatch of resources.

“Sync will only broadcast relevant information to save time, and it constructs a very efficient message for the operator,” said David Hatton, the global project leader with Ford Connected Services. “After the introductory message, the voice line opens automatically and occupants can speak directly with the operator via Sync’s hands-free functionality.”

Take a look below for the official press release from Ford, as well as a video of 911 Assist in action.

2015 Ford Mustang will tell authorities how you crashed and if you were belted [w/video]

2015 Ford Mustang will tell authorities how you crashed and if you were belted [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Typically when an automaker rolls out a concept car or pre-production prototype, it does its tour and then disappears into the company’s archives. Maybe it will be displayed for the public to see in the company’s own museum or maybe it will spend most of its time under covers in a warehouse somewhere, but every once in a while, an automaker will open up its history and start selling off its concept cars. For Shelby American, “once in a while” has just rolled around.

The House that Carroll Built is moving from its previous headquarters at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to a new facility off of the Las Vegas strip, and in the process is liquidating fourteen of the rarest cars in its collection. That presents a tremendous opportunity for muscle car collectors to bring one or more of these snakes home.

As you might expect, the catalog is composed mostly of Mustangs, but not exclusively. There’s a pair of 289 Cobras: the last of the 50th anniversary slab-sided continuation cars and an original development vehicle, offered at $200,000 apiece. At the other end of the spectrum you’ll find the 2013 Shelby Raptor concept for $125k and Focus concept for $50k. And of course there are the Mustangs.

The collection on offer includes three Super Snake concepts from 2010/11, a 2007 Shelby GT prototype, a 2011 GTS concept, a quartet of GT350 prototypes from 2012/13 and a 2012 Shelby GTS Wide Body prototype – prices for which range from $99,000 to $200k. Scope out the entire catalog in the gallery above.

Shelby American cleans house of 14 concept cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Typically when an automaker rolls out a concept car or pre-production prototype, it does its tour and then disappears into the company’s archives. Maybe it will be displayed for the public to see in the company’s own museum or maybe it will spend most of its time under covers in a warehouse somewhere, but every once in a while, an automaker will open up its history and start selling off its concept cars. For Shelby American, “once in a while” has just rolled around.

The House that Carroll Built is moving from its previous headquarters at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to a new facility off of the Las Vegas strip, and in the process is liquidating fourteen of the rarest cars in its collection. That presents a tremendous opportunity for muscle car collectors to bring one or more of these snakes home.

As you might expect, the catalog is composed mostly of Mustangs, but not exclusively. There’s a pair of 289 Cobras: the last of the 50th anniversary slab-sided continuation cars and an original development vehicle, offered at $200,000 apiece. At the other end of the spectrum you’ll find the 2013 Shelby Raptor concept for $125k and Focus concept for $50k. And of course there are the Mustangs.

The collection on offer includes three Super Snake concepts from 2010/11, a 2007 Shelby GT prototype, a 2011 GTS concept, a quartet of GT350 prototypes from 2012/13 and a 2012 Shelby GTS Wide Body prototype – prices for which range from $99,000 to $200k. Scope out the entire catalog in the gallery above.

Shelby American cleans house of 14 concept cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford has quite a party ready for the Goodwood Festival of Speed starting on June 27. Not only is the 2015 Mustang going to be driving in front of the European public for the first time, the Blue Oval is also unveiling its 2015 refresh for the Focus ST.

Official details about the latest Focus hot hatch are practically nonexistent at this point. Ford’s teaser image shows narrower headlights, and the company says that the ST also benefits from the technical and quality improvements from the refreshed standard model, which likely means an even more Aston-Martin-like grille. However, any improvements for the power or handling are a mystery for now.

Ford will even give visitors to the festival the chance to drive the new ST – at least virtually. Gran Turismo 6 kiosks will be on hand with the hot hatch loaded up to race the Goodwood Hill Climb. There will also be real-time races between former Stig Ben Collins in the real ST challenging a player up the hill in the game.

There will be at least two, new Mustangs there as well for the British crowds to check out. A 5.0-liter coupe will challenge the Goodwood Hill, and a convertible will also be on display. Scroll down to watch a brief, teaser video of the 2015 Focus ST testing and read the full release about Ford’s plans for the fest.

2015 Ford Focus ST zooming toward Goodwood reveal [w/video]

2015 Ford Focus ST zooming toward Goodwood reveal [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Jun 2014 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 2015 Mustang is one of the most hotly anticipated vehicles of the moment, and Ford continues to leak out interesting little details about its newest pony car. The latest info doesn’t have anything to do with its quarter-mile time or handling, but if any of that goes drastically wrong, the innovative new glovebox-mounted airbag may prevent passengers from knee injuries.

All variants of the 2015 Mustang get the active knee airbag as standard, and it’s the first vehicle in Ford’s lineup to receive the system. The setup is actually quite simple and ingenious. The glovebox is made from a plastic outer panel that is attached to the inner door. Sandwiched between them is this new injection-molded plastic bladder that folds flat when in use. If the passenger-side airbag deploys, the system springs into action to act as a cushion for your knees. Compared to a traditional knee airbag that has to fully inflate, this arrangement is 65 percent lighter and can use a 75 percent smaller inflator. It’s also basically invisible when you look at the glovebox door.

Ford spokesperson Ed Saenz declined to tell Autoblog whether the system will appear in other vehicles in the Blue Oval’s lineup but said, “We’re considering other applications.” Provided it’s effective, the approach seems too simple not to make its way to other products. Scroll down to watch a video showing how the glovebox-mounted knee airbag works.

How the 2015 Ford Mustang will save your knees

How the 2015 Ford Mustang will save your knees originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 21 Jun 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With a number of 2015 Ford Mustang versions finally available to configure, the fun of speculating about next year’s high-performance ‘Stang can now begin. It looks like Ford has something seriously fun planned too. One of our spy photographers just snapped some fresh pics of the 2016 Mustang SVT, which is believed to be hiding the final body shape under all of that heavy camouflage.

Ford clearly doesn’t want prying eyes looking at its new pride and joy. It would be hard to put much more obfuscation on a car than this one wears – it even has mesh baffles around the exhausts to conceal how many there are and panels over the wheels to hide their design. However, the Blue Oval can’t keep everything a secret. The biggest clue that something special is hidden underneath is the massive hood bulge and vent in front of it. Clearly, whatever is under there is hungry for cool air. The shape of the camo indicates that there may be fender vents on each side, and there are also obscured outlets behind the front wheels likely to pull cool air through the brakes. At the rear, the concealment does its job, making it hard to observe any big changes. The fact that Ford wants it kept such a secret might indicate something, though.

A few photos of the interior show far less cover than the outside. You can easily make out the model’s 6,500 rpm redline with a possible 7,000 rpm over-rev function. The big Recaro sport seats also look quite supportive.

The name of the new high-performance Mustang is still somewhat of a mystery. While SVT is developing the model, it’s reportedly called simply the GT350. Until Ford decides that the camo is less necessary, at least these spy shots can help build more anticipation for its top pony car.

2016 Ford Mustang SVT hides big power under its domed hood originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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He may be a few months late to the party, but in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, Jay Leno has delivered a short video in which he runs down which of the Blue Oval’s pony cars from the past 50 years are his favorites.

The list is pretty darn similar to our own, with some of the big names from the Mustang’s half century making an appearance, while there are three or four cars here that we think you’ll be pretty surprised by.

Take a look below for this short video from Jay Leno’s Garage.

Leno chooses his top 10 Mustangs

Leno chooses his top 10 Mustangs originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s here; it’s finally here. No more speculating or looking at dealer order guides, the configurator for the 2015 Ford Mustang is finally online. That means you should put down whatever you’re doing and build your new ‘Stang. Weight data for the new model has also leaked out, and while there is an increase, it’s less than previously rumored.

The basic V6 coupe carries a base price of $23,600, plus an additional $825 destination charge for all models. Upgrading to the 2.3-liter Ecoboost costs $25,170, and the Ecoboost Premium is $29,170. If you need a V8 in your life, the Mustang GT is $32,100 or $36,100 with the Premium package. That puts the starting price up about $1,000 over the previous generation for the V6, but the turbocharged four-cylinder starts about $1,400 less than the V6 Premium, which is no longer available. Prices for both V8 models jumped about $1,000, as well.

If you need the convertible Mustang, the V6 starts at $29,100, excluding destination, $1,590 more than last year. The Ecoboost Premium ‘vert is $34,670, and the GT droptop is $41,600.

In other positive, Mustang-related news, a leaked dealer manual, according to Mustang 6G, is revealing the official weight for the new model. It shows manual vehicles weighing 3,526 pounds for the V6, 3,517 pounds for the Ecoboost, and 3,704 pounds for the GT. Also, automatic models weigh 3,529 pounds for the V6, 3,512 for the four-cylinder and 3,727 for the V8. If accurate, it means increases of less than 100 pounds across the board. That’s much better than the earlier 300-pound gain rumors. Now, get over to that configurator and start building. Have fun.

2015 Ford Mustang gets pricing, configurator and less weight than expected originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cars and rock and roll have gone together since the early days. Whether it’s Hot Rod Lincoln, G.T.O or a bunch of songs by The Beach Boys, auto enthusiasts were instrumental to the history of the genre. Photography has played a huge role in our hobby as well. Think of the number of cars you know about but only ever see in pictures. A company called Couch definitely sees the connection and creates seriously cool straps and accessories using deadstock automotive upholstery. They even offer a range of wallets and shaving bags, if you’re not a rocker or camera buff but love the classic style.

Their products run the gamut of classic cars. They have guitar and camera straps made from the upholstery of an ’80s Volkswagen Golf (pictured above), the vinyl trunk liner from a late ’60s Ford Mustang, vinyl seats from ’80s Mercedes-Benz, a fantastically retro shaving bag from a ’70s Jeep Cherokee interior and a lot more.

The deadstock material is the probably best part of the line. Couch finds the leftover fabric from places like auto upholstery shops. It means that no classic cars have to give up their seats to furnish you with a wallet or guitar strap. Even better, you’re not putting something around your neck made from material that someone sat on for 40 years – that could get kind of gross. If you’re in a band that needs a retro look or just want to take your classic car love with you everywhere, you might want to give Couch a browse.

Check out these strapping classic car-upholstery accessories originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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