Ford Family Cars

The Ford Fusion sedan is not long for this world, but just as the sedan is set to be axed in the coming years, the “Fusion” nameplate will live on in another form. Word has it that Ford is looking to use the name on a high-roofed sport wagon that the company is developing to compete against the Subaru Outback. There’s no timetable on when the Fusion Sport Wagon is going to arrive but look for its debut to happen shortly after the Fusion sedan gets the heave-ho from Ford early next decade.

The F-150 just went through a thorough, mid-cycle update to help keep it relevant in a constantly changing market, and that’s good news as it came with a revitalized look and a little extra power for certain engines as well. When properly equipped, it can tow as much as 13,200 pounds while the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 will manage to pull 26 mph on the higher (the 3.5-liter gets 25 mpg.) The point is, the F-150 is a true, all-American pickup that deserves some time on display here at TopSpeed headquarters. And, we’ve hand picked a few of our favorite wallpapers to share with you. Check them out and feel free to download one or two for yourself.

A ratty looking 1976 Ford Escort GL sedan is expected to sell for as much as $300,000 at a coming RM Sotheby’s auction, all because it was once owned by St. John Paul the Great, a lot of whom know him more as the late Pope John Paul II. The unassuming Escort isn’t in the best of condition, but its provenance is the biggest reason why it’s predicted to go for that much money.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has flagged the Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee after both SUVs scored an overall rating of “poor” in the agency’s recent crash test examination. According to results of the passenger-side small overlap front crash tests, both SUVs showed a high risk of injury to a front passenger with potentially fatal ramifications.

It’s no secret that ford needs to replace its 6.8-liter, Triton, V-10 that’s currently found in heavy-duty trucks. It was originally expected to be replaced by a 7.0-liter V-8, but a reliable source to someone at SVT Performance has opened the door to speculation that we could eventually see a 7.3-liter V-8 that rocks out a cast-iron block and pushrod valve actuation. That’s right, a step backward from the OHC setup automakers have been using a lot lately.

Less than a couple of weeks ago we found out that the Ford Fiesta RS might finally happen. It was Ford Performance Europe boss Leo Roeks who hinted about the possibility, but we just learned that the Fiesta RS remains just a rumor for the time being. The news comes from Ford’s head of design for Europe, Amko Leenarts, who argued that an RS model isn’t necessary because the Fiesta ST is fast and powerful enough.

First hitting the scene in 2009, the Ford F-150 Raptor is essentially a big, bad, burly variant of the ever-popular F-150 pickup truck, offering off-road enthusiasts all the trimmings for tackling Mother Nature’s trickiest terrain. Upgrades include a more aggressive exterior, a taller ride height, and a monster motor under the hood, and now, Ford is improving the package even further with fresh high-tech suspension bits.

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Quick - how do you make an all-electric FWD SUV interesting? Well, according to Ford, you tack on cues from one of your most-famous pony cars, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.

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Rumors about Ford wanting to add a high-performance RS model to the Fiesta lineup have been flying around for quite a few years. Unfortunately, we never got a hot-hatch above the 212-horsepower ST200, despite the first Fiesta RS concept dating back to 2004. But Ford’s more recent plans to expand the RS performance lineup may finally include the tiny Fiesta.

Hey! Wake up! It’s time for your weekly dose of sleeper awesomeness, this time coming from the fine folks over at 1320 Video. What we’ve got here would appear to be a rather benign-looking Ford Territory, a mid-size crossover produced between 2004 and 2016 by Ford Australia. Sure, it’s got big bronzed wheels and a window banner, but admit it - you wouldn’t look twice at this thing if it pulled up next to you on race day.

Of course, that would all change as soon as the lights turned green. That’s because the owner of this unassuming Blue Oval packed nearly 900 horses under the hood thanks to a stonking big turbocharger with all the trimmings. Paired with the same 4.0-liter inline six-cylinder that Ford installed at the factory; it’s a rip-roaring beast of a drag machine, churning the rubber with such vigor it smokes the tires halfway down the strip. At one point, the driver even has a bit of a moment, going sideways off the track in his enthusiasm.

All told, this daily-driven full-interior streetcar can manage 9’s - that is, if it actually manages to hook up. Clearly, the Aussie’s know what’s what when it comes to making big power and low passes. Oh yeah, and check out the license plate, which reads “XSPSI.” Nice touch!

Why Ford CEO Jim Hackett thought that killing off almost all of Ford’s car lineup, after watching stock prices drop 12 percent in five months, was a good idea is outlandishly puzzling. That’s a huge drop in stock price, and his plan is to cut $25.2 billion in costs by 2022. Apparently, the route to take to do that is to force loyal Ford customers into trucks or SUVs. He’s taken a lot of heat from shareholders over this move and actually had the nerve to say that Ford is “reinventing the American car.” So, riding a wave that was created by consumers, while killing off most of your car lineup, is now considered reinventing the American car.

Even worse, Hackett wants to blame the sour reaction to this move on media coverage, saying “I wish the coverage had been a little different. If you got beyond the headline, you’ll see we’re adding to our product lineup, and by 2020 we’ll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford’s retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.”

Truth be told, the brand is killing off an entire range of affordable, economical cars in hopes that loyal customers will be willing to step up from a car like the Taurus or Focus to an SUV. According to him, customers say they want Ford SUVs. That’s “what they really want.” I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like reasoning that tries to shift the focus away from him being an idiot in hopes that the next five years will yield a better profit with no cars.

Well, he better be right. I mean, Ford isn’t reinventing the American car – that’s not how this works. But, if things don’t work out, and this proves to be as much of a bonehead move as it appears to be, Hackett will probably find himself out of a job a lot sooner than he expected.

More than a few hearts were broken when Ford announced plans to dramatically scale back its non-crossover and non-SUV lineups in the U.S. One of the casualties of that downsizing is the Ford Focus. Unfortunately, all but one version of the Focus are expected to be eliminated from the company’s U.S. lineup. That means that there’s a good chance that we can say goodbye to hatchback and sedan versions of the Focus. It’s not likely, but the ST could also get the heave-ho as could the range-topping RS, which only arrived in the country in 2015. We barely knew it. The good news is that there is one version of the Focus that will, without a dout, remain in the U.S. It’s called the Focus Active, and it’s essentially a raised five-door hatchback with some semblance of a crossover.

Over here in the U.S., we love our SUVs - throw in a solid dose of extra performance, like you get in an ST Ford, and we like it even more. Unfortunately, it looks as though buyers across the pond with similar interests will be left out in the cold, as the Blue Oval won’t sell ST-badged SUVs in Europe.

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In case you haven’t noticed, the traditional car body style has been relegated to the corners of the market these days, supplanted by large-and-in-charge SUVs and pickups. As such, Ford is trimming the fat in its lineup, and cars are out.

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The Mach 1 name has always been associated with performance, but up until now, it was associated with a higher-performance version of the Mustang Coupe. The name first came to be back in 1969 when the Mach 1 Mustang was born. It was used again in the early 2000s as a send-off for the fourth-gen Mustang. All of this happened before the SUV and crossover craze, however, and now – thanks to the overwhelming demand for SUVs and crossovers – Ford is resurrecting the Mach1 name yet again, but this time it will be a high-riding standalone performance model. It will at least be based on the Mustang, though, but will be all-electric. We’ve seen a short teaser of the Mach 1 performance crossover, but details are excessively scant for now. So, we took a little bit of creative freedom, threw it in a blender, and are now showcasing a rendering that depicts what we think the Mach1 crossover will look like. Keep reading to learn more about it.

The Escort was once a fun compact car that even had its place in the rally world. But, like all good things, the Escort eventually had to come to an end. It was even discontinued in Europe years ago as well. In 2014, Ford quietly introduced the name to the Chinese market, and it’s apparently been very well received. So much so, in fact, that Ford just ushered in a new-gen model built around the brands new global midsize car platform. Could the Escort come back to the States and Europe someday?

Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Until gas prices spike and SUVs lose popularity, we’re never going to see the Escort this side of the Asian market again. In fact, Ford just announced it’s downsizing to just two passenger cars in its whole U.S. Lineup. But, if it makes you feel better, the new Escort in China comes with an eight-inch touchscreen display, an attractive instrument cluster, and there’s even a little bit of fastback and Focus DNA in there as well.

It is offered with a 1.0-liter or 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine, but power figures have been kept secret for now. I wouldn’t expect to see it deliver over 130 horsepower in its most potent form – after all; it’s for the Chinese market. Either way, if you’re going to be in China and you miss the Escort of the old days (God I miss my hatchback), you could move to China and procure yourself a 1.5-liter model with a manual transmission.

Ford’s lineup in the U.S. will look dramatically different in a few years, the automaker announced in its Q1 financial report. According to Ford, crossovers, SUVs, and pickups will make up a majority of its future lineup, in part because these segments provide the higher profits that the company needs to make money. Unfortunately, the floundering sales of sedans have made it dispensable, leaving Ford no choice but to scrap most of them with the exception of just two models: the Mustang and the Focus Active.

Five years ago, Ford and GM entered in a partnership whereby the two U.S. auto behemoths would share a few newly developed transmissions, all in the name of greater efficiency and lower R&D costs. Now, it’s looking like Ford will take a different approach than originally outlined, adapting the GM gearbox to better suit its needs.

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When Ford showed off the new Ranger, it showed nothing but potential in terms of utility and everyday usefulness. It had damn near everyone wondering if Ford would go back to its roots and offer the new Ranger as a single-cab, two-door model with a longer bed. The hope was there, but according to a 2019 model year VIN document sent to the NHTSA, the Ranger will only offer four doors in either supercab or supercrew body styles. Both supercab and supercrew models will be available with rear- or all-wheel drive, but supercab models options with “bed delete” will only be offered with rear-wheel drive. That’s right; you’ll be able to turn the new ranger into a flatbed. As expected, the only engine on offer is a 2.3-liter four-banger paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission.