Autoblog

What recession? Perhaps anticipating the euphoria that will follow the end to the seemingly decades-long Presidential race today, Ford decided to throw a huge tuner party at SEMA this year, and they invited ALL of their friends. The Ford booth always houses a bunch of tuned blue ovals, but they generally tend to be grouped around a central vehicle. Last year it was the Mustang. And the year before. And probably the year before that, too. But this year they gave the ol' spit shine to virtually every model in the lineup. Ford even threw in a Lincoln or two for good measure (above).

In the gallery below you'll see the Lincoln MKS and MKX, as well as Ford Focus Coupe, Escape, Escape Hybrid, Transit Connect, and Edge. Tuners include 3dCarbon, Custom Creations, RKSport, Stout Performance, Barber Driving Experience, FSWerks, Street Concepts, EcoTrek, HPA Motorsports, H&R, and Steeda. For more info on each one, check out the press release after the jump. There are actually quite a few interesting concepts in the bunch.

Photos copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips, Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

click above for more high-res live shots of the Ford Edge Sport

What is in a name? Would it be too linear a thought process to expect that a vehicle with a "sport" designation would be, you know, sporty? Ford officially rolled out the Edge Sport at the Chicago Auto Show, and while the moniker might be dubious, it is at least a nicely done factory tuner. The idea behind the Edge Sport is to create a tuner package with factory-backed quality levels. Check out the live shots and you'll see that the already well-trimmed interior gets an extra level of attention, and the bodykit applied to the outside is tasteful. New paint colors are Sport-exclusive, as are smoked lenses on the lights. The biggest feature that Ford is touting are the monstrous wheels wrapped in low-profile rubber. The standard 20-inchers are enough to give the brake rotors an inferiority complex as they appear hardly larger than the wheel hubs. If you need an even harsher ride and more clearance around those anti-massive brakes, you can upgrade to 22s. Wheel size to brake rotor diameter shenanigans aside, we like the Edge Sport. We'd find it sporty if it came with the EcoBoost powertrain, but as it stands, it's more like the Edge Spiffy.