Autoblog

NHTSA opens investigation into Ford Super Duty trucks over steering woes

Zach Bowman — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:27:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Safety, Ford

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into certain 2008 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup trucks. The investigation covers some 340,000 trucks after the government agency received five complaints of steering box failures. Owners claim internal failures resulted in the complete loss of their vehicles' control. In one case, steering box failure is being blamed for an F-Series crashing into another vehicle at around 20 miles per hour, while another another driver said his truck left the road and impacted a guardrail at around 35 mph.

Ford says it is cooperating with NHTSA in the investigation. We'll keep tabs on the investigation and let you know if a recall results.

NHTSA opens investigation into Ford Super Duty trucks over steering woes originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 May 2013 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hagerty profiles Sandy survivors and their classic cars

George Kennedy — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:32:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Videos

One of the harsh realities encountered by some in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is the damage done to their beloved classic cars. Such a story may not make it to CNN, so Hagerty Insurance set about chronicling the efforts by several owners to preserve their classics during the storm.

One owner from Staten Island lost a 1977 Ford F-250 Custom pickup. He tried desperately to save his truck, attempting to start it as the waters rose around the vehicle. At one point, he says the water started pouring into the truck. It eventually became impossible to open the doors, and had to crawl out the window. For him and others electrical, brakes and other systems failed when the brackish water rose around the cars.

Some may label the pining over a lost classic insensitive, given the larger issue of rebuilding and reclaiming these costal areas. However, these cars are as much a part of their memories as baby pictures or family heirlooms. There are personal connections with these vintage automobiles that may have been lost forever.

This video just goes to show the powerful bond that some owners have with their treasured classics.

Continue reading Hagerty profiles Sandy survivors and their classic cars

Hagerty profiles Sandy survivors and their classic cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford F-250 Super Duty sets diesel and biodiesel land speed records

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Truck, Etc., Ford

The Bonneville Salt Flats are a place where records are constantly made and broken. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are driven, towed or pushed out to the brilliantly white sodium chloride desert where drivers embark on a quest for high speeds. You can expect to see production cars, motorcycles, purpose-built streamliners and vehicles that look ready to leave the flat plain and attack the sky. One vehicle you would not expect to pull away from the start line, however, is a Ford F-250 Super Duty.

Brent Hajek sees the world a little differently.

The Hajek Motorsports team prepped a 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty for high-speed blasts under the Bonneville sun. The truck is a nearly stock diesel-engined model equipped with the new turbocharged 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8. Hajek Motorsports swapped out the fuel injectors, fuel pump and turbo to get more go-juice into the engine at a greater rate. Inside, a roll cage and five-point harness were added for safety while moonbeam wheel caps attempt to streamline the high-speed brick. Other than the moderate upgrades and sponsor stickers, the Hajek F-250 is a run-of-the-mill production vehicle that can run on standard diesel or B20 biodiesel. There's no exact number with regards to the upgraded performance figures, but Hajek Motorsports states that it's pushed horsepower and torque up by 50 percent over the stock engine's 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of grunt.

What sort of speed does that translate to on the salt flats? A new B Production Diesel Truck record of 171.123 miles per hour, which bests the previous record 166.850 mph held by a Duramax-powered GMC pickup. The Hajek team also filled the truck up with B20 biodiesel and set out to beat the previous record of 130.614 mph. They smashed that one, with a speed of 182 miles per hour. That's a pretty ~~terrifying~~ good clip for the large pickup. Kudos are in order for Brent Hajek and his team.

Continue reading Ford F-250 Super Duty sets diesel and biodiesel land speed records

Ford F-250 Super Duty sets diesel and biodiesel land speed records originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Recalls, Ford

Due to some apparently shoddy rubber, Continental and Ford are recalling 2008-2009 F-250 and F-350 pickup trucks equipped with certain tires. The issue lies with nearly 400,000 Continental tires that are susceptible to uneven wear and, in certain situations, can experience tread belt separation. If that occurs, the risk of an accident will rise substantially.

This recall affects trucks built from May 6th, 2007 through September 20th, 2008. Approximately 390,657 units are faulty and the specific tires in question are:

Continental Contitrac LT275/70R18 125/122S (outline white letters, black sidewall)
Continental Contitrac TR BSW LT275/70R18 125/122S (black sidewall)
Continental Contitrac TR OWL LT275/70R18 125/122S

Click past the jump to read the full NHTSA bulletin. And yes, we clearly are all reminded that this isn't the first foray Ford has had with not-so-great tires...

[Source: NHTSA via Consumer Reports]

Continue reading Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups

Report: Continental recalling nearly 400,000 tires used on Ford F-Series pickups originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Excursion lives! Get your 2011 model right here

Zach Bowman — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:31:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SUV, Truck, Ford

2011 Ford Excursion - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Ford Excursion lives, though not through any fault of Ford. The clever craftsmen at Custom Autos by Tim can turn any 2010 or 2011 Ford F-250 or F-350 into what looks to be a factory-perfect interpretation of what the Excursion would look like if it hadn't been axed in 2005. Buyers can get their behemoths with either four or six doors and it usually takes Tim's crew around six weeks to turn a vehicle from a pickup to an SUV. In that time, the shop finds a 2005 Excursion from the southwest, drags it to their shop in Guthrie, Oklahoma and surgically removes the rear-end of the vehicle.

From there, the aft is grafted onto the new truck and a completely new interior is installed. The whole shebang will cost you $23,000 on top of the purchase price of your standard F-250 or F-350. Given that the F-250 starts at $29,480 without destination, chances are you're looking at a price tag of over $53,000 by the time all is said and done. We think we'd just as soon stick with a Chevrolet Suburban were it our chips on the table.

Gallery: 2011 Ford Excursion

[Source: Custom Autos by Tim]

Ford Excursion lives! Get your 2011 model right here originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #189 - Flex sunsetting, NHTSA stars, saleable Sebrings and a cruise in the Cruze

Dan Roth — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:45:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts, Government/Legal, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln, Rumormill

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid and Dan Roth are back for Episode #188 of the Autoblog Podcast. Topics this time around include rumors of a Ford Flex/Lincoln MKT phase-out after 2013, changes to the way NHTSA crash rating scores are given, patent images that could be the next Chrysler Sebring and the Chevrolet Cruze. Your feedback is incorporated throughout this hour and twenty minute extravaganza, too. Thanks for listening, see you next time!

Autoblog Podcast #189 - Flex sunsetting, NHTSA stars, saleable Sebrings and a cruise in the Cruze

In the Autoblog Garage:

Ford F250 Super Duty
Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Hyundai Sonata SE

News:

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Shunk

Runtime: 84:26

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #189 - Flex sunsetting, NHTSA stars, saleable Sebrings and a cruise in the Cruze originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HDLI: Cadillac Escalade top target for thieves

Zach Bowman — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, SUV, Truck, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti, Luxury

The Highway Data Loss Institute has churned out its official list of vehicles with the highest and lowest insurance claims for theft. The study combines the rate of insurance claims per vehicle as well as the cost of those claims, helping companies that supply coverage determine exactly how much to charge us poor saps. The Cadillac Escalade took top honors this year with $146 in theft loss payments per insured vehicle, per year. On average, insurance companies pay out around $11,934 per theft claim when it comes to the Escalade with 10.8 of the SUVs stolen per 1,000 vehicles. That's more than 10 times the theft rate of the vehicle with the lowest theft losses - the Volvo S80.

In fact, of the top 10 vehicles on the Highway Data Loss Institute's list, six were of General Motors origin. How do the thieves get around the bad-guy battling OnStar vehicle immobilization? Easy. They load the coveted SUVs onto a flat bed and drive away.

The 2008-2009 Ford F-250 crew cab four-wheel drive took the silver when it came to vehicles with the highest theft loss, followed by the 2008-2009 Infiniti G37 coupe. Hit the jump to see if your vehicle's on the list.

[Source: Highway Data Loss Institute]

Continue reading HDLI: Cadillac Escalade top target for thieves

HDLI: Cadillac Escalade top target for thieves originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking Way Up: Ford posts 33% sales gain in 2009, 15% market share

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:28:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Earnings/Financials

We'll have our monthly By the Numbers post ready lickity split, but here's a little tidbit worth sharing ahead of the full data download. While automotive sales have been almost universally down in 2009 compared to 2008, Ford has a legitimate reason to crow about its December figures, which are up a third over December of '08 and an impressive 50 percent over November.

Ford boasts that its market share is up to 15 percent - one full percentage point higher than in 2008 and the first time since 1995 that the Blue Oval has gained on its competitors. Ford, Lincoln and even Mercury sales were improved in December. Here are a few of the highlights:

Ford Fusion: Posted a December sales increase of 83 percent and set new December (18,852) and full-year (180,671) sales records.
Ford Taurus: Sales totaled 7,256 for the month, up 110 percent versus a year ago. Since the introduction of the 2010 model in August, Taurus sales are nearly 90 percent higher than a year ago.
Ford Escape: Set a December sales record (19,156), up 75 percent versus a year ago. For the full year, Escape sales totaled 173,044, the second-best sales year ever.
Ford F-Series: America's best-selling truck for 33 years in a row. Best sales month since March 2008. F-Series sales in December were 48,209 (up 16 percent), bringing the full-year total to 413,625. In 2009, F-Series increased its leadership position among full-size pickups with a 4 percentage-point gain in segment share.
Ford Hybrids: December sales of hybrid vehicles totaled 2,843, up 147 percent versus a year ago. Sales totaled 33,502 in 2009, a new record and up 72 percent versus a year ago.

Ford's full-year sales totaled 1.62 million vehicles, down 15 percent from 2008. Even that, though, is a mild ray of sunshine considering that the industry was down about 20 percent overall. In the mood to crunch the numbers even more? Feel free to hit the jump for the full press release.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Looking Way Up: Ford posts 33% sales gain in 2009, 15% market share

Looking Way Up: Ford posts 33% sales gain in 2009, 15% market share originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SEMA 2009: Bigfoot still a crowd favorite, 35 years later

Jonny Lieberman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:40:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, SEMA Show, Classics, Truck, Ford, Off-Road

Bigfoot #1 - Click above for high-res image gallery

We distinctly remember 3rd grade. Specifically, sitting in the library once a month during recess. Why would we give up dodgeball and four-square to sit inside and read? Because the new issues of Off Road and 4Wheeler had just dropped and they had stories about Bigfoot! Bearfoot too, and Carzilla - but mostly Bigfoot! Happy days, happy days. And here at this year's SEMA Show, both the original 1975 Bigfoot #1 (the world's first monster truck) and the new-for-2009 Bigfoot (#12 of fifteen Bigfoots) showed up to terrorize the Las Vegas Convention Center's parking lot.

Well, not terrorize - because people love the Bigfoots (Bigfeets?) so very much. But lordy, are these some hella intimidating trucks, even all these years later. Perhaps most notable is that the new Bigfoot is actually a 2008 Ford F-250 body cut to look like a 1979 F-250. Also cool is the 35-year gulf in technology between the two beasts. We could have spent a couple hours standing underneath (no, really!) Bigfoot #12 just admiring the headers. And the gas bypass shocks. And the supercharger, etc. Sadly, the duo of Bigfoots won't be crushing any cars this week. Let's make that double sadly, as this year's SEMA show features many deserving candidates. For more (and better) details, check out pickuptrucks.com's Bigfoot post.

Gallery: SEMA 2009: Bigfoot

SEMA 2009: Bigfoot still a crowd favorite, 35 years later originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Numbers Don't Lie: Silverado beats out F-150 as America's best-selling light-duty pickup

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Nissan, Toyota, Off-Road

Quick - What's the best-selling light-duty pickup truck in America? Did you say the Ford F-150? Not so fast. According to the J.D. Power Information Network (via our friends at PickupTrucks.com), General Motors sold more Chevy Silverado 1500 pickups (119,959 units) in June that Ford sold F-150s (107,778 units), and that's not a fluke.

It seems that the automakers don't actually break out the sales of each pickup line when reporting overall figures, so Ford lumps all F-Series (F-150, F-250, F-350...) sales together when it correctly lays claim to the title of Best-Selling Pickup Line in America. Ford's Super Duty series commands nearly 50-percent of the HD pickup market, which puts the Blue Oval on top of the overall sales race.

Interestingly, all three American automakers picked up full-size pickup market share at the expense of Nissan and especially Toyota, which saw sales of its Tundra plummet from 76,516 units to just 36,106 units in June of 2009 compared to one year ago. Click here for the full breakdown of full-size truck sales data.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Numbers Don't Lie: Silverado beats out F-150 as America's best-selling light-duty pickup originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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