2015 F-150: Built Ford Tough
Built Ford Tough. It’s more than just a tagline… much more. While developing the new 2015 F-150, Ford put the truck through hundreds of rigorous torture tests to ensure it would live up to their standards. Torture test is almost an understatement, as the beast of a truck was taken from sweltering heat to sub-zero temperatures, towed a trailer at max weight up a mountain, had a 55 gallon drum dropped repeatedly in the bed, sped through gravel and jagged scrap iron, and literally took an acid bath. Check out a few of our favorite tests below. If this doesn’t make you a believer that an aluminum truck can be a durable as ever, I don’t know what will! Some of these tests are so extreme, just five days is the equivalent of 10 years and 150,000 miles of abuse by even the roughest customers.
Silver Creek Torture Test
http://youtu.be/4N7a2NS-gsE
From Furnace to Ice Box
http://youtu.be/PKp8swEPI8Q
Power Hop Hill
http://youtu.be/G-ny7zptCHU
Twist Ditch
http://youtu.be/qnAiDyc0iv8
Drum Drop
http://youtu.be/ekNwEKVvCOA
Ford’s Response to Cadillac’s Controversial Ad
Then, along came Ford’s response. An ad for the Ford C-Max Energi followed the same structure, but instead featured Pasho Murray, a real person from Detroit who started a company called Detroit Dirt that collects waste and sells it as compost for those who want to create urban gardens. She has a different view on American work ethic, which should be to work hard in order to do some good and make our country, and the world, a better place.
Check out both videos below and let us know what YOU think the motivating force behind American work ethic should be!
http://youtu.be/qGJSI48gkFc
Six Car Warning Smells
Whenever you notice an irregular smell coming from your car, its very important that you take notice. The best thing to do, especially if you’re not used to working on your own car, is to bring it to a mechanic immediately. However, it’s still important for each driver to have an understanding of what’s going on with your vehicle, so here are a few common warning smells to be aware of and what they could mean.
Burnt Rubber : The immediate thought may be your tires, but this smell could actually mean slipping drive belts or loose hoses that may be running against rotating drive pulleys.
Hot Oil : This smell could potentially mean that there is engine oil leaking into the exhaust system. This assumption can be verified by looking for oil on the pavement beneath the vehicle. Smoke coming from the engine could be another sign that there’s oil in the exhaust system.
Gasoline : The smell of gasoline could be a sign of a gas leak, possibly with the fuel injector or fuel tank. Any time you smell gas, it is a possible fire hazard and needs immediate attention.
Syrup : A sweet smell could be a sign that coolant is leaking from the engine’s cooling system.
Burning Carpet : A burning smell like this could be caused by brake trouble. Have brakes checked immediately, especially if this smell is happening during normal driving conditions.
Rotten Eggs : This smell could mean that there is an issue with the catalytic converter. The rotten egg smell may arise when the hydrogen sulfide in the exhaust is not properly converted to sulfur dioxide.
Ford Uses 3D Printing for Chocolate Mustangs
The 2015 Mustang, chocolate, and 3D printing technology… what more could you want for Valentine’s Day? Ford has partnered with 3D Systems’ Sugar Lab in Los Angeles to create miniature, but extremely realistic, chocolate and sugar candy 2015 Mustangs. The 3D technology used to create these candies is a smaller scale of the 3D printing technology that was used to prototype parts for the all-new Mustang, including air vents, hood vents, fascia, grille, interior panels, and components of the new 2.3 liter EcoBoost, including the cylinder head, intake manifold and engine block.
You’ll probably be able to get your hands on the 2015 Mustang itself (Fall of 2014 in the US) before you can get the candies. These were a special one time deal for Valentine’s Day, but Ford is discussing the possibility of licensing the candy for mass production. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be wishing for both the car and the candies next Valentine’s Day!
I never really found a truly useful purpose for the paddle shifter on my vehicle. It always seemed cool that I had the option to switch into semi-manual mode, but I used it very rarely and mainly just for fun. It wasn’t until I was speaking with one of our sales people about my fuel economy that a light went off and I realized a very practical purpose for that paddle shifter. By constantly up shifting, you can significantly improve your fuel economy.
The concept is simple enough, putting your vehicle into a higher gear keeps the engine running at lower RPMs. Though it makes the driving experience a little less fun (i.e less fast) it really does force the vehicle to get better fuel economy. I was always frustrated that my car only got 21-23 MPG. However, I live in the mountains so this was pretty understandable. Still, I always wanted to see my dash display the 25-30 MPG that’s estimated for the vehicle. Once I started utilizing the paddle shifter in this way, I immediately noticed a jump up to 26-28 MPG, even when driving up mountain switchbacks. Though it may not seem like much, as someone who drives almost 250 miles per week, this slight increase in fuel economy will end up saving me about 3 gallons of gas per week. Additionally, as I became more comfortable using the paddle shifter, I realized I can also go much easier on my brakes by down shifting during downhill driving by allowing me to slow the car without constantly riding the brakes.
For those who are used to driving manual, this may seem pretty obvious. However, many of us who have a paddle shifter in an automatic vehicle don’t realize the level of control it allows us to have over our driving experience. The beauty is that even for us automatic drivers, we can experiment with manual shifting without he fear of doing damage to the transmission. The car will take over and switch gears when necessary, giving you the freedom of a manual transmission with a built in safety net.
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