Buckle up and get ready for a Ford news roundup. Here we go.
If you aren’t already familiar with the smell of burning rubber, the 2015 Mustang will see that you are duly acquainted. The new pony car comes with an available feature called Line Lock, taken from a common practice in drag racing where the front brakes are locked while the rear wheels accelerate. It’s basically a burnout feature, and it looks awesome. Watch the video to see for yourself.
2015 Mustang 50 Year Limited Edition
Speaking of the Year of the Horse, Ford also unveiled a fiftieth anniversary commemorative edition of the prize pony car in New York a few weeks ago. Most of the options are already locked into this special edition vehicle. The only choices buyers will have is between blue or white paint and manual or automatic transmission. Otherwise, it features a 5.0-liter V8 engine, Brembo brakes, and 19-inch alloy wheels. The interior is reportedly upholstered with leather and cashmere. For more pictures and a copy of the press release, visit Autoblog.
We blogged about how Ford was planning to recreate its 1964 stunt by assembling a new Mustang Convertible on the 85th floor of the Empire State Building, but we never followed up with pictures of the event. Car and Driver has a complete write-up and more pictures on their page, so check it out.
Ford’s Driving Skills for Life
The Ford’s Driving Skills for Life program is all about continuing driver’s education and teaching young people skills that they won’t learn in the standard course. While everyone has to be aware of how dangerous drunk driving is, Ford wants kids to have a firsthand experience of the effects alcohol can have on them. That’s why they’ve crafted this suit designed to impair senses. It includes goggles to blur vision and weights strapped to different body parts to induce sluggishness. After donning the suit, the youth gets behind the wheel on a closed course with an instructor. Although the video shows a demonstration in Europe, the suit will be coming to the states this summer.
You might never have heard of the Oculus Rift until recently (unless you read a lot of video gaming journalism). OculusVR, the virtual reality company behind the Rift, passed through the news cycle recently after being purchased by Facebook. The Rift dev kits have been out for a couple of years, though, and one of its earliest adopters was Ford. Using the Oculus Rift headset and motion capture equipment, engineers can visualize concept cars more dynamically, well before they go into production. Using virtual reality, the designers can walk around a car mockup, sit inside it, or even look through it with X-ray vision.
Seeing how busy Ford stays in and around the automotive world makes us all the more proud to deliver their products to you. Remember that Leith Ford is your number one source of Ford news.