Cabbies, rejoice: Ford has a replacement for your aging Crown Victorias, although it may not look anything like the bulbous body-on-frame sedan you've come to adore.inline_mediumwraptextright28024375/green/news/1002_2010_ford_transit_cng_taxi2011-ford-transit-connect-taxi-front-three-quarters-static.jpgTrue

Ford has already pledged a Focus EV for our market in 2013, but the first step on the Blue Oval's road to electrification is this: the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Electricinline_mediumwraptextright28024870/green/news/1002_2011_ford_transit_connect_electric_vehicle2011-ford-transit-connect-electric-front-three-quarters-passenger.jpgTrue

The parade of updated 2011 Ford Mustangs will march on at the Chicago auto show with the Shelby GT500 receiving a handful of revisions highlighted by a new aluminum block for the 5.4-liter engine. By switching from iron to aluminum, Ford engineers have shaved an impressive 102 pounds from the engine's weight. There's also an upsized intercooler that lowers intake temperatures and a new exhaust that delivers a heartier growl. Those two changes allow output to rise 10 hp to 550 hp while torque remains unchanged at 510 lb-ft. A six-speed manual is still the only transmission.inline_mediumwraptextright32225952/features/news/1002_2011_ford_shelby_gt5002011-ford-shelby-GT500-convertible-front-three-quarter.jpgTrue

You don't need a high-riding SUV or crossover to get the winter traction benefits of four-wheel drive. There are a myriad of sedans, wagons, coupes, and even convertibles that offer four-wheel drive (usually called all-wheel drive in passenger cars) either as standard or optional equipment. We've gathered up a complete list of AWD passenger cars; the list is long and the choices are many. Although the advantages of four driven wheels are obvious in slippery road conditions, the technology comes at a cost. There is usually a cost premium associated with all-wheel drive, and almost always a fuel economy penalty as well. So for each car listed, we've indicated the extra cost of the all-wheel-drive option, or the cost differential compared with the equivalent two-wheel-drive model, as well as its EPA gas mileage ratings, and the fuel economy penalty versus the two-wheel-drive version of the same car.inline_mediumwraptextright26695829/features/news/1001_awd_vehicles_winter_wondercars1001_19_z+2010_cadillac_cTS+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

To take the edge off Michigan's brutal winter, the Henry Ford museum raised the heat by opening the hoods on dozens of the automobiles on display at its Dearborn history palace. The special Engines Exposed exhibition runs through January. For severely afflicted gear heads needing a preview fix and for those who can't make the trek, we present this guided photo tour.

Like most people my age, I absolutely love not paying for stuff, especially when that stuff comes from my parents. So when the folks said they were visiting Illinois to check on the house they have for sale (a nearly new, five-bedroom, brick-front home in Arlington Heights that's recently been reduced - you're welcome, Dad) I saw an opportunity to literally clean house.inline_mediumwraptextright32017134/reviews/editors_notebook/1001_2010_ford_transit_connect_xlt_van1001_04_z+2010_ford_transit_connect_xLT_van+storage.jpgTrue

Finally, Ford gives us the European Focus we're been coveting for years. The 2012 Ford Focus is actually a global car that will be about 80% identical in every market. Even the front fascia is the same around the world.inline_mediumwraptextright31980456/features/news/1001_2012_ford_focus2012-ford-focus-passenger-side.jpgTrue

Manual transmissions have a wonderful way of spicing up what would otherwise be a mundane driving experience. The Mazda-sourced six-speed manual does just that for the four-cylinder Fusion, making this model the most entertaining of the many variants we've driven. Throw the car into second gear at 30 mph, and its no-drama 2.5-liter four-cylinder howls pleasantly and reminds you that it's the same peppy, smooth motor found in the Mazda3. Give credit to Ford as well, not only for offering a stick shift in the first place, but also for making it available with a decent amount of equipment, rather than relegating it to the bargain basement, fuel-economy special (good thing, as the six-speed automatic actually gets better mileage). Our Fusion came with eighteen-inch wheels, performance tires, and a sunroof all for $23,065. I also like the sporty-looking body-colored grille, though I should disclose that I'm one of those folks who used to admire plastic-cladded Pontiacs.inline_mediumwraptextright31851960/reviews/editors_notebook/0912_2010_ford_fusion_se0912_01_z+2010_ford_fusion_sE+front_view.jpgTrue

Family sedan buyers in search of extra pizzazz and performance face something of a paradox these days. On the one hand, it's not hard at all to find lots of power -- not when your average six-cylinder Toyota Camry pumps out 268 hp. At the same time though, "mid-size" cars have gotten bigger and heavier, the transmission choices have gotten fewer, and front wheel-drive has become even more dominant.inline_mediumwraptextright26386868/reviews/driven/0912_2010_subaru_legacy_25gt_vs_2010_ford_fusion_sport_awd0912_01_z+2010_subaru_legacy_25GT+2010_ford_fusion_sport_aWD.jpgTrue

A new 5.0-liter V-8 will endow the 2011 Ford Mustang GT with a dose of history and the performance to stand up to the Chevrolet Camaro. Making 412 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, the new V-8 will lend a serious performance boost to the pony car that was significantly refreshed for 2010, but didn't offer many powertrain improvements. With the new engine, the speedometer now reads up to 160 mph and the tachometer's redline is marked 500 rpm higher at 7000 rpm.inline_mediumwraptextright26547245/features/news/0912_2011_ford_mustang_gt2011-ford-mustang-GT-side-view.jpgTrue

Along with the 5.0-liter V-8, Ford is resurrecting the legendary Boss 302 with a new track-ready Mustang that will be sold at dealerships. The Ford Mustang Boss 302R will feature a roll cage, race seats, safety harness, data acquisition, race suspension, Brembo brakes, and special tires, ready for racing in Grand-Am, SCCA, and NASA series. The Boss 302R will not be street legal. Power will come from the 5.0-liter V-8 paired with a six-speed manual. The return of the Boss recognizes the fortieth anniversary of Parnelli Jones' 1970 Trans-Am championship in a Boss 302.

The auto industry may be coming off its worst year in recent memory, but you'd never know it from driving a crop of dozens of new cars, as we just did during our annual All-Stars competition. The level of excellence was high, and the competition was keen - so much so that thirty-nine cars received votes for the ten All-Star spots. In the end, though, our balloting produced a list of true standouts that span a wide range of the automotive spectrum.inline_mediumwraptextright27473782/features/awards/1002_2010_automobile_all_stars1002_21_z+2010_automobile+all_stars.jpgTrue

I was a bit shocked by the seats that look as if they were inspired by red pleather pants. It amazes me that car companies employ people who specialize in interior colors and materials and then deliver something like this. In addition to the fashion faux pas, these seats also look to be showing quite a bit of wear with just 9000 miles on the odometer.inline_mediumwraptextright26049494/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_ford_fusion_sport_awd0911_09_z+2010_ford_fusion_sport_aWD+rear_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The American auto industry has run into a ditch, but what many people may not realize is that Ford has been in a similar position before. In 1945, when Henry Ford II finally succeeded in taking control of the company after prying his near-senile grandfather's hands off the wheel, the Ford Motor Company was an atrophied enterprise. As civilian auto production resumed in 1946, Ford found itself in third place behind Chrysler and was fading fast. Young Henry brought in a team of outsiders who immediately embarked on a crash program to create Ford's first new postwar car. That car was the '49 Ford, and it was a huge advance over the previous model.inline_mediumwraptextright25708331/features/collectible_classic/0912_1949_1951_ford0912_01_z+1950_ford_tudor_sedan+side_view.jpgTrue

After October's hopeful results, November auto sales slid backward to the post-Clunkers doldrums of two months ago. So, while the financial markets are recovering and the TV talking heads debate whether the recession had ended, it's clear that there's no incipient recovery in the automobile business. There, the recession continues.

We've already driven the Ford Fiesta in Europe where the car has been on sale for more than a year, but the subcompact is just making its U.S. debut at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show. The new details and specifications of the U.S. model confirm that the Fiesta will continue the trend of moving subcompacts upscale while keeping fuel economy at the front of the discussion when it goes on sale in summer 2010.inline_mediumwraptextright26135000/features/news/0912_2011_ford_fiesta0912_06_z+2011_ford_fiesta+front_three_quarters_view.jpgTrue

In days gone, muscle car wars revolved around jamming as much power under the hood as possible or setting a scorching quarter-mile time at the strip. Today, fuel economy plays an equally important part. Chevrolet fired an opening salvo by installing a potent yet thrifty V-6 into its 2010 Camaro, but Ford's firing back with its tweaked 2011 Mustang.inline_mediumwraptextright27361093/features/news/0911_2011_ford_mustang_v60912_05_z+2011_ford_mustang_v6+rear_three_quarters_view.jpgTrue

Leave it to SVT to create yet another product that can't be used to its full potential on public roads. Still, kudos to the group for pursuing an off-road truck instead of the traditional drag-strip special or track car. I encounter cratered, dirt roads in my daily driving more frequently than I do a 1320-foot stretch of pavement or a perfectly shaped apex with runoff strip.inline_mediumwraptextright27242932/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_ford_svt_raptor0911_01_z+2010_ford_sVT_raptor+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The SHO represents a nice all-around effort by Ford, but it hardly feels like a true high-performance sedan.inline_mediumwraptextright25881128/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_ford_taurus_sho0911_02_z+2010_ford_taurus_sHO+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

I'm generally a fan of small SUVs -- like the Ford Escape and numerous others -- that have enough ground clearance to handle most Michigan snowfalls, enough people-and-cargo space for a long weekend trip or a big shopping hoist, and enough substance to tow a smallish trailer. The problem with such vehicles is that they're usually poor on gas compared with traditional mid-size sedans (which many of the cute-utes are based on).inline_mediumwraptextright25807970/green/reviews/0911_2010_ford_escape_hybrid0911_02_z+2010_ford_escape_hybrid+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

A year ago, when the heads of Detroit's Big Three - GM's Rick Wagoner, Ford's Alan Mulally, and Chrysler's Bob Nardelli - appeared in the infamous Capitol Hill bailout hearings, many lawmakers, and many Americans, decided that this trio from the industrial heartland could all be tarred with the bad-CEO brush. There was a telling moment, during a discussion about executive compensation, when the three CEOs were asked if they were willing to work for a dollar a year.

It was strange to be driving this F-150 just after reading in the business pages about the shrunken market for big pickups. The consensus among those in the industry was that the casual-use buyer had largely abandoned the market and wasn't likely to come back. That certainly doesn't portend well for the F-150 Harley-Davidson, a shiny black $50,000 showpiece whose owner would sooner laser off his tattoos than throw a bunch of lumber or gravel into the truck bed. Even as a show pony, this latest version of the Harley-Davidson F-series also seemed to me to be less successful than some of this truck's previous iterations. The 5.4-liter engine's 320 hp holds no performance advantage over lesser F-150s, and the swoosh side graphics look like they were lifted from an RV. At least the power-retractable running boards clean up the aesthetics and function well. And the black-and-red two-tone leather, accented with gloss black trim, is suitably flashy.inline_mediumwraptextright25793498/reviews/editors_notebook/0911_2010_ford_f150_harley_davidson_edition0911_05_z+2010_ford_f-150_harley_davidson_edition+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Return with us to those blissful days when Detroit's rule of the automotive roost was unchallenged by foes from east or west. In 1964 - the year suburban Detroit's Woodward Avenue became the country's favorite unofficial drag strip - Toyota was just breaking out of its Toyopet shell, and a fledgling Mercedes-Benz was still prepping for flight from the Studebaker-Packard nest. Hyundai didn't exist, and Nissan was pronounced "DAT-sun." The most energetic Porsche packed 145 hp.

Enthusiasts have reason to be concerned about high-performance cars being regulated out of existence. Consider the recent passage of the Obama administration's new CAFE standards as well as the looming specter of cap and trade carbon taxes. Some Draconian scenarios predict an over-regulated future filled with dull cars.inline_mediumwraptextright30638772/green/news/0909_guide_to_the_future_of_high_mpg_efficiency_not_economy0909_03_z+2010_chevrolet_corvette+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue