Ford shows off SEMA-bound Fusion specials

With the SEMA Show kicking off later this month, some automakers have already started showing off their Vegas-bound show cars, and now Ford is getting into the mix with a quartet of tricked-out 2013 Ford Fusion concepts. Ford will be unveiling "dozens" of cars at SEMA, but these custom Fusions give a glimpse of the tuning/styling potential of Ford's new midsize sedan.

While show cars at SEMA are generally flashy and over the top, the 2013 Fusion by Tjin Edition is a relatively subtle car. In the past, Tjin Edition Fords have also included the Explorer and Mustang GT, but the Tjin Edition Fusion has been upgraded with a custom paint job that actually makes beige look good to go with 21-inch wheels and new headlights and fog lights featuring LED accents. To give the car more performance, this Fusion also received an upgraded turbo on its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and a side-exit MagnaFlow exhaust system. Another restrained show car is the 3dCarbon - Air Design Fusion, which in all likelihood is the most realistic version with its lower body kit that augments the car's already sporty styling.

Looking to mimic the style of cars in the Australian V8 Supercar Series, the Ice Nine Group have the 2013 Fusion looking far better than next year's NASCAR Sprint Cup car decked out with a lowered stance, large rear wing and an eye-catching Monster Energy Drink paint job. The 2013 Fusion by MRT Performance also has an in-your-face appearance with its punishing black-and-blue paint scheme, but it, too, is modified for performance with an Eco-Flow exhaust system and enhanced chassis tuning.

Scroll down for the full press release on these cars, and be sure to check out our live coverage of the show which runs from October 30 through November 2.
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White remains world's most popular car paint color, copper and bronze rising

When it came to paint colors on new cars, for ten years, silver was the one hue to rule them all, not just extending its lead through 2009 and 2010 but doing so in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The revolution came in 2011, when white took over as the top color in the States and black claimed the number one spot in Europe, silver maintaining its hold in the Orient.

The annual study by the paint experts at PPG Industries notes how the the colorless hue has made more gains this year, white cars being the number one choice here and in Europe and tied for first place with silver cars in Asia. Black took second place in every market. Here, silver and gray grabbed third place, while our European cousins displayed their taste for 50 shades of metallic: gray took third place on its own, silver in fourth, four points behind. In Asia, "natural," which includes browns, tans, golds, oranges and yellows, was the pigment of choice after white and black.

Further back in the pack, mineral and alloy shades like gold, copper and bronze are getting more buyers, and based on some of the colors being previewed for 2015 and 2016 it looks like our automotive future has more than a chance of sparkle. The PPG press release below has all the trends and the numbers.
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Project Ugly Horse: Part 1

Meet the Horse



I have always hated this car.

Not the Ford Mustang, mind you, nor the ubiquitous Fox body, but this specific car. It's not because it came from the factory cursed with a heavy and under-powered 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine or an entirely worthless four-speed automatic gearbox. No, I hated this car because once, while I was off pretending to pay attention at college, my father traded two whole International Scout II trucks, their titles and a scad load of new old stock parts for this: a secretary special hatchback Mustang. It made me ill.

Sorry, son. I've sold you to a brace of machete-wielding Somali pirates.

As a vested devotee of all things International Harvester, this was a sin of inconceivable magnitude. I would have been less crushed if he had sat me down, looked me square in the eye and told me in his most earnest and paternal tones that he spent his working days feeding laundry baskets of kittens to a wood chipper instead of wielding Autocad in a cubical as a structural engineer. Or that, "Sorry, son. I've sold you to a brace of machete-wielding Somali pirates to pay off a blood oath."

Confusion. Anger. The betrayal was made all the more painful by the news that the new owner of the two IH bruisers had simply thrown the stack of brand-new 345 heads into the back and hauled the Scouts straight to the crusher for scrap. The locals say you can still hear my teenage screams rolling around the darkened hills of Virginia on a still night.
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Head of Honda R&D interested in returning to F1

Speaking for himself and not the company, head of Honda Research and Development, Yoshiharu Yamamoto, told Autocar that when it comes to Formula One, "We do look up at those races and hope that one day we can take part again." In order for that one day to occur, a few things would need to happen: the rules would need to change and Honda would need to prove itself capable of winning in the World Touring Car Championship. Neither one is assured.

The new rules Yamamoto is thought to be referring to are the F1 engine regulations coming into force in 2014 the sport will swap 2.4-liter V8s for 1.6-liter, turbocharged V6s. Honda has developed a 1.6-liter four-cylinder for its new entrant in the WTCC, and it's speculated that a 1.6-liter turbo four will fill the engine bay of the coming Honda Civic Type R. As with a similar on-again off-again flirtation with F1 by Volkswagen, the move to an engine spec closer to that for road cars could be one of the prime tipping points Honda needs.

However, Bernie Ecclestone, Ferrari and even Grand Prix promoters are now fighting the introduction of those V6s because, among other things, the say the engines "sounded terrible." On top of that, Honda's return assumes the company can strut its stuff in touring cars, Yamamoto telling Autocar, "I feel the first thing we must do is win in the WTCC, and then perhaps we can look further afield."

Over the past 48 years Honda has done three stints in Formula 1. In spite of its many successes McLaren-Honda, anyone? many look at the Japanese company's last exit in 2008 as an ignominious end to a nine-year stretch that also included the whimpering close of the BAR Honda team and the best days of Jacques Villeneuve's noteworthy F1 career. That's not exactly true, though: Honda got out at the end of 2008 and helped Ross Brawn with a management buyout to form Brawn GP in early 2009, then Jensen Button used the car Honda had just finished developing to dominate the 2009 World Championship. We, for one, would be happy to see them back.

Head of Honda R&D interested in returning to F1

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What's it like to go over 260 mph in an 20-year-old Audi S4? Watch this

There are an infinite number of impressive aspects to getting a 1992 Audi to clip past the 260-mph barrier. For starters, there's the fact that Jeff Gerner managed to milk a full 1,100 horsepower from the five-cylinder S4 before shuttling the power to the ground via an all-wheel drive system without vaporizing an axle. That alone deserves a round of applause, but for us, the most awe-inspiring aspect of the feat is just how smooth and drama-free the salt flat run was.

The video below, whipped up by the artisans at eGarage, shows Gerner doing the deed in Utah. There's no fuss. No wild fights for traction or mechanical failures. Just Gerner riding along like he was cruising down the highway instead of blistering a dry lake bed and setting a world record not just for the world's fastest Audi sedan, but for the world's fastest sedan, full-stop. His two runs were good enough for an average of 236.599 mph and his top speed was estimated at over 260 mph. Check out the videos below for a closer look, then head on over to Quattroworld to read more about it.
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Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye 2012 is a basket of insanity

If you've never heard of he Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye, crack open your ears for a spell. The race is a grueling four-day event that slithers through the Carpathian mountains of Romania.

We aren't talking about battling some logging road, either. The competitors who tackle Romaniacs bolt up ridge sides, climb waterfalls and tear across open terrain in an attempt to set the best recorded time. A single stage can put the riders through 30,000 feet of climbing over incredibly varied terrain. This is a competition where no single skill set will nab you the title. Rather, riders need to be well-rounded to take all 400 miles head on.

This year, Red Bull worked up a Signature Series on the event, following competitors through all four stages and documenting the carnage in beautiful HD. The 45-minute-long video is entirely TV quality, and while it requires a serious time commitment, it's also completely worth a slice of your day. You can check it out for yourself below just don't blame us if you find yourself wanting an enduro machine of your own once you finish.
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Think Rally and Rallycross are similar? Ken Block's car begs to differ

If you've ever wondered about the "hybrid" in Ken Block's Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V. (Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle), then this video is definitely worth watching. After winning the Olympus Rally near Shelton, Washington, Block's Fiesta headed to Las Vegas for the fifth round of Global Rallycross (GRC). The same car is used in both racing series. As you'd imagine, racing on narrow dirt back roads Washington is very different than running on the mostly paved course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Aside from the chassis and most of the body components, the Ford Fiesta that raced on Sunday September 23 is almost completely different from the car that practiced on Thursday September 26. The entire powertrain gets swapped in favor of a setup making over 600 horsepower, and the front-mounted radiator is moved aft for the GRC event. To ensure proper air flow to it, different side vents and a vented liftgate are installed. The GRC car also gets bigger brakes and the proper wheel/tire combo. After three days of disassembly and reassembly, this Fiesta is ready for Rallycross.

Sure, it'd probably be easier to just have a second, dedicated GRC car, but where's the fun in that? Scroll down to watch the video of what it takes to transform Block's Fiesta from a gravel-spewing Rally America car to a ramp-jumping Global Rallycross car.
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