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Ford opens 88 new dealerships in China in a single day

"Ford opened 88 dealerships in China last year." "Ford opened 88 dealerships in China during the first half of 2014." "Ford opened 88 dealerships in China last month." None of those statements - even the last one - would seem unbelievable. Saying "Ford opened up 88 dealerships in China last Thursday," though, is a bit more dramatic.
Yes, on June 19 alone, Ford opened the doors on nearly 100 showrooms in the People's Republic, boosting the Blue Oval's total presence in the country to 750 dealerships. Of course, while an overabundance of dealers in the US proved troublesome for American manufacturers back in 2008 and 2009, there's no such concern in China. Considering the country's huge population and the breakneck pace of the local auto industry, you could be forgiven for being surprised Ford only has 750 outlets at this stage.
What's notable about this most recent push, besides the sheer volume of new stores, is their location. Over three-quarters of the new dealerships are in so-called Tier 4 cities, which are smaller towns that still contain millions of people. This fits with Ford's strategy in China of avoiding the bigger battlegrounds that are already dominated by competitors and focusing on setting up shop in newer markets that may have been overlooked, according to Automotive News.

Leno drives Henry Ford II's all-original '52 Ferrari 212 Barchetta

The story of the relationship between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari is absolutely fascinating. The two great men of the auto industry had what appeared to be a burgeoning friendship until Ferrari pulled out of a deal to sell his company to Ford in the '60s. The latest car featured in Jay Leno's Garage is a 1952 Ferrari 212 Barchetta that tells the very beginnings of that story.
This Prancing Horse was a gift to Ford from Enzo when the two companies were first thinking about merging, according to the curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum. Ferrari really wanted to show off its best so instead of the 212's normal V12, this car was fitted with the larger 2.7-liter unit from a Ferrari 225. The car has been almost unaltered since then. It still wears its original paint, and it's tires date back to 1954.
The great thing about the Petersen is that unlike a lot of auto museums, the people there actually drive the cars and keep them in working order. Once on the road with Leno behind the wheel, this Ferrari really sings. Unfortunately, he can't open it up too much because the 60-year-old tires really hold things back. Scroll down to watch this amazing piece of automotive history and learn it's possible effect on the styling of the original Ford Thunderbird.

Next-gen Ford Cobra Jet development underway, but will it be a Mustang?

Ford might be stepping away from the NHRA, but it isn't abandoning drag racing altogether. Hot Rod says that Ford confirmed a next-gen Cobra Jet factory drag racer is in the works, but the report also speculates that a new Cobra Jet could switch away from the Mustang nameplate.
Even though talk of a new Cobra Jet coincides with the all-new 2015 Mustang, the lack of confirmation for the dragster's platform leaves Hot Rod to guess that the car might switch to another platform - specifically a front-drive-based, unibody car like the Fusion or Taurus. We'd hate to think of a world with a NASCAR-ized dragster from Ford Racing, but it's also highly unlikely that the Mustang Cobra Jet would step away from its quarter-mile rivals like the Chevy COPO Camaro and Dodge Challenger Drag Pak.