2003 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Sport Utility 4-door 5.4l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

What an Atlas-based Ford F-150 might look like

Just ahead of January's Detroit Auto Show, surprising rumors pegged Ford as revealing some sort of F-150 concept, perhaps as a hurried effort to deflate some of the buzz building around General Motors' new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra twins, which were also making their auto show debut. Those rumblings turned out to be true, as Ford rolled into the Motor City with its Atlas concept (inset, right), touting the truck's bold styling as a precursor to the next-generation F-Series.
The show truck featured all kinds of clever details, including active wheel shutters and a front air dam that raised and lowered to improve aerodynamics while preserving off-road ability. It also had a genuinely snarly face. And it's that pugnacious snout that may well be on its way to production. The good folks at TopSpeed have worked up the plausible-looking artist's rendering above by cross-referencing the Atlas concept with what little has been revealed from recent spy shots. The look is toned-down pretty dramatically from the concept truck, but its Atlas roots are clear, with a massive three-bar grille and bracket-shaped headlamps hiding a next-generation EcoBoost engine. In the rendering, the show truck's deeply contoured hood and roofline have been ditched and larger, more traditional side mirrors have been fitted - all likely concessions in the move to production sheetmetal.
While Ford has yet to officially announce when it will unveil the 2015 F-150, all signs point to next year's Detroit Auto Show - one year after the Atlas shrugged off GM's new pickups.

Ford pulls official support from top-level NHRA teams

As the smallest team in the sport, it wasn't really a surprise when Dodge decided to pull out of NASCAR, but Autoweek is reporting that Ford is looking to pull the plug on its professional-level NHRA sponsorships following the 2014 season. With attendance and television ratings down, the article reports that Ford is just backing out of the top series but will remain active in the Sportsman classes of racing, which are geared more toward the grassroots and semi-professional racers.
This means that one of drag racing's biggest names, John Force, will be left looking for new sponsorship after next season. Force, 64, has been with Ford for 17 years, winning 15 championships in that time and winning almost half of all Funny Car events in his Mustang since he started working with Ford in 1997, but after 2014, there could be some big shakeups at John Force Racing.
According to the report, Force would consider is moving over to the Top Fuel dragster series, although he could also move to another manufacturer to remain in the Funny Car series. With Ford on the way out, this leaves just Toyota and Dodge as the remaining active automakers in the highest levels of drag racing.

Ford Ranger-based 7-seat SUV spotted testing

Ford looks to be working on a new SUV version of its global Ranger pickup truck. An early prototype of a seven-passenger SUV based on the Ranger has been spotted testing in Australia, and word has it buyers in the region could expect to see the model in showrooms as soon as 2014, where it could sail under the Endeavour or Everest badges. Ford Australia currently sells the Territory SUV, so there's some chance that this model could be a successor to that throne, as well.
Whatever it's called, the long-roof Ranger will feature a shorter wheelbase and more ground clearance than its pickup twin, giving the machine a bit more off-road functionality. (And here we thought we couldn't want the global Ranger any more than we already do.) While this particular vehicle sports a Territory back half grafted onto a Ranger front end, odds are a public reveal of the finished product could occur as soon as the second half of 2014, making it a 2015 model. Head over to Carsguide.com.au for a closer look.