1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible on 2040-cars

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NHTSA investigating Ford Fiesta for faulty door latches

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation on the 2011-2013 Ford Fiesta because the regulator has received 61 complaints from drivers, including one claim of an injury, about the doors on the subcompacts failing to latch and sometimes even flying open while driving. NHTSA has estimated that the problem could affect as many as 205,000 vehicles.
NHTSA is still gathering further data about the problem, but looking at the complaints so far, both front and rear doors appear to be potentially involved with the alleged failures. Among the reports, there are 12 claiming that the door opened while driving. Several also indicate the "Door Ajar" warning illuminating during this problem. The one purported injury happened when someone attempted to shut the door, and it bounced back.
Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker told Autoblog via email, "We are cooperating with NHTSA on this investigation, as we always do." Scroll down to read the report from NHTSA.

Ford, GM to collaborate on 9- and 10-speed transmissions

Back in October, there were reports that General Motors and Ford Motor Company were hard at work co-developing new nine- and ten-speed automatic transmissions, and now both automakers have confirmed this joint operation. While there are no specific vehicles mentioned to receive either transmission, a collaborative press release issued by GM and Ford mention that the transmission will be designed for front- and rear-wheel-drive cars, crossovers, trucks and SUVs.
These aren't the first powertrain components developed jointly between these cross-town rivals, either. The six-speed automatic currently used in vehicles like the Ford Edge, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Equinox was engineered in a similar fashion. As is the case with this existing transmission, both automakers will assist in the design, development and testing of the new transmissions, but each will build its own units in its own factories. Scroll down for the official press release.

Barrett-Jackson 2014: First production 2015 Ford Mustang earns $300k for JDRF [w/video]

We've almost become immune to the huge dollar amounts that collectible cars earn for charity at Barrett-Jackson. To wit, $300,000 for the first production 2015 Ford Mustang initially didn't seem like very much money. In reality, though, it's probably about 10 times the actual asking price for the car, and we're pleased to report that 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
According to Ford, the car's winning bidder will get to "choose a fastback with manual or automatic transmission, and any interior, exterior and stripe color combination offered by Ford on the all-new Mustang." Power will come from a slightly revised version of the well-known 5.0-liter V8 engine that will produce "more than 420hp and 396 pound-feet of torque."
We snapped live images of the 2015 Mustang prototype that Ford had on display here at Barrett-Jackson, and you can check them out above. The official auction description, along with a video of the auction as it happened live, is below.