Why The Ford Coyote Engine Is So Great (But Flawed)

2019 Mustang coyote engine

When the 5.0 Coyote engine was designed it was manufactured with a new cylinder head. This first-generation Coyote engine was made from 2011 through 2014. It was used in Mustang GT and F-150 pickup trucks. As for performance, the intake and exhaust lobes of the camshaft moved in unison, so … Read more

Starting A Mustang Diecast Collection: Tips For Beginners

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is one of the most popular rides, from classic muscle cars to sporty ones. Many Mustang owners consider its features, such as its unique trail-bar taillights, fabulous front fascia, and glossy roofline, as its exceptional assets.  Because of this, Mustangs are a staple in a car enthusiast’s … Read more

Top-Down Fun With a 2021 Ford Mustang Convertible (Review)

2021 Ford Mustang convertible

America’s original pony car continues to turn heads and stir hearts. We drove the delicious Mustang Convertible. The Ford Mustang is the very definition of iconic and is essentially an automotive brand unto itself. More than a half-century after it was first launched, America’s pony car still turns heads and … Read more

It’s Electric: Ford Mustang Mach-E

The Mustang line now includes the Mach-E CUV EV. Ford finally did it. The automaker figured out another way to harness the Mustang name to produce an entirely different model. In this case, it is the Mach-E, an all-electric crossover. We’ve long thought that a four-door variant would be an … Read more

2020 Ford Mustang Convertible is Top-Down Fun (Review)

2020 Ford Mustang Convertible

What is that we like about the Ford Mustang? Well, everything! The Mustang reached iconic status long ago, but we think the last two generations have solidified its place in pony car lore. The current Mustang features select classic styling cues, such as sequential turn signals, while adding contemporary attributes … Read more

About the Fox-Body Ford Mustang

fox body Ford Mustang

Throughout the long reign of the Ford Mustang, several different platforms have underpinned this iconic pony car. Probably the least popular was the Mustang II, which shared the same platform supporting the lowly Pinto, a subcompact model. The Pinto was a poster child for 1970s-era crappy car design, although the … Read more

Mustang by Design (Book Review)

Mustang by Design book review

Nearly everyone knows something about the Ford Mustang, the iconic sports coupe that’s been part of American automotive lore for more than a half-century. Formally introduced at the New York World’s Fair on April 17, 1964, this steed on wheels has captured the hearts of millions of drivers and remains … Read more

Spotlight: American Children’s Home Show-off Show

American Children’s Home 20th Annual Show-Off Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show What could be better than a gathering of cars, trucks and motorcycles? Not much, unless that function benefits a nonprofit, as it did at a recent event held in Lexington, North Carolina. Indeed, the campus of the American Children’s … Read more

Care Tips for Your New Vehicle

How to keep your vehicle running smoothly for years to come. You have just driven off the dealer’s lot and are in possession of your first new car in some time, perhaps in many years. Likely, you will own this vehicle for the long haul, perhaps keeping it for a … Read more

At the Spring 2018 Charlotte AutoFair

Updated April 9, 2018, to include Day No. 4 photos. Charlotte Motor Speedway’s AutoFair is a classic car extravaganza. The twice-annual Charlotte AutoFair never disappoints, even when the weather is less than cooperative. Rainy skies and falling temperatures ruled Day No. 3 of the Spring 2018 Charlotte AutoFair, keeping crowds … Read more

Super Steed: 2017 Ford Mustang GT Performance Review

2017 Ford Mustang GT Fastback

Select performance parts take the Mustang GT to greater heights. I’ve driven nearly every Ford Performance enhanced product, with the exotic Ford GT supercar the lone exception. The overarching task of Ford’s performance division is to take ordinary or already sporty models and convert them into something extraordinary. Models like … Read more

2017 Ford Shelby GT350 Review

2017 Ford Shelby GT350

Flat-plane crank V8 engine and all that. When is a Ford Mustang not a Mustang? Answer: when it is a Shelby GT350 (or GT350R). Well, the Shelby is a Mustang, a special version bearing the name of the late Carroll Shelby, a racing driver and automotive designer of renown. Shelby’s … Read more

2016 Ford Mustang GT Premium Convertible Review

2016 Ford Mustang GT

Heritage on wheels. That’s my take on the Ford Mustang. You cannot escape the evidential truth that Ford’s pony car has a great deal of history behind it, while it adroitly advances that legacy with each new model built. A Once-Threatened Species More than a half-century has passed since the … Read more

2015 Ford Focus ST Review

2015 Ford Focus ST

Ford Performance, Focus ST style. Tangerine Scream was the perfect name for the tri-coat finish smothering the body of a delicious 2015 Ford Focus ST five-door hatchback tasked with teasing and pleasing me recently. Indeed, the ST’s bright finish served as an exclamation point on a model with more attitude … Read more

Potent Ford Focus RS Hits 100 KM/H in 4.7 Seconds

Ford Performance is busy working on new models. The 2016 Focus RS is just one of 12 performance vehicles we’ll see from this specialty shop, the third generation and most powerful RS ever. The 2016 Ford Focus RS may be the fastest mainstream compact model on the market. And with … Read more

Ford Brings its EcoBoost Challenge to the Masses

The Ford Motor Company has a certain technology that it wants potential customers to know about. Called EcoBoost, it is all about enhancing engine performance, by adding direct fuel injection, turbochargers and variable valve technology to the affected engines. The result is more power squeezed from a smaller footprint, boosting … Read more

Sixth Generation Chevrolet Camaro Pulls Out All Stops

GM bypassed the customary auto show venue to debut the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro. The new model has sharper lines, updated powertrain choices and a more modern cabin. The Chevrolet Camaro is back in the hunt. Just one year after Ford threw the gauntlet down with its 50th anniversary Mustang … Read more

Fabulously Unfrozen: February 2015 US Auto Sales

The eastern half of the nation has had quite a winter, with record cold, significant snows and paralyzing ice storms extending deep into the south. Despite the difficult conditions, consumers visited US showrooms in strong numbers, helping to propel February 2015 auto sales in a positive direction. Truck sales paced … Read more

Cars and Coffee in the Sandhills: July 2014

Anyone that has followed Auto Trends for some time knows that we look backward as well as forward. Not just to the new, upcoming and futuristic models, but at the antiques and classics that have shaped the auto industry for more than a century. Throw out information about a classic … Read more

Countdown to the Spring 2014 Charlotte AutoFair

Spring 2014 Charlotte AutoFair is sponsored by OldRide.com. The spring meet for the Charlotte AutoFair is just days away, a four-day automotive extravaganza produced by the Hornets Nest Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA). As always, the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, is the venue for … Read more

Cars and Coffee Cary: March 2014

The second of two Corvette Stingrays present lifts its hood.   While much of the eastern part of the nation remains locked within winters icy grip, mild weather throughout the southeast has allowed monthly Cars and Coffee meetups to continue throughout much of the Carolinas and extending all the way … Read more

The Big Reveal: 2015 Ford Mustang

It was almost anticlimactic when the Ford Motor Company released photos of the 2015 Ford Mustang earlier today in advance of its global introduction. Whether it was done on purpose or by accident, the first photos of the new pony car were published just days ago when the Dec. 9, … Read more

Cars and Coffee: Waverly Place in Cary, NC

If you are looking for an informal meetup of car enthusiasts, then a Cars and Coffee event is the place to go. This past Sat., I happened upon the local gathering in Cary, NC, featuring more than 100 vintage, classic, exotic, Asian, European and American models. A Chevy Bel Air … Read more