1995 Ford F-150 Lightning Standard Cab Pickup 2-door 5.8l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Ford Transit unveiled in Chassis Cab and Cutaway versions

As a leader in commercial vehicles here in the US, we knew Ford wouldn't take too long to show off the chassis cab and cutaway versions of its 2014 Ford Transit van. Set to go on sale this fall, Ford already revealed the full-body version of the Transit, and now it has pulled the cover off exposed-frame models just in time to to compete against the all-new Ram Promaster.
The term "chassis cab" refers to models with a fully enclosed cabin used for box vans or rental trucks, while cutaway models leave the cabin open behind the B-pillars for a pass-through on vehicles such as Class C motorhomes or ambulances. Both will offer three wheelbase options (138, 156 and 178 inches), the choice of single or dually rear axles, and plenty of upfitter-friendly touches including a pre-wired body harness and multiple body mount locations.
The new design will also help make upfitting a little easier since the fuel filler is now built into the cab (just behind the driver's door). Those integrated fuel filler necks will serve to feed either a 3.7-liter V6, a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, or a 3.2-liter Power Stroke diesel. Transit chassis cab and cutaways will wear varying Gross vehicle weight ratings from 9,000 pounds to 10,360 pounds depending on spec.

Amazon looking to bring Kindle to your next car?

Maybe so. The online retailer and digital media monolith recently announced the Amazon Cloud Player, an application for Ford Sync that allows users to stream media from their Amazon Cloud account directly to a Ford vehicle. This foray into automotive technology got the minds at Gigaom.com thinking about what could be next for Amazon. As Kevin Fitchard writes, the logical step is to make audio versions of your Kindle library selections available in your car. As he points out, Amazon has already laid the groundwork for such a move.
Amazon pulled the sheets back on Whispersync for Voice last year. The tech pairs ebooks with an Audible book for a small extra fee, allowing users to either read along with a narrator or switch between audio and text versions on command. Fitchard says it wouldn't be some great leap to apply the same principles to a car, where voice recognition software would allow users to pause or select chapters without ever taking their eyes off of the road.
It all sounds just fine to us, but Amazon hasn't said a thing about such a move. Still, we wouldn't be surprised to see the company come down this road in the near future just the same.

Project Ugly Horse alive and kicking at Road & Track

The hallways of the Autoblog campus are much quieter now that Zach Bowman has taken his prose, along with his welders, wrenches and hammers, over to the digital pages of Road & Track, but that doesn't mean our favorite project Mustang is gone forever. Project Ugly Horse is still coming along, and Zach has gifted us another update on his unfoxy Fox Body.
Last we saw of the Ugly Horse, Zach was strengthening up the '89 Mustang's chassis as he prepares to stuff the turbocharged, direct-injected EcoBoost engine of a Ford Focus ST under the hood. First things first, the old mill must go. Head on over to Road & Track to catch the latest chapter of Project Ugly Horse.