The 17 Things You Need to Know About the 2017 Ford GT Supercar | Prescott Brothers Princeton IL

2017 Ford GT: The facts

Ford's all-new GT supercar was the smash hit of the 2015 Detroit auto show, and although we were given its basic specs, we were hungry for more. So we cornered anyone we could find from Ford to give us the 600-plus-hp sports car's juicier details.

• The GT "concept" Ford put on display in Detroit looks mighty production ready, suggesting that the skunkworks project has been in motion for years. In fact, we're told the car has seen just one year of development work so far—yet the final car is due next year. That's hyperspeed in the car world.
• Ford expects the first production prototype to be in action this spring. Spy photographers, get ready.
• The in-house low-cost carbon-fiber development program Ford has fired up in collaboration with Dow Chemical has little to do with the GT project. In fact, the carbon fiber in the GT's chassis tub and bodywork will be hand-laid and production probably will be handled by an outside supplier.
•  When Ford's global performance vehicle chief engineer Jamal Hameedi started to tell us how his team was targeting "the best power-to-weight ratio," we figured the sentence would end with "in its class." Nope. Hameedi instead capped off the claim with "of any car on the market." Ford has yet to reveal the GT's weight, but we're expecting it to be crazy light. As for the engine, Ford promises more than 600 horsepower.
•  The GT on Ford's Detroit show stand rolled on normal aluminum wheels, in contrast to the Mustang Shelby GT350R sitting nearby; that car has ultra-lightweight carbon-fiber wheels. Given how fanatical Ford is being about the GT's weight, you'd think these high-tech and mass-reducing rims would be on the GT, too. Ford tells us it is looking at the possibility.
•  The GT's rear spoiler is full of tricks, including an air-brake function. The wing can both rise vertically and tilt, its horizontal surface angling upward to capture extra downforce and drag when needed.
•  Riding on a what Ford calls an "active" suspension, the GT can lower itself at speed for stability and better aerodynamics. In true supercar form, a button in the cabin can lift the front end when faced with inconsiderately designed driveway ramps and speed humps.
•  Front and rear, the GT features carbon-ceramic Brembo brake rotors and calipers. Just as the Nürburgring is practically a required stop on any vehicle development engineer's world tour, so apparently are Brembo's offices.
•  There's no question about it: The 2017 GT will be fast. But Ford didn't set out to grab top-speed records or acceleration honors. Instead, we're told Ford is chasing "lap times, lap times, lap times" and is seeking ultimate handling. Oh, and Ford is planning to take the GT to Le Mans in 2016—the street car partially exists for homologation reasons—and is putting Ferrari in its crosshairs. The 1960s are back, baby.
•  As you probably already ascertained, this is the front of the Ford GT. It doesn't have anything in it—well, besides a radiator, some cool heat-exhausting vents, and the pushrod-actuated front suspension. There is no electric motor powering the front axle, as there is in Porsche's 918 Spyder, and neither is there one in the back. Ford didn't want to sacrifice low weight for heavy hybrid components like motors and batteries. Oh, and the sports car is intended to showcase Ford's EcoBoost engine branding, a mission that'd be complicated by a hybrid system.
•  One of our favorite things about the GT is the way its passenger cell tapers to nearly a point at the car's tail, and the channels that create between the "fuselage" and the rear wheels. Far more than a flamboyant flourish, these pathways force the air to bend and submit to the GT's will. The flying buttresses linking the roof to each rear fender may appear flat, but they are in fact curved in section. This is because they're really wings—cut them in half, and they're airfoil-shaped. They create downforce, in addition to directing air flowing around the car to the rear spoiler.
•  Amazingly, Ford found a second use for the GT's flying buttresses: intake tubes. Each hollow panel (one per side) houses piping that flows from an air-to-air intercooler ahead of each rear wheel (visible through the large vents on the fenders). Intake air is scooped up from beneath the GT, compressed in each turbocharger, and then shot through the intercoolers before twisting its way up the winglets and down into the engine. Sweet.
•  After passing through the fender-mounted intercoolers, newly heated air then flows above each rear wheel to the GT's tail, where it exits through the centers of the taillights. Yep, the look of those lamps isn't by accident.
•  The GT's EcoBoost twin-turbocharged, direct-injected 3.5-liter V-6 engine shares far more with the EcoBoost six in Ford's Daytona Prototype LMP2 race car than it does with any roadgoing Ford engine. With more than 600 horsepower, the GT's V-6 earns the awesome "Powered by Ford" branding.
•  Oh yeah, baby, Ford plans on keeping the two colossal, jetfighter-like exhaust outlets right where they are, high up on the rear bumper. Those cannons are just finishers, however—the actual exhaust pipes terminate a few inches ahead of them. We don't care, the openings look the business.
•  With a near-horizontal rear window that's roughly one and a half feet wide, parking is probably going to be the least-fun thing you could do in a GT. So the hyperFord has a backup camera nestled in the nether regions of its diffuser. It makes sense, of course, as the things are federally mandated after 2016.
•  According to Ford VP of design Moray Callum, the styling is 95 percent complete. That last 5 percent? We're told the GT needs little things like the door mirrors larger than teaspoons and subtle lighting tweaks to be salable. Otherwise, what you see here is what is going to hit driveways. This is fantastic news because, well, just look at the thing.

The 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor is Still Menacing, Wonderfully Ridiculous | Prescott Brothers Princeton IL

It may be all Ecoboost and 10-speed automatic underneath, but the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor strikes that balance of aggressive and goofy characteristics that made the outgoing model such a hit.

Oh yeah, and the off-road credentials were pretty good, too.

Unsurprisingly, like the 2015 F-150, the new Raptor is a case of same-but-different on the outside. The FORD letters on the grille are still enormous, an endearing characteristic. They've also been added to the tailgate in lieu of a blue oval. The whole look is perhaps more modern and sophisticated, but in person the Raptor still comes off as a tough thing.

Ford didn't let us pop the hood to see the 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6 that's supposed to be in there. Nor did they let us get too close to the interior, which at least doesn't stray too far from the new F-150's style. The paddle shifters inside were the first thing I noticed, though. And I'm still not convinced they look right in a truck, especially when they bear a similar appearance to the ones in the new Ford GT.

The thing about the Raptor has always been that it's a ridiculous vehicle. It's ridiculously large, ridiculously powerful for its size, ridiculously capable. But at the end of the day, the main attraction to this thing is its looks and sounds. They just make you smile.

This new one may be smarter under the skin, but it looks like it still has a sense of humor on the outside.

Ford Marks 20 Years of Fighting Breast Cancer with Warriors in Pink | Prescott Brothers of Princeton IL

This year marks 20 years of Ford Motor Company fighting against breast cancer. The company’s journey began when it became one of the first corporate sponsors of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Ford branded its initiative Warriors in Pink^® and developed a full line of clothing and gear that donates 100 percent of the net proceeds to four breast cancer charities. Thus far, Ford has dedicated more than $125 million to the cause.

Involvement for Ford extends far beyond just financial support for research. Warriors in Pink encourages women to have continuing and honest conversations that keep them proactive about breast health and early detection.

“Through Warriors in Pink, Ford continues to be a unifying force in driving awareness for breast cancer. This year is especially meaningful to us as we mark our 20th anniversary and honor the strength and courage of all the survivors who have shared their stories with us throughout their journey,” said Joe Hinrichs, President of The Americas, Ford Motor Company.

Other ways Ford has been able to shine a spotlight on survivors is through its Models of Courage program, which highlights individuals who openly share their experiences with breast cancer.

Since 2006, Warriors in Pink has offered a line of apparel and accessories, and 100 percent of the net proceeds from the sale of these items benefit Warriors in Pink’s four charities partners: The Pink Fund, Susan G. Komen, Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and Young Survival Coalition. Join the fight and support a breast cancer charity of your choice.

My Ford Owner Magazine | King of the Hill | Prescott Brothers Ford Princeton IL

By Sam Martin
Photography by Bridget Barrett

A LIFETIME FORD LOYALIST PUTS THE NEW 2015 SUPER DUTY TO THE ULTIMATE TEST: A DAY OF WORK ON HIS 1,500-ACRE FARM OUTSIDE OF CUNNINGHAM, KANSAS.

Farm work waits for no one. So when My Ford rolls up at a homestead in central Kansas with a 2015 King Ranch F-350, our test driver is hardly sitting around waiting for us. Bob Renner, 54, is prepping the hay baler on the back of his 2000 F-350, getting ready to feed 100 head of cattle and almost 90 baby calves.

Renner is a quintessential midwestern farmer. His manners are old school, his smile is broad—his stories are told with a sparkle in his eye. Like most people who have worked the land their whole life, he has seen his fair share of trials and tribulations. In 1984, while driving to a dance in his hometown of Cunningham, Renner was involved in a serious car accident. After being airlifted to a hospital in Wichita, he awoke from a coma seven days later without his left arm.

“The doctor told my father there were two ways people reacted to an injury like mine,” Renner says. “They either complain the rest of their life, or they yell at you to leave them alone. Well, we were leaving the hospital, and my dad opened the car door for me. I yelled at him, ‘Dad, I only lost one arm. I can do this myself!’ I was tough to be around for a few years there, but I was lucky enough to have a lot of people who loved me.”

Spend a day with Renner at his 1,500-acre farm and its neighboring townships of Cunningham, St. Leo and Zenda, and you’ll quickly see there are still plenty of people who love this man. You’ll also see that the loss of a limb has done nothing to slow this father of three. Renner, along with his wife, Donna, raises cattle and grows wheat and alfalfa on his land, a part of America that has been in his family for three generations.

His method of farm management relies on squeezing every last drop of production out of his fleet of five Ford pickup trucks. Listening to the genealogy of Renner’s trucks is like listening to his family history. “My dad always ran Ford trucks,” he explains. “So I always, always, drove Ford. I’ve sold some, I’ve wrecked a few, but they’re awfully tough pickups.”

“My red pickup [the 2000 F-350], that’s my overall work truck that I feed cattle and haul hay with all the time. I just about live in it. It has about 300,000 miles on it and is still going strong.”

The tough miles that Renner puts on his trucks make this the perfect setting for today’s test: putting one of the very first 2015 King Ranch F-350 trucks through its paces on a working farm. “When I woke up this morning, I was excited,” Renner says. “I’d never thought I’d have people from Detroit come to my place to let me drive a brand-new F-350. So I’m ready to put it to the test.”

WHAT A FARM NEEDS

 

A typical day for Renner begins with a trip to inspect and feed his herd of cattle and, at this time of year, baby calves. “I don’t brand my cattle, but on any given morning I may have to tag calves, check to see if anything’s wrong with them, and give them a feed.”

He keeps his bales of alfalfa on the second story of a tall white barn with red trim, built by his grandfather in 1919. Renner opens a small hatch 20 feet in the air and throws four green bales down into the tray of the waiting F-350. As he steers the truck down toward the nearby paddock filled with the waiting herd, he reflects on what he considers when purchasing a vehicle for his farm.

“When I buy a truck, I’m mainly thinking about weight. I do a lot of hauling: I haul a very heavy swather, cattle, a lot of hay—sometimes upwards of 16,000 pounds. You need good towing capability to do that.”

Luckily for Renner, the 2015 Super Duty has been designed to work. The second generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke^® Turbo Diesel offers best-in-class power. This is a truck built to tow, to increase productivity for its owner, and to do so as efficiently as any truck on the market.