Led Sport Front Ligh Grille Star Emblem For Mercedes Benz 2006-2013 Illuminated on 2040-parts.com

Ford gains ground in customer perception

The Ford brand gained ground in consumers' minds this year as Toyota slipped, though the Japanese juggernaut still leads the pack by a slight margin. Over the last two years, Ford climbed 35 percentage points while Toyota dropped 46 percentage points, according to the latest survey from Consumer Reports. During this time, Ford (144) moved within three points of Toyota (147).

This day in Autoweek history: Driving across France in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

Today we relive a drive across France in the Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth with Cynthia Claes. This potent four-door sedan offered rear-wheel drive, a Borg-Warner five-speed manual transmission and a claimed top speed of 150 mph from its turbocharged 2.0-liter, twin-cam four-cylinder engine. Introduced in 1986, the original Sierra saw 5,542 units constructed; 5,000 were needed for homologation in Class A rally competition, its original purpose.

Aspid Cars teases sports car to join open-wheeler

Spanish automaker Aspid Cars informed us last Tuesday that it will be unveiling a sports car to complement its open-wheel track car. The company didn't tell us much aside from saying that the car will be bigger than its first car, that it will be extremely lightweight and that it will offer multiple powertrain options, including a V8 and a KERS-like hybrid system. The company also made sure to note that its name is no longer IFR Aspid.