Once again, buying rights to one of Ford's fabulous sports cars will be up for bid at Barrett-Jackson. Built by Genaddi Design Group, the prototype is set with No Reserve, holding the representative honor for the first production model. The auction is set at the South Florida Expo Center and will last for three days (March 30, 2006 - April 1, 2006). "This is a truly remarkable car with some of the most innovative engineering ever incorporated into a roadster, much less a supercar," Craig Jackson, president and CEO of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Co., said. "The opportunity to own serial #001 of this amazing car will draw interest among collectors worldwide."

That's right; it's back. A year has passed since Ford Motor Company eliminated the concept of its V8 powerhouse, allowing the Hemis and Vortechs to take the spotlight. Sources familiar with the Ford Hurricane have stated that Mark Fields, Ford Americas group leader, resurrected the high-performance engine project three months ago as part of the Way Forward plan. It just goes to show that nothing is for certain when drastic changes are being made in restructuring efforts.

Steeda Autosports has flavored a Ford F-150 XLT Flareside pickup truck into a concept known as Red Thunder. Enhancements abound on this spicy truck, including: an upgraded suspension kit, stronger brakes, and supercharged 5.4-liter Triton V8 (with an output of 400hp). Inside, the Steeda F-150 has a state of the art audio system from Kicker, along with tasteful interior trimmings and other miscellaneous additions. No doubt the Steeda F-150 is an attention getter. The question remains, however, will it strike as hard as the SVT Lightning or will it simmer away like the Chevrolet SSR?

After 30 years, the missing 1966 Ford GT-40 chassis P1047 has been found in a Tokyo, Japan storage facility. Many famous drivers including Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Jerry Grant, Roger McClusky and Frank Gardner have piloted P1047 over the years. Racing as number 3, with Gurney at the wheel, the P1047 won the pole position of the 1966 twenty-four hours of LeMans with the fastest lap time of 3 minutes, 30.6 seconds. After suffering mechanical problems in the race, the car was shined and readied for show.

It appears as though the Escape will be getting a facelift, as it has recently been spotted trotting along on public roads without its front camouflage in place. If the change sticks and makes its way into production, it will be the first cosmetic update to the Escape.

The Volvo S60 (pictured) may be bumped out of production by a larger sedan, the S80, in a drastic product-plan renovation by the Swedish automaker. While a solid commitment has yet to be made, the potential change would allow for further development and model expansion into more profitable segments, such as crossovers, coupes, and sports cars.

TheAutoChannel.com has a great feature: allowing users to search for NHTSA crash test results for most vehicles sold in the US from 1990 to 2006. Searching by year & make gives you test results for frontal & side impacts, as well as rollover resistance. How did your vehicle do?

Click here to find out!

Time creeps up on every organization. Some are able to take the lead and bring home the checkered flag; others fall victim to the ebb & flow of modernization and the next best thing. Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) will be formally disbanded effective April 1, 2006. Not watershed news by any means though, as the fuse was lit back in 1992 it was only a matter of time.

So you thought the GT was the only passenger car you would see with a blown 5.4-liter V8? Not so. Ford's flagship sedan might just need to continue the trend, bolstering 550 horsepower, contained within the production body style.