Ford has released details of the impending sale of their premium British brands to Indian automaker Tata. The short story is a closing date by the end of next quarter and a paltry $2.3 Billion US.

The long story of course is still in the crystal ball stage. There is little question that this sale will have a dramatic effect on the Indian car market. How much effect will it have on the North American market remains to be seen, but Tata will now have an established dealer network on our shores. Could we see a new economy brand on this continent over the coming years? Only time will tell.

Full details from Ford after the break
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Few would deny that the Ford Model T was perhaps the most significant car ever conceived. It was the first mass produced vehicle and was affordable enough for the general public to get their first real taste of the independence motoring offered. In the 19 years that the T was produced, over 15 million cars were built, a staggering number considering the era.

The first consumer car came off the line on October 1, 1908 which means that the Model T will be 100 years old in 2008. To celebrate, Ford has planned events through the year. Things kick off this weekend at the 2008 Amelia Island Concours in Florida and finish up with T Party 2008 in July in Richmond, Indiana. More than 1000 T’s from around the world are expected to show up for this one.

Ford release with event details and T Trivia after the break
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Here in The Garage, we’ve all been waiting for the debut of the La Carrera 2007 movie, following Gary Faules and Team California’s Best through the classic Mexican road race. Production has been taking longer than anticipated, but finally we can have a sneak peek at a trailer for it. When the full deal arrives, you can be sure we’ll let you know!

Speaking with Chip Foose the other day reminded me that I haven’t gotten around to posting the pics Aaron Von Minden sent of Live Wire. Back in the fall, we showed you Piero DeLuca’s Ford Coupe in the early stages at the Savage Speed Garage. The months of work leading up to the 2008 Grand National Roadster Show have paid off and Live Wire won 4 awards! Nice work guys!

More pics after the break.
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Wonders never cease to amaze me here in The Garage. The latest in a long line of really cool people I’ve met while working on The Garage is modern day hot rod icon Chip Foose. Fresh from sunny California, the master of style is also a really cool guy. It was actually very refreshing to see that Chip is a down to earth car guy who loves to share stories. We talked about kids, driving his creations and even a really cool story about Chip’s debut behind the wheel of an open wheel race car.
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I received a nice little surprise today courtesy of the folks at Ford. Tomorrow at the CIAS I get to interview master of design, Chip Foose! If all goes well with my new technology purchase we’ll have the interview as a podcast later this week.

Photo from Motor Trend

For years I’ve said I would never own another minivan. I just can’t stand the styling and the thought of driving a glorified school bus. That said, I’ve always loved an SUV that is a real truck that can tow and go off road. This whole CUV thing is somewhere in the middle and I’m more than a bit confused. I just LOVE these trucklets that look the part and offer a ton of usability that suits our family. Obviously, I’m not your average consumer. Then again, I’ve never been accused of being normal!

Now that we’ve gotten that little bit of self indulgence out of the way, let’s get on with things on the inside of the 2008 Ford Taurus X.

The interior of the Taurus X has been treated with some fine looking surfaces. The mixture of dark grey plastics and well chosen chrome give a sporty look that is well augmented by the faux carbon fibre dash trim. The seats have nicely textured leather with perforated inserts that might have been stolen from some mid Nineties European sports sedan. That is a good thing, as the dark grey leather seats look great and are comfy to boot.
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It’s 1:30 am and I’m sound asleep, visions of rally cars(either that or Drew Barrymore in the chubby days) running through my head, when I was abruptly woken up by Mamma G who says someone has been hit by a car across the street. Or maybe the neighbor’s dog. I pull on my pants and head downstairs to check things out, while Mrs. G calls the police. “are you calling about the car that hit a tree?” Sandy calls down to say there is a car in a tree somewhere.

Well, that somewhere is our next door neighbor’s front lawn. The 5 foot high pile of snow between the driveways has been obliterated and there are drunk teenagers scattered all over the street. Some are crying, some are fighting, while others are trying to get away before the police arrive.
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So what does one say about Ford’s 2008 Taurus X. The update, rebadged Freestyle certainly seems to be suffering from a bit of an identity crisis in the market and I’m not sure the change in moniker is going to help things any, but does it have any real personality on the road?

First impressions can make or break any relationship. Our first impression was of the two tone model that Los Jalops had for a week and it somehow looked like an overgrown outback wannabe. Fortunately, our tester was dead sexy looking in a nice coat of black with all sorts of well chosen chrome accents and 18 inch polished aluminum wheels. The front end treatment, from headlamps to fenders and chrome 3 bar grille is distinctly modern day Ford.
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When we picked up the 2008 Ford Focus from Ford, we were on out way home from a few days in Niagara Falls. We consists of a family of 5 and we were concerned whether we would be able to fit all of our stuff into the little sedan. Fortunately, those fears were unfounded as the Focus’ trunk is enormous, even with a sizable sub-woofer occupying the left corner.

That substantial storage locker comes at a price however, as the rear seats don’t have much in the way of legroom. The trip from Oakville to Whitby was just about far enough for the 13 & 9 year olds. The 7 year old was just happy to check out the cool mood lighting. I hate to say it, but the car would benefit from a few inches less cargo space if it allowed for more rear legroom.

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