We've been pretty impressed by Ford's turnaround. Some of you in the comments section disagree, but, frankly, we can't see how stylish and affordable choices like the Taurus, Edge and multiple award-winning Fusion; peppy, attractive small cars like the Focus and Fiesta; and a serious muscle contender like the Mustang -- all coupled with an eye toward overdelivering serious in-car tech -- could be considered anything but steps in the right direction.

Given all that, this is disappointing news.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Ford plans on keeping its promise from 2006 that it will double its amount of flex-fuel vehicles (numbering, at the time, 185,000) by this year. 

The 15 founders of the Antique Automobile Club of America would be proud: The organization's membership has grown to nearly 60,000 since the club launched in 1935.

And to celebrate its 75th anniversary, the AACA will hold a four-day celebration, June 30-July 3, in Louisville, Ky. A car show on the last day will be the spotlight event, and more than 600 vehicles spanning more than a century will be displayed. The 1909 Sears, the 1916 Milburn and the 1929 Essex will be among the featured cars.

 

How about some historic motorcycle news this fine Friday? Yes? All agreed? Good.

For the first time in 17 years, a motorcycle company not named Harley Davidson has won a flat-track one-mile race, with Ducati placing first on the performance of Joe Kopp, who last Saturday piloted a customized dirt-racing chassis to a Grand National victory at the Yavapai Downs Mile in Arizona.

Not only that -- and good news for recreational motorcycle riders -- the contest marks the first time a Grand National race has been won by a readily available production motor in a full 29 years. Kopp's customized bike was powered by the same 2010 Desmodue engine that powers Ducati's Hypermotard 1100EVO. 

Thanks to enthusiasts, the most powerful road-going Aston Martin ever is coming to the United States.

The British sports-car maker confirmed on Friday that the V12 Vantage--packing 510 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque--will be sold in North and South America.

This is a reversal from a year ago, when Aston tantalizingly showed off the car and promptly said it wasn’t coming here. Now the company says that it has no choice but to respond to the huge demand from enthusiasts to bring the car to the Americas.

Why the change in plans?

 

Some people argue that aesthetic quality is purely subjective; that standing cultural mores are nothing but byproducts of a particular time and place; that beauty -- or lack thereof -- is solely in the eye of the beholder.

For those people, I give you what is possibly the ugliest car (the Scion xB notwithstanding) ever: the custom-built, Cadillac XLR-based Godfather Roadster -- now selling on eBay for a mere 50 grand.

Ludicrously extended wheelbase? Check. Gaudy red leather seats, with "Godfather"-styled stitching? Check. Extraneous tubes, double side-mounted spares, freaking foot-long horns extending from the grille? Check, and mate. (You can see the rest of the pictures, via Jalopnik.com, here.) 

More Denali. That's what GMC says heavy-duty truckers want, and that's what the truck maker aims to give them.

GMC announced on Friday that the Denali trim will be added to the 2011 Sierra 3500 model in several configurations. It will be offered on the single-wheel and dualie setups, and in two-wheel and four-wheel drive. The trim will come with the standard bed or a long box.

 

If you'll recall, after the Lexus GX 460 failed Consumer Reports' emergency handling tests -- its electronic stability control failed to kick in with enough gusto, causing the back end to kick out and potentially posing a rollover problem -- the magazine issued a "don't buy" designation on the vehicle. Toyota responded by immediately pulling the vehicle, and promised a quick fix. And, according to Consumer Reports, it's done just that via a software upgrade.

On a retest, and after taking their vehicle to the dealer for said software upgrade, Consumer Reports testers found the problem was indeed fixed: no more skidding out, thanks to solid response from the ESC. Subsequently, Consumer Reports lifted its "don't buy" designation for the vehicle.

We can argue all we want about the relative merits of ESC -- whether it really increases safety or is simply a nanny program that creates bad, reckless drivers -- but it is interesting to see the side-by-side test results when the ESC isn't working properly and when it is. Check out that video after the jump. 

General Motors is making good on its word to convert half of its global manufacturing plants into landfill-free operations by the end of 2010. To date, 43 percent of GM facilities, or 62 sites, have stopped sending production waste to landfills.

Instead, 97 percent of the plants’ waste material is recycled and reused. Three percent of the waste is converted to energy, replacing fossil fuels.