By Jim Meachen
MotorwayAmerica.com

With the approaching high-mileage regulations we may eventually see the end of affordable muscle cars, those rumbling V-8 ground pounders that get the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing. 

But that’s in the future. For the time being we are very happy to say the true unadulterated muscle lives on at the Detroit Big Three.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Being a segment leader for a year is a noteworthy achievement and shows an automaker’s ability to provide a product that people desire. Being a segment sales leader for decades is quite another thing, demonstrating that an automaker is savvy enough to indefinitely stay ahead of the competition.

So it is with Ford and its F-Series pickup.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The Ford Explorer is the archetype of the modern mid-sized sport utility vehicle. The truck-based body-on-frame Explorer was an instant hit in 1991 replacing the smaller Ford Bronco II truck, and it became the industry standard for the booming SUV market during the last decade of the 20th Century. Like the Chrysler minivans in the ’80s, it was the pattern from which dozens of rival models were designed.

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Ford was the sport utility champ through the ’90s and into the 21st Century, led by the trailblazing truck-based Explorer. But by mid-decade the once-popular body-on-frame SUVs had lost favor to the lighter and more fuel-efficient car-based sport utilities, which have become known to the auto-buying public as crossovers.

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The 2011 Ford Fiesta was born in Europe and carries all the best and some of the worst traits of B-segment European cars.

The cause for celebration, the good stuff far outweighs the minor annoyances in this nifty little car, which has been sold in Europe for decades and is in its sixth generation.

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The pony car has always been among our favorites especially since it was reworked for 2005. It was restyled and updated once again for 2010 with a high-quality interior and a number of new features. And now for 2011 Ford has turned the heat up a notch with new powertrains.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Edge made its initial debut as a 2007 model and has become the best seller among its segment of 27 competitive crossovers with more than 400,000 sales to date. And the number one reason for purchase is styling.

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

It’s been a quarter century since Ford rolled out its first Taurus at a super party on the back lot of 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles that was also a swansong for departing Ford chairman Phil Caldwell. Twelve-hundred people celebrated and lauded a jellybean-shaped mid-sized sedan designed to do combat with the growing ranks of Japanese and European competition.

Taurus was a hit, praised by critics and embraced by the car-buying public, eventually becoming the bestselling car in America.