Daily News: Wednesday 1/10/18

Ford Introduces Edge ST: The Birth of the Mainstream Performance SUV?

We knew it was going to happen; it was only a matter of time. Traditional sedan and coupe sales have plummeted in the US market, to be replaced with CUV, SUV, and truck sales. As these vehicles continue to take the place of the traditional car, it only makes sense to transfer the ‘sporty car’ equation to the larger vehicle market.

Enter the Ford Edge ST.

Essentially a fettled Edge Sport, with extra ST badging throughout, the Edge ST is set to be released for the 2019 model year. The new ST vehicle is powered by a re-worked 2.7L EcoBoost V6, familiar to the Edge Sport, which makes 335hp and 380lb-ft of torque, an increase of about 20hp over the normal power application of the 2.7L engine.

This power–the most of any ST product from Ford–is sent to all four wheels, all the time, through a new 8-speed automatic transmission with stop/start. This transmission was developed in-house by Ford, and features fully manual mode utilizing the shifting paddles.

Various go-fast bits such as wheels, tires, brakes and the like will be available for option at purchase. Also available will be various luxury options, including the soccer team friendly 10-device capable Wi-Fi Hotspot, giving the Edge ST a sort of ‘jack of all trades, master of none’-vibe.

As the owner of a Fiesta ST it is hard for me to accept this as an ST product. It is automatic, not a car or hatchback, and far too tall: not the normal ST recipe. While I may be proved wrong about the Edge ST, I am not going to hold my breath.

Why couldn’t they just label it a ‘Sport +’ model or something?

Waze Comes to Ford Vehicles Equipped with Sync 3

Ford has used CES to announce a wave of upgrades for its Sync 3 system, primarily by bringing various phone applications to the screen through their SYNC AppLink integration service. Among these apps are Waze, Amazon’s Alexa, and iHeartRadio, to name a few.

The most exciting addition to many Ford Sync 3 owners will be the addition of the community-based traffic and navigation app Waze to the screen. Many city-dwellers will know that the optimal route between two points may change every few minutes. With Waze, drivers can find this optimal route based off user reports.

Some Sync 3 vehicles will need updated USB ports to enable the services, however most vehicles will simply require a software update. Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with Sync 3.0 will be able to use the features in the coming weeks.

Turkmenistan Is Reportedly Banning Black Cars Because…..Because?

Drivers in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat have had an interesting new law passed for 2018: black cars are no longer allowed on the roads. The president of Turkmenistan, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (you bet I copy/pasted that), had already banned the importation of black cars to the country in 2015, yet now some drivers in the capital city are waking up to their black car gone and in the impound lot.

To secure the release of their car, they have to sign a declaration promising to re-spray their car. White is reportedly the preferred color as it brings good luck to the country.

Right…

Auto shops have reportedly taken full-advantage of the situation, jacking prices of a re-spray to more than twice the average monthly salary, which is about $500/month.

Green is alright though, as evidenced by this little jaunt from President Berdymukhamedov in the totally appropriate bright-green Bugatti Veyron.