Barack Obama stepping into a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 at the Washington Auto Show on Tuesday. (Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

Funny how President Obama has suddenly become a car guy. First, he bragged about saving America’s auto industry in the State of the Union speech. Now’s he hanging out at the Washington Auto Show.

The president, escorted by execs from Ford, Dodge and General Motors, checked out 15 electric and hybrid models Tuesday, climbing in and inspecting the interiors. “The U.S. auto industry is back,” said Obama, who took a shot at “some folks who were willing to let this industry die.” (Itt-may Omney-ray?)

From Fox News

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Talk about a markup.
A prototype of the 200 mph 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale this past weekend for $300,000.

Used to develop the upcoming muscle car’s 650 hp supercharged 5.8-liter V8, the mule was originally built in 2007 and modified with the new motor to put it through a full slate of endurance testing, including a 24-hour run at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

Designed in-house by Ford’s SVT performance division, the automaker consulted on the car with racing legend Carroll Shelby, who reportedly took it out for a few laps of his own.

Sold in as-is condition, including some of the vinyl camouflage cladding worn on its redesigned rear bumper to thwart spy photographers, the GT500 is unfortunately not street-legal, so it’ll have to live out its years on the track or in a garage.

The 2013 GT500 goes on sale later this year with an electronically adjustable suspension to go with its new engine, purportedly the most powerful production V8 in the world. Pricing has not been announced, and the car it replaces lists for $50,000, but that doesn’t mean the bidder overpaid for the prototype.

All proceeds from the sale were donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

NICB Releases Supplement to Annual Hot Wheels Report

The Ford Mustang has long been a fixture in pop culture, inspiring songs (“Mustang Sally”) and serving as a focal point in movies. Does anyone else remember the pristine 1967 Shelby Mustang GT-500 in “Gone in 60 Seconds”?

It should come as no surprise, then, that the iconic ride is stealing the spotlight once again. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) chose the Ford Mustang to kick off its Classics supplemen

t to Hot Wheels, the non-profit organization’s annual roundup of the ten most stolen cars in the U.S.

Click here to see which cars made NICB's most stolen list.

Whereas Hot Wheels takes into account data concerning all vehicle makes and models, the debut report specifically traces the theft of 411,155 Mustangs between 1981 and 2011.

In compiling the report, the NICB reviewed Mustang theft data from 1964 to 2011, identifying a total of 611,093 incidents. Records dating before 1981 were not deemed credible, because of “the inconsistency in reporting protocols and vehicle identification number (VIN) systems in use prior to 1981,” the NICB added. The most thefts occurred in 1981 (20,708) and the fewest in 2011 (4,347).

These latest findings seem to echo that of Hot Wheels, as past iterations have repeatedly shown that car thieves tend to favor older automobiles to newer, flashier counterparts. In 2010, for example, the 1994 Honda Accord was the most targeted for theft.

The graph to the right shows the top 10 most stolen Mustang model years for the period from 2001 to 2011. The NICB has been involved in the identification and recovery of stolen vehicles since 1912 and collaborates with law enforcement agencies all over the U.S. to assist with major auto theft investigations. The complete theft data can be accessed here.

by Ron Ford @ CarDealExpert.com

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has closed its investigation into 29,807 2011-2012 standard transmission Ford Mustangs. The probe looked into complaints of shifting issues. The federal safety regulators concluded that a recall was not in order.

Complaints of rough shifting
According to the NHTSA, the investigation began in August in response to 364 separate complaints of faulty or rough shifting in new Mustangs.

Inside Line reports that Ford conducted its own investigation. That probe identified several possible ways that shifting troubles could have occurred. Those included cold transmission fluid, clutch stay-out at high engine speeds, gear grinding and clutch plate bolts loosening over time.

Automaker blames drivers
Ford told the federal safety regulators that the issue has caused no accidents. The Dearborn automaker chalked the problems up to the driver’s own “shifting behavior,” saying the complaints stemmed from the customer’s “unfamiliarity with the performance-style shifter.”

The automaker went on to say that much of the complaints could have been solved by letting the engine run for five minutes, allowing the transmission fluid to warm up, before driving. Once the Mustangs warmed up on the road, the issues disappeared.

Ford admitted to cold-start issues with the the car’s Chinese-built Getrag MT82 six-speed engine. The automaker issued a bulletin to service technicians recommending a lower viscosity transmission fluid to improve the cold shift issue.

NHTSA conclusions
The NHTSA found that only five of the complaints had to do with loosening clutch plate bolts. And none of those incidents prevented the vehicle from starting or shifting. Ford says it has overhauled the bolts to eliminate the problem and has issued a service tech bulletin.
The NHTSA said in its final report:

“There is no indication of loss of motive power or unreasonable safety risk associated with the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. This preliminary evaluation is closed.”

Since its victorious introduction at the NHRA Winternationals in 1968, Ford’s Cobra Jet Mustang has created a legacy of power, performance and triumph. That legacy was renewed in 2008 when Ford Racing offered a limited run of the 40th Anniversary Cobra Jet Mustang that quickly sold out. Subsequent 2010 and 2012 model year offerings of the Cobra Jet have proved just as popular.

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