TOP AUTO NEWSUse these simple car-buying tips to get a good deal | 1:17

There is a good time to buy a car so that you save the most money, according to car experts. Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more. Buzz60

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Auto stocks are being held back by concerns about a "lease tsunami" -- as a glut of cars come off leases in 2019 and 2020. Detroit Free Press

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The future of automobile technology keeps getting brighter, but headlights remain dim. USA TODAY

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Alphabet's self-driving car unit, Waymo, could be worth $70 billion. Thats more than Ford, GM, and Tesla. Time

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Ford Motors is expected to give current CEO Mark Fields the boot and promote Jim Hackett. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland). Buzz60

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Ford has named Jim Hackett as its next CEO, replacing longtime Ford star executive Mark Fields, according to media reports. Elissa Robinson/ DFP

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Ford said Friday it is investing $350 million in its Livonia Transmission Plant to expand its lineup of transmissions and will add 800 new jobs at the plant. The investment will support the production of a new transmission for front-wheel-drive vehicles. Wochit

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A vending machine that dispenses luxury cars to well-heeled buyers is the latest space-saving innovation in land-starved Singapore -- just don't try to shake it if it gets stuck. Video provided by AFP Newslook

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Ford told its employees this morning that it plans to cut 10% of its salaried workforce worldwide, or about 1,400 employees as the automaker prepares to enter a period of declining U.S. industry sales. Wochit

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Use these simple car-buying tips to get a good deal

Auto stocks face future trouble from end of leases

As car technology improves, headlights don't

Alphabet's Waymo could be worth billions

Ford CEO Mark Fields is being ousted

Jim Hackett named Ford's next CEO

Ford to invest $350 million, hire 800 at Livonia plant

Singapore car 'vending machine' dispenses with tradition

Ford to cut 1,400 salaried jobs in North America, Asia

Ford is releasing a a limited edition 2018 Focus RS.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

Hot hatch enthusiasts have something new to ogle.

Ford plans to release a limited-edition 2018 version of its powerful Ford Focus RS later this year in the U.S. and Canada. Orders will be taken starting this summer.

Pricing has not yet been released for the 1,500 cars, which Ford says celebrate"the end of run of this generation hot hatch."

The company credited the enthusiast community with providingthe feedback online that led to the car's creation and the inclusion of frequently requested features. Key additions include a limited-slip differential,which can lessen the differencein front wheel spin when one wheel has less traction than the other, new color combinations and styling features.

Read more:

The 'superpower' of Jim Hackett, Ford's new CEO

Hatchbacks stage comeback as other cars slump

We have spent a great deal of time listening to our customers, speaking to ownersclub members, reading comments and suggestions on enthusiast websites, and even studying various forum Photoshop renderings, Henry Ford III, Ford Performance marketing manager, said in a news release. Ford is a great-great-grandson of Henry Ford.

Jamal Hameedi, Ford Performance chief engineer, said in the release thatengineers "have delivered a drivetrain capable of wringing every drop of performance from the engine.

Ford is releasing a a limited edition 2018 Focus RS.(Photo: Ford Motor Company)

The car, made inSaarlouis, Germany,will be available in Race Red or signature Nitrous Blue colors with gloss black roof,mirror caps and rear roof spoiler (which will also have the blue RS logo on the side wings). The car will also have standard 19-inch premium painted forged alloy wheels with blue RS center caps, the release said.

Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan noted in a recent story on the popularity of the hatchback that the "outrageously powerful Focus RS offers all-wheel-drive and (a) 350-hp engine for prices starting at $36,120. It competes with hot hatches from around the world like the $35,655 VW Golf R and Subaru WRX STI."

Inside, the door handles, handbrake lever and turbo boost gauge surround will be "wrapped in carbon fiber skin" on the limited edition. Equipment from the RS2 package is also standard,including "black leather-trimmed Recaroseats with Miko-Dinamica eco-friendly suede microfiber inserts and RS logo, heated front seats with eight-way power drivers seat, heated steering wheel, heated exterior mirrors and voice-activated navigation system."

Other features include all-wheel drive and "launch control for ultimate performance off the start line and 4.7-second 062 m.p.h. acceleration."

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.

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Ford touts limited-edition Focus hot hatch - Detroit Free Press

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