Ford Motor to show limited-edition vehicles

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. on Friday took the wraps off some limited-edition vehicles the automaker hopes will make a splash at the New York International Auto Show this week.

Ford unveiled the Shelby GT500KR Mustang, F-150 Foose Edition pickup and Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition large sport utility vehicle at a "sneak peak" for journalists at the automaker's Product Development Center near Detroit. All are 2008 models, with the F-150 and Expedition arriving at dealerships this fall and the Shelby expected to be available in spring 2008.

The Expedition was developed with hip-hop personality and specialty car builder Funkmaster Flex. Ford worked on the F-150 with hot rod designer Chip Foose.

The Shelby GT500KR, a high-performance Mustang, was developed with Shelby Automobiles Inc. and its founder Carroll Shelby — 40 years after the original Shelby "King of the Road" debuted at the 1967 New York auto show.

Each souped-up model will carry what Ford calls a premium price, but executives said prices won't be announced until the vehicles are closer to arriving at dealer showrooms. Ford will make 1,000 of the Shelbys, but hasn't decided on numbers for the custom versions of the Expedition or F-150.

While the vehicles target niche markets, they represent a growing segment of Ford's business: The automaker said its customization business grew by 50 percent in 2006 and could double in the next two years. The growth, it said, is driven by factory-customized products and a focus on wheels, appearance packages and electronics.

Barry Engle, Ford's general manager of marketing, said consumers can buy "just about anything" on eBay, giving rise to a "make-it-mine" mentality among buyers.

"We reached out to folks like Carroll, Chip and Flex — people that really get it, even better than we do," he said.