Ford Rocks The Indy Auto Show

“It may not be the Motor City, the Windy City, and it’s definitely not the City of Angels, but the Indy Auto Show (aka Circle City) brought 400 of the hottest new vehicles to the iconic Indiana Convention Center.”

Although 2015 was only our second time visiting the Indy Auto Show, a big improvement from last year’s general public and manufacturer/dealer attendance could be noticed immediately. Though this came at no surprise given the recent spike in consumer’s buying power, and the rather prosperous sales figures across the entire automotive industry.

That being said, there was one manufacturer that truly stood out on the showroom floor, and it wasn’t just because of their hot cars, but because of their level of interaction with show-goers, which was quite refreshing.

Ford Motor Company

Had you brought your kids to the Ford booth on the show’s opening day (hopefully you did. After all, we gave away free tickets), they would’ve been greeted by one of the friendly Ford experts, and then handed a super-awesome 2017 Ford Raptor die cast truck. Do you know how many other exhibitors were handing out cool stuff? None. Unless you consider a State Farm tote bag cool.

Just in case you opt to leave the kids at home to enjoy some quality car-time on your own, you’ll most likely not interested in a toy truck, but perhaps something a little more useful…

Take note. From now until January 1st, Ford will give you a $50 MasterCard gift card simply for test-driving one of their models. It doesn’t matter whether you drive a Fiesta, or an F350 dually, you’ll get $50 bucks. It’s that easy. In fact, if you live in Indy, let me know and we can go test drive together.

Perhaps you aren’t interested in free toys, free money, or even cool robots (you should get checked), and you simply want to check out one of the hottest lineups in the business. Well, knock yourself out, because Ford definitely brought their A-game!

Here are the coolest rides that Ford brought to the Circle City:

2017 Ford Focus RS

Seriously, this car is so hot right now that even the most respected journalists can’t wait to get their hands on it, and not to mention the sports car fanatics that are anxiously waiting with deposits in hand.

Made even more popular by superstar driver and self-proclaimed Hoonigan—Ken Block, Ford’s third-generation high-performance hatch, the first-ever RS available in North America, delivers innovation, unmatched driving dynamics and more than 315 horsepower. You can select one of four drive modes – including drift mode, which helps drivers achieve controlled oversteer drifts.

2017 Ford Escape

While it may not be a hot sports car, small SUVs and crossovers are taking over the country (and world), and the Escape is a very important player in Ford’s lineup, and this 2017 year model is looking better than ever.

The Ford Escape is Ford’s bestselling vehicle next to the F-Series, and new for 2017 is the world’s first-ever SYNC Connect system – which allows you to start, lock and even locate their vehicles through a smartphone app, and standard Auto Start-Stop Technology that turns off the engine at routine stops to improve fuel economy. Innovative driver assist technologies such as Enhanced Active Park Assist, Lane-keeping system and the popular hands-free foot-activated lift gate features are also available.

2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty

If you’re looking to get the job done, then look no further than the Ford Super Duty line of trucks. Not only are they the toughest and most capable trucks in the business, but for 2017 they looking incredibly awesome!

The toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever features a military-grade aluminum-alloy body on a high-strength steel frame, making it up to 350 pounds lighter than the outgoing model. Sixteen segment-first features – including in-cab tire pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control and up to seven cameras with 360-degree views – ensure the Super Duty works as hard as you do.

2016 Shelby GT350

Unlike the Focus RS, the Shelby GT350 doesn’t need an introduction. Whether you’re a car lover or not, the moment you spot one of these from afar, there is only one reaction—oh my…

Since debuting in 1965, the Shelby GT350 has become one of the most iconic performance Mustang nameplates of all time. Now it’s back, and it features the most powerful naturally aspirated Ford production engine ever – a 5.2-liter V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft – a configuration typically found only in European sports cars. All design considerations were functional-driven with the goal of improving performance, making the Shelby GT350 the ultimate track car on weekends – and completely street legal Monday to Friday.

If you’re looking for big muscle without breaking the bank, then you oughta look at one of these.