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That's what I keep telling my uncle about WWE, but he just doesn't listen. ?

Ordered my Nautilus Reserve with Tech and Driver Assist packages late last August. Finally arrived at dealer yesterday (Jan 5). I think I will have to name it Java as it has the Iced Mocha paint job with Coffee/Cappuccino interior.

A big part of it is managers who only think short term (and probably how their incentives are structured). But it's easy for the F150 program to get the additional resources and avoid cost cutting because it's the top dog cash cow. The only way to avoid that problem is for Hackett to dictate that other vehicles like Ranger/Bronco, full and mid sized utes, etc. get the same treatment and that they are off limits for extended refreshes and decontenting. And change the incentive programs accordingly.

I think the design follows the Fiesta more than the Focus.

Lincoln December sales last year were also down significantly last year from the previous year, so some bounceback was expected: _________________2016_______2017_______2018 MKZ......................2,650...........2,293............1,874 MKS.......................215................0....................0 Continental...........1,845...........1,216............1,170 MKC......................2,795...........2,504............2,774 MKX/Nautilus.......3,527...........2,976............3,364 MKT........................649.............186................271 Navigator...............1,110..........1,444............2,073 Total......................12,791........10,619.........11,526 Total % (+/-)..........+17.8%.........-17%...........+8.5% I don't get how they can't look at F-series, see the success there with a constantly upgraded/evolving product, and not translate that to the rest of the lineup. I get there are varying degrees of profitability and resources that can go into different products/projects, but it just seems like there's a disconnect there that nobody has seemed to figure out.

No different than your cell phone today.

You do realize this is the PIU and not the regular explorer? For reference: Lets not forget this abombdation Current:

Took a look at a Ranger today. You can do it without removing the tire. Turn the wheel all the way to the right, remove two push pins on the rubber shield, fold it up and you have full access to the filter. Push pins are the type with a philips head were you can screw the center out to remove. Has a nice drain tray to route the filter oil just behind the sway bar. Looks like it will be cleaner and easier to do than my Ecoboost F-150

Decker, Four Roses is in the same county where i live. On Friday nights after work I pass by there on the way down to my farm for the weekend. Each time I passed I slowed down, tooted the horn and waved. Same thing on the return trip. Hopefully since I was driving a F150 they gathered I was a union worker. Jim Beam Distillery is only a few miles on down the road and is where my late father was their Union President for many years. Many, many years back he was instrumental in negotiating a pension shortly before my grandfather retired. Years later my father was all set to retire on his 62nd birthday and passed away from a heart attach two months before his birthday in '94.

Remember too that even though our labor cost for a vehicle is less than 10% they don't need to look elsewhere for a place to cut cost, IT HAS TO COME FROM THAT DAMN UNION WAGE. Hell, even Social Security gave recipients a 2.8% cost of living raise for 2019 yet Ford retirees haven't had a raise in forever and active legacy employees haven't had a raise to their pension "Life Income Benefit" for about 10-15 years. And don't forget the International got a 31% raise. Remember, they can only screw you if you vote for it.

Ford F-Series Marks 42 Straight Years as America’s Best-Selling Pickup, Topping 900,000 Sold in 2018; Ford Hits Nine Straight Years as America’s Best-Selling Brand....... But we lost a billion dollars on those darn alllluminumm trucksters and we can`t even give away Explorers.... so the IUAW needs our help to help the poor souls in Dearborn out of their terrible losing streak.

Territory was cancelled for South America

I have Michelin Defender LTX M/Ses on my truck ('13 F-150). They're the same as the tires that came on it from the factory, so I can't comment on the difference in noise from other tires, but I don't recall the noise from the new tires changing much from the old ones, which were reasonably quiet. ETA: I normally don't replace tires with the same make and model, but I did with these. That should tell you that I've been happy with them.

Because there is a huge difference in margins on the product. When the F-150 can be considered the best selling luxury vehicle on the planet going by pricing and I'll assume a good margin on it, its alot harder to translate that to say the Escape that has 5-6 other competadors that have currency/overhead advanatges that it doesn't have. It doesn't help the leadership fucked up things 4-5 years ago too.

That's a tough one. I would probably just expect the mileage penalty and noise to go up. You may want to pick the quietest one of those 4. It sounds like you need the performance though for safety.

Those two definitely filled up the cabs well.,

I don't blame you, I've never been a huge fan of Continental tires. My Focus has them, and I wasnt terribly impressed. I thought they might be different from the last time I had them 10 years ago but it seemed to be more of the same to me. I personally would go with the Michelins. I don't like Goodyear tires at all and BF Goodrich make good truck tires and their radial T/As are kickass for old cars but anything else to me is very hit and miss. Can't comment on Yokohama, I have no experience with them.

The good news is, there will be plenty of front suspension subframes for F-100 front suspension conversion projects....

Keep dreaming. The union thugs have first crack at them during orientation and when they make it to the floor they’re already scared shitless.

Profitability has a lot to do with the price of the sale. Because Ford is using a moderately high volume "in house" engine and transmission their potential for profit, or undercut pricing, should give them a big advantage over the competition.

I get what your saying, but you have to look at this way-Ford is planning on selling less Escapes at a higher MSRP plus adding the Maverick (which will be roughly the same size) at a even higher MSRP also, dividing up the segment they compete in even more. I'm assuming Ford is planning that the Maverick will take Escape sales due to styling or perceved/needs wants of its buyers or people wanting a cheaper Bronco when they come in see the fullsize model. After seeing what the Escape is most likely going to offer, the Maverick isn't going to be a replacment for the Ecosport, its going to be additional model to the C segment that appeals to a different customer. As for cheapening up of th Escape-I think that boils down to its roots (being a European model) and being too ambitishous with selling higher end models. I think the thinking (later bore out in sales as time went on) is that base price of the Escape (say bare minium price of what it costs to make the cheapest model) was too high vs what the actual selling price was...thus why you saw the cheapening up of the last year of this model. Hopefully with the next gen they have that fixed without making it look/feel too cheap.

I still feel like Ford is backwards in their thinking... How about aiming to sell MORE cars for MORE money each? That seems like a much more ambitious and worthy goal than "We'll just make less and charge more". At some point, you need to chase new customers. Not rely on repeat buyers forever. (An unsustainable strategy when you start cutting costs and cheapening your vehicles)

Autoworkers are in dire need of Union reform, the current UAW international and local is outdated corrupted and just isn't working as intended. Time to explore other unionizing options or create a new one cause this one is broken and there's no fixing it without killing it first.

Its too bad Ford doesn’t offer traffic sign recognition in the US. https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/201860-ford-intelligent-speed-limiter-reads-signs-sets-cruise-control-but-only-5-mph-over

Or Ford could've not cheaped the hell out and spent the five bucks to install one at the factory, which would've avoided the whole thing.

Since they don't change their own oil why should they care if it's hard or easy for you bob? All i hear is excuses for poor engineering

It was nice day today so I cleaned out garage so I could re-position the truck and be able to open the back door of the garage without hitting the truck. Couldn't resist taking a few more photos. I'm really starting to like the way this thing looks.

At altitude, naturally aspirated engines lose a lot more horsepower than turbo engines and by the time vehicles reach the top of the run they lose something like 33% of their power. I was just reading this in an old review they did on the 2015 Escalade.

What makes the Escape one of the oddest designs in the segment is the horizon line across the front which flattens and lowers the fascia. Placing the grille below that horizon line and well below the headlights is a strange decision for a utility design. I do think some of this is related to improving efficiency through better aerodynamics. What makes the Focus fascia work better is the notched headlights and the hood bulge meeting with the shape of the grille. The Escape doesn't pickup the same surfacing details of the Focus, but there is some details hidden by the vinyl wrap. I mentioned it looked like a cross between Focus and Explorer, and you can even see those Explorer-like ground effects. I should clarify my earlier statements about the Escape. It's largely retaining the same exterior dimensions (like Focus), but the wheelbase has been lengthened with improved interior packaging and spaciousness.

You all need to do something about those paper ballots. At LAP & KTP we have voting machines. If you think back you'll recall that we are usually one of the first plants to vote. That way they know how many extra ballots they need to stuff in the box. On the last contract we voted it down but then other plants passed it. You should bring this to the floor in your next union meeting and get voting machines before the contract. After everything that has recently come out about the union you need to take steps to ensure your vote tally is legit.

I know the IUAW is real busy and all but, the IUAW could pick up on this idea of no two tier thingy... from right down there in bourbon heaven. (it`s lengthy put a good read of how to win) Workers at the Four Roses bourbon distillery and bottling plant chose their moment well. Just as their industry was preparing to welcome thousands of visitors for September’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival, they walked out on strike—in defense of workers they hadn’t even met yet. “This is a family company,” said Matt Stone, a leader in Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 10D. “Grandfathers, fathers, sons all work here for generations, and my family may be working here one day. We want to take care of the next guy.” With few resources at their disposal, these 50 workers in rural Kentucky stared down the Japanese conglomerate Kirin Brewery, which owns Four Roses, and won. ‘TAKE CARE OF THE NEXT GUY’ The dispute was over a two-tier contract proposal that would have given worse benefits to new hires. One fact Four Roses hadn’t counted on was that many of its employees had friends who worked at the nearby Jim Beam distillery. Two years ago, Jim Beam workers struck over a similar issue and forced their employer to back off. The Four Roses workers, represented by UFCW Locals 10D and 23D and the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers (SEIU), spent nearly two weeks walking the picket lines near the distillery in Lawrenceburg and outside the bottling and warehouse facility in Coxs Creek. When they returned to the bargaining table with the assistance of a federal mediator, within hours they had a tentative agreement—and in the words of Local 10D President Jeff Royalty, “There is no two-tier in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky!” BOURBON BOOM Precisely what caused the company to back down remains somewhat of a mystery, even to the workers involved. What is clear is that their public campaign—direct outreach to would-be customers, support from the local community, solidarity from other unions, and outreach to the media—helped turn the tide. The workers also had a strategic analysis of their situation. A global boom in the bourbon industry gave them leverage. After all, bourbon-making is a long process. Since the raw product must age in barrels for years before it can be sold, any production time lost would affect revenue years down the road. Further, the industry’s record profits completely undermined any justification for concessions. Workers knew Kirin could afford to do better. Finally, the strikers had the support of the largely union workforce doing construction on the property. The day the strike began, the construction workers packed up their tools and left, refusing to work during the strike. DID IT THEMSELVES The Four Roses strike was organized, managed, and staffed almost exclusively by rank-and-file members, not officers or staff. Workers made their own signs, handled all media interviews, and organized picket line shifts. “You’ve gotta do what you gotta do,” said Jeff Scott, a boiler operator at the distillery. “You can’t wait for other people to step up. We probably put in more hours working the picket line than we would’ve if we’d been working.” The workers organized parking near the distillery for picketers, secured outdoor bathroom facilities, and maintained a round-the-clock presence at both plants to monitor for any signs of the company bringing in replacement workers. As it turned out, the company never did bring in replacements. But rumors that they were gearing up for it added a sense of urgency to the workers’ actions. FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT Conveniently for the strikers, the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival gave workers what Scott called “our best chance to put public pressure on the company.” Workers and supporters descended on the event to leaflet festival-goers. “I think it was a black eye for the company,” Scott said. Those on the picket line also talked constantly to tourists who were hoping to visit Four Roses. Time and again, the visitors turned around. One retired union railroader from Missouri told the workers he wouldn’t cross the picket line for anything. Tours—and the gift shop revenue they generate—are among Four Roses’s biggest moneymakers. Attendance dropped significantly during the two-week strike. Late in week two, workers drove to Louisville to leaflet in front of a restaurant where Four Roses was co-hosting a special event. The Fairness Campaign, a local LGBTQ rights organization, happened to have an office next door, which it lent as a base of operations—offering its bathrooms and copy machine. NO BACKING DOWN Two-tier contracts are bad for solidarity. They spark resentment and erode a union’s position among newer workers, especially in a “right-to-work” state like Kentucky, where union membership is voluntary. “Why should I support the union,” new workers may ask, “if the union sold me out before I even showed up?” To get two-tier contracts past current members, employers count on short-term self-interest. Four Roses, which was offering unusually large signing bonuses, claimed implausibly that the new system would be better for current workers and provide more flexibility and choice to new workers Wonder if the IUAW sent any support for this type of solidarity? Wonder if our resident activist got the local membership to pay for a bus tour to Kentucky? Wait wasn`t it the local activist that got on the local news to announce the tiers were gone at Lear? Guess he just was in the wrong state at the wrong time referring to the wrong company. Makes me want to pick up some of that Kentucky sippin corn

Don't laugh, this is the going to be the joint statement from Union and company right around July shutdown

Am I the only one who thinks Race Red has an orange tint in certain lighting and angles? Wife thinks I'm crazy but I've heard others say the same thing. One day I see it and think that looks good and the next day I think no that looks too orange. I decided to go Magnetic and couldn't be happier so I dodged the issue!

From the angles of those picts, it looks more like a wagon than an SUV.