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Here's my no turbo lag Limited "custom sport truck" before I drove it off the lot:

FTFY

Here's a couple more photos I found. The red F150 Lariat 5.4L in the background was purchased new in 1998 and I just sold it last month... so we had it for 22 years!!! I just left it in its normal spot in my driveway with a for sale sign on the dash and sold it in three days... and I'm not even on a busy street in my plan! It only went back to the dealer for yearly state inspections, I do my own maintenance and the only repairs I had to make over 22 years were: fixed one blown spark plug (number 3); replaced both exhaust manifolds using revised stainless steel studs/nuts; installed stainless steel brake line kit; replaced starter; replaced A/C clutch and serpentine belt; replaced both power window motors; repaired hvac blend door; replaced shocks once; replaced front pads and rotors several times (never had to replace the rear shoes); replaced battery twice. Can't remember how many sets of tires I went through. The exhaust system was original but the muffler finally had a hole in it, but sold as is.

Now what Ford needs to do is replace the Chiraq plant itself and move production somewhere else.

Actually, I can't remember ever test driving a vehicle before buying and I/we have never been disappointed... except for maybe how boring the two Honda's were. Most of our Ford vehicles have been retail orders, except two were located and one was an end of year deal off the lot purchase.

I am glad that it’s pushrod though. I think GM and Chrysler have proven that pushrod V8s are fantastic engines and the packaging advantages are huge. mxplayer

I'm always amazed when I hear of people that bought vehicles that they never drove. You're lucky that you were happy with your decision! I've seen too many examples, including my own sister that bought a new Subaru because her husband was a fan and she absolutely hated the vehicle but was stuck with it.

GM's Ultium battery ain't no joke.

I don’t think this is surprising at all. There are some the deny there is any issues with the Chicago vehicles but ever since introduction they have been a disaster. I don’t know what Ford did differently with this very important vehicle launch but suffice to say they need to never do it again. The true test will be when they launch some of the upcoming vehicles if they experience the same level of quality issues. I’m very cautiously optimistic. Im surprised to see the Escape being as problematic as it is. I haven’t heard of many issues but then perhaps the Explorer is stealing some of that spotlight (and not in a positive way).

According to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlândia ), the Deuce sold Fordlandia back to the Brazilian gov't in '45, so probably not.

I stopped at the QT near my office on the way back from lunch the other day. I'm glad I wasn't there for gas, because all 20 of the pumps were occupied by an Amazon van (mostly white Budget/etc rentals, not the blue Amazon delivery vans). Those things are going to be parked for 10 or so hours overnight every night, and I'd bet that few of them would exceed the 125 mi/day range (plus, they might be able to exceed that if they go into a low-power mode while the driver is dropping off packages), so it seems like a no-brainer for them.

Yep, there's a Ford oval in the center caps. Pictures don't do the wheels justice... they look awesome in person!

The CR reliability survey provides information about the relative likelihood of a particular car or light truck model to have problems compared to the average for all vehicles surveyed. Here is what CR said in their FAQ. I am one of those "lucky" car/truck owners. 2019 Ford Ranger is rated "much worse than average" in the latest CR reliability survey, but my family's own 2019 Ranger has been mostly trouble free. Only real issue with it has been a rough shifting automatic transmission, and I expected that from a Ford designed tranny. I also have a 2018 Tesla Model S. It is rated only "average" in the CR reliability survey (2019 and 2020 Model S are "much worse than average" though), but mine hasn't had any problems since I bought it as a used car. However the probability that a Ford Ranger owner or a Tesla Model S owner chosen at random will report problems with their vehicles is much higher than that of a Mazda MX-5 Miata owner or Toyota Prius owner chosen at random. That's what's makes the CR reliability survey data so useful, especially to consumers who put a high priority on reliability for their cars. But to some consumers, reliability isn't the highest priority when choosing a particular car or truck model. For me, brand loyalty to Ford Motor Company and preference for U.S. domestic automakers in general is more important than reliability. That's why most of the 20+ cars and trucks I've owned over the years have been Ford, Mercury, or Lincoln models, plus a few Jaguars and a Tesla.

I would hope the 2021 Explorer is much better than the launch year. The 2021 Explorers I have seen seem to have goog fit and finish. And I would hope there have been enough tweaks at CAP to make the 2021 model much better than the first year model. As for the 2020 Escape, I have had no problems other than back up camera. Got recall notice in mail today. Parts not ready until end of December though. Not a big deal. Still getting better mileage than adverised.....about 49.5 mpg combined. I'm surprised the Corsair doesn't have good reliability ratings coming from same plant and same platform. Go figure, but then I have never trusted CR ratings. The RAV 4 has had big issues with faulty fuel tanks and suspension issues and doesn't hurt Toyota quality ratings. And CRV engines have been nightmares for many.

Tesla is far ahead of the incumbent automakers with BEV currently. But it looks like GM has learned from the mistakes of its past electric vehicle efforts. This time, they are playing to win in an automotive industry that will be 100% electric vehicles, 100% autonomous vehicles. As Harley Lover said, GM is putting their money where there mouth is. I wouldn't count them out.

Beautiful truck CoolScoop sir! The combination of 2014 model year (final year for 12th generation with steel bed), Limited trim, Blue Jeans exterior paint, blue leather interior, and no noticeable turbo lag makes it truly special. Plus the fact that you ordered it makes it truly your own. Thanks again for sharing photos, I wish you many more happy miles of driving in your F-150!

Gasoline direct injection sounds like a great idea on paper - allows much higher compression ratios, precise control of combustion, etc. But the more I see of them in real life practice, the more I'm not liking the technology. Between the ticking racket, warranty issues, and up-front cost and long-term maintenance cost of having a high-pressure fuel system, it just seems like good old port injection is how it should be for gasoline engines. If port injection isn't meeting power/torque goals, increase displacement..... That's in my perfect world where emissions and fuel efficiency take a back seat to everything else, anyways.

TT- Assuming that dapper dude is you! Do you remember if you were a direct dealer served by Mobil or a Mobil distributor?

^^^^ I'm sure glad we got the Aviator with a 2 rating... looks like it's twice as reliable as the Explorers with a 1 rating, lol. We have three 2020 Ford products in my family, so going by these CR ratings we should all be looking for lemon law lawyers. My sisters Explorer XLT is an August '19 build, our Aviator GT is a December '19 build, and my daughters 2.0L Escape Titanium is a June '20 build. Knock on wood, but all three have been problem/defect free and we're all extremely happy with them. Seriously, we've had a bunch of satisfying Fords over the years and the only one we didn't like was the Contour we inherited from my wife's parents... and all of them have been reliable. But if we had listened to all those CR magazines we used to get in the mail, we would have been driving boring Toyota's and Honda's. And yes, we did have two Honda's because of those CR ratings... that's why I say boring. I agree that the Explorer/Aviator launch was a fiasco that shouldn't have happened and early build Escapes had some issues, but non of us regret our purchases and we wouldn't hesitate buying them again dispite the CR ratings. And it's not just CR car ratings that are misleading, their other ratings for things like TVs and appliances are also suspect at best. IMHO they should modify their logo to CONsumer Reports!

I love my '14 Blue Jeans Limited with blue full grain leather seating surfaces front and back! It was one of the last steel bodies built and I've had several people over the years compliment me on the custom build... then they're suprised when I tell them it's all stock. With its 3.5L, 22 inch wheels and sport tuned shocks it's an absolute blast to drive on the windy mountain roads in WV, and mine has the 3.55s instead of the 3.73s. I've driven several aluminum body F150s of various flavors, but I still like mine better... yes it's a keeper!

I hope this interior update and the Edge interior update translate into some more overtime here at OAC. Right now we’re building roughly 950-1000 Edge/Nautilus a day so we shall see. Maybe because we will be down for a month over Xmas holidays into January before we start these 21 models.

Bronco Sport Badlands in Area 51 is stunning.

Half of them are on the Bronco forum.......

5 minutes with a tune is easier then any bolt ons I've ever did....

Found this picture of our first storm chasing vehicle, a Ford Explorer from the 1990's. Amazing how much the new Bronco Sport looks like a smaller version of the old Explorer.

Mariner

That new front bumper design is sweet