Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/24/2021 in all areas

  1. I called Ford Marketing today and they were nice enough to send me a picture of my truck.
    6 points
  2. Yes, I think we all know this to be true and thanks to people like you, we learned this quite early some 3 1/2 years ago. Sadly a lot of the enthusiast public continue to miss this and keep mentioning it "moving to an Explorer platform". Twin Turbo is aware of the cancelled CD6 car as a leading Mustang contributor and enthusiast out of GB, even pre-S550. That being said, it's always very special to hear from those of you out of UK and Australia, two very powerful Anglophone Mustang markets that are not as fickle as Continental Europe (excl GER) in terms of using your purchasing power to keep the pony/muscle car and V8 alive (especially Australia). I think Dearborn PDC, have an edict to withhold publication of any imagery or visual access for S650. I don't even see the next Super Duty either, which says a lot doesn't it? I knew about P708 back in 2018 and 3 years later, it has yet to be seen. Hiding in plain sight seems like a convenient excuse, as they're still somewhat noticeable anyway compared to your stock S550. I have seen mules that only had a manufacturer's plate and no other visible alterations, falling upon the gaze of spy photographers, let alone the more S650 mules in S550 shells somehow missing photogs, both amateurs and professionals. Ford has gone out of their way, to hide these vehicles unlike the past. Rather mysterious. What worries me more, is I don't hear much about it anymore being adjacent to the inside. Just regurgitated info or bluff & BS hearsay. I hope it is not 2024MY now, as 2022 S550 begins production quite late on January 3, 2022 and 2023 S650 was Job 1 originally May 30th or early June 2022, back in early 2020 pre-pandemic. Pardon me, but when in terms of "last time" and "updated"? That didn't exactly happen with S550 to my recollection. In fact, we (anyone curious) got very lucky, despite Ford falling behind a bit with S550 in the first half of 2012. By falling behind, they allegedly had a final exterior design direction set in January 2012, but for some reason leadership refused to go directly to locking it in with engineering. It somehow lacked "punch" according to J Mays, even as Theme A. Design instead made further styling changes to "fix it" until the summer of 2012, when it became 100% definitive and then Design released it to engineering to carefully freeze. JANUARY 2012 FINAL DESIGN SELECTION S550 PROGRAM DEARBORN HQ REVISED S550 THEME A DESIGN The interior design effort, apparently began in 2010 and interior design freeze was supposed to parallel the exterior freeze in mid-2012, but ended up being remaining on schedule in June 2012, a few months after the final interior design was reached in late 2011/early 2012. Ford delayed the exterior design freeze on S550 by some 5-6 months and might have been targeting an April 2014 launch for 50th, instead of September 2014: -- An inside guy who caught wind of the infamous September 2012 consumer clinic leak/breach, chimed in sneakily he was on the team and said S550 design freeze was expected end of November/by early December 2012. 2012 S550 FIBERGLASS 1:1 Just right before that, we got this unusually deliberate leak of the front end shape on November 20, 2012 testing at PDC. Coincidence? Probably not, as Ford was just about locking it in finally. NOVEMBER 2012 S550 M1/2 Mule At that point, I was now personally 100% certain what the car looked like upfront and most people couldn't piece it together for another year, instead swallowing a bunch of Fusion-based BS renderings being tossed around. I just didn't bother acknowledging the majority of 2012 renderings, save for the rare clever guesses BELOW, that felt VERY insider-derived and not as uninformed insight as pretended... Just look at those, drawn up without any prototypes out in existence. The accuracy felt very rather psychic... From the end of 2012 to spring 2013, Alan Mulally and Co started showing the car to outside affiliates (ie Ken Block, etc), behind closed doors w/ironclad NDA. Ford management were confident at that point S550 production design was a done deal and okay to show privately, to key people. Turns out the inside guy from October 5, 2012 was dead accurate and gave away the design freeze date for the S550, before it even passed that stage. How Ford never investigated that leak, IDK. According to Dave Pericak, Joel Piaskowski, and designer Kemal Curic in 2014, the first S550 body prototypes were built in May 2013. Like clockwork, we had infamously got these on camera and published on June 10, 2013. In June 2013, Ford CLEARLY didn't hide it all from street runs, except in bagging it up real well and putting special red tape over the newly 3-dimensional taillights. There is no reason that wouldn't suffice for S650 8 years later, in July 2021. My core point here is, Ford locked in the final S550 exterior design in 2012, roughly 6.5 months before we saw it in camouflage in 2013. It takes typically several months to build the first hand assembled testers wearing the serial design. When they built the first S550 prototypes in May 2013 at Allen Park, they were not hidden for very long from unrestricted field runs. They got them out there almost immediately in June and the first spy shots, were almost certainly tipped off for photographers. At this point, S650 is long past that stage and yet nowhere to be seen. 2024 model now or what? Other than a leak I personally saw and that Chinese sculpture, absolutely nada. Twin Turbo knowing all of this, can tell something is off and I notice it too. I think this has to do with the past 4-5 years as seen by the 2018 Expy and 2020 Explorer taking forever to b seen, but even the media has nothing relevant to report on this car and I find it very peculiar. It's like someone is also going out of their way to shut out a litany of Ford people here from knowing a lick about it outside of Team Mustang/S650, as I can tell none of you know anything about what's happening and that's very rare, unlike with Bronco, Ranger and '21 F-150. As well as many others, so it's an avoided topic in most cases. What are they so desperate to hide? There's no new insight, not to mention certain job positions have shuffled regarding S650 from I have seen. People have been reassigned or left Ford, like my ex-S650 Ford contact, who cites his NDA as a reason not to talk with me about it. No one is entitled to knowing what a corporation is doing of course, but it is rather atypical compared to what has transpired previously. Even the updated MCA S550 was caught 2 years early (very unexpectedly) as a mule in October 2015, then resurfaced in full testing regalia in Fall 2016, 1 year before they hit lots in December 2017. Either there is a lot to worry about or something special is coming, that warrants the immense secrecy. This is probably accurate unfortunately, but I wonder what changed between S550 and S650, which warrants this level of deep secrecy? They aren't reinventing the wheel or the Mustang formula, so it's odd. It's really business as usual, now with HEV. Someone did say something somewhere recently about S650, which my personal source won't confirm nor deny. 3.5L Powerboost equivalent as top model, 5.0L V8 as mid-level, and 2.3L as base. AWD plus, sedan as well. He described the direction it would take, a grand tourer. I cannot trust that yet. The last name checks out though, in terms of Ford personnel. I didn't want to mention him, since I am still skeptical of the sedan, but FRAP has so much capacity, that is unused at the moment (Continental, Fusion) and that "Mustang derivative", just might be a 4-door indeed and not a special edition vehicle like GT500 or etc. S197 shares quite a lot with S550, but that didn't stop Ford from trotting out S550 prototypes, within just weeks of building the first integrated components or verification prototypes in May 2013, to field testing them in June 2013 with no hesitation and courting the media immediately. I understand they were pissed about the August 2013 leak, of the full front end testing. As well as Ranger clay by Wheels Magazine in February 2019 (the worst leak) and pandemic leaks on Bronco via TFL, but it doesn't compute how that factors into S650. Your theory I disagree with, because countless vehicles with little to no differences, with Michigan Manufacturer's plates, are often spy-photographed for little to no reason, as it's obvious to intelligent observers, they are almost always test vehicles of some sort. Anything without an MI manufacturer's plate or registration (Europe/Asia/Australia), is not worth any attention to any "spy" photographers. Basically, they are not really out there at all testing like OP mentioned, plain and simple, as both amateur and professional photographers, didnt decide overnight to ignore them. The S650 mules simply disappeared from public sight and thus neither S650 mules or actual integrated vehicles, are testing on real world runs. Only controlled zones or in dark of the night. They cannot do that forever, as digital prototyping can be misleading and so can controlled environments. The S650 chief engineer left his post abruptly and many people assigned to S650, changed programs, left Ford in 2020, or etc. That's both conflicting and concerning. The OP's question cannot be simply answered, by saying, "It's based on S550, so people aren't catching it" or "just testing at night". One is just trying to be certain, it's still on track and has not fallen significantly behind. If testing at night, well Ford is gonna have to put S650 into in public rounds eventually and get proper feedback for engineering sign-off, which is typically reached under a year before market launch. From 1990 Town Car FN36 in December 1988 (launched October 5, 1989) to 2021 Bronco U725 (delayed). And you still gotta test it well before that, in those same often public conditions too. Bronco was forced to surface on camera, 11 months before planned Job 1 of 12/7/2020. And that itself was deliberately held back from view, yet still got decent media coverage before that. Media is not doing their part, staying ahead of things on S650 and leaving people in the dark, to fend for themselves. Seems like an afterthought, compared to the attention the S550 got. With Bronco, I understand the 25 year absence, but this is also still a Ford Icon vehicle and poor due diligence is being paid by the lot of media, focusing on the dumbest fluff of topics nowadays instead and not checking in with their Ford contacts on the program. Unlike the average person, I try to be smarter about insight and I don't rely on YouTubers and see a concern, when my Ford friends/acq in general are at a loss as to what's happening. By comparison, Camaro is in limbo with Alpha 2 vs VSS-R, Stellantis always kicks the can down the road and ditched Giorgio, and the last one standing, seems to keep changing trajectory from CD6 to "D5" once again, or BEV. Under Alan Mullally he wanted One Ford to dictate a 7/8 year life cycle for newly introduced S550. Mark Fields pushed it forward to MY 2021 on an entirely new platform. Hackett consolidated it into a revised vehicle and then instituted an EV replacement for late 2020s. The lack of consistency is concerning, as a very well informed Mustang buyer. You are often very helpful with answering my questions, but I must disagree. I do believe that this might apply to both Bronco and now S650, but with S550 this wasn't the case at all and it was almost immediately available in every circumstance. They built the first S550 mules in spring of 2012 and appeared in June 2012 as cut and welded S197s. A unique front end mule appeared in November 2012, 100% S550 fore of A-Pillar. First S550 prototypes were built in May 2013, appearing in public the second week of June 2013. Sales began in September 2014, after August JoB 1. At this point one doesn't see anything new and we have been seeing S650 mules since February 2020. They disappeared from view as OP said and nothing else seems to be brewing. The last time I saw this weird gap was with the Explorer, which was seen as a camouflaged CD6 mule (U504 body) from October 2016 until the first actual prototype was snapped in June 2018 by an amateur photographer spotting it and no professional photographer like Brenda Priddy even bothered to look out for it for weeks. They were running around DTW since April 2018. OCTOBER 2016 SPY SHOTS - U625 X1/M1 CD6 Mule? JUNE 2018 U625 PROTOTYPE - First Spy Shot I unfortunately think we will, as there is a slow pattern Ford is abiding by and that means, hiding them by all means necessary until maybe 1 year out. Outside of the Mach 1, I hate the 2018+ and I am desperate to move onto the next generation, since about January 2017 (reveal of '18)
    3 points
  3. This seems like GM just being desperate for attention
    2 points
  4. She hasn't done nothing yet as it is. I haven't been paying as close attention lately to the news but it seems you don't see or hear nearly as much of her as you used to, I could be wrong but I remember seeing her standing right behind Biden everyday. Something fishy is going on, she's being groomed behind the scene, or as I think she has realized she's in over her head and don't want to be there anymore. Anyway with either of them I believe someone is behind the scene pulling the strings.
    2 points
  5. This individual has the launch codes.... 25th amendment can`t be far away with these types of responses. Can anyone imagine what could happen if they put the Vice Princess in the driver seat?
    2 points
  6. Sad but funny and likely true too. I hope this market has taught all of us a listen about dealers. I used to think they were all bad, but I seen the good really shine among all the bad ones out there. We'll all be smarter the next purchase. ??
    2 points
  7. I just checked the Pepsi and Coors Light websites. My hood and tailgate are still beverages on store shelves waiting to be consumed and recycled before Ford can schedule my build.
    2 points
  8. GM, Cruise sue Ford to block use of 'BlueCruise' name for hands-free driving | Reuters
    1 point
  9. If anybody should sue, it’s blues clues
    1 point
  10. Because the truck can not see what you can, and has no idea what your needs are beyond what you tell it with your right foot. It gets even more involved with super duty size loads behind compared to an empty F150. It works better to drive it rather than leave it to try and figure it out, reactive responses vs proactive inputs.
    1 point
  11. I think Ford should counter-sue for GM's use of the word "Super"...after all, Ford calls a line of their trucks Super Duty and then there is Super Crew, Super Cab and so forth and so on....
    1 point
  12. My 450 Platinum with adaptive steering has been reschedule a couple times (ordered 3/31), but the current target is 9/20.
    1 point
  13. No information available from Ford that I've seen.
    1 point
  14. Orders including the XLT Black Appearance Package won't start scheduling until after September 7th.
    1 point
  15. The black appearance packet won’t start being scheduled until 9/7
    1 point
  16. The "Ramp Code" is the final rail ramp destination.
    1 point
  17. Ford may attach error notices to orders but in 35 years I've never had Ford contact us, either by phone or e-mail, about an order.
    1 point
  18. Changing your unscheduled order as mentioned won't affect anything unless you add restricted commodities/options or the Dealer changes your priority code.
    1 point
  19. That’s exactly what happened with mine. Ordered originally in May but it took two months to finally get the confirmation email from Ford. Took constant emailing and calling of my dealer to get it through to them. of course I got mine ordered on the week they aren’t doing any Super Duty scheduling. I keep checking the Production forum to see if Ice has updated with scheduling for the week of 7/26, no luck yet. good luck on yours!
    1 point
  20. Mine is still holding beer. I'm drinking as fast as I can!
    1 point
  21. As I’ve said before, the rumours I’m hearing is that GE2 covers the 3-Row BEV SUVs, Explorer & Aviator, those logically go to Cuautitlan with MME. The way I see MEB production is everything below that, Escape, Corsair, Edge, Nautilus and BEV car (late). that would be five vehicles eminently doable on MEB, saving a crap ton of money, the whole reason why Ford is using MEB in the first place…..those five make OAC critical to North America and some global markets. Ive included Edge/Nautilus on the MEB exactly because of cost sensitivity (stillborn CD6 versions) MEB fits the bill for these and keeps production at an existing, good distribution point.
    1 point
  22. Sad thing is they will probably go opt in and not tell you that you were right, then pretend the trucks and modules just started showing up. Sounds like something my dealer would do. Lol
    1 point
  23. How about trimming spending to prevent irreparable harm to the economy? I can think of a few officeholders and civil servants we could lay off that could yield big savings. Oh, stop funding the Wuhan Virus lab. Fire anyone who suggested or approved it in the first place. Oops, Bad Orange man wanted to trademark "You're fired!"
    1 point
  24. I wish that was true for my dealer. I try to get info from them and get told its too early, and that "Ford will email me with updates" and to just wait for that. That's after waiting a couple days for them to respond to my requests in the first place. They did give me a good price on my order, but still wishing I picked a different dealer to go with. I don't want to start this process over now so...just going to wait it out as best I can knowing I'm not alone in this heh.
    1 point
  25. Or Ford “fixes” their design with a top that can be manufactured by Webasto or another supplier.
    1 point
  26. A couple shots in a rainy overcast day.
    1 point
  27. I think either Webasto fixes their manufacturing issue permanently and they replace the tops over the next several months or they get a new supplier and replace them. I don’t see any other choice. Unfortunately neither one is a great option, but it’s great to hear it isn’t dampening your enthusiasm!
    1 point
  28. Honestly it's not really bothering me at all, I know it's going to be replaced at some point. I'm making noise about it here and elsewhere to keep pressure up for a proper fix. The question, of course, is what becomes a proper remedy? I don't think it's realistic at this point to think that Webasto can manufacture these with the expected quality. Could another supplier? I'm not sure, the design seems to have some fundamental flaws. So now you're going to have 25,000-35,000 MIC hard top 2021 Broncos running around with faulty roofs. What happens when they start flexing and cracking? Keep putting new bad roofs on? There isn't an obvious solution but the clock is ticking for them to figured it out. In the meantime, I'm having a blast in my rig.
    1 point
  29. Sorry this is happening to you bud. I know you are generally a positive person and I hope that it doesn't take away too much from the enjoyment of your new ride. Hope it gets resolved for you once they get their act together.
    1 point
  30. This will be the last ICE Mustang coupe/convertible of history. It needs to be a great car.
    1 point
  31. That’s easy - they make more money on the aftermarket policies.
    1 point
  32. Crossovers will always get worse fuel economy than a comparable sedan with the same powertrain. Examples. Toyota Camry LE Hybrid, 52 MPG combined in EPA testing Toyota RAV4 LE Hybrid, 40 MPG Toyota Highlander LE Hybrid, 36 MPG However, your point about savings in fuel expenditures becoming smaller above 25 MPG is a good one. MPG is not a linear measurement.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...