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I would like to see Ford be successful in class 6 and 7, but if they were to leave that market I doubt it would have any effect on their class 1-5 truck sales. As I have said before, I work for one of the largest utility fleets in the western United States and we haven't bought a new F-650 in over 10 years, but we still buy plenty of class 2-5 Ford trucks.

I wonder if the Mach 4 will be unveiled whenever Ford tells us its product plans for the next couple years. or maybe the NYC auto show?

post some pictures when it arrives!

I really don't know what Farley is thinking about ROW products and I'm not sure he does either. Ford Europe is responsible for engineering of C2 platform and most C2 vehicles but there are no C2 vehicles planned beyond the one that are currently on sale. So is Farley going to just let all the engineering knowhow go? It's not something you can bring back once it is gone. Just ask Boeing how designing airplanes without the people who know how to design airplanes work out for them.

Keep in mind that most large fleets buy low bid, and beyond that there really isn't much 'loyalty' to any particular brand. Chrysler up into the 70's was very successful in fleet sales, in those years they sold everything from cars to class 8 diesels and were very aggressive with pricing and incentives. You saw a lot of Dodges, both cars and trucks, in fleets back then. It is also true that at one time Ford, GM, and Chrysler all sold cars and trucks up through class 8 and that was something of an advantage for fleets in that they only had to deal with one manufacturer and dealer network. However, those days are long past as commercial truck sales and service is so specialized customers for those vehicle want to deal with dedicated truck dealers, not car dealers that sell a few trucks on the side. I would have to disagree wih your point about DaimlerChrysler and Freightliner. I never once saw a combined Dodge Ram/Freightliner dealer, nor could you ever buy parts or get service for a Freightliner at a Dodge/Ram dealer, maybe unless it was one of those Sterling Bullitt trucks. The fact that Freightliner was part of DaimlerChrysler was invisible to the customers of either make. Ram truck sales dramatically improved during those years because their trucks got a lot more competitive, not because of the corporate tie with Freightliner! Also, did you realize that for many years Renault owned both AMC/Jeep and Mack Truck? I doubt that had any affect on Jeep sales. I have a little experience in railroading. GM used to build better than half of the diesel-electric locomotives in this country (probably the world too) and the parts for those locomotives often came in GM boxes. I always wanted to try ordering a locomotive part from a Chevy dealer just to see what would happen!

Who knows - they've seemed to prefer standalone events lately.

You really think that stopping an annual sales volume that doesn’t even amount to two weeks of production at DTP is going to materially affect F-Series sales?

It’s been confirmed that the 2025 Ranger and Bronco are getting the “new” 2.3L that is in the Mustang and Explorer currently https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/2024-vs-2025-2-3l-changes.111219/

New engine must be better than old, so no surprise Ford is slowly switching over. It’s smart of Ford to ramp up manufacturing slowly to avoid/reduce quality issues; just in case. Hard to tell from pictures if new engine is shorter in length and or taller in height than 2024 2.3L. Differences may be too small to detect on pictures taken from slightly different angles anyway. Since it uses “modular power cylinder” architecture, maybe 5- and 6-cylinder variants will follow. Opportunity to consolidate engine designs seems significant; provided of course longer 5- and 6-cylinder engines physically fit in larger vehicles.

Hah How true on the Renault connection. As for your railroad days, talk about consolidation. As a bit of a buff I remember the Alco, FairbanksMorse,GE, EMD days. When I was in college my winter/"spring" breaks were spent working in a wholesale beef plant. We got swinging beef delivered by truck and rail. NY, NH & Hartford RR. RS-1 Alcos. Green & Orange!

Thanks! Here's a rear quarter view. Next change will be replacing the side scoops with a set from an '03-'04 Cobra and maybe a rear bumper diffuser. Might as well go all out on the aero stuff at this point. Another recent update was replacing the hood prop rod with gas struts from MRT.

Glad to hear that, but here in CT back around 1997 when they found out they couldn't purchase anymore Ford class 8 trucks, the DOT and the MDC water agency noticeably started buying Chevy and Dodge cars and pickups. They had been used to buying all Fords from cars to class 8 because it was convenient to do business with the same make/brand and dealers for 50 years! Before 1997, I can't remember seeing anything but Fords in the garages. They even bought Ford backhoes/loaders and mowing tractors! That's how loyal to Ford they had been. Chrysler/Dodge gained the most because when customers went looking to a new source for heavy trucks in 1997, Daimler (Freightliner and Sterling) had merged with Chrysler around that time. The Freightliner dealer(s) told customers, "Hey we sell smaller trucks and cars (Dodge) too!" I think the main reason why anybody buys as many Ford light and medium duty as they do is because of the aluminum rust free bodies.

Here is my take on why Ford hasn't leveraged Chinese products in nearby markets. Farley has made it clear that Ford has only 4 core products that will get strategic investment and global portfolio: F-Series and extensions (e.g. Expedition) Transit and extensions (e.g. Custom, Courier) Ranger and extensions (e.g. Bronco, Everest) Mustang (e.g. Mach E) If a product is not based on these 4 platform or does not have marketing/branding association with these nameplates, he is not interested keeping those products around just for the sake of keeping them around. This includes pretty much everything Ford makes in China with the exception of Transit and Ranger/Bronco. So if you think about it this way, it makes perfect sense why Ford hasn't flooded Australia with its Chinese products. They are not the kind of core products that will get investment for RHD and get elevated to global portfolio. What Ford sells in China is mainly tactical products that are narrowly tailored to local taste and needs, not strategic core products that will get Farley's stamp of approval for traditional developed APAC markets like Australia or Taiwan. For example, you can probably make a good business case for Equator and Equator Sport in Australia and Taiwan. But they don't use Ford sourced engines and so is that something Ford wants to do in Australia? Ford maybe willing to sell something like that on the cheap in Philippines and Vietnam where any sale is a bonus sale. But definitely not in Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand which it considers its core APAC markets. Ford is not a bit player in these markets and it doesn't want or need to be the first mainstream makes to open the floodgates for cheap Chinese made cars. People in Australia are choosing Chinese brands because they are cheap. Ford doesn't need or want those customers. This may change of course if Toyota or Hyundai starts importing cars from China...

Somewhere along the line, Ford gave up on making profitable cars and utilities for places outside of North America, it’s now all about Transit, Ranger, Everest or overpriced Electric vehicles. There’s little to no leveraging of low cost Ford China production to supplement nearby markets.

Joe, interesting mention towards end of article of newer Cummins military diesel also using opposed pistons, though with more traditional two crankshafts. https://www.cummins.com/news/2024/09/04/1000-hp-advanced-combat-engine-ace-debut-land-forces-expo-melbourne “ACE is scheduled to go into production in late 2027 and while developed for military applications, its adaptability extends to commercial uses that require high power with limited available space.” Greater power density and improved fuel efficiency are promising, though there may be some major disadvantages they are not mentioning yet. Perhaps higher emissions or costs???? The modular design with 3, 4, or 6 cylinders is planning ahead to cover wider range of needs.

The small Cummins V-6 and V-8 were interesting engines, they started as a joint venture between Cummins' British subsidiary and Chrysler of Europe. Chrysler used the engines in their British and Australian trucks, eventually offering the small V-8 in some of their medium duty U.S. trucks. One of the largest users of the V-6 was Ford, as it was one of the first diesels available in the F series in the mid-60's. https://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/31209-when-the-dodge-boys-sold-trucks-down-under/

Ford Otosan is small compared to Daimler Truck, Volvo, Traton, and Iveco.

Check out this picture of the 6.7 Cummins gasser. Can't figure out what that is on right side of engine??? Cummins’ First Gasoline Engine Debuted for Kenworth Medium-Duty Trucks Don McLoud Mar 10, 2025 The engine runs on 87-octane gasoline and achieves diesel-like performance, Cummins says. Kenworth Kenworth will soon offer Cummins’ first gasoline-powered engine, the B6.7 Octane, in its Class 5 to 7 conventional trucks. The engine for medium-duty trucks runs on 87-octane gasoline and achieves diesel-like performance, Cummins says. It has a horsepower range of 200 to 300 and torque up to 660 foot-pounds.

This is significant. I have thought for some time that Otosan would need a partner for their medium/heavy truck operations going forward, and this is the first move in that direction. I don't feel however that this is a negative reflection on Otosan, it's just a response to the market. Ford Motor can't really offer much support to Otosan with regard to their medium and heavy truck operations, and Otosan is too small to go it alone. BTW, should Ford pull out of Europe, Otosan is in a great postion to inherit the Transit franchise.