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Icons are vehicles that are instantly recognizable as a Ford and have a long history and are among the best in their class. Everybody knows F150, GT, Mustang and Explorer are Fords. Show 100 people a debadged Maverick and you’d be lucky if half know it’s a Ford. It’s too new. And Transit is only well known in the fleet world. Thats totally separate from the desirable vehicles that Farley wants. Some icons fit that role, some may not. But you keep Icons like Mustang even if they’re not profitable - because it’s an icon of Ford Motor Company with a 60 year history.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this point. I understand what you're saying and can appreciate the points you've made, but I think that you're giving Ford too much credit. At least for now I think that so far, the "Skunkworks" project that Ford keeps teasing is nothing but a "Smoke & Mirrors" campaign to convince people, including Wall Street, that Ford has this breakthrough project that will make a major difference. I'll reserve judgement until we see something that actually gives this "Skunkworks" project credibility other than being another "Ford has a better idea" campaign.

Not much choice when Mustang is your only car.

I love the story of his first staff meeting where the division heads redacted their financial data and had a huge binder of info. He told them come back next week with one sheet of paper and never hide data from each other again.

Not exactly. He said unless they help secure their borders. He’s just bluffing to get their assistance.

Looking at that chart it looks like nearly all the growth is coming from China. US and Canada looks like very little growth.

Maybe if they pulled pricing back down a bit, they wouldn't have as much of an issue...

Explorer EV is Ford's replacement for Focus in Europe. Farley let the European team had their shot and they missed. I think by now Farley probably has already made up his mind about pulling Ford out of making and selling volume cars in Europe. Ford Europe has dominant position in commercial vans to protect so Ford will double down on that. Two moves in the last 18 months has made that clear in my mind: Moving Romania plant under Ford Otosan control - so now the best selling Ford passenger vehicle in Europe (Puma) is no longer being produced by Ford Europe. Ford restarting production in India. While no specific model is mentioned, Ford did say it does not intend to go back to selling cars in India. This means the production will be bigger C-segment sized vehicles for export (Indian market is dominated by A and B-segment vehicles). Where is all that C-size vehicles going? It's not just for Australia or Taiwan that is for sure. Seems clear to me that the plan is to eventually exit passenger vehicle production in Europe. It may take another couple of years but I think that is the plan: Focus on Transit and Transit Custom production in Turkey Transit Courier production in Romania (can keep Puma there if it still shares platform with Transit Courier but Ford can pivot to Transit Courier only very easily) Import C-segment vehicles from India Import D-segment vehicles from North America Import Ranger from Thailand/South Africa Cologne and Valencia probably up for sale if BYD or another Chinese car company will pony up enough cash

He’s with Cupid and Blitzen…..

An additional body style / configuration (4-door) plus a possible high end Lincoln variant would add volume (if approved).

Good thing they don’t have Ford big shots on the skunkworks team. That’s why Farley brought in outsiders from Tesla, Rivian and other tech companies.

This is why I feel pretty sure Ford won't be building any passenger vehicles in Europe by the end of the decade. Cheaper to import from Thailand, India, and Mexico given the low volumes that Ford is selling now days in Europe.

I'll believe Ford's "affordable" EVs are such when we see them... depending on what's defined as "affordable" when they finally come to market! A lot of talk but delay after delay. As for Ford's "Skunkworks"... it's been 2 years now and there's no sign of any impact. Sure, it takes time to implement major changes, but there's no sign of anything changing yet. I hope for Ford's sake that the project has a positive impact, but Ford's history isn't encouraging in such regards.

This car seems much more on point with what the European market wants in an EV than the silly Capri.

Plus, you left off torque. That's where both EB's shine. 2.7EB 400 ft/lb 5.0 410 ft/lb 3.5EB 500 ft/lb If I'm getting the same MPG, I'd rather have the higher torque.

It reminded me I need to change out my home HVAC filters.

Maybe if Ford stopped wasting money on nonsense to start with….. but hey, when your Boss is Bill Ford and he instructs you to ramp up Ford towards an all electric future, get on board the clown car and ride it all the way over the cliff to your golden parachute. Forget about quality/ safety issues, only worry about them if they happen……. Watching the evolution of Ford down through the years, I’ve seen that their fortunes are cyclical, they go one way for several years, then another, and then another direction. It’s the way things are. Were in a situation now where lots of carmakers have decided to skip low priced affordable vehicles and just build loads of the more profitable higher priced vehicles. They all save money making fewer vehicles and charging higher prices but how’s that working out for all the people who can’t afford them? This is not unique to Ford, nearly all their competition is is in the same situation.

I never supported them but certainly now they’re not needed. Put that money towards charging infrastructure and battery research and US production.

It’s still early days but high prices, bland styling and less performance than a Tesla make these nothing burgers. If these don’t start selling, I’m predicting that Ford Europe will try to export them to ROW markets as a way of recovering some costs. I think they’re obliged by VW’s contract to make a minimum number (250,000?) And clearly, the executive that thought trashing iconic names this way, cared nothing for their history.

The new Acura "Infiniti Edition" ...coming soon to an Auto Mall near you.

And you would have to be a glutton for punishment (or a climate zealot) to wait 2-3 hours at a public charger to gain ~30-50 miles of EV driving. Almost all PHEVs are limited to either level 1 or level 2 charging.

Puma EV seems a good deal to me compared to much higher-cost vehicle options. The Puma EV may not be what everyone wants, but probably meets the requirements of what many people need for daily transportation. It’s not very powerful like many EVs, but can hit 62 MPH in 8 seconds, making it as fast as ICE counterparts. Maximum charging rate is only 100 kW, but because battery is relatively small it charges fairly fast. Weight around 3,500 pounds is enough to make it relatively safe IMO even though that’s below most popular full-size EVs. Puma seems to provide everything many drivers need and not much more; which of course helps keep costs down. Whether Ford is subsidizing sales (or will in future) by pricing below cost I have no idea, but it does offer buyers a lower-cost Ford EV option. If Puma EV meets basic needs, a buyer may have hard time justifying spending 50% more to get one of the other Ford EV. I think lower price is probably the most significant motivator and expect Puma EV will do well, though it’s hard to know what buyers are willing to spend to get exactly what they prefer. It will definitely be interesting to follow sales over the next 6 months or so; and I hope it does well. 👍

Considering I spent my last month before retirement working strike duty 6 days a week 12 hours a day I have zero sympathy. If you do t like your job go find another one.

Seems to be an unpopular opinion around here, but I really don’t like the look of the Puma, especially the front end.

Saw this 6 cyl 2024 Ranger XLT at Capitol City Ford today. Not too shabby for a 4x4 truck under 45 grand

Trump has said in his book "The Art of the Deal" that his first position is always a non-starter and he knows it...he's staking a position to begin the negotiations from. He said that negotiations take place and he makes the deal when it gets to what he wanted all along. Too many don't get that about him...it's all in plain sight. They want to beat him over the head with it for political reasons when it's completely unnecessary.

People who dis the 4 cyl ecoboosts either haven’t driven one extensively or they’re still living in the 80s.

No shit Sherlock. There is no option - added costs whether it be tariffs or taxes or rent or fuel - always get passed along to the consumer. There is no other option for a company to maintain profits. Thats why I hate high income taxes on businesses. We end up paying it regardless and it makes it more difficult to attract businesses to the US when they have cheaper global options. I’d rather see a higher sales tax if taxes have to be raised.

Not sure how that is going to work with USMC deal that he implemented...I'm guessing that the tariffs are going to be used as leverage for other things that are more important.

Easy - super high warranty costs and huge EV investment.

Your personal option means jack shit to Ford meeting CAFE and other requirements. If there are other choices, why not move on to that brand and quit bellyaching over something you personally have no control over?

Ford offered a NA v6 in the f150. Nobody bought it.

The writing has been on the wall in China for a while now. With vehicles all becoming software defined, there is just no way car companies can continue to sell the same vehicles in China as they do the rest of the world. In order to deploy software in China, foreign companies have to have the system and data hosted in China and you have to provide the source code to the Ministry of Stealing Industry and Technology. This is why Ford gave up a few years ago and switched to using Baidu's operating system in China. And why VW is going to use Xpeng's software. And also why Google and Amazon Cloud are not in China.

BMW also uses 2 batteries. My M550 has one under the hood and one in the trunk. Of course, if BMW had invented the paperclip, it would have 7 moving parts.

or the ones changing those decisions 😛

Yeah right, like any of us knows WTF we're talking about. So easy to play Monday morning quarterback. We're not the ones making billion dollar decisions.

In Europe, the current Kuga PHEV is one of the top selling PHEVs in Europe and was the best-selling PHEV in 2023 (In Europe). If Ford updates its styling, they can probably make it last past 2030.

One of the BYD big shots, Stella Li, said the following to Bloomberg Businessweek: Like many Chinese executives, Li bristles at the notion that BYD owes its success to government largesse and calls subsidy accusations “completely groundless.” BYD is so formidable because it’s emerged victorious from China’s brand of state-led capitalism, which weeds out weak or inefficient players by forcing them to compete in a protected, carefully calibrated sandbox. For Li, that victory was hard won, the result of grit and determination. “They cannot beat us and can only attribute our success to other factors,” she says. “We’d rather just show our muscles than make explanations to them.”

It’s such an odd thing to have as dealer installed. I don’t know I’d trust my dealer to do it. All of my cars have it, and I use it frequently.

grain of salt...hes putting the fear of god into Mexico and Canada and they are already coming to the table BEFORE hes even sworn in....negotiating tactic...well see.

It may be a GM car underneath, but the electric Honda Prologue is a hit. And it proves people want good EVs from brands they trust. https://insideevs.com/news/740597/honda-prologue-toyota-bz4x-sales/ I feel Ford should have offered a rebranded version of the US-made Id.4 as a low risk EV.

Hah amazing how people with too much money like to throw it away- Like the a-hole today that paid 6 mil for the banana taped to canvas. And the guy says he is going to eat the banana🤔

I guess Audi doesn't exist? Or Porsche for that matter (on a different level, obviously).

Ford really isn't that interested in boosting Ranger volume it seems. They rather just cut back on Bronco.

Speaking of the MEB platform Rivian Achieved in Three Months What Volkswagen Couldn't Do in Years of Spending Billions When it realized this, Volkswagen pursued a partnership with Xpeng to jointly develop software-defined vehicles. The German carmaker is already scrapping the MEB platform in China in favor of an Xpeng-supplied architecture. However, using Chinese technology would not fly in Europe and North America. This is why Volkswagen started talks with Rivian, and you know the outcome.

You had the option of buying an extended warranty if you wanted more coverage, but you declined. So instead of paying $2500 for an extended warranty you only paid $1400. You’re still ahead $900.

About the European Explorer EV and its Capri SUV Coupe twin... they aren't selling well as expected. "German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger learned from a Ford spokesperson the “rapidly deteriorating market conditions for electric vehicles” are putting the brakes on Explorer and Capri production. Employees will have no other way but to alternate between working one week and taking one week off until the Christmas vacation. It’s a huge blow to the Cologne operations considering Ford invested $2 billion to get the German plant ready for EV production." "Ford’s electric offensive in Europe came at the expense of the Fiesta, its popular supermini that was shockingly retired from the factory in July 2023. To make matters worse, the company doesn’t have many ICE cars left to fall back on since the Mondeo made in Valencia, Spain died in 2022 and the Focus will be retired in 2025 from the Saarlouis site in Germany." Source: Ford Is Already Cutting Production of Its New EVs Ford killing their ICE models one after the other to make way for new BEVs that aren't selling. Ford in North America was smart enough to have the F150 Lightning run alongside the ICE F150. Again, a reminder: For the rest of the world, the mid-size pickup is "The" pickup and small B and C segment cars/SUVs/MPVs are the preferred vehicles. Will Ford discontinue the current Kuga-Escape after it discontinues the C2-based Focus in 2025 or will it survive? Ford really needs an ICE/Hybrid model to fall back on.

Vast majority of people don't care to know or don't put any effort into knowing because it would require extra work on their part.

3.5L EcoBoost debuted in F series for 2011 model year, and last Panther was built early in 2012 model year, so I'm sure Ford never tested an EcoBoost in a Panther.