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It’s a very clever way to do it and anyone who is offended by it would just find something else to be offended at.

It also might become more one way? Ford will build their truck for them but I don't see a point of Ford keeping the MEB if they have a better idea or platform to use.

Mustang Mach-E also got "Good" ratings in the updated side and moderate overlap tests but missed out on 2023 Top Safety Pick because the LED reflector headlamps on the Select and California Route 1 trims are rated marginal. Ford should make LED projector headlamps currently included on Premium and GT trims, which IIHS rated good, standard across the entire Mustang Mach-E lineup.

Who are they going to alienate? The "woke" aren't going to be offended by an ad that's uplifting downtrodden women, and the rest of us aren't going to be offended by some satirical words.

Looking at today's society which is more inclusive than when I was growing up, The Explorer's demographics would include many parents with kids involved in girl's hockey, wrestling, softball, etc that were pretty scarce in the 50s & 60's We have women choosing engineering, carpentry, machine shop, submarine, fighter aircraft careers that simply weren't available to women back in those days. Therefore I think it resonates well with the target audience. If the Mens' Edition pitch offends you, maybe you have a distorted self image; take your misogyny and find new roads. And maybe Ford is trying to inject a little humor into all the "delete options" available today 😁

I just posted additional photos of the 2024 Mustang interior and a link to the related Autoblog article that was online a few days ago. I drove new Mustangs as my company car for many years including EcoBoost, GT's (mostly) and California Special models. Unfortunately, the more I see of the 2024 Mustang, the less I like it. I don't want an instrument cluster that looks like an iPad and don't want everything to be digital or have 18 buttons on the steering wheel, etc. Too much of the next generation 2024 Mustang looks like changes being made with little consideration of what a Mustang is and making changes just to include more digital features because it's what's expected. It's like a new generation of Ford influencers deciding what a Mustang should be that don't understand the Mustang at all. With all the changes, it looks like a new 2024 Mustang owner will need to spend an hour at least learning how to configure all the digital settings and learn enough about the vehicle before being qualified to actually drive it. A lot of the design changes also go against the desires and expectations of the customer demographics that can actually afford to buy a new Mustang. All that new digital display technology is nice but not necessarily desired by a lot of potential customers.

"Tell her where I live" LOL

Yeah, that's true. Agreed on dumping MEB if they have their own that they want global volume on.

I wasn't sure where to put this, but this seems like it may be the best place.... From a Ford Authority article today....VW's CEO seems to think Ford-VW's tie up is growing, not shrinking as all other indications have been....

I did a BMW M Driving School last year, and all of the things were fun - running around the race track, etc. BUt I really did enjoy the drifting aspect of it around their loop!

Actually they are buying batteries from Panasonic or CATL

Ford and GM can't afford to make their own batteries from scratch at this point. It also would take far too long to source the materials, and invent your own battery technology that doesn't have a patent on it. And build the whole processing plant. And there are no American companies to partner with at this point. Tesla is the only truly American company making batteries, and they aren't sharing squat. The rest of the battery companies all have Asian connections. It would take 5-10 years for Ford to do this on its own, possibly more. There just isn't enough time to do that.

At her historic marker dedication ceremony on Sunday, a few people highlighted some facts about her, I learned she was "Delilah" On "Samson and Delilah" which debuted in 1949. A few shared she was pretty much a recluse and towards the very end of her life she was miserable. Behind closed doors, I've heard from some people throughout the years that in the 90s she was arrested at Eckerd Drugs store for shoplifting (essentially she died almost broke, having invented all she did). Her marker was installed at Red Bug Lake Park, which was about 500 ft from the last residence she lived in. I believe they said she was buried in Austria.

European van markets are not distorted by CAFE footprint and EPA emission cutoff at 8500 lbs GVWR. This is why Ford can offer 4 vans in different sizes. (it is distorted in other ways - e.g. CO2 emission targets and displacement based taxes that favors diesel over gas) I have explained the problem with Transit Custom before... it is in no-man's land in terms of GVWR. It is about 80% size of Transit but it is under 8500 lbs cutoff so it is subject to light duty vehicle emission. Ford would rather just sell you a Transit T150 (which at 8505 lbs is actually a class 2b like F-250) which places it in less stringent emission class and weighted impact to CAFE. And chances are if you want a van in Transit Custom size, you can easily make do with a Transit so Ford doesn't want to bother. And this is reflected in how fleet managers make the decision... midsize vans have never sold well in the US because you can "abuse" a full size to do the job without much cost penalty. This is why VW and Toyota don't want to sell Transporter and Hiace (the two best selling work vans outside the US)... it just doesn't make sense in the US given the emission and CAFE regulations. Transit Connect made sense because it is physically small, which means there is actually a big demand in urban area for such a small van. You can't "abuse" a full size Transit to do the job of Transit Connect if you don't have the physical room (e.g. tight parking, low garage roof etc). The business case for Transit Connect is fundamentally sound. Ford went as far as sending out RFP for Tier 1 suppliers for a new generation based on Maverick only to cancel it because it can't keep up with demand as is. https://nhcleancities.org/2016/04/various-vehicle-weight-classes-matter/

"With all the changes, it looks like a new 2024 Mustang owner will need to spend an hour at least learning how to configure all the digital settings." C'mon now, that's part of the fun! I understand and respect you point of view on this but I just feel the other way. For me, I've owned 5 prior Mustangs all the way back to my first one in 1986 - I just happen to be someone who likes to see cars evolve over time. I like screens and gadgets even though I'm considered an old person now.

Here's the video for the 2020 Ford Explorer IIHS tested (small overlap test, driver's side). And here is the video showing updated moderate overlap test for 2022 Explorer.

Good point Rick73. Ford's "Introducing the Ford Explorer® Men’s Only Edition" video was beautifully done. Perfect combination of humor and information on women inventors in time for Women's History Month.

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/bombshell-the-hedy-lamarr-story-mel-brooks-its-hedley/10172/

Tesla also designs and engineers cars that can travel longer distances with less energy, which is not only beneficial for the environment, but their smaller batteries make them more affordable. Another family member of mine just got a Tesla, this one a plain Model 3, and it’s rated at 272 miles of range with its smallest battery. Battery capacity is not specified, but expected in mid 55 kWh range. It’s nothing fancy, nor extremely fast, but does everything most people want pretty well. Single motor, RWD, smallest available battery, and more than adequate range for commuting. He did joke that he got a mobile charger to charge at my house when visiting. My point here is that vehicle design matters too. Energy efficiency matters because it affects purchase cost. If “old world” automakers limit themselves to large and inefficient BEVs, they will be fighting serious headwinds on pricing.

Ford could certainly try that, except for optional A/C. That part will never happen. A compact BEV Mustang the size of the 65 I owned a long time ago would get my interest as a city/daily driver. And as you suggest, 200 HP is plenty for me. Just like Ford downsized Mustang in 1974, they could try again when transitioning Mustang to BEV. Auto enthusiast are one thing, but I’m not sure how average buyers will react to mandates forcing switch to BEVs in order to save the planet, while at same time allowing 1,000 HP electric cars that shred tires for fun be sold. I know it’s a grey area, but expect some pushback in time.

Also - there’s a big difference in a super duty vs F150. The main reason to upgrade to a super duty is to get maximum towing and/or payload so obviously the avg super duty owner tows far more than the average f150 owner.

It’s not the satire that bothers me, it’s the fact that there’s serious well documented and very public quality and reliability issues and this is the kind of stuff they’re focused on…. Time and a place and right now this is not the time.

The most important aspect of the Ranger styling is that it has round wheel wells!

To be fair, I have an engineering degree and it took me 3 attempts to use the multi quote function correctly in the last thread I commented on. The software is a little clunky, even it's been around a while lol

I would be surprised if Ford did not announce another battery plant in the upper Midwest. Remember OAC has to getbatteries prom someplace.