Sherminator98

But here is the thing-if you buy something that is 10 years old, even as an ICE, you run into the issue of getting parts for it and some can be mission critical that can make the car inoperable like if a battery failed. As for battery replacements-Battery cells follow standard sizing, but I also have no idea how they are connected together or if they can even been replaced easily if you needed to replace them (assuming not), if you need to open them up. EVs are on the bleeding edge to a point and having an expectation that they'll last 15 years at this point might be a bridge to far. I have this sneaking suspicion that Chinese EVs are designed to be disposable after 5-10 years of use, which is part of the reason why they are so "cheap"-just think of electronics-they last 5-10 years then wind up as landfill. I think that might be the mentality that their engineers are taking.

The Bronco Sport is AWD only. The Maverick just got AWD Hybrid this model year. Also the CVT might not be up for surviving off road use either. The other issue is battery cell availability for hybrids. But there is zero reason it shouldn't get a hybrid model in the next 24-36 months IMO.

My wife got a 2024 Bronco Sport to replace her 2017 Escape with the 2.0L Ecoboost and AWD. It has the same powertrain and there isn't a huge difference in performance. Gas mileage is much better-she was doing about 23 MPG with the Escape and now gets about 27, which equates out to cutting out 1-2 gas station refills a month for her.

Replacement battery cells are expensive because there is no excess or even meeting demand for them in cars. That should improve as time goes on.

its amazing what happens when they get stuff right...nice to see once in a while lol

The problem you have is with expectations-If your used to driving say a Focus or Fiesta sized vehicle in the EU...going to something smaller like what the Ka was is going to be a non-starter. The other issue is that EV are "expensive" to manufacture because they don't have the benefit of 80+ years of improvements that ICE engines have had. Its hard to make money on EVs when there isn't enough manufacturing capacity for cells for batteries, when an ICE engine can be built for say $1500 net price. The Chinese can sell cheap because they are getting subsidized by the CCP

That I agree with...it seems like they have next to nothing coming out in the next 36 months.

From what I can find, the skunkworks EV project started in 2022 sometime, was reported for the first time in 2024...so 5 years for a completely new platform and way of doing business designing it, isn't completely abnormal for the industry.

I guess it all depends on the consumer reaction to it. Ford has been doing this stuff for years, but yet it doesn't seem to affect them? In grand scheme of things, most of this stuff is complete fluff that has almost no impact on user experience and existed to drive profit up as an option. Pricing is going to go up anyways. IMO I think we are hitting peak car options-extra cameras are nice, but at least in my view of things, its overkill-I felt like I was hitting information overload in a Santa Fe that shows the cameras on its screens when making turns etc.

https://fordauthority.com/2025/07/this-data-point-about-ford-maverick-buyers-may-surprise-you/

Welcome to internet 101 where misleading headlines are the rule to get clicks...sigh

Apparently they are now repealed https://reason.com/2025/07/02/under-the-big-beautiful-bill-car-companies-wont-be-fined-for-failing-to-hit-arbitrary-fuel-efficiency-goals/ The issue is long term-what happens during the next administration if leadership changes. I think the prudent course is just keep what your doing mid term so your not caught with your pants down when things change

So lets see: 1993 Mustang GT or LX V8 (can't remember off the top of my head) was around $14K when I looked at it in High School Today that would be $31,210.19 with inflation The Ecoboost Mustang offers more performance and far better gas mileage in a far more refined package then the Fox Mustang in 1990s Average cost of a new car in 1993 was $16,871, today it is $49740. So given that information, the Mustang isn't that much more expensive given averages of the time. I'm guessing the bigger issue is that your income hasn't kept up with inflation or gone up over time.

I think it’s more about the changing auto industry marketplace than competition. 25 years ago you couldn’t get a “performance SUV” and sedan options where limited. Nor where their EVs that offer carrier catapult like acceleration The two door market is small and getting smaller because it’s so limited in functionality. The market place seems to favor vehicles that appear to be multi purpose, even if the features are only used once or twice in the vehicles lifetime. The Mustang will always have a market, but it’s not going to sell 1 million units like it did almost 60 years ago.

Yeah oops that is what I get for post past 10PM…I’m old lol

The Federal Tax credit for EVs is dead as of yesterday, so should be interesting how that all shakes out.

Number of vehicles affected: 171

The V6 is being driven by CAFE IMO. But who knows how that is gonna work out. Plus wasn't their rumors of the Explorer getting an EREV setup? I'm wondering if that is why the Bronco and Ranger haven't been marked to get PHEVs in the next 2-3 years-they might all share a EREV setup instead?

Uh it depends? The Explorer EOL isn't till middle of next decade and well they do sell a decent amount of PIUs to keep Chicago busy. The other thing is that apparently it is going to get another major update in a few years, so it might be short term thing (36 months or so) why some options might be getting dropped because of that major refresh that is coming.

While I'm about 20 years younger then you, I wouldn't mind seeing a good modern take on the post 1986 Mustang GT...sans the cheese grater tail lights, which can stay in the in 1980s. I really hated the New Edge Mustang-I had a 1998 Mustang GT which most likely didn't help, but my issue was that it was done on the cheap and it just didn't look that good. The Focus, Contour and Cougar (esp the Cougar) was best looking products of that generation. The first gen SN95 had a good retro vibe while being in the post jellybean era of Ford. The 2005 Mustang nailed the retro thing, but it fell out of favor within a few years.

Seems like legacy car makers are struggling with the electronics on EVs and this is VWs way of getting around that.

Well gotta pay for that "free" Healthcare some how LOL

It is what it is, this isn't the 1980s when AC wasn't standard on vehicles and a sun/moon roof was a nice way to get extra air into the car. I seriously wonder how many people actually use them and saying you do is fine and good, but its like saying you still use LPs when tech has moved on to other things that more people use.

IMO it’s picking pepper from fly shit-the 2020+ Escape and the 2022 Bronco Sport interiors aren’t all that different-the vast majority of the “hard points” and details are virtually identical to one another. The dashes are slightly different and I’d say the BS materials aren’t as nice as the Escape. The BS does have some nicer touches to it (like the texture pattern in the floor mats matching the cargo area mats and far better location of the start button) then the Escape. It seems like automotive reporters have a madlibs they use when writing about Ford interiors. I’ll venture to guess that the Maverick, Escape and Bronco Sport use the same plastics for their interiors with minor color and slight texture differences.