ExplorerDude

Just wait for the additional doors to join the pack. Also heard the “New Edge” styling of the 1999-2004 Mustang might make a subtle reappearance at some point.

I’m hearing that MY2026 Escape production will begin in October and will only last for 3 months. I believe LAP will go down next year beginning in January 2026 for retooling for CE1.

You are spot on as well! There is a cause for some concern. I say that because Ford just keeps pruning the lineup with no clear successors in the pipeline. The most shortsighted decisions have been dropping the Edge, and the impending end of the Escape. Many still talk about losing the Fusion and Transit Connect as well. It’s upsetting because those products were loved and had decent reputations. If they were boring it’s because we made them that way. More focused redesigns could improve the product and make them exciting again. Ford gets tired and bored then just abandons them. I’ve also come to determine that there are pockets of great ideas and teams but it’s not universal across the company.

There are things in the pipeline but it does feel like Ford is missing it’s moment….yet again. 2027 through 2030 will bring a number of new products. The amount of programs paused or canceled and shelved has been a lot. The change in demand and possible regulation changes has been like whiplash. Ford is stretching some lifecycles in the hopes of nailing down more certainty with where the market is going. It’s a very cautious approach which could be good or bad depending upon what the future brings. I’d say there is definitely more focus on actual Hybrids and Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) rather than lots of pure EVs at this point. The skunkworks team in California is creating about 3 compact EV variants. If COVID and falling demand for EVs hadn’t happened there would be a lot more product here by now.

This is the type of stuff Ford wastes time on internally. It’s one of the most exhausting things to watch on a regular basis. I wish they focused more on the more important items like quality instead of marketing/naming things like this. The MY26 Explorer Tremor will literally be exactly like the Explorer Timberline was except with the MY25 Explorer refresh updates. I think it’s keeping the same wheels but with the Tremor accents added etc. I think the Tremor will use the regular Explorer’s front and rear fascia’s except with the Tremor accents added and a unique grill insert. This is a cost savings as the Timberline had its own unique front and rear fascia’s entirely. Multiple powertrains might be available as well.

It’s happening 😄 S650 based

This is actually the second time the P736 has been delayed. The first delay was never mentioned. It was originally set to come out in late 2026 as a MY2027. But it was pushed back to mid 2027 for MY2028, now it appears to be pushed back again to mid 2028 for MY2029. I don’t quite understand the reason for the delays. I heard it might be due to getting costs under control.

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

What really bothers me about the prices increases is just how tone deaf Ford has become. There was a time when Ford would cut the price by $1,000 or more when launching a new generation of a particular vehicle. Emphasizing the value and that it costs less. The price increases on the new Expedition and Navigator are just appalling. I knew it was coming but hoped that they had reconsidered pricing/positioning. I really think sales of those models will slow and they will then react by cutting them back. The equipment hasn’t changed that much to necessitate such high price increases. The Navigator went from $83,000 in change to $99,995. Insanity!

Yeah unfortunately the Timberline trim level is being shelved for now. Tremor replaces it on both. A decision was made a year ago to do a Tremor instead. I have no idea why but that is what happened.

It’s not illuminated, just excellent lighting done to highlight the new design.

The Kuga replacement is the next generation of Ford’s other compact SUV, that’s not the Escape/Kuga. The next gen of this little icon is going global in 2027 from what I’ve heard. The CE1 based compact BEV SUV, is something different and will most likely (may or may not) use the Escape name. I hope it does use the Escape name though!

It’s not that Ford doesn’t care about the Ranger, it’s just that the Bronco and it’s production takes priority. Little by little each month they are building more Rangers and selling more. The Ranger literally flat lined last year before the switchover to the 2024 redesign. Then the UAW shutdown hurt. It’s taking longer than it should but Ford has a target goal of selling about 85,000 Rangers a year moving forward. With the Maverick selling 125,000-150,000 a year.

No one said Ford wasn’t replacing the Kuga. It will be replaced and not with an EV.

It certainly had elements of the Explorer America concept but really it just looked like a natural evolution of the Explorer with some boxiness to it.

This started as a Hackett project with a boxy authentic Explorer looking EV. It was attractive, futuristic and instantly recognizable as an Explorer which just happened to be an EV. This was started around 2019, pre-pandemic. This was due to be produced at Cuautitlan as a MY24 vehicle. Around the end of 2021, Farley change the entire program. Same platform, totally different top hat. This included a program code change as well. It went from boxy to very aero. I always thought it looked like a Polestar 3, a Tesla Model Y, a Tesla Model X, and a 1995 Taurus wagon mixed together. Horrid! This was then going to be produced in Ohio and then Oakville, then they didn’t know, to it finally being canceled. It was going to be a MY26 vehicle and then a MY28. I feel for the design and engineering teams who poured their heart and work into these things only for it to be canceled. Over 5 years of time and nothing came of it. Make no mistake, it’s best that this happened and this thing will not be mass produced or produced at all. Farley talks about authentic icons and passion products but this thing was far from that. It was an appliance on wheels.

Yes that was it

It was the ugliest Ford design in 50+ years! I’m so glad it has been shelved and canceled. I have no doubt it would have been a sales bomb if it did launch. And priced over $60,000 I believe it would have been an epic failure.

Boom! There it is. https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/ford-cancels-3-row-evs-delays-next-gen-electric-pickup

There is supposedly another MCA for MY27. The previous, 5th gen Explorer went from 2011-2019. So it’s not completely out of the ordinary if this one lasts from 2020-2028. 9 years is a long time but they keep it just under a decade. Stretching these generations longer and longer out.

The last I heard the next gen Explorer and Aviator will arrive for MY29 and will simply be a new top hat on the CD6 platform. However plans do change frequently so it’s possible it’s a different platform but unlikely.

There are plans for “Lobo” versions of the Ranger and F-150 as well.

I don’t think you understand the culture context of how things have shifted in the last 24 months within Ford. Yes, the company like any other has always emphasized revenue. But in the last 24 months, the desire for revenue has gone from normal business to turbocharged desperation. If we don’t get enough we are going out of business. Ford internally is in “survival mode” again.

Spot on!! Right now internally the only thing being pushed is revenue, revenue, revenue. And when revenue isn’t enough it’s cut, cut, cut. What’s most concerning is how Bill Ford, who has seen all of the ups and downs as well as what works and what doesn’t work over the years but has not yet made any meaningful changes to prevent the Finance Dept from making so many short sighted moves. For example, they will change suppliers on a part just to save 5 cents on any given part. Doesn’t mean that new part is the same or better. It’s about cost, not quality and that’s where the problems happen. Farley’s days are numbered and I believe we may see Kumar promoted to CEO in less than 12 months. Kumar is an engineer at heart (like Mulally) and just has a better approach to things. Farley, while brilliant sometimes just is too much visionary and not enough of the nuts and bolts to get it done.

I believe 1 is BOF and is actually based on the next gen F-150 EV but it is completely different. Rumors are this is the F-200. The other is unclear. It could be BOF but I believe this is more of a unibody Van based vehicle. They are serious about Ford Pro and the products it will have especially since this part of FMC’s business is booming.