ZanatWork

I just don't have the internal wiring to celebrate this direction of automotive technology. Every time I saw the GMC ads with people grinning as they released their steering wheels at highway speeds, I was convinced that human kind had fully become lemmings. Hey, I get it...long day at work, car picks you up at the curb, you mumble "home", and can ignore everything while your chariot whisks you away. That said, I think we're further away from it being a true reality than some realize. Right now, it does seem like we're pushing towards LESS attentive driving, which is guaranteed to be tragic.

Nissan is an extreme case, and one we've all watched as only the Rogue seemed to make any headway for the brand in recent years. Their optics took a lot of damage from the Ghosn drama, plus their direct Japanese rivals out-engineering them. The 400ZX actually makes me sad, because I've had the Z car as one of the pillars in the sports coupe world my whole life. The Camaro and Challenger have come and gone before, and the Z basically disappeared for awhile...but it's practically the only "attitude" in a Nissan showroom right now. Ford is managing to weather their own bad headlines for the moment, but the value of stories like the Mustang GTD at the 'Ring is not to be discounted. I'm hoping that they run ads celebrating class/overall wins for Mustangs like they did for all their sports models in the 80s. Yes, I'm biased towards the sport/performance side of things, but that part of the optics should visibly celebrate its achievements to differentiate itself from the more milquetoast competitors.

The "Porsche of off road" had better start caring about engines again, because they'll want some impressive headlines to counteract the slew of recalls, sub-average quality ratings, and more doom/gloom in their news for too long.

Ford's in a flux state as is the EV market in general. The recent story about customers "not caring about engines" and the Navigator coming 3rd-of-3 when compared against its domestic competitors are subjects to muddy the optics. The low cost EVs, plus real showings of direction heading forward can't come soon enough...and, I hope the R&D for ICE engines gets some re-prioritization as the world seems to be reconsidering the overly-aggressive shift to EVs.

I'm hoping this endeavor proves to be very impressive, despite my admitted apathy towards the EV market. In a few different social media markets, there's full-on resentment towards Ford for handing over the "starter cars" market (Fiesta, Focus) so completely. While Honda, Toyota, and the Koreans seemingly will keep making the introductory-level vehicles for those markets, the determination of Ford to desert those buyers has ongoing negativity towards the brand. With the almost-invisible Escape on its last legs (tires?), and the Maverick seemingly dangling as Ford's only low cost offering for the immediate future, the optics are frankly both elitist (good luck finding new Fords under $35k) and delusional (FORD RECALLS ANOTHER MILLION VEHICLES...). This rough patch isn't fun to witness.

The Flex was easily the most usable, enjoyable, and overall solid vehicle I'd owned in years...though mine was eventually killed by the early first year version of the transaxle. A cavernous awd wagon (spare me the cuv bulls***) that offered Expedition interior space with car liftover heights is an excellent offering...and if their marketing hadn't basically orphaned it early on, I think it'd have had a real 2nd generation.

That supercharger kit is a big $$ "option", as opposed to what would likely be under $1000 for a different grade of 5.0. It's not that 400 hp is inadequate...I remember being a teenager and thinking that a 225 hp 5.0 "Fox" Mustang was perfection...but, the horsepower wars are still underway with some competition bringing displacement/torque advantages. Ford has a brutal history when finding it to be "adequate" to aim for mid-market. When promoting performance vehicles, spec sheets are part of the eye candy. It simply seems that this was a slightly underwhelming approach.

it seems to me that a different level of tune could have been applied to the 5.0, something to make the Lobo a bit more special.

This is the latest example of failure in legislated behaviors. The list is stupendous throughout history, and it's always growing.

It's...eh...well, like the color, but the wheels are a swing and a miss. If they're going to try and manipulate us Gen-Xers, they should've gone for the darker green/cream interior versions of the early 90s.

How interesting that these "posters" show up, and register just to post gripes about their (supposed) vehicles... ...what amazing coincidences!

It's always...interesting...to me when a poster's single entry on the site is a (supposed) complaint. Why would they find this board at this specific time? Hmmm.

After weeks of hearing that the Mustang was tanking, the Mach E had the brutal month. Ford needs an update, something to renew interest. I can't help feeling that the market whose cars are most dependent on the newest range/gadgets will be one needing very constant feeding.

You're pretty judgy, and not in any good ways. This is a time where Toyota is getting 300 hp from turbo 3 cylinder engines, Benz is getting 400 from 2 liter 4s, Dodge will be shoveling power into the Charger variants to keep something relevant there, Hyundia/KIA are actually stepping up the power/performance games, and so on.... ...so, I find your position to be one of defending lethargy in a market that is always changing. Having been around a good while, and remembering the world seemingly out-engineering Ford and Detroit as a whole on more than one occasion...I called these concerns, and think that there's plenty of room for just that. Failing to keep up with, and/or lead, the Joneses has had Ford in very deep trouble repeatedly.

My main concerns: 1. The Mustang is already on re-re-revamped bones, and is likely to suffer in comparisons to more recently engineered sport sedans. 2. With the nebulous nature of the EV market, are there scraps in the budget to keep some ICE R&D going? The various engines across the board have been almost stagnant (minus the Dark Horse 5.0). The turbo 4s are seemingly forgotten, the V6s are far from class leading...yeah, I have concerns. 3. Dilution is an obvious twitch. The MACH-E didn't phase me, with EVs being literally legislated in many markets...but, a Mustang sedan can NOT be a Lincoln LS-esque "shoot for the middle of the market" gaffe.