mustang84isu

I'm in a Facebook group for underappreciated survivor cars (stuff built between 73-03) and there are a surprising amount of younger millennials and zoomers in that group that own 80's and 90's sedans and coupes and are fascinated by all the long-gone brands such as Olds, Mercury, and Plymouth. The problem is that these younger guys just don't have the money for a new vehicle, which is why they are buying these low-mile and babied cars from a few decades ago. The new car market is going the wrong way for them. And the ones that ARE buying new like the ones in this video below are digging their own graves financially. The Maverick is such a hit for Ford because it's one of the first reasonably priced vehicles that young and old alike can easily afford, and it's well-designed...not just a cheap econobox. As cars like the Mustang keep tipping toward being less affordable as they have been getting over time, they're naturally going to struggle to maintain that market share and interest among younger buyers. I hate to cheapen the Mustang name, but maybe Ford should consider keeping the ICE Mustang beyond the late 2020's as a more stripped down & affordable model (Mustang Classic?), while the electric Mustang coupe fills the gaps at the higher end. Unless BEV costs finally start tilting downward, you're going to continue to see names like the Mustang squeezed toward a smaller niche of buyers.

I seriously wonder what is going to happen in 10 years when we start seeing the sunset of ICE mandated by states like California, yet EV's are basically unaffordable for any household not making $150K+. I remember reading articles 2-3 years ago talking about pending supply chain issues for lithium ion batteries and other minerals that go into EV batteries, and now it is playing out in real-time. Definitely feels like the cart is being put before the horse and legislators are only looking at the end game and not looking at how we actually get there. I'm for sustainability and reducing carbon/emissions, but I'm also a realist.

I guess I am an outlier, but I think it looks really good. The new front is much better than the current Escape, and the lightbar doesn't bother me (although it could be a little better integrated into the design). The back looks light a very slight tweak (taillights) compared to the current model, but losing all the black plastic gives it a more premium feel. Hopefully other trims get body-colored lower panels as well.

A couple weeks ago in Colorado, my wife pointed out a truck with "weird paint". I was distracted trying to pay attention to directions and it didn't hit me what she was talking about until we pulled right up next to it, and I had only seconds at the light to whip out my camera. This is the only picture I was able to get, not sure if it is a refresh of the Super Duty, or maybe a special version (it says Roush on the C-pillar). I've never seen one of these test vehicles in person, so it was a neat catch.

Even for an older millennial like myself, the Thunderbird name still has recognition and I would love to see it brought back. I grew up around the Fox body and MN-12 Thunderbirds. I am so tired of CUV's, anything non-CUV from Ford would be a breath of fresh air, even if it was an EV.

I think it's hard to judge both of these photos. The proportion of the vehicle in both images seem a little distorted, especially the silver one (photo of a photo, taken at an angle). The black one has the hood open, so it's also making the front appear a little taller than it probably would be otherwise. But yeah, definitely an evolution. I was really hoping for something more revolutionary. It kind of takes me back to 2005 a little bit, minus the fog lamps.

It baffles me how FCA strung along the Dodge and Chrysler brands for years, yet they still continue to sell in decent numbers with extremely old product. The time, energy, and money invested into Fiat/Alfa has been a huge waste for less than 4,000 vehicles per quarter between the two brands.

I did end up putting it on in October last year and it has held up pretty well through the winter with salt and snow. My car is driven daily and the ceramic wax is still beading up all these months later. Definitely seems to have held up better than the Meguiar's NXT Tech 2.0 wax I used to use. One suggestion is to make sure the car is wet when you apply this product. I did the first application dry and found out there is supposed to be moisture on the car because it helps it bond to the paint better (plus it is much easier to apply that way). I ended up doing two applications. Check YouTube...Meguiar's has a couple videos showing how to apply this specific product.

Ford having both ICE and EV's gives them a moat to survive economic cycles within the economy. EV stocks are hot right now, but we are at the peak (or past the peak?) of a bull market cycle and heading into a period of higher interest rates which will be turbulent for EV stocks. Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, and others have never been tested by a recession or a rising interest rate environment--IMO, pure play EV companies could see some very difficult times in this scenario. Also, does a separate EV business end up diluting the Ford and Lincoln brands? Splitting the company in two splits resources, doubles up management, etc. It's just a way to appease Wall Street and provide a short-term boost, not long-term stability. This is just like Johnson & Johnson which is splitting off its consumer business from its pharmaceutical business, which is a mistake. The stability of the consumer business helps anchor the company during the ups and downs of the pharma business, which is why J&J has long been a favored stock for stable, long-term growth. J&J as two companies is much less desirable, IMO. Ford will be in the same boat.

It would actually be kind of cool of an EV Continental had both a massive trunk and massive frunk like in the concept. It would help greatly expand the amount of cargo space available, making sedans somewhat more competitive with CUV's at least from a cargo standpoint.

Yep, that was a fat finger mistake...I meant IV. Never really was a fan of the VI, especially the goofy vents on the side.

A couple other thoughts now that I am looking at the Top 10 photos again... 1. Was the LS photo a preproduction car? I had a first gen LS, and of all the first gen LS's I have ever seen, I have never seen one with a red emblem. 2. There are three noticeable gaps in time for this Top 10 list...WWII (for obvious reasons), the Malaise Era, and the Aughts. If this list were expanded to 12 or even 15, I could think of several models that should be added, especially the 1941 Continental, and I would add the 1949 Cosmopolitan Convertible and even a Mark VI or V. However, I can't think of anything from the Aughts that is worthy of this list except for maybe the final 2011 Town Car, and only because it was the end of an era. Lincoln really lost its mojo between the early-mid 2000's up until probably the 2017 Continental. There were small steps such as the 2013 MKZ that started moving things in the right direction, but otherwise I can't think of much from that ~15 year span that will be "museum-worthy" in 30+ years.

Very good list, but I would swap out the 2020 Aviator with the 2020 Continental (maybe even coach door version). From a design standpoint, the Continental has thoughtful touches that the Aviator seems to lack a little (integrated door handles, brushed aluminum mirror supports). I own a Continental and had an Aviator for a bit as a loaner, and the Continental just feels like a slight step above...like the design team spent effort in making it special. The coach door Continental ups the ante to 11.

I remember reading a post a couple years ago where I believe Ford was getting rid of the rear touch door locks on newer Edges. Our '17 Edge has them, and we have a toddler and literally use the rear touch door locks all the time. Small touches like that are why we enjoy our Edge, and to hear that Ford is once again going down the de-contenting rabbit hole is frustrating. As a shareholder, of course I want Ford margins to increase...but as a customer, there is a limit when you start nickel and diming the customer to the point where you erode your reputation and loyalty from repeat buyers. I would rather see Ford boost margins by making quality vehicles that don't succumb to massive warranty campaigns. Or offering services such as a more robust Ford Pass / Lincoln Way app for a small service charge such as $5.99/mo. that gives you expanded telematics features. Expand services offered, but don't eliminate value. Taking away standard features that a previous generation vehicle had and then charging extra for them as an option is what the Germans and Tesla do. Don't be like them, Ford.

He also made the major mistake of lumping Ford Credit debt in with automotive debt. A portion of his video is him railing on how stupid people with MBA's are, yet he makes this classic noob mistake that invalidates half of his arguments. People like Sandy are so gaga over Tesla's stock price ("you're stupid if you don't buy it"), but they don't understand basic fundamentals of how a company is valued. Sandy pumping Tesla shares near all time highs will lead his sheep to slaughter next year when we have one or more interest rate hikes that will pummel overvalued tech and EV stocks.

Feels like a desperation video. I think Sandy is losing OEM customers, so now he has basically hitched his wagon to the Tesla YouTube crowd to stay relevant. The guy's credibility has really taken a tumble the last several months.

This is huge news, but I can't find any other source to confirm this yet other than Seeking Alpha. $8.6 billion is a lot of vehicles. What caught my attention is the mention of sedans. Is this just a reporting error, or is this a hat tip that Ford sedans may be coming back to the US market? https://seekingalpha.com/news/3767897-ford-lands-86b-government-contract-per-new-filing

Ford hit $20/share today, first time it has been above $20 since August of 2001--20 years ago.

I was hoping Ford would hit $20 by the end of the year, but I think it will be there within the next week. This has been a refreshing last few months after years of disappointment. I've held Ford shares since 2008 and considered selling a large chunk several times over the last several years but always held on. I would so be kicking myself today if I had done so.

Ford has changed so much since Hackett was at the helm...maybe they will finally ease up on their anti-sedan stance in North America as well. One sedan each for Ford and Lincoln keeps market share under the Ford umbrella that will otherwise be lost to competitors and allows Ford to easily pivot if sentiment and tastes shift.

Extreme fanboys will shun GM, but I'm going to wager that the vast majority of the car buying public has little to no memory of the GM EV1. What incumbent automakers need to do is make owning an EV as easy as possible, as reliable as possible, while providing good value to the consumer. That is how you win the mass market, and it is what Ford, GM, VW, and others are historically good at. I do agree though that the evangelists get tiring. Nothing says hypocrite more than Elon Musk constantly flying back and forth between Fremont and Austin in his Gulfstream jet and blowing up rockets over ecologically sensitive areas at the southern tip of Texas.

Looks like somebody at Toyota took this BMW meme too seriously. I can't believe somebody in Toyota's styling department signed off on that.

If it weren't for the chip shortage Ford should be above $20/share right now. They are making all the right moves lately by selling off / closing down unprofitable regions such as Brazil and India and their electrification strategy seems to be gaining momentum with all the recent partnerships and announcements such as BlueOvalSK and Blue Oval City. It still amazes me that small startups like Lucid can have a market cap that is 2/3 of Ford and they are not yet selling any vehicles, let alone posting a profit. I do think the new Lucid Air is a great vehicle and better than the Model S even, but electric car company valuations are completely out of whack with reality and a sign of how frothy this market has become. Tesla's $775b market cap may make sense if they were the only game in town, but they are increasingly seeing new competition as each day passes and I don't see how the air doesn't get pricked out of that bubble over the coming months and years. I'm glad to see Ford focusing more on service businesses such as telematics which will bring a steady revenue that helps mitigate the normal boom bust cycle of the auto industry. I do wish they would work more on the Ford Pass and Lincoln Way apps. It's nice that you can start your car, lock & unlock doors, and check your gas level...but it would be nice to control more vehicle functions (cooled seats, defroster, HVAC temp) and just be a more robust app that integrates better with daily life. Lincoln / Ford rewards are pretty lacking too. With how digital Millennials and Gen Z are, Ford needs to think bigger when it comes to its apps.

I usually clay bar and wax in the spring, and then wax again in the fall. My car is garage parked both at home and at work so I've found doing clay bar twice a year is usually a waste of time. I have been using Meguiar's NXT 2.0 wax for many years and it seems to last a decent amount of time, but the downside is it seems to collect dust and dirt pretty easily so you end up washing the car more often. I recently bought Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic spray wax and am looking forward to trying it out. I've been using their hybrid detailer for a few months and it has a great shine.

It's interesting how everyone is now jumping on the bandwagon of spelling the brand's name out with wide set letters in lieu of having a logo. Lincoln was a trendsetter.