7Mary3

In other news, anyone hear about the new 'Elite Commercial Service Centers'? Supposedly (at least according to 'Automotive News' and 'FordAuthority') Ford dealers with sufficient commercial business are being asked to invest in this new program to the tune of $9-15M to provide dedicated service facilities to commercial customers. Ford will assist dealers $250,000 to $300,000 to build the required 24 large service bays, provide 5+ mobile service vans, and stay open 72 hours per week. There seems to be nothing in this about making new commercial trucks more available or shortening delivery times, nor any mention about Ford's problems with backordered replacement parts (BTW, I have been waiting for a catalytic converter since October...). Coming from a fleet perspective, I don't see much chance of success for this program. I don't see many dealers going for it in the first place and there will be little chance the operation will be cost-competitive, particularly considering the cash outlay the participating dealers will have to front. Sure, a lot of fleets will use it for warranty, but after that good luck. And we know how generous Ford is to dealers when they perform warranty work.

I would guess a lot! Probably why the truck is based on the 19,500# GVW NRR and not the NPR. Interesting it will be available with 3, 6, or 9 battery packs. Buyer can tailor the truck to their own GVW and range needs.

Cummins: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230308005143/en/ Isuzu: https://www.isuzucv.com/en/nseries/nseries_ev

I hear many people say that since since there are currently no or few EV chargers in my area, EV's will never be practical. Remember that the number and location of charging locations are in part a refection of where and how many BEV are in use in a given area. As BEV's become more popular more charging stations will be built. May not happen overnight, but it is happening. Would not at all be surprised to hear someone one day say they will not buy an ICE vehicle because the nearest gas station is 40 miles away.....

Ford Pro is supposed to have a special press conference today at the NTEA show in addition to their regular update session tomorrow. Anyone know what will be discussed?

Speaking of ethanol: https://www.clearflame.com/

The NTEA show is next week. Have not heard anything out of Ford about new announcements, but I hear Isuzu and Cummins are going to have something big to talk about.

GM spent the money to offer an E85 Flex Fuel option on their 6.6L gas engine last year. Probably for fleets.

We have an awful lot of lithium here. Seems like they are finding more every day....

Sure, I would think the parts already exist. Only issue would be if the N.A. engines get in the way.

Some here criticize Ford Pro for emphasizing the Transit and F-150 over the larger commercial trucks like the F650 and 750, but when you see numbers like these it is very understandable.

Cut-away's usually are used for specialty bodies like ambulance, van, mini-bus, RV ect. where the standard 34" truck frame width isn't critical. The GM cut-away's have 42" wide frame, I think that's a bit narrower than Ford but still 'non-standard'. Cut-away's are not medium duty trucks.

Not sure, the current E Series tops out at the 450 model and I think the GVW is about 14,500#'s. Those wheels are hub-centric, notice the lug nuts with the attached washer.

Good catch! Still has 8 lug wheels and judging by the negative camber, looks like it has 'Twin-I-Beam'.

BTW, looks like the E series is only getting a minor refresh: https://fordauthority.com/2023/02/ford-e-series-refresh-spotted-testing-for-first-time/ In other news from the same source, they are reporting the 'economy' version of the 7.3L will be dropped from the E series. My guess is it will be replaced by the 6.8L.

They might be able to, but it would likely be expensive. The impression I get is that the F-650 and 750 are hanging by a thread generating little or no profits on small volume, and the only reason they are still around is because some 'Ford Pro' dealers like selling them. The trucks do have a little niche to themselves being the lowest cost class 6 and 7 trucks on the market. Thus, it would be very hard for Ford to justify spending any money on these trucks. A universal E series-medium duty F series cab sounds like a good idea but I can't see Ford spending much money on it.

I agree with what Farley says about fasteners, but he is pointing out the obvious. Musk didn't come up with that idea. Look at this part. It locates an interior door panel, it fastens an interior door panel, and it makes an audible click when it is properly assembled. And it's been around for decades....

I don't know. I never had a lot of faith in Farley, still don't. There was a fair amount of double talk in that presentation, and what I got out of it was he is creating a 'good Ford' (Ford E) and a 'bad Ford' (Ford Blue). Basically saying Ford as we know it now is doomed and whatever negative situations develop from this point they will be attributable to the 'legacy' part of the business. But the thing is Ford needs that legacy business (ICE products) to fund the transition, and Farley knows this. The big issues are the production inefficiencies and high warranty costs/poor quality of Ford's ICE products, and there is no excuse for any of it. If Ford Blue can't produce Ford E is in jeopardy, no matter what picture Farley wants to paint about the BEV business. I also do not believe Ford is #1 among legacy auto manufacturers in BEV technology (I think they are about #3, still not bad).

Tesla's biggest advantage was shareholders willing to take massive losses quarter after quarter and follow Musk lockstep no matter what. Ford does not have that luxury.

That's exactly what GM did. Not sure about the Transit, might depend on the firewall opening.

There is also an E85 option for the GM HD pickups equipped with the 6.6L gas engine. Ford may introduce it for the 6.8L at some point too.

You don't have to. ICE vehicles will eventually be a small minority. E85 can be made form lots of different plant matter, we just use corn here because... ah.... The corn lobby?

Why mess with synthitic gasoline? E85 makes a lot more sense.

The P-30 cut-away wasn't. The cab was borrowed from the G series van, but it had a composite tip front front end. Kind of like the later TopKick/Kodiak: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-pick-of-the-day-lazy-daze-class-c-rv-on-chevy-g30-hd-chassis-why-didnt-all-big-vans-have-tilt-hoods/

So. what's the big plan?