7Mary3

Ford comes up very short in that match.

I think Ford is kind of stuck doing something with the old Econoline, as the Transit just isn't 'heavy duty' enough for some applications.

Heard a rumor that the E series will get a refresh. No word on exactly what will be updated though. Maybe a response to GM's upcoming new Express/Savanna?

No surprise about the tractor package. Maybe the gas/air brake option is Job 2.

It was a very good move, and a great time for Ford to get out. Rivian and their ilk may be clobbered in the coming BEV price war.

Not yet anyway! But, I do expect significant cuts to the ICE side of the business. While certain Ford Blue product lines are without a doubt the major source of revenue, there are others that are likely costing money. While streamlining the ICE side of the business has been a part of the plan for some time, I think those moves will be accelerated.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2022/06/24/ford-recalls-warranty-costs/7708704001/ Yes, looks like they are down last quarter.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/ford-has-25-more-engineers-doing-same-work-as-rivals-ceo-says And yet Ford's warranty costs continue to climb ever higher. Bill Ford's patience must be wearing thin.....

Meanwhile, across town: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/31/investing/gm-earnings/index.html Wouldn't imagine Farley is at all satisfied. I would like to see what Ford's warranty costs were last year for starters......

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-15/ford-says-mustang-mach-e-profit-wiped-out-by-commodity-costs?leadSource=uverify wall But I agree, the price cuts shouldn't hurt Ford much overall longer term, particularly if truck and SUV sales offset losses on other specific products. There is however the problem of what to do for all the customers that recently paid more for the same product that is now discounted. Not to mention resale. At least Tesla will face the same issues.

I don't know that GM is making a mistake not cutting prices. Tesla is cutting prices at least in part to head off competition as more and more new BEV's hit the market, a particularly concerning situation for Tesla considering their aging product line. Also many of these upcoming BEV's are trucks and SUV's, areas where Tesla is particularly weak (I don't expect the Cyber Truck to be much of a success). I didn't hear that Ford had any plans to cut the price on the Lightning (and I hope they don't) but they seem compelled to cut the price on the Mach E as it's priced close to the Tesla 3. The Chevy Bolt is quite a bit less expensive than either of those cars and I expect the 2024 Equinox EV (a dark horse) will be very competitively priced so I think GM will have the lower end of the BEV market well covered. In any event, I think if Tesla starts a price war it will not hurt GM or Ford in the long term, but it may well wipe out all the startups.

I wonder the same thing about Bronco's and Mavericks.......

I missed this, seems that LG is working on 4680 cells as well: https://insideevs.com/news/591700/lges-4680type-battery-cells-korea/

Hummer, Silverado EV, Sierra EV, Corvette E-Ray, Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq, Chevy Bolt, Bolt EUV, Equinox and Blazer EV's, and BrightDrop. Maybe not a flood yet but the tide is rising for sure.

Wouldn't say Ultium is falling apart, more like they are searching for the best technology going forward. Very interested to see where they go with Ultium Home Energy and SunPower.

More BEV battery news: https://www.electrive.com/2023/01/26/gm-to-switch-from-pouch-to-round-battery-cells/ This may explain why GM is not doing a 4th. plant with LG. The Mach-E (and I assume the Lightning) currently use pouch cell batteries. CATL makes prismatic cell batteries, is that the direction Ford is going?

No doubt a factor. However, BYD would be coming in at a better position than Ford, i.e. Ford was going to close this plant, were are saving it but give us too much trouble and we are gone. I now see that BYD may be eyeing that plant to built large commercial BEV's, if so it would not be competing with Ford. Maybe Otosan though.

That's what I am thinking....

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/01/24/ford-could-sell-saarlouis-germany-plant-to-china-byd/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGYYSKqLrb9Pk5GPorKdT5NdbkcaaP2Ng7EI6aw26E2wXhPrge0tadXfSpPBeVWm9mq94avHt1SIFeFhQ4vimvlOxFGaRcKfqmfBeeUkTbPKz4uOMbGFTiWF47U5HXGBe_1kp1c8dhtUGgPksSzeIzSV3jS8Gv2ERsULgfkYSI9P

It all came from Jack Webb. He did that with 'Dragnet' and 'Adam-12'. That guy invented reality T.V. (radio) 65+ years ago.

Was Virginia being seriously considered? https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/virginia-governor-calls-ford-battery-plant-project-a-front-for-chinese-communist-party

Yes, Cinader and Webb were cut from the same cloth!

Jack Webb produced 'Emergency', and he was a stickler for details. When the County of Los Angeles started their paramedic program, they used the many Dodge D-300 rescue squads they had in their fleet. So, Universal Studios bought a new Dodge and had it outfitted with the same body and equipment the County used for the show. The pumper originally was an older Crown Firecoach borrowed from the County's reserve fleet, but later when the County bought new Ward LaFrance pumpers (and the show was a big hit $$$) Universal bought their own Ward. Story was they paid for one additional truck on the County's order. L.A. County was a big Chrysler customer but by the late 70's they started buying Chevy C-30's for paramedic squads. They had Ford F-350's in the 90's but went back to Dodge (Ram) in recent years.

That picture makes me wonder why Ford never came out with an aluminum cab for the old Louisville.

Some 2024 F-650/750 info: 10 Speed Torq-Shift transmission will only be available with the 6.7L Powerstroke, the 7.3L gas engine continues with the 6R-140 (a combination I really wish was available in the F-350). Air brakes finally listed as an option for the gas engine. Tractor package seems to have disappeared. I never saw one anyway... No other changes that I can see as of yet.