2005Explorer

The biggest problem with gas prices out of control is if they stay too high for too long like in 2008 it can be a factor in a recession starting. I'm convinced these out of control prices especially with real estate can't go on forever without the bubble popping. Ford needs to find a way to build more Mavericks because if a recession hits that and other small affordable fuel efficient vehicles will be what sells. I remember all the big expensive trucks and SUVs piling up on dealer's lots in 2009.

Wow that looks awesome! Let's see what happens when Ford in North America gets done with it. They have been very busy with changes to the current generation since 2019 so I can't imagine what exciting new features they will be adding to the Ranger. 1. no rear folding headrest 2. no hood struts(as of 2022) 3. no PRNDS light 4. no glovebox damper 5. no RANGER embossed into the Lariat seats 6. no console (pen) cubby 7. no 12V outlet in the console without 110v option 8. no bright trim rings on the 12v covers that matched the radio knobs 9. only 4 bed tie downs instead of 6 (as of mid 2019??) 10. no engine cover 11. no key slot on tailgate lock 12. no owners manual cover 13. no power folding mirrors on XLT 302A 14. Eco badge on tailgate 15. no plugs in the rocker panels 16. no ignition bezel (has always been missing) 17. steel front fenders (aluminum before) estimated after March 2021 and all 2022 18. no bright button on parking brake 19. no color keyed tailgate handle on Lariat just black plastic without chrome pkg. 20. no aluminum spindles, they're now steel 21. rear passenger doors no longer have external touch lock 22. front seat headrest tilt adjustment 23. (2) 4.2" productivity screens instrument cluster replaced with (1) 4.2" screen in Lariat 500A Like I said very busy! ?

But is he really? He seems to think ICE still plays a role in the market. I believe you want all ICE products cancelled in the next year or two. I bet you could do much better then him.

Well maybe you should apply for a job at Ford since you're a corporate restructuring expert. Go fix them instead of being a keyboard warrior.

Well 120 years later they are still in business as the original company. The only legacy US automaker that has survived out of this... "Starting with Duryea in 1895, at least 1900 different companies were formed, producing over 3,000 makes of American automobiles." So even though you are extremely critical of Ford and consider them the poorest run automaker they seem to survive and thrive. I'm not saying they don't need some major structural improvements on the inside, but your whole "Ford death watch" is getting old around here.

Crisis is the only thing that has kept Ford in business for almost 120 years. If everything was going perfect and on cruise control like it is at every other automaker I'd be very concerned about their future.

Well you have a point to a certain point. The 1986 Taurus and Sable were products that no expense was spared on and it showed. At the time they offered features and cutting edge design that no one else was doing. However they were slowly decontented until 1995 and many of the little touches that made them what they were started to disappear. When the controversial 1996 model appeared it too offered a lot of neat touches, but then they took decontenting to the next level. The same happened with the 2000 model. The original generations of Taurus could provide a whole case study on decontenting. There are other quite ingenious products that came from Ford during that era and many were done with limited resources. The Tempo and Topaz was one of the best selling compact cars and all it really was is a stretched Escort. The 1983 Thunderbird and Cougar took a very unappealing car and turned it into something really stylish with better performance and quality on the same Fox platform. However there were also products that suffered from cost cutting during the same period. The Yuma small truck platform brought the Ranger, Bronco II, and later Explorer, however Ford cost cutting created a dangerous vehicle on the BII and to a lesser extent in the early generations of Explorer. Sure Ford made tons of money, but do some research and the engineers knew the Ranger platform when serving in SUV duty had extremely poor stability. The management said build it anyway because they were not paying money to improve it. What happened next was a lot of lawsuits. It took Ford until 1995 to finally get rid of the archaic twin I beam front end on those products and until 2002 to actually build the Explorer chassis properly to give it better stability. So even going back to the 80's and 90's you can find examples of Ford doing great things and doing some very questionable things too. The products of the era sold well, but that is more because Ford was way ahead of GM and Chrysler at that time when it came to design and quality. The imports although a large factor at the time were not a factor like they are today.

Speaking of Bronco check out this mint '78 Free-wheelin' Ford I spotted in Spearfish, SD today. Watch the ad... Same truck.

Pretty sure North America isn't switching over until late Spring 2023 from everything I have read.

So they are going to sell away the Ford brand name and oval, trademarks like F-150, Mustang, Bronco, Ranger, Explorer, production capacity and dealer network to GM? So GM will be building and selling Fords and FoMoCo will be selling some new Brand X, building them in new factories, and come up with a new sales channel? Why would GM want Ford dealerships when they already have their own in the same markets? Why would GM want Ford's ICE technology when they already have the same thing? Why would the Ford family who still controls the company want any name but Ford on the vehicle they produce? Exactly what is GM getting for $30 billion? They are going to build and park an F-150 next to a Silverado and an Explorer next to a Traverse? Ford honestly is going to sell away their brand? Because without the Ford brand, all trademarks and patents, the ICE business is worth little to nothing. The dealer network isn't worth crap to GM because they would have to shut down 80% of it anyhow because of market overlap. They could easily sell Fords and Chevys at the same dealership. I'm not a business guy, but none of this makes business sense to me. Selling away a brand that ranks #15 on most recognizable brands... Great idea!

I'm still purchasing new ICE vehicles, but I also live in a place considered "the boonies" to most people. A plug-in hybrid would really be a better solution for someone like me, but I am not sure the manufacturers want to go too far down that path when a full BEV is likely cheaper to produce.

I agree for a very few commercial segments it might be closer to 15 years, but I doubt there will be much of a market for ICE with typical customers in the next 6-8 years. Everyone seems to want BEV when it comes to the general market. The few ICE trucks or large SUVs that Ford is still making after 2030 can simply be a very small division within Ford. There is no reason to split if off because it will soon go away on it's own.

There isn't much reason to spin off the BEV business since the legacy ICE business probably only has 8-10 years left at most anyhow. I figure by 2030 they won't be selling any ICE vehicles except for very limited special use markets. It won't be enough to support a split-off company. Sure there will be necessary support for the ICE vehicles still on the road, but that will be more dealer focused support.

I don't know why GM would pay Ford $30 billion for something they already have. It's not like Ford would sell the Ford brand or dealer network, so it would be pointless.

What exactly is "dazzle free high beam technology"?

I forgot about the front parking sensors that my 2019 XLT has. I added the Technology Package on the 2022 I ordered and if they are telling the truth they should come included in that package. My 2019 doesn’t have a glove box light, but at least it dampened. I guess the new ones just fall open. I also forgot to mention the removal of door insulation so the doors sound extra tinny when you shut them. I’m still looking forward to my new Tremor, but disappointed how much they have cheapened up the truck over the past few years. Heck you don’t even get a little owners manual pouch any longer. I mention all of this because I question how nice the next one will be if they decide to go cheap. Ford wants to be a “premium” brand that people will pay more for, but after awhile people are going to stop paying more for less.

If I were to take a guess the very first thing will be the all digital instruments across the entire line.

Yes. If you want a next gen Ranger buy quickly to get all the nice stuff, because it'll lose it sooner or later. I thought Ford learned their lesson with decontenting all to hell back in the late 90's with the Taurus, but I guess not.

That's true, but some of the stuff they have removed on the Ranger goes beyond just little trim pieces or moving items to another package. Replacing the aluminum front fenders secretly sometime in 2021 with steel is not product improvement. It makes you wonder how long the 100% aluminum body panel F-Series is going to last when Ford is going backwards on other models.

Oh and I forgot to add no manual override key lock on the tailgate anymore. I believe the F-Series still has it. The current Ranger has been hit very hard by the bean counters.

I’ll be interested to see how nice the next gen Ranger actually is because the current one has been the victim of some major decontenting since first coming to North America. 1) Lariat no longer gets an engine cover. 2) Hood struts replaced by prop rod. 3) Headrests no longer fold. 4) Chrome accents removed in certain interior areas. 5) Power fold mirrors removed from certain trim packages. 6) Lariat painted tailgate handle replaced with a black plastic one. 7) Removal of lighted shift indicators on console. 8) Removal of rear door touch sensors on Lariat. Now this all seems to go back to former CEO Jim Hackett when he said they would try to cut costs by decontenting where the customer won’t really notice, but those little things matter when it’s a competitive market. It’ll be interesting to see if the next gen Ranger ends up like the current one where the first year is the most feature rich and they start removing features after that.

Edsel? ?

The dealers who are charging these large market adjustments especially on large SUVs and trucks better get their vehicles sold quickly because this war in Ukraine is likely to drive gas prices way up. Even "hot" vehicles like the Bronco which doesn't have that great of fuel economy will suffer. If the market falls out on vehicles that get relatively poor fuel economy there are going to be a lot of people who paid these huge market adjustments upside down big time. Heck even if auto sales don't collapse as bad as they did in 2009 there are still going to be a lot of people upside down and upside down. If this keeps up maybe Ford needs to open a second Maverick plant.

Next gen Ranger isn't starting production until Summer 2023 so add a few months to that. If they start building it December 2023 technically that's next year. Hopefully these predictions of $7 gas are wrong because that's going to put a damper on sales of specialty 4x4s, ICE large trucks and SUVs in general.

They probably ordered it thinking they would pay MSRP and when they were informed the dealer was going to throw a $30k mark-up on it they probably walked. I am sure the dealer is thrilled with all the money they are making totally ripping people off, but it could backfire on them.