92merc

I saw a couple of videos on what I believe is the subject you are talking about. There is a TSB on a secondary drum having an issue with a bearing/bushing, I don't recall which. The updated drum fixes the issue. Only way to tell is to have a dealer look up the history on the VIN. The videos only described "odd shifts". They didn't give much detail on symptoms. It applies to all 10 speeds, Ranger, F150, Explorer. I don't recall the date Ford switched to using the new drum in new vehicles.

I gotta wonder if something like Mazda's patented 2 stroke engine would make for a good pairing of a hybrid motor, instead of Atkinson cycle 4 strokes.

We've discussed that possibility too. Lincoln is basically around just to have a Flagship model lineup. I'm mean really, what's the difference between a Navigator and a Expi Platinum? It's just prestige at this point.

I like the look of the Evos. But from the few articles I've read, it looks like a BEV, not ICE product. I was mostly referring to a mid sized ICE solution for North America.

I must have missed the Edge info. Would both of those be the Chinese built ones? Along those lines, I'm betting the Escape may not be axed as soon as they said. Either that or they'll hope to pivot those buyers to the Bronco Sport instead. Personally, I like the Escape better. But I could live with an BS if that was my only option.

My big concern with going back to hybrids, is does Fords still have enough ICE powertrain and platform people around to add more hybrids to the mix. They didn't make an Edge replacement, so that's a negative on the platform side. They should have made a C2 Edge. Do they have the resources to go back to that perhaps? Engines wise, the 2.5 NA is an old platform. It'll probably still fit the bill for the C2. But will the EcoBoost engines work well with regards to efficiency for larger platforms like the Ranger? Ford needs an efficient solution for the F150 hybrid as well. Is the 2.7EB the best approach? Or should that be the 3.3 NA that they had dropped from the F150's? Or maybe a 3.0 NA build off the 3.0 EB engine, just re-tuned for NA/hyrbid. Does Ford still have they ICE engineers around to handle the pivot back to hybrids?

The LCD dash on my 2020 Ford Escape Titanium is one thing that drew me to it over the BS and Maverick dashes. If it's already in the Escape, no reason Ford shouldn't put it on top trim BS/Mav.

It was the Group 48 AGM battery that fixes the issue. Wouldn't be covered by warranty to change. But in the interest of getting your car back on the road ASAP, I'd jump on it.

The Escape Hybrid 12V battery is smaller than the ICE. I know some hybrid owners have swapped out to the larger battery. For some reason Type 48 sticks in my head. But not sure if that was the smaller battery or the bigger.

Gong down the road, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and the XT5.

When ever I did something not too bright as a kid, and failed, my dad would say "Did you learn anything?" Usually the answer was yes. Unfortunately, for too many people today, the answer is No.

But the hardware is uniquely Ford, correct? They used their own system I thought.

Umm, no. Ford didn't use Toyota's technology. Early on, Ford did work with Toyota. But they eventually had different methodologies and went their separate directions. There is nothing in Ford's hybrids that was licensed from Toyota.

I had a 2007 Mercury Montego FWD with the Aisin 6 speed and 3.0. I had no complaints of power. Not as fast as my 2.0EB Escape, but it was faster than my 2003 F150...

I liked the look of the Blazer, but didn't care for the headlights. It appears they've corrected that. As someone who just traded a 2013 Escape for a 2020 Titanium, the Escape has a better interior than the BS. I took a look at one, but the dealer was charging $1500 more for the BS with similar features to my Escape. The Escape was just nicer inside. Let's face it though, both are economy vehicles. Not sure why some are hating on the Escape, it's a good vehicle. I understand why Ford is building 2 vehicles on the same platform. But if/when they do drop the Escape, I'll probably settle for BS as that will be the only ICE I can get. Current electric vehicles don't fit my needs. Hate to go to Toyota, but if that's my only other option, it's on the table.

Elon has a hard time with failure of an idea. He tends to think anything can be fixed with enough resources. Twitter is a good example. I personally don't think he'll ever make his money back buying Twitter and re-branding it. He'll keep it afloat, but it'll never really make him money. Same for his truck. He'll make enough of them to tell everyone "Hey, see I made the truck!". But it won't make enough money to return the investment. And he's too stubborn to admit it.

If Ford has room for more C2 production, I'd say keep Escape going. I'd much rather have an Escape than the Chinese Modeo, even if it was built in North America. I'd wager Escape would be more profitable. That being said, I'll bet Ford has other plans for the Flat Rock facility. They're just waiting on UAW negotiations to complete before announcing it.

I know nothing about UAW, other than what I read here. But I saw a recent article about former CEO Fields comments. In a nutshell, Fields said UAW could win the battle by getting big pay raises. But in the end lose the war because the US 3 car makers won't be able to compete on a global scale for wages. That would mean either all production for Ford going overseas, or they would go out of business entirely. I would generally agree with that overall assessment.

On my 2013 Escape with 2.0EB, we never got advertised MPG. Mixed driving was 22mpg at best. Winter it could drop to 17mpg. Got 30mpg once with a 30 mph tailwind. Outside of that, never broke 23mpg. New to me 2020 Escape with 2.0EB and new 8 speed, I'm running 27.1mpg in same mixed driving. Don't have a full tank spent on it yet. But I'd say it's markedly better.

A BEV just won't do it for me. Not unless they can get to 15 minute charge at 300 mile range. I live in a rural state. I do travel somewhat often. I'm not having an hour pit stop to charge and just go 300 miles to do it over again. And the destinations I go don't have charging stations nearby. So I'd have to drive an hour away to recharge, and drive an hour back? Makes no sense for me. I don't think the switch to electrification in my area will happen any where as soon as some are predicting. I tried to buy a hybrid Escape, but those are no where to be found. So I guess if I have to jump brands in 8-10 years when I'm ready to replace my 2020 Escape, that's what I'll have to do. So then Ford really does make nothing on me at that point.

So the Escape outsells all of Lincoln combined. But let's shit can the Escape. ? Not to mention it outsells the Explorer and Expidition... Yeah, I'm a bit miffed. Traded my 2013 Escape Titanium off a week ago to get a 2020 Escape Titanium. Get them while they last!

That chart neglects one big factor. The amount of "energy" it takes to make an EV is higher than an ICE vehicle. All the extra copper in the electric motors, the batteries, etc. You have to look at these vehicles as the lifetime expected emissions, birth to death. Including the extra efforts to dispose of an EV when it's done for. It's been quite a few months since I saw a video. But it had the data to show it takes anywhere from 50k to 100k miles, depending on battery size, to get into birth to death advantage for EV vehicles. So too many articles are taking a short cut in reporting how much better emissions are better on an EV and only show it on a trip basis. You can't put your blinders on and just ignore all the other parts. (not you personally rperz. I know you know.)

But now, the government is giving huge grants directly to ethanol producers to try to do carbon capture. My state has one of the biggest projects in the country in motion. CO2 from ethanol plants in other states want to pipe their CO2 to my state and pump it into some of our pore space. A lot of people not happy with out of state companies pushing eminent domain to run a pipe across the farmers land. Pore space owners are not getting compensated well for C02 storage. In a way, the process is very similar to fracking an oil well. The greenies claim fracking is so bad for the environment. But yet, pumping CO2 down a well is just fine? Get real... Plus, a coal plant next to the proposed pore space wells, is getting a huge grant from both the feds and the state to try CO2 capture on their plant and pump into pore space. The coal plant was going to be shut down due to lack of profitability. It's old. But another company swooped in and bought it, just so it could get the huge grants and test CO2 capture technology on the governments dime. A lot of grant money being thrown around. I'd rather they shut coal plants down and put in small modular nuclear reactors, and natural gas plants. Put the money there instead. They're really not fixing the problem. They're just pushing the problem to another state and not my problem any more.

Except the process of making ethanol creates more CO2 that we're saving by burning ethanol...