slemke

Let’s see how fast the prices ratchet back up. We know Tesla lowered prices to align with the tax credit caps and that they were lobbying for changes to allow the 5 passenger model Y to be an SUV for tax credit purposes. If you are looking to by either one, I wouldn’t wait too long. Honestly, I think they are both hatchbacks and should be treated as such.

CATL is a large supplier of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Ford is likely using them for the lower cost standard range packs with LiFePo. I thought Ford made an announcement on that earlier. It will be interesting to see if Ford joins the 4680 bandwagon also. Panasonic had stated concerns about the form factor and cooling. Maybe that has been worked out.

BMW is also looking at using the 4680 cells. If you can’t beat Tesla, might as well join them and use the same technology.

Not necessarily. I forgot which BMW I was looking at, but the pricing of the PHEV option was less than the tax credit. A no brainer at that point. More unintended consequences of legislation than anything else. The range requirements are low enough that manufacturers can provide a PHEV that meets the requirements for less than the incentive. A while back, there was a similar study of how fuel usage didn’t decrease as much as expected with the number of full EVs sold because they were bought by households with multiple vehicles and they continued to drive the ICE vehicle regularly and only occasionally take out the BEV. Very similar complaints to the article linked.

Will this work on any 3.0L ecoboost? Aviator has essentially the same engine.

2025 is only 3 years away. I have my doubts about Ford having the production capability to support it. Production of lightning is still 2k a month or so. I thought it would have ramped up by now to support the orders Ford claims to have and the sales goals Farley has committed.

Japan would require right hand drive. Maybe Ford will consider adding it to pick up some sales in Australia, India, and Japan to keep the V8 alive. I could see some sort of powerboost option being added, provided Ford finds a place for the battery. Improvements to battery power density could be the key.

Good to know I wasn’t the only one thinking this is well past the ground breaking stage. Usually that would be a couple executives and politicians with shovels on an empty site before the heavy equipment arrived. Looks like they are pretty far along.

The 4.4L was a premium v8 for Land Rover. I doubt it was any cheaper to produce than the 6.7L scorpion. My point was about reducing the cost of a diesel option. The volume would need to be great enough to offset the development cost and remain cheaper than the 6.7L v8. An I6 would almost certainly be less expensive to produce. Whether or not the development cost spread out over the production run still keeps it cheaper is another question. Considering how many engine options are available in the F150, I would bet Ford has considered additional options for the Super Duty and dismissed them.

If Ford wanted a lower cost diesel, it should be an I6 or even an I4 not a smaller displacement V8. GM was able to justify a 3.0L I6 diesel…and refine it. I would think Ford could get at least as many takers for an I6 diesel in the super duty. Maybe they are afraid it will take too many sales away from the 6.7L. As for the 6.8L, I’m not seeing the need for it unless it brings something new to the table that dramatically increases efficiency over the 7.3L. I get discontinuing the 6.2L to close an under utilized plant, but a 6.8L Godzilla seems redundant.

I doubt it will be that bad. Let’s see the details first. As it stands now, though, it doesn’t appear to bring anything to the table if it is simply a smaller displacement Godzilla. Just use a lower output 7.3 in the super duty and continue with the Coyote in light duty applications. So, unless this thing has some new whiz bang tech, it appears to be another boondoggle.

Better than Lexus. The Audi Q5 is one of the leaders in the segment, so why not go with similar styling. It looks really good. The hands free driving option is claimed to be a segment first. Hopefully the updated exterior, interior, and technology are enough to keep it selling. The powertrains are carryover minus the 2.3. The base 250hp 2L ecoboost lines up well, but the 266hp PHEV is far short of the 362hp Audi. Use the rear motor from the Mach E rated for however much power can be extracted from the battery pack. Be one way to give it a rear wheel drive feel…at least for the 30 miles the battery pack is rated for.

There is that aspect to it also. We as a society need to be ahead of the transition in terms of material sourcing, disposal, infrastructure needs and likely a host of issues nobody has thought about. No sense in forcing a timeline if all the pieces aren’t in place. Maybe they are and we just haven’t been told.

I think it should be Democrat not Democratic. But that’s immaterial. I’m somewhat surprised at all the categories lead by Republican purchasers. What do they do for mixed households?

Until Tesla came along, they weren’t much to brag about. Someone that lived near me and worked where I did (I saw it plugged in at work) had one of those Sparrow 3 wheeled electric things. I think it was classified as a motorcycle. Anyway, there were days I would get stuck behind him on a two lane road with no passing. It was an excruciating trip at 30 or 35 miles an hour because that was all the faster he could go and make it home on a charge. Tesla changed that with performance and range with the Model S. The 3 came along with a lower price that seemed to hit the sweet spot of the market. Nobody else is even close. I’m pretty confident that there was always a group that didn’t want ice to go away just for the pleasure of listening to an ice engine run. Whether it is a 5.0 Mustang, John Deere tractor, or Harley-Davidson motorcycle. It’s just that they got drowned out by the other issues.

Manual transmission, right? The 10speed auto is faster and more efficient, but people still buy the V8 manual for the intangibles. I think it will hold true until the end when ice is outlawed…if it ever is. We’ll see if an ice sanctuary is formed.

Looks like 4 days of charging to me. Take a weekend trip, and you will need 3-4 days to fully charge it back up for another one. Drive 30 miles per day and your overnight 10 hour charge is just keeping up with daily use. If all you do is commute to work with it, the 12amp 120v charger can keep up. Anything extra and you are looking at public charging or faster at home charging solution. if most driving is 30 miles per day, just get a PHEV with a 15-20kwh battery. It can be kept charged off of a standard outlet for daily use and use gas for the occasional long trips. You’re dragging around an engine and transmission instead of a large heavy battery that occasionally needs a full charge for maximum range. Both are compromises.

Stellantis introduced a new I6, updated 8 speed auto, and committed to refining the hemi as long as it was feasible. Hyundai just updated the Pallisade ….still has the 3.8L v6. Toyota just updated the Lexus RX350. V6 was dropped, but a turbocharged 4 hybrid was added. Seems balanced to me. BEV is still in the early adopter phase with about 5% of the market. It is rising quickly, but they have plenty of time. Even GM with their so-called “all-in” approach isn’t all in. They updated the 2.7L 4 cyl turbo, revised the 3.0L diesel, a 5.5L flat plane crank V8, etc. They are updating the legacy products while introducing BEV at a quick pace. Ford’s legacy products seem to be getting long in the tooth similar to the early 2000’s. Without continued updating, they will fall out of favor faster than Ford can replace them and there won’t be money for investment in BEV. My fear is they will repeat the mistakes of that time period and not introduce leading BEV products that push the envelope or keep the legacy products fresh.

For a boosted engine, it would be a miller cycle. Mazda offered a super charged miller cycle v6 in the Millennia. Not sure if Ford did that on any of the ecoboost hybrids.

From what I have read, it has already started. There was some endangered plant that was in the way of a mine. The mine went through anyway. The other recycling elephant in the room is solar panels. Currently, they are ground up and sent to a landfill.

Yes, it’s the engineers that spent their whole careers designing engines and transmissions that won’t be old enough or financially able to retire that will be hit hard. Unsure about the workers building the engines and transmissions, hopefully Ford will offer them training and new positions on BEVs. Not sure how well management will do. Depends on whether they were people management or technical. Agree that Thai-Tang will do just fine post Ford. He has lots of options.

He wasn’t an engine or transmission only guy. More complete vehicle, project management, and supply chain experience according to his LinkedIn profile. Seems like those would still be in demand. He did like a post about retirement and not thinking about the money but the experiences allowed.

What’s your background on this? You’ve told us you work in the energy sector, but not what your role or title are. You throw out lots of info to discredit others, but not what your credentials are or sources of your info. I’ve never said we were in danger of running out of CO2 or there would be a shortage. This was a while back, but Duke University had done a research experiment on CO2 levels and found that increased levels resulted in more growth. It was more tongue in cheek that I said trees wouldn’t like it if we didn’t keep increasing their CO2 so they could grow faster. Still, though, why the apparent animosity towards reforestation, creating green spaces, using trees to reduce cooling? Your response makes it seem like it is a complete lost cause and not something we should be doing in addition to reducing dependence on fossil fuels. If it is such a dire situation, why not do more?

Didn’t realize he was making that much, or that he had then fallen off the top paid list. I thought he was low 7 figures. I still expect him to pop up somewhere else. He’s in his prime earning years. wonder how long Galhotra will stick around. Do the execs at Ford get to have their stock finish vesting after retirement or is it forfeited? For some of us mortals, it just goes away.

If they want off the shelf, why not just use Rivian or brightdrop? Seems like lots of waste for an agency having financial problems.