FordBuyer

Not sure why there is debate on here about the grid and full electric vehicles. They make up about 3% of the total market and are still moving at a snail's pace. With the supply problems now, any goals set will not be met. Not even close. High gas prices will help EV a bit, but again supply problems are not going away anytime soon. So utility companies have a very long time line to improve if and when that time comes.

Don't forget electric bikes that are exploding in sales. Class 3 ebikes offer throttle only and can go 30 mph or so. Some pedal assist bikes like my wife's are good for 28mph and climb hills with little effort. With the right accessories, you can use them for errands and even work. I live in a golf cart community and basically use it for most errands like bank, grocery store, and sport activities. About 40% are electric and rest gas. With lithium battery carts finally being viable, lots of golf cart manufacturers are entering the fray. A new entry from Star has full display, lighted instrument panel, a frunk, back up camera, and lots more tech.

I know a lot of new apartments and condos being built here are coming with charging stations in the car ports. And I would imagine over time many complexes will have to retrofit them to be competitive as more buy plugins or full electrics.

Since it takes takes at least 25 years to build a nuclear power plant in the U.S., it's all a moot debate anyway. That ship has sailed. And besides, NOBODY wanted a nuclear plant in their backyard. In Metro Detroit, Marathon finally built a new refinery 10 years ago or so in Delray that is famous for dirty industry, and ever since the people who live and do business there have been fighting the refinery tooth and nail. Moral of story.....time to move on and find cleaner, safer energy which has been happening over time. No single one is a panacea, but together they are making progress and creating jobs.

Just wait for a Russian cruise missile to hit a Ukranian nuclear plant and spread deadly radiation throughout Europe. Probably the only reason they haven't is luck and winds blowing from west to east most of the time. Chernobyl is still in a very dangerous state with Russians still shooting cruise missiles all over Ukraine. And just watched the 3 Mile Island documentary on Netflix. Scary shit.

Article stated that Ford now owns less than 10% of Rivian stock and is done selling. Guess time will tell.

Now that is really something when you consider Rivian has only made about 3,000 so far and delivered about 1500 of them. Kind of like seeing a unicorn. I have seen about 3 Broncos so far in Central FL, and Ford has delivered about 50,000 of them.

At Indy Mecum Auction, just saw a 2002 T-Bird sell for $52,000. Recently, they usually sold for $16,000-$20,000 depending upon condition. Didn't catch the mileage on this one, but probably very low.

The last T-Bird was a favorite among seniors. In fact, my retirement community is full of last generation T-Birds and C8 Corvettes. Seniors have the bucks and spend it on expensive vehicles. So if there is a new T-Bird, most buyers will be seniors.

Not sure what can be done when you have such low supply and high demand for just about every model. And Ford is sold out of many 2022 MY models. So it's a sure thing that any new vehicles sitting on lot will go for at least list price and much higher for the super hot models. I'm glad and lucky I bought new in early 2020, because no way would I buy new this year. The dealers can shove it for the time being.

I don't expect an exotic, but a 2 dr. and 4dr. coupe like luxurious BEV with a frunk and more aero and faster than a Mach E GT when trimmed out. And an interior even better than a Mach E GT. Probably starting price of $70,000 going to $100,000+ in higher trims and power. Definitely full electric only. A 21st Century T-Bird.

When it comes to sales figures, the T-Birds of the late 50's and 60's easily outsold the Corvettes of that era. I still remember as a 10 year old sitting in a '58 T-Bird and being so impressed over its jet age interior. And it sold like hotcakes and was an expensive vehicle. So a new T-Bird if done right would easily outsell the Corvette a couple times over even at $75,000 price range.

Ford does a good job with intuitive functionality. My Escape controls are much more intuitive than my Crosstrek was. Ditto with ergonomics. Ford really shines with good ergonomics and intuitive infotainment systems.

Looks like only the Ford Mach E GT and Lincoln high trim models so far. I was looking at a Maverick Lariat interior today, and was not overly impressed. However, Ford does seem to be doing better making high trim Explorers and even the Escape look more attractive with eye popping contrasting stichings and Maverick interior does attract the eye better with more attractive patterns. Now these improvements have come only in the past year or so with Timberline and Stealth option packages. Looks like Ford is listening to critics when Explorer and Escape first came out, not Hackett. Now maybe Hackett gets some credit for BS and Maverick interior, but it didn't carry over to Explore and Escape.

The beauty of a high end BEV Thunderbird would be that it would be low volume, and thus easier to deal with long term supply issues, especially batteries that Ford has yet to solve. Or anybody but Tesla for that matter.

The CEO of Stellantis is throwing cold water on future high production of BEVs because of this very issue. The raw materials are just not there to reach the high goals for BEV production by 2025.

Bronco ll and soccer moms??? I owned a Bronco ll with locking diffs and towing package and drove it 225,000 miles, much of it in Gaylord, MI that gets over 150 inches of snow/year. I even pushed a heavy trailer up an inclined driveway with a foot of snow with it. Only got stuck once in 10 years after foolishly going down an unplowed street with heavily drifted snow. So a "soccer mom" vehicle couldn't be farther from the truth. And yes, it had a "tipsy" reputation resulting in class action lawsuit which hardly made it it good for families. But it was a good, little workhorse that could do lots of functions well. I can testify to that. Even today, good, used ones are very popular.

With the Ford GT in its last year, not surprised something may be in the works. And I would assume a Thunderbird would be full electric making the mid engine argument moot. And it would have a frunk like the Mach E. But have a lower center of gravity more like a Corvette than a CUV..

That huge frunk is a real gamechanger. Not having an enclosed trunk was always a downside to owning a pickup. Not anymore with the Lightning.....functionality of bed and enclosed trunk all in one package. I'm sure it will be copied, but Ford is first.

The Mach E GT should have won. The upper torso wrap around seats are best I've seen. And the rest of the front interior is also something. Shows what Ford can do when it wants to interior wise.

Every Amazon truck that comes into my area is a Transit and there are a lot of them. Everyone around here including my wife is addicted to Amazon. Waiting to see the first EV Transit in action.

I see that Honda sold 18,000 CRVs in April and Ford sold 15,000 Escapes without even adding Bronco Sport sales. Not bad. And in just a few months Ford will be bringing out a refreshed 2023 Escape. The Escape is still an important vehicle for Ford.

Rivian reports today after market closes. So we will learn more about how production is going. With Amazon ordering 100,000 Rivian vans, I would Rivian will somehow stay in business if it can somehow increase production as year continues.

Mullinax has a 2022 Escape SE hybrid on lot with $38,000 price tag not including $3,000 in taxes and licensing. That is about an $8,000 markup including tax. So if you want a gas sipper, be ready to pay way up.

Don't forget it's Porsche.... most Porsche owners don't have to worry much about energy prices. They want handling, performance, and that waaaah sound from their flat 6. And they are willing to spend mucho deneiro to obtain it.