FordBuyer

Same problem though as we enter EV era. Neither Mazda nor Subaru have competitive hybrids and Hyundai/Kia especially are going to eat their lunch with $4 gas.

Mullinax has over 70 Ecosports on their lots and probably sells no more than a few/month. At that rate, it will take years to sell them all. Before year is out, Ford and/or dealers will have to offer blow out sales to get rid of them. Not sure how Mullinax got stuck with so many Ecosports. The Ecosport from day 1 should have been hybrid only. Its small size and 50mpg would have made it far more sellable.

I would think it will be more about competition and advertising. With so many new BEVs being announced every month, home buyers will be looking for easy, fast charging in their garages. Even on used homes, there will be a push to upgrade your garage for BEV as to make your house more desirable to new owner. Now if gas stays above $4 for years, then this will happen much quicker than if gas goes under $3 again for long period. In fact, I will probably upgrade my 2 garage outlets even though I have no plans to use them. Teslas and ID4s are all over the place around here.

I still see 2021 Ecosport Titaniums on dealer lots for $30,000. Hard to believe they will sell for that price anytime soon. Small CUV with very mediocre fuel mileage. An Escape S for $25,000 looks a lot better. I doubt if many dealers will be ordering many 2022 Ecosports with too many 2021s sitting on lot.

So is April 26 a Lightning Job 1 date or a delivery date to actual customers? If a Job 1 date, then it's usually 6 weeks to OK to Ship date to dealers. If Ford can build 15,000+ Lightnings by end of year, then they certainly are beating Rivian that is building about 2,500/quarter.

You can tell where decent inventory is by Ford regional advertising. Ford is pushing Explorer, Edge, and Escape especially, and more specifically Edge and Escape with 0% loans plus $1,000 cash back incentives. Bronco Sport and Maverick incentives are not as good. And Ecosports seem to rust on dealer lots. Mullinax has enough Ecosports to last years. 2022 may be last year for Ecosport, but they will be on dealer lots for years after unless they offer huge incentives.

FL is getting unaffordable too, but not as bad as CA. But Miami is more like CA. I know I couldn't afford to buy my house now after the huge run up in prices over the last 18 months or so. Affordability has grown into a huge problem. Just about every big Metro area is grappling with the problem. You have to own a house to keep up with the price increases. First time buyers face huge challenges. Renting can't be much fun either when lease is up. Guess it will take a 2008 like Recession to make homes affordable again. I still remember so many walking away from their mortgages back then.

Around here they offer enlarged 2 car garages for those who like to putter around in one and/or park a pickup inside. Also have outlets on both walls and upgrade to a 220 costs about $300. No way could I get a F150 in my standard size 2 car garage. It may barely fit, but then couldn't move around it to get stuff which would be deal breaker. The Escape fits nicely in garage with easy movement around it when parked inside.

The pictures show an outlet on the front of the house and the house must be set up electrically to accept the energy from the Lightning and give it. It actually shows the truck in the driveway with a fancy outlet on the front of the house next to garage door. No more getting extensive electrical upgrades to house to accept BEV. Houses of future will come with all the electrical upgrades.

Just read an article about future houses to be built in next 5 to 10 years. All show a Lightning parked in driveway plugged into outlet supplying energy to the house. You bet Ford is pushing and will be pushing this concept.

The many Amazon Van's that come into our community every fricking day are almost all Ford Transits. My wife alone accounts for at least one every week. Ford sold over 500 Transit EVs last month. Looks like Rivian has some catching up to do.

I have a fwd 2020 Escape hybrid and so far no early wear on rear tires. I believe shock absorbers are wear and tear items. Do you live on a pot holed road or a nothern state with pot holed roads everywhere? I guess check for TSB on problem to see if this an issue or just a wear and tear issue because of bad roads.

Announced today that Ford struck a deal with Argentina which will be supplying Ford with its Lithium needs. Sounds like Ford is doing good job setting up its battery supply for future needs.

I used to own Idaho Power that got most of its generation from hydro. Some years when they got lots of snowpack they really did well. Other years with less snowpack cratered their profits. The 10 year Western Drought is probably not helping much.

Good points. I agree. More and more people are buying hybrids, not much more than conventional ICE, and in many cases twice the mpg. Going to straight BEV is very risky. If I owned GM stock, I would sell all for that decision alone. I like the mix Ford has and will have over next 10 years. Toyota is another company that has it right. Lots of choices.

Two simple reasons......Hemi for Dodge and Minivan for both Dodge and Chrysler.

I would think that the constant opening and closing of plants every other week would significantly affect quality. Practice makes perfect not even dealing with workers getting sick and replacements called in.

Lots of irony here....same politicians that hate the fossil fuel industry are now clamoring for the same industry to produce more oil to lower fuel prices.

Since it takes about 25 years to build a nuclear plant in the states, I think that plan has passed. And how many decades have we heard that Fusion is around the corner? Kind of tired hearing about Wind and Solar from politicians. Reminds me of "clean coal" line from last decade. Seems like natural gas power plants are the best we have for the foreseeable future. Wind and solar just won't do the heavy lifting.

Article out today in Detroit News that NASA and Nissan are teaming to produce solid state batteries that weigh 50% less than lithium, full charge in 15 minutes, and need no exotic materials. Pilot production to start in 2024 and full production for BEVs in 2028. So looks like truly viable, affordable BEVs are at least 4-6 years away. Meantime, hybrids galore out there, especially from Toyota, Kia/Hyundsi, Ford, and Honda.

Good point. Those groups also hate mass transit, especially rail unless it's hauling freight. I'm sure the fossil fuel industry hates all electrified vehicles, but you can't stop change/progress. Many have tried to stop progress for centuries, but all ultimately failed.

It's Porsche as they are NOT abandoning ICE. Doge is talking about doing a high performance Hydra model that will sound like and be a combustion engine, but run on hydrogen. Mustang, Dodge, Porsche 911, Corvette, and so on are known for their engine notes as much as their performance and will always have a niche. Ditto for goose neck Super Duties pulling a few horses.

I think the charging problems arise on the road and at home when you want or need a higher level charger. Let's say you stop at a Cracker Barrel for lunch and to recharge a low battery. Often a user will plugin and then go to lunch for 45 minutes. Anyone else wanting to use the station will have a long wait. Many times I've seen this problem on You Tube experiences with commercial charging stations. Very maddening. Level 2 chargers are another problem. Many homes need expensive upgrades to accept one. Even auto dealerships have been hit with $250,000 estimates to upgrade to higher level chargingstations. So I really don't think buying full electric vehicle is about saving money on gas as it will take many years just to break even. It's about emissions only and upscale neighborhoods driving $70,000 BEVs won't change much until commercial trucks go full electric. In the meantime over next 20 years or so, I would like to see Ford go hybrid across its lineup and full electric with 5-7 models. And still stay with ICE with certain models like Super Duty, Mustang, and the like. Nice mix of hybrid, full electric, and ICE for those that need it as necessity for a variety of reasons.

Thanks for your detailed experiences Black Label. That is unbelievable about Lincoln car washes. Blackwell Ford in MI routinely washed my Taurus after every car service and Bill Bryan Subaru in FL always washed my Crosstrek. However, my latest Ford dealer in FL will not wash my vehicle as they don't have a wash rack. Now Subaru didn't have a wash rack, but guy would hand wash it out back. Come to think of it, Porsche dealer never washed my Boxster after $200 oil change.

This thread has been mostly about poor dealer service, and more specifically Lincoln. It seems like just a few years ago Lincoln announced their concierge service with date night and all kinds of perks. Emulating Lexus in many ways. It seems to me that more and more prospective buyers are being turned off by recent dealer practices and thus dropping out of new vehicle market altogether. When you look at recent Lincoln sales irrespective of chip shortage, you would think Lincoln dealers would do everything possible to welcome prospective buyer orders and that includes A,X, and Z plans. Even before covid, Lincoln didn't have a vehicle selling over 3,000/month.