SoonerLS

Heck no, I ain't old.

It's amazing what capabilities are built into some of these vehicles. My '13 F-150 STX has auto headlights, remote start, and Ford's electronic trailer brake controller, none of which came on it from the factory, and at least one of which wasn't even a factory option on the STX. All three were trivial installs, with the connections already there from the factory--in the case of the light sensor for the auto lamps, the connector was actually plugged into a dummy socket on the back of a trim piece that the sensor replaced. I just had to plug in the new part and use FORScan to enable it...

Not everything. Convertibles were all the rage 'til the '60s; just about every model throughout most full-line automakers' lineups had a convertible variant, but for the last 40-50 years, 'verts have been very much the exception. Likewise, station wagons were a range-spanning staple for decades, but they've been all but dead for the last 30 years; if you put it on stilts and call it a crossover, it's ok, but calling it a station wagon is the kiss of death.

From the analyses I've heard, it's not so much that they're lower-profit, it's that nobody wants to invest in adding plants or production capacity to produce old technology. From the perspective of the chipmakers, it'd be akin to asking Ford to add production capacity to build the 6.2 V8--there may be a decent profit in it now, but it's on its way out and isn't going to help them in the future.

And they're doing it just to frustrate fuzzy.

I’d say it’s a combination of both. There’s no comparison between the loads a station wagon’s tailgate sees and what a truck’s tailgate sees, and the spare tire is already taking up that space under the rear of the bed. It’s not like there’s anywhere else to put the spare without taking up cargo space.

It’s still lower than the step in the bumper, and it’s easier to step on it sideways (closer to parallel with the tailgate), as it’s farther away from the tailgate.

I’ve heard old age will do that to you. Or maybe it’s driving Ferraris and Porsches around tracks while being videoed that does it…

??? Standard plywood sheets are 4'x8', which fits between the wheel wells of every F-100/-150 I've ever driven.

I do, and I'd use it a lot if my truck had it. As it is, I usually step on the ball for the first step to get into the bed of my truck--at 6'2", I'm not exactly vertically challenged, but I'm also not as young and spry as I used to be. And that step in the bumper isn't as deep as I'd like it to be. FWIW, Reese sees the point, too--they make a step that attaches to the hitch. https://smile.amazon.com/Reese-Towpower-7060200-Hitch-Step/dp/B00ECW2T38

This was even before they discontinued it. They were bringing in rentals with Texas plates, but no Nissans.

I see lots of Amazon Transits, Sprinters, and Promasters (or whatever Fiasco calls them). I wouldn't doubt that the mix is different in different regions, though. I do find it interesting that even while Amazon was bringing in rentals of all makes, even Chebbie van box trucks, I've never seen a Nissan van in Amazon livery or being driven by an Amazon driver. On a related note, our datacenter is in an office complex with an office of one of the big rental companies (Budget, maybe?), and they had a long row of shiny new high-roof Transits parked in the lot the other day, presumably being staged to go out to the rental offices (or maybe to the Amazon depot...).

It's pretty basic contract law; you agree to the terms or you don't sign the contract. If you don't sign the contract, they don't sell you the truck. This isn't an open-ended no-resale clause, it's just a one-year agreement; after that, you're free to sell it for whatever price you want. Here's a more in-depth explanation by attorney Steve Lehto.

I see a lot of Rams, Sprinters, and Transits in Amazon blue, as well as rentals of all kinds being driven by Amazon drivers. I think they're still buying (and renting) whatever they can get their hands on.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "raptor" was first used in relation to birds of prey in 1873. The velociraptor may have been named in 1923, but the term "raptor" wasn't widely associated with dinosaurs until Jurassic Park, and the "raptors" in the movie were an invention for the movie. In the novel and in real life, velociraptors were about the size of a chicken.

Fuzzy’s right—you’re overthinking this. The Mustang Cobra came from the Shelby Cobra tie-in—plus, you forgot the Torino Cobra. And raptors were birds of prey (hawks, eagles, falcons, etc) long before the term got associated with dinosaurs. Also, I’d bet you’d find at least as many Coyotes in F-150s as in Mustangs, so the pattern pretty much falls apart completely there…

Rick Wagoner being on top of the list in ‘08 is a bad joke, and not the funny kind. At the time, GM was a raging dumpster fire that only survived because the Feds bailed them out, and Wagoner was on his way out the door.

Yeah, considering that Blue Origin (Bezos) and SpaceX (Musk) are direct competitors, it's hardly surprising that Blue Origin wouldn't be using the competition's vehicles in their ground support.

They make the E-Transit at KCAP alongside the Transit, so I wonder what would prevent them from building a BEV Explorer alongside the ICE Explorer. Maybe that’s where they get additional usage for Flat Rock?

The Japanese reportedly called the F4U Corsair "Whistling Death." It's better than the Navy's other nickname for it: the Ensign Eliminator.

The BEV package should be Whistling Death…

Have you talked to the dealership? Sometimes it's just an honest mistake; when I bought my Lincoln on X-Plan, they charged me a document fee, which, at the time, was not allowed under the X-Plan rules. I didn't notice it until I was going over the paperwork a day or two later. When I asked about it, they agreed that it shouldn't have been charged and cut me a check for the amount of the fee.

Possibly, but I wonder if the F-600, being a newer design, is more affected by the chip shortages and logistics snafus, and Ford just isn't capable of producing as many of them right now.

So, that sounds like the problem could be a misformulated sealant, which would be both a supplier issue and something that wouldn't necessarily be detectable during assembly. It could pass the initial QC processes, but begin degrading once exposed to the elements.

Ford's customers are concerned with towing MPG, which means Ford is concerned with it regardless of CAFE.