paintguy

At the risk of being political, "Death to America" sounds close to inciting insurrection. Can only hope Teamsters were unaware of this in their house.

For the transplant manufacturers, they would be foolish to accept an overall UAW contract like the Big 3. Those companies have seen the troubles of domestic manufacturers. Some of their managers used to work the Big 3.

My brother has 3 kids, all exceptionally tall. Expedition and Navigator has filled his need for family transport.

Agree 100%. One of the best plant managers I had used to say of launch: "You find a problem early in the build, it might cost $100 to fix. After Job1, $1 million might not fix it". Agree Farley is moving in a correct direction. Hope the next levels of management get the quality focus hard wired into their DNA.

Too often, quality is relegated to a program or campaign of limited duration. Japanese companies just have it as a way of doing business. Ford culture also has a habit of rewarding reporting of "Green Status" for new model programs and systems. Mulally tried to rid this tendency. Backsliding after his departure was rapid. Launches reported at green status, when it was anything but. Suppliers and contractors were all but forced to indulge the fantasy. Cost reduction goals have led suppliers to cut corners and have Ford engineers accept to meet a target. Then leave it for the assembly line to make it work.

Or 1/4 of a BEV...

I'm surprised they do not want to emphasize PHEV. Seems getting the plug into the mix helps clear another hurdle to transition to BEV. A bit like training wheels. With size difference of 4 or 5 to 1 between BEV and PHEV, must wonder what level of battery supply can Ford handle. But I have heard availability caused the suspension of Explorer HEV and Aviator PHEV.

Ford had a 3.3 L V6 hybrid on Explorer, now discontinued, at least for retail purchase. Not feeling the commitment by Ford to hybrid. Buy a threatened with cancellation Escape? Or a Maverick pickup which went from a standard hybrid to optional?

As much as I liked Ford sedan products (own a Taurus SHO), have to admit business case for sedans is clouded. All product planning must come under much scrutiny. On one hand, there is some government insistence on BEVs. Yet the public has great reluctance to go full on BEV. And there is still uncertainty in which battery technology to pursue, all at relatively high cost. So the course includes several models with significant overlap with ICE, hybrid, PHEV and BEV competing for attention. Also distressing is design limitations make BEV and ICE almost exclusively on separate architecture. Very expensive proposition.

Taurus SHO another example of a performance sedan that never quite made the sales that were expected. I've owned 2 and both were great cars. Taurus needed a redesign, but business case not there.

Most Eastern States have that worked out with a transfer of the vehicle. Tax paid to your jurisdiction. Did it several times when I lived in Delaware. Delaware has no "sales tax" and charges a title transfer which acts like a tax. Some dealers in small states do act like they are the only game available. (This was before my time with Ford A-plan makes it easier). Quite a few in NJ work in Pennsylvania, Delaware or NY and already deal with tax issues. I worked in NJ for 10 years while living in Delaware.

New Jersey not exactly a big state. Many areas near either Pennsylvania, New York, or Delaware. So if NJ rules hold, lets say a NJ resident decides to buy a car in Pennsylvania. Is the restriction on manufacturers? So Ford would need to restrict ICE supply to NJ dealers? Or are dealers responsible on that level?

Be careful as well that future SRI may not be overall, but to certain locations or classifications as needed.

Agree that Ford Hybrids have had a good record. Going back to original Ford Escape Hybrid, very reliable. Owned a 2009 Escape Hybrid that did everything I expected of it. Mileage right on estimates except when I really put my foot into it on interstates. Maintenance cost better than I expected. Still see some Escape Hybrid taxis on the streets. So longevity is not an issue. Ford needs to leverage their position. It has worked for Toyota. Prius sales have slowed, but almost every model has a hybrid. Using a HEV helps pave the way for BEV to develop acceptance.

I have often thought Ford Plant closures often coincide with plants with real estate value. Some examples: Edison, NJ Real Estate prices were growing. Land became a shopping center. Atlanta, Land highly desired by Atlanta and Georgia for the Atlanta Airport. Norfolk, another high value area sold for $14 million for a mixed use facility. Twin Cities sold to a developer with intent to build 3,800 housing units. Wixom became an RV center headquarters and a Menards built as well. Contrast to Chicago, still open, in an area surrounded by long closed factories with no redevelopment plan.

Most people don't visit that area in any plant. Pumps, funny smells, acids and caustic materials. Not bad if you know what you are doing.

Paint pretreatment and e-coat tanks might also be an issue.

$50 million doesn't go far when you need a paint shop. Spent almost $1 billion in Chicago. And no new paint shop.

Worked for a UK based company early in my career. The American CEO made as much or more than the UK CEO of the whole organization. They provided a chauffeured limousine for the CEO. Not common in other companies. Visiting bosses from the UK often complained of taxes and much preferred perks to raises. Reporting standards for value of perks are far different as well. Or my favorite overseas exec perk story a Belgian plant manager pleased as could be with a new Ford Escort as his company car perk. Roads there so narrow, F150 would not fit.

Had one employee who had an address and phone number on file that belonged to his father (a Ford Retiree) he left home in 1971. This was 2015 when I attempted contact.

You are right Chicago is old. Some sections still there where Model T was assembled. Had many discussions with VO Engineering regarding "on the bubble" status. Quite a few questioned that Chicago was open and Wixom, in much better condition, was closed. At the time thought it was related to the value of the land. Closed plants were marketable as real estate. Chicago is in an area dotted with long closed factories.

Interesting that transplants have more 3rd party. At Ford Chicago, Lear makes the seats in nearby Indiana, Tower automotive supplies some parts and at one time ZF provided transmissions. And I had heard that Tesla has more vertical integration, bringing subassemblies in house. Not quite Henry Ford making Steel and glass, have forests for wood parts, try a "factory" for rubber in Brazil, and eventually marrying a Firestone for tires. OK the Firestone thing was personal not supply chain. But wow, did a lot of Fords wear Firestones.

Bill Ford always seemed the voice of reason when I worked for Ford. Not that he was always right, but he always seemed to care. Unfortunately on his watch the news hasn't always been good. Before Ford, I worked in chemical industry for companies with far less cordial relationships with unions. And when layoffs came, severance, or possibilities of a transfer were far less. Even when others suspended pensions for salary workers, Ford continues to accrue benefits for those hired with those rules and expectation. As for Mr. Fain, big talk for a union which has not had a single success in organizing the transplant car companies, and most notably Tesla. Tesla is particularly troubling for the UAW as Fremont operated as a GM plant and NUMMI plant with UAW representation. With all the history of a long time union plant, UAW has been unable to gain traction. With this prolonged strike, more ammunition for companies resisting unionization. Mr. Fain seems on a mission to combat increases in CEO pay. Well, it is unreasonable, but automakers are in line with pay of similar sized American companies. This is analogous to the NFL pay where quarterback salaries have skyrocketed. Running Backs, formerly another valued position has not had the same increase as the game changed, reducing their value. Finally, Mr. Fain also seems to be waging a war on capitalism. Now where else but the capitalist West do folks drive around in $50K vehicles that they own?

Interesting that Ford is still so short of batteries for hybrids when pushing for BEVs adoption to the point of public statements that smaller 2 row SUVs that are newly developed will be BEV. BEVs approaching Tesla ranges have about 90 - 100 kwh batteries. PHEVs with class competitive electric range have 15-30 kwh batteries. Seems Ford could make far more PHEVs than BEVs. The current BEV offerings are not adding to the profit picture. Customer acceptance of BEVs appears lagging. Tesla seemed to have the best acceptance until Musk's comments on politics (which I will not address here) seemed opposite of Tesla owners online and in person.

With Google, I've seen many images that are years old. Know from several sites near me.