rperez817

Blue Oval City is expected to open in 2025, and Ford stated that it expects to have 600,000 units/year run rate for BEV sometime in 2024 (previously, they expected to achieve that goal in 2023 but pushed it forward a year or so) and 2,000,000 units/year run rate by 2026. That's for all Ford BEV, not just F-150 Lightning. But it certainly suggests that F-150 Lightning sales alone can and should exceed 12,000-15,000 units/month. Twice or even 3 times that volume by 2025 for F-150 Lightning alone is quite possible.

Ford's official line regarding spinning off any of the 3 BUs as part of Ford+ is as follows. However, LA Times indicated that Jim Farley didn't completely rule it out, especially since investors and industry analysts have pushed Ford and other legacy automakers to pursue spinoffs. Note Farley's mention of a "whatever-it-takes mind-set". Guess we'll have to wait and see. Maybe the recent degradation of Model e division's dealer certification program as discussed in this thread will become a catalyst for spinoffs.

I agree DeluxeStang. Jim Farley stated that one category where Ford has strong potential to beat Tesla is in BEV pickup trucks. Plus, the current F-150 Lightning gives Ford first mover advantage. Lightning's industry leading "mind share" is evident in Autolist's survey data from a couple years ago. Nonetheless, Ford needs to take the competition seriously. Cybertruck's innovative design and features seem to be particularly appealing to younger people. Looking deeper at the Autolist survey data, respondents 35 years of age or younger were more likely to choose Cybertruck than F-150 Lightning. All other age groups preferred Lightning.

Cybertruck Configurator now active. Configurator | Tesla

I agree with you jpd80 that Ford still has issues with "all the things that continue to hold back the company". But the Ford+ plan is a step in the right direction, and it's noteworthy that Ford was the first legacy automaker to establish separate BUs. The biggest issue of all not just for Ford, but for most legacy automakers, is that the pace of their transition efforts is much slower that they should be. Elon Musk spoke about this a few months ago.

Cybertruck Delivery Event is today at 2 PM Central. https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1ZkKzjaBdmLKv

Using the “20/4/10” rule for maximum car spending (20 percent down payment, a 4-year loan and total monthly spending for the loan and insurance of at most 10 percent of the household gross income), the median household income family in the U.S. as a whole wouldn't be able to afford a new Model 3. However, there are many locales in which the median household income is higher than the national average, enough where a median income family could afford a Model 3. New Jersey has a lot of locales like that, particularly in the northern and central parts of the state.

That's true Rick73, but Model 3 is in the compact executive car segment, not the mainstream family sedan segment. Here is a list of products in the former segment (U.S. market) along with base pricing for each. Tesla Model 3 RWD, $40,630 BMW 330i, $45,495 Mercedes-Benz C300, $46,000 Audi A4 40 TFSI, $42,295 Lexus IS300 RWD, $42,885 Infiniti Q50, $43,800 Acura TLX, $41,245 Alfa Romeo Giulia, $44,670 Volvo S60, $43,095 Genesis G70, $40,525

In the U.S. market overall and in the CARB Section 177 states in particular (all green or blue colored states shown in the map below), for all automakers as a whole BEV easily outsells PHEV. This has been the case since at least 2015.

The figure Tavares mentioned may have been correct years ago, but not anymore for any automaker who is serious about implementing totally different strategies and approaches to designing, engineering, manufacturing, and producing BEV. Stellantis N.V., the company Tavares leads, is one of those automakers and presented this data in its Dare Forward 2030 presentation back in 2022.

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Good point akirby. As it relates to dealership-manufacturer relations, Ford to its credit established a new operating paradigm for Model e division. Jim Farley described it as follows during the Ford+ presentation in May 2023. Farley suggested that Model e division's new initiatives and operations for dealer relations as well as with new technology development will eventually make its way to Blue and Pro, particularly software and subscription-based services.

Toyota's reputation for reliability isn't just based on perception. The company consistently ranks high in objective measures in this regard. For example, Toyota and Lexus took the top 2 spots for predicted reliability among brands in Consumer Reports' most recent Automotive Reliability Survey, the results of which were released to readers yesterday. However, 2024 Tacoma may experience mediocre or worse reliability rating in its first year. New Tundra, which 2024 Tacoma shares some engineering with, is the least reliable Toyota model in the survey and is rated below average (see below). Also, when the Tacoma was last redesigned for 2016 model year, it also rated below average in its first year.

The relationship between government and automakers was described perfectly by Aaron Robinson of Car and Driver. When CARB formulated the ZEV targets in Advanced Clean Cars II, they were deliberately conservative, maybe to reduce the likelihood that "the industry screams that it's impossible".

The Ford+ plan breaking Ford into Blue, Model e, and Pro business units within a common corporate umbrella is not to "impress others like Wall Street investment advisors and the Ford board" but a fundamental transformation of Ford Motor Company overall in order to be better prepared for survival and hopefully thriving amid the ongoing automotive industry revolution. Ford was the first major legacy automaker with this arrangement. It's a competitive advantage for Ford that remains unmatched by its legacy automaker competitors. akirby is correct about the BU separation. Each has different leadership, operations, and strategies. Kumar Galhotra leads Blue, Doug Field leads Model e, Ted Cannis leads Pro. John Lawler is giving an update on Ford+ in about an hour. Ford Motor Company - John Lawler to Discuss Plan to Compete and Grow with Ford+ at Barclays Global Automotive and Mobility Tech Conference

Good point DeluxeStang, you are absolutely correct. That's the downside to Akio Toyoda's push to make Toyota cars and trucks less "boring" in terms of styling. These vehicles look fresh and energetic (but ugly as well in many cases) when they are first released, but that avant garde styling becomes stale more quickly than Toyota's older and more conservative designs. For example, the 4th generation Hilux pickup truck from 40 years ago (used in the Back to the Future movie) has aged very well in terms of style. That won't be the case for 2024 Tacoma 40 years from now. Or even 10 years.

That would be cool! And even if the Crown Vic autocrossers do finish last, they can still be champions of the "neutral drop" ?

That incident on October 2 in San Francisco involved a hit-and-run human driver striking a pedestrian, propelling her into the path of a GM Cruise AV. The AV could not stop in time, resulting in a secondary hit to that pedestrian. US agency, California gathering details of accident involving robot taxi and pedestrian | Reuters GM provided video footage from the Cruise AV to authorities including California DMV but inappropriately edited that video, removing relevant information. That's what got GM in trouble and prompted California DMV to suspend GM's permit to operate its driverless robotaxi service in the state.

For near future timeframe (2024 - 2027), GM isn't expecting BEV to comprise anywhere near 100% of their sales. That goal is longer term, after 2027 for sure, probably in the early to mid 2030s. The decision under consideration by GM management is whether to incorporate hybrids (which GM currently sells in China) into their North America product lineup for regulatory compliance and other reasons, and whether the opportunity costs of doing so are worth it.

AV technology continues to evolve. GM Cruise's recent woes aren't due to technology but stems from their decision to deliberately withhold relevant information from an accident report filed with the California DMV in early October 2023. When California DMV eventually found the missing information from another government agency, essentially catching GM Cruise lying to them, they suspended Cruise's permit to operate AVs in the state of California without a safety driver. Following that, GM Cruise shut down all of its driverless robotaxi services globally, and shortly thereafter Kyle Vogt resigned.

Cox Automotive's constituent businesses provide dealers with services, software, and consulting for all aspects of dealership operations - new car sales, used car sales, F&I, and fixed ops. Among the areas where Cox Automotive does business with dealers are DMS and CRM software, data analytics, digital marketing, lead generation, advertising, remarketing, vehicle transport, vehicle inspection, inventory management, pricing strategies, service/parts scheduling and shop management, vehicle registration & titling, and fleet management among others. The breadth and depth of Cox Automotive's operations is one reason why they're highly respected in automotive retailing.

This was inevitable following the resignation of GM Cruise founder and CEO Kyle Vogt last week. Cruise's recent missteps could present an opportunity for Ford's Latitude AI division to expand its robotaxi related capabilities.

Cox Automotive not only has a "vested interest in running the vehicular business", but their "obvious know how" in that business sector is renowned and respected. The company operates all of the following. Autotrader Central Dispatch Dealer.com Dealertrack EV Battery Solutions FleetNet America Fleet Services Kelley Blue Book Manheim NextGear Capital vAuto VinSolutions Xtime

Not at all. Ford Motor Company (among other manufacturers) remains committed to a 100% ZEV product lineup by 2035 in "all leading markets", and governments of the following U.S. states adhere to the CARB Advanced Clean Cars II standards discussed in this thread. California Colorado Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey (administrative rule issued; first applicable model year not finalized) New Mexico New York Oregon Vermont Virginia Washington By the latter part of the decade, U.S. federal government may harmonize its own ZEV mandates with CARB's, just as it did back in 2014 when EPA Tier 3 vehicle emissions standards were harmonized with CARB LEV III. This provides consistency for automakers across all 50 states.

1,024 consumers and 152 franchised dealers throughout the USA were polled. For more details contact Cox Automotive Senior Manager of Corporate Communications Dara Hailes at dara.hailes@coxautoinc.com.