rperez817

Yes sir FordBuyer. Ford's announcements in the past 6 months to go all-in with BEV, which includes developing the dedicated BEV platforms mentioned in this thread, is a big reason why. Jim Hackett cracked the door open for Ford to enter the "new world" of electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and mobility services. Jim Farley is pushing that door further open. All that's left for Ford to thrive amid the revolution going on in the automotive industry is to finally close the door to the "old world" of selling ICE powered vehicles over the next 10-15 years. For now, the transition from "old world" to "new world" is progressing nicely. Barron's said 6 months ago Ford "has a lot of catching up to do, but if the new CEO does it right, the stock could double". Looks like Jim Farley is doing it right.

Kind of. Customers who purchase new or lease BMW's U.S. built SAV models (X3, X4, X5, X6, and X7) have the option of taking delivery at the BMW Performance center in Greer, South Carolina adjacent to the assembly facility (Plant Spartanburg). It's called Performance Center Delivery or PCD. However, BMW models built outside the U.S are also eligible for PCD, of course for those vehicles it isn't a true 'factory delivery' program as it is for the U.S. built BMWs. BMW Performance Driving School | Delivery Program FAQ (bmwperformancecenter.com)

No sir, U.S. and Canada. Example is the data collected by Allen Bukoff and Pei Wang of Autothink Research in 2019 for ICE, simple hybrid, PHEV, BEV, and FCEV owners in the U.S. and Canada. They found that in general, PHEV usage patterns much more closely resembled simple hybrids (CS mode dominant) than BEV (CD mode dominant). There were 3 exceptions to this - owners of Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac ELR, and BMW i3 with Range Extender reported CD dominant usage on average. The authors of the study said. You're welcome. And you can return to the regularly scheduled discussion of F-150 Lightning Pro in this thread now.

Yes sir. The GMT201 minivans were woeful. What Consumer Reports is saying is that GM's attempt to make them more "SUV like" resulted in an even worse product than would be the case otherwise. Unlike the GMT201 vans, 2022 Kia Carnival is a very competent product. Kia Motor America's marketing for it unnecessarily muddies the waters. More from Consumer Reports' first impressions of 2022 Kia Carnival.

Real world usage data for PHEV refutes that.

PHEV are considerably heavier than corresponding simple hybrids (e.g., Prius Prime curb wright is 360 lbs. greater than comparably equipped Prius), decreasing fuel efficiency in CS mode. Real world usage of most PHEV is CS dominant because of their low AER, not because of government regulations.

The ZEV mandates act as incentives for governments and private industry alike to address BEV infrastructure related goals. They go hand in hand. It's no coincidence that the 10 U.S. states that follow CARB ZEV mandates are also the states with the most extensive BEV charging infrastructure currently. Certainly, that infrastructure needs to be expanded across the country. If the U.S. federal government adopts the CARB ZEV mandates and applies them to the 40 states that don't yet follow them, automakers, utility companies, EVSE manufacturers, and state/local governments will step up their game. And then the U.S. can potentially beat China and EU when it comes to BEV deployment.

Among recent Ford CEOs, Alan Mulally, Jim Hackett, and Jim Farley all fit into that category. Mark Fields does not.

Yes sir FordBuyer. The impressive performance of Ford stock so far in 2021 is a direct result of Jim Hackett's fitness initiatives finally starting to bear fruit, combined with Jim Farley's strategy for Ford to go "all-in" with electric vehicles which is one pillar of the entire automotive industry's future.

Yes sir, those things should be top priorities for the U.S. federal government as well as state and local governments. Just as important, ZEV mandates need to be applied to all 50 states which will require federal government involvement. One reason that China is ahead of the U.S. right now with BEV adoption is that they have one national standard.

Very nice! The 10-speed tranny is great, definitely better than the ZF 9-speed. A friend of mine waited for the '22 model year to buy a Honda Odyssey because the 10-speed plus LED headlamps became standard on all trim levels that year. He got an EX with cloth seating surfaces. Wishing you many more enjoyable miles in your Odyssey Elite!

Excellent choice 75032F150 sir! Does your Odyssey have the 9-speed ZF transmission or the 10-speed Honda transmission?

In the case of 2022 Kia Carnival for the U.S. market, it's Kia Motor America's marketing department that's doing stupid things (in fact repeating the same stupid things that GM did over 15 years ago, just as Consumer Reports pointed out). Magazines, bloggers, and websites are right to call them out on it.

From a regulatory standpoint this is true. For example, U.S. is unique in that it doesn't subscribe to UN/ECE motor vehicle regulations and uses its own (FMVSS). Another example relates to BEV adoption, the U.S. is hindered by the fact that 10 states currently follow California Air Resources Board's ZEV regulations, but the other 40 do not. However, harmonization of ZEV regulations across the entire U.S. market may occur before 2030. The current presidential administration is serious about getting the U.S. as a whole to catch up to China and EU when it comes to sustainability in the transportation sector.

Cars.com isn't the only one to criticize Kia for those things. Consumer Reports' first drive report also mentions how silly it is that Kia is using SUV styling elements for 2022 Carnival. 2022 Kia Carnival Road Test - Consumer Reports

I agree Willwll313wll sir! The Big 3 American automakers of GM, Ford, and Tesla plus the American startups like Rivian and Lordstown Motors are in a good position to be global leaders in an automotive industry that is going all electric. Ford's latest announcement of their new dedicated BEV platforms confirms that they are playing to win in the ongoing industry revolution. As an American, it would make me very pleased if U.S. auto companies become the "standard of the world" and push the European and Asian companies off the pedestal they are on now. With proper public policy in the U.S., there's a good chance that could happen.

Sorry sir. For total sales from all manufacturers, 40% is still pessimistic. As mentioned earlier, regulatory actions that favor BEV including bans on the sale of ICE powered vehicles are likely to be applied throughout the globe by 2030. Plus, automakers other than Ford are already making plans for an all electric future. The number may be less than 60%, but well above 40%.

As I mentioned in another thread, this a very smart move by Ford. It makes it easier for Ford to grow its fleet services and software business.

40% is probably pessimistic. Ford of Europe already announced that its car and light truck lineup will be 100% electric by 2030. Other parts of the world are very likely to adopt regulations similar to those in Great Britain and EU, so Ford will ramp up its efforts for all electric vehicle sales everywhere it does business. 70% is a more realistic figure for the percentage of new Ford vehicles sold globally that will be all electric by 2030.

No sir. Reservation fees are considered customer deposits and are listed as current liabilities on the balance sheet until they are refunded or applied to customers' purchase balance.

That's a smart approach, especially with Ford getting more heavily involved with services and software rather than just vehicles for fleet customers. GM is doing the same thing with BEV for fleets (both government and private industry customers), they named the new business unit BrightDrop.

Same here, I think the Rivian based product will be additional. It looks like Ford is going all-in to create an entire range of BEV pickup trucks, from compact to commercial duty, and is drawing upon both internal resources and partners like Rivian.

Yes sir. Reservations indicate the number of "hand raisers" who are interested in purchasing a vehicle, of course not all will follow through with an actual purchase or lease. Overall, the 70,000 reservations for F-150 Lightning and 1 million plus reservations for Tesla Cybertruck indicate there's a lot of pent up demand for truly capable and technically excellent BEV pickup trucks.

Not just what consumers want to buy, but what government regulations will permit them to buy, and what investors will provide capital to design, develop, and market. The answer to that in the next 10-15 years is 100% electric vehicles. Jim Farley made it clear that Ford is ready for that all electric future.

Yes sir. Gurgeh shared a comment from an automotive industry analyst in the F-150 Lightning thread. It makes a lot of sense. Unless Stellantis, Toyota, and Nissan come up with good strategies for BEV pickup truck development and marketing, there's a strong possibility that Ford, GM, and Tesla will take market share away from them in the U.S. in the next 10-15 years as the automotive industry gets closer to its end goal of 100% electric vehicles.