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LMC Automotive reports that Hummer EV production plans are ahead of the original schedule. Busy Launch Sked at GM’s Factory Zero, LMC Reports | WardsAuto

Good discussion topic, thank you Anthony sir. As a 2019 Ford Ranger owner also, everything that you mentioned matches with what I've seen in the pickup truck market. I'm not selling the Ranger though, as it's an essential tool for my family's lawn care and landscaping business. And business so far this spring is the best it's ever been for us!

Government of Dubai announced today an agreement with General Motors/Cruise to deploy Origin AVs in that emirate. First for testing, eventually for commercial deployment. Hamdan bin Mohammed attends signing of agreement between RTA and Cruise to operate self-driving taxis and ride-hailing services in Dubai (mediaoffice.ae)

Good suggestion fuzzymoomoo sir. One thing that Farley can be praised for right away is his commitment to continue and complete the "fitness" initiatives that Hackett started. The transition from Hackett's retirement to Farley's new role has been very smooth by Ford standards.

Maybe Merkur could be considered a sub-brand of Lincoln-Mercury? ?

Good article, thanks for sharing Broncofan7 sir. Ford has always had some of the slickest, most clever marketers in the automotive industry. Expansion of sub-brands as mentioned in the article is brilliant.

There's nothing to stop then.

Good points GearheadGrrrl ma'am. However, the limiting factor you mentioned assumes that most buyers of 2022 Ford Bronco and similar "enhanced" 4x4 from competitors are getting one for rational reasons. That assumption isn't true. The automotive research company Strategic Vision found in its New Vehicle Experience Survey (NVES) that more than 70% of 4x4 truck and SUV owners take that vehicle off road only one time a year, or not at all. Ford Bronco is an status oriented product, just like Range Rovers, most Jeeps, and high end pickup trucks. In the Strategic Vision NVES, attributes that 4x4 truck and SUV owners said are important to them more often than the average for all cars and light trucks are. "the ability to outperform others" "to look good while driving" "to present a tough image" "to have their vehicle act as extension of their personality" "to stand out in a crowd" So even with the lack of off road places to drive them, Ford should have no problem finding customers for every new Bronco they can produce. The Bronco focused showrooms mentioned in this thread could be a good way to keep prospective customers interested in Bronco long after the first model year.

Thank you FordBuyer sir, Ford's Garage is a good example of an independent business in a different industry signing up as an official Ford licensee. The restaurant chain expanded outside Florida and Michigan when the location in Noblesville, Indiana opened in November 2019. It would be really cool to have more of these restaurants paired with Bronco showroom at Ford dealerships!

Bulletin attached. MC-10189793-0001.pdf

GM stock closed at almost $62 a share yesterday after the production for Silverado EV was confirmed. This is the highest since GM's IPO in 2010. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/gm-shares-hit-new-record-on-plans-for-electric-chevy-silverado-pickup.html

GM confirmed today that Electric Silverado will be built at Factory ZERO in Detroit, same plant that will assemble Hummer EV. They didn't mention start of production date though. First-Ever Chevrolet Silverado Electric Pickup to be Built at GM's Factory ZERO Plant

Good news that analysts like Langan recognize the long term impact Ford's transformation. These are a direct result of Jim Hackett's plan to get Ford "fit" again finally paying off for the company. Once Ford makes major announcements about BEV versions of those pickups and SUVs, and about getting closer to an all electric vehicle lineup worldwide, Ford stock performance will jump even higher.

Autonation Ford Fort Worth on Bryant Irvin Road, where I bought my family's 2019 Ranger and where we'll take delivery of a Mustang Mach-E, combined with Autonation's sister store further east on Campus Drive shows the following numbers for new vehicles in stock or en-route to the dealership. 164 F-150 115 Explorer 50 F-Series SD (F-250 SRW) 34 Escape 25 Expedition 23 Ranger 21 Edge 19 Bronco Sport 9 F-Series SD (F-350 DRW) 2 Mustang Mach-E The numbers for pickup truck models in particular are much lower than prior to the Covid-19 impact.

Motor Trend's comparison test articles usually quote impressions of the staff members involved in testing vehicles, it's good journalism technique to do that.

These 2 things are the Mach-E's greatest advantages in the BEV market today. Ford designers hit it out of the park with styling, Mach-E is the best looking crossover type vehicle in history. And making Mach-E part of a Mustang sub-brand is extremely smart marketing. This Motor Trend comparison test makes my wife and me look forward to taking delivery of our Mach-E First Edition even more, despite the fact that Model Y won the competition by a hair.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E vs. Tesla Model Y: The Next Normal (motortrend.com)

Yes sir FordBuyer. In addition to its performance capabilities, the Mustang nameplate is the only passenger car nameplate at Ford that still has a good reputation globally nowadays. Ford's decision to make Mustang a sub-brand, starting with Mach-E, was brilliant.

Some Ford employees last summer recommended that the company stop producing police cars in the U.S. market, but for reasons other than their low profitability. Ford executives did not pursue that recommendation. America’s Great Racial Reckoning Comes To The Auto Industry As Some Ford Employees Call For End Of Cop Car Manufacturing (jalopnik.com)

Most automotive industry experts consider 60-70 days supply to be normal.

I don't have the stats for Q1 2021, sorry T-dubz sir. Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, Toyota's fleet sales percentage was usually in the 12 - 15% range for passenger cars and light trucks. Ford's fleet percentage for those vehicle types (excluding heavy trucks and commercial vans such as Transit, Transit Connect, and E-Series) was usually twice that. So Ford had a lot more fleet sales to lose after the pandemic decimated the fleet market for passenger cars and light trucks with no major recovery on the horizon. One interesting tidbit in the Ford Q1 sales numbers. Sales of Ford "Heavy trucks", which are almost all sold to fleets, more than doubled in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020. This is because of the V shaped rebound in that market since March 2020. Here is a graph for Class 8 trucks, but the same trends should apply to Classes 3-7 where Ford does business.

Excellent presentation of the truck sales number rmc523 sir. Thank you for taking the time to do this!

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, if you look at retail sales only, Ford registered a double digit increase of about 23.1%. So it's actually the opposite of a horrendous quarter. A slight uptick in sales quantity combined with a major increase in sales quality thanks to the reduction in fleet sales.

Duplicate post, please delete

Perfectly said FordBuyer sir. Hopefully, once the automotive industry shortages with chips and other components are worked out, Ford can update the product sales mix for 2021 and 2022 Escape to have a much higher percentage of dealer stock units be hybrid, PHEV, or 2.0L versions. As you mentioned, hybrid powertrain is now available for all trims except the base 'S'.