Bob Rosadini

Hah How true on the Renault connection. As for your railroad days, talk about consolidation. As a bit of a buff I remember the Alco, FairbanksMorse,GE, EMD days. When I was in college my winter/"spring" breaks were spent working in a wholesale beef plant. We got swinging beef delivered by truck and rail. NY, NH & Hartford RR. RS-1 Alcos. Green & Orange!

I'm used to seeing an occasional UPS F-650 during my trips on I 495 which is the outer most beltway around Boston but the other day I saw 4. At least one was new as instead of old school mirrors it had the large "aero" mirrors supported by one lower mounting arm.

Jim Farley recently issued a statement on the likely need for consolidations throughout the industry. He also made this statement; “And it’ll be cascaded by region. I think that’s pretty easy to see. I think the more likely scenario is partnerships. We learned a lot from Volkswagen. After 120 years, we have a lot of partnerships. Ford Otosan has been one of the stellar partnerships we’ve had. We’ve learned a lot about what works and doesn’t on partnerships.” First time I've ever heard Farley or anyone at Dearborn make a statement that Ford Otosan exists!

7M, I remember whenCummins announced those V6/V8 engines in the 60's. The code word for these was Vim and Val-not sure which was the 6 or the 8. I did not think they ever were offered in a Ford as that article implies. And for sure I don't think they had any relationship to the later V-8 midrange Cummins which I believe initially were offered at 210 HP and 220 Hp and then they "morphed" into the 555..Triple Nickel. We had a lot of the 210's in White 9000 single axle tractors and Mack steel nose DM's that met NYC specs ..3000 gal steel tanks. When I became my region's vehicle staff guy I replaced the Whites with Louisvilles-LN-9000's. 6-71's at 238 HP and Rt-910 RR. The drivers loved the change. I think I paid under $20,000 for those- I think 1972-73...Hard to believe.

Update I did disconnect BMS and next morning I had interior and dash lights but short lived- doing it again. Made an appointment for Monday, but just had to cancel. But interesting, truck went into service 9/23, currently has 12,500 miles. When I called to make appointment, "service person" says, " I'll have to check if it's covered by warranty" at which point I said "are you kidding? with all the publicity Ford gets on software issues and you are telling me you have to check on warranty for a vehicle with 12,000 miles and 16 mos in service?" She confirmed it was. this morning when i got in it, no lights. Drove it about 8-10 miles today and went out to confirm mileage..lights worked🤔

Which was a complete flop I do believe. As were the small V-8 diesels. They had the sense however to pull the plug on them before they alienated too many customers.

Check out this picture of the 6.7 Cummins gasser. Can't figure out what that is on right side of engine??? Cummins’ First Gasoline Engine Debuted for Kenworth Medium-Duty Trucks Don McLoud Mar 10, 2025 The engine runs on 87-octane gasoline and achieves diesel-like performance, Cummins says. Kenworth Kenworth will soon offer Cummins’ first gasoline-powered engine, the B6.7 Octane, in its Class 5 to 7 conventional trucks. The engine for medium-duty trucks runs on 87-octane gasoline and achieves diesel-like performance, Cummins says. It has a horsepower range of 200 to 300 and torque up to 660 foot-pounds.

I think to a large extent, Rav 4's success is just another reflection of Toyota's reputation for quality/durability..vs Ford's ever presence in the news with recalls.

Well if the Coyote is too tall, for sure Bob Wolf and others have been getting wild numbers out of the 7.3 have they not???

Well Cummins announced availability of the gasoline version -87 octane- of the 6.7. 660lb-ft of torque. I'm sure it will be far more costly than a 7.3 Ford but checknout this response from Paccar; Cummins says the engine has undergone 2 million miles of testing. It was the first B Series engine built on the HELM platform, designed to reduce emissions, increase fuel efficiency and able to be modified to run on alternative fuels. HELM stands for “Higher Efficiency, Lower emissions and Multiple fuels” and was launched in 2024 to help customers adapt to future emissions requirements and meet emissions-reduction goals. “The engine was validated against the same standards as Cummins diesel B6.7 engine,” said Kevin Haygood, Kenworth’s assistant general manager for sales and marketing manager. “With environmental regulations changing, it spurred us to offer another engine option to our customers. The new Cummins B6.7 Octane engine will meet stringent emission regulations, so we expect it to be a popular option in California and other states that have adopted CARB’s standards. It can be a great fit for many of our customers’ applications, especially in P&D (pickup and delivery) and towing applications. We also see it being popular for the lease and rental markets, as well as for landscapers, where those behind the wheel are used to driving gas-powered vehicles.” As I've said more than once, Ford was in a good position to push the 650/750 7.3 on the west coast. But no- I'm afraid those that say Ford is done with class 6 and 7 are correct. The move of class 6 and 7 from Bluediamond to OAP was just to placate UAW during last negotiations. The air brake debacle and the fact they wouldn't spend any money on that but just offer BS excuses says they are done. Fordman...guess I'm done standing on the hill🤔

Made appt at dealer. stay tuned

Mine is on negative. I disconnected BMS from the lead-so it is disconnected from battery that is still connected and no change.

Well Sooner I hear you on BMS..I had that problem on my Lincoln. I'll try it. But for kicks I just went out to start it. When i pulled into garage last night and shut it off, no battery message. And interior lights and dash lights on when i got out of truck. Just now open door , no interior lights or dash lights start, then I shut off-get "battery shutting down" message. Open door, dash dead and no interior lights. stay tuned.

So on Seeking Alpha yesterday a report from "The Street" pops up highlighting Fords ongoing recall issues. In reading it and these issues are five in number covering 11,910 vehicles, ranging from 2 vehicles to 10, 627. All are system issues related to software. Not good, but nothing to do with a mechanical defect. But it makes good press. Good news as I see it, when Mr Farley tries to get recall issues under control this should draw his attention to one unit in his organization or so it seems. Which brings me to my '23 F-150. Love the truck, but since it was new, I'm always confronted with some surprise. Example without me touching anything, at times when I shut it off Ill get a message saying "shutting down to save battery" and everything goes blank. Then when I get in truck, no interior lights or dash lights until I turn key. Other times, I'll open door and I have those lights. Then i'll be parked and as I approach it recognizes i'm close and lights come on. But not always. This an STX XL..plain Jane with a key. Do I take it to dealer? I guess I should before it leaves me stranded. And I never leave the key fob in it unless I'm at home with a spare fob close by as I fear one of these times it will lock doors on its own. In any case, back to my Seeking Alpha post, how many people see the "Ford has more recalls" without opening article to get the facts???

Hmn..would be nice if they gave the chassis weight of all three options.