DeluxeStang

Road going variant with 345 width tires.

A 7 seater ev for 40k would be a game changer. Would be cool to see if Ford could pull that off. That could be how Ford succeeds in the ev market long term. While everyone else is making brick shaped EVs that need massive and expensive batteries to achieve any meaningful range, Ford could offer EVs with shorter ranges, but that had a much lower starting price while still being profitable. Time will tell.

I agree, going off price alone tends to lead to race to the bottom price slashing. I support the direction ford is going in. I love how they're trying to phase out generic, bland products. I'm just worried on how your mainstream consumer who's not really into cars will react. An enthusiast will have no issue paying more for a more exciting product, but most of the mainstream consumers I've talked to are very price sensitive when it comes to cars.

Sorry man, I'm just not seeing it. It really is a problem. The mach-e and bronco are both great two row SUVs. But they're at a higher price points, and don't really appeal to casual consumers.

So if you've seen the final design, would you be a able to do a rough sketch for us? It doesn't have to be perfect, just something that gives us a vague idea of the general design cues.

Nah, genuinely see very little overlap between the two designs. They both have long hoods, but that's about it.

It was one of the design sketches for the mach-e. But it didn't really impact the final design. I can understand why, that sketch doesn't really suit a mustang suv. But it would look killer as one of Ford's other SUVs.

That's exactly what I'm saying. Those are both design proposals for the mach-e. Well, the silver one was from when the car was apparently going to be called the e-max according to BORG. I just don't understand why Ford revisited that silver design, which looks terrible. But attractive designs like that blue sketch get shoved into a drawer and forgotten about. Ford needs to use that for an explorer, an electric escape, something, but they probably won't.

Except while Farley wasn't CEO during the mach-e's development, he clearly held enough power to redirect that program. I feel like he would of had the same ability to do that with the ev explorer, especially considering how the program was canceled and rebooted. It feels like Ford instead went "You know that ugly mach-e design proposal that no-one liked? Yeah, let's bring that back". Personally, I think something like that blue sketch would have made for a much better three row SUV. Just seems like the design team kept getting told, make it more futuristic until they just threw up their hands and said screw it.

This should make.a special someone quite happy

Yeah, to clarify, I'm referring to the entire powertrain. It's a fantastic setup overall, and like I said, I'm confident that once they perform these recalls, it'll be a great vehicle. But it's still frustrating that the 2.5 has been basically flawless up until this point, giving me a false sense of confidence going into our maverick purchase. Then all these issues pop up out of nowhere. It would be like if Toyota still made the 2jz in their modern cars, and someone bought a modern supra.expecting it to be rock solid, then having to deal with all of this. Recalls don't bother me like repairs do, but I just hope this doesn't become a pattern.

It's soul crushing to put it mildly. The 2.5 ecvt has been extremely reliable in literally everything else Ford's ever put it in. That's one of the reasons why I was ok buying a first model year, something I've never done. I was like, it should be fine, most of the parts in the maverick have been around forever even if the truck is new. Just my luck that the 2.5 for the first time stumbles, and it's on a product I own. I'm holding out hope that buried somewhere in there, it's still the same bulletproof 2.5 we all know and love, and that after this recall, and maybe a few others, it'll become a super reliable product. My truck has been an absolute peach in the 6 months we've owned it. But it is concerning.

I have to agree with you here. A more upright shape would appeal to people who want something more practical and traditional looking. The decision to give what should be one of your best selling EVs a polarizing and decisive design is a head scratching choice. Generally, if you're trying to maximize sales volume, you don't want some radical shape that rocks the boat. A lot of Ford's decisions these last few years confuse the hell out of me. The decision to be make a more traditional looking explorer ev, but making it super compact and for Europe only. Then making the American explorer ev look nothing like an explorer, and potentially giving it the thunderbird name. Deciding to expand the mustang sub-brand, but only doing it with a suv that pisses off a lot of loyal mustang buyers then killing the idea before designers could do anything really cool with it. Just a ton of choices that make zero sense to me, but maybe make a lot of sense to people working behind the curtain.

I'll say it before and I'll say it again. I don't think the demand for sedans/hatchbacks is high enough in the U.S. to justify needing a focus/fiesta, Tarus and fusion. But the decision to get rid of every single sedan offering was short sighted. I think Ford should bring back at least one sedan. Purely for the fact that cars are an emotionally driven purchase, and there are a considerable amount of buyers who just prefer the looks and driving dynamics of sedans. Fewer young people are getting married and having kids as well, so the need for a utility vehicle isn't there for many. Everything that's old becomes new again, everything. Generally that shift comes when people grow up, and want something different than what their parents had. People have been growing up with SUVs for about 20 years, and are ready for a change in body style and product.