AM222

Here's an S650 at a similar angle.

It looks like they based it on the 5-spoke Cragar wheels used by the Shelby GT350. The '65 Mustang fastback at the Mustang's 60th Anniversary event had them. Though I think the Ford has been giving the Mustang variations of these modern flat 5-spoke muscle-car wheels even before the Camaro returned. 2005 Mustang GT at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show -Motor Trend

A bit off-topic, Ford Philippines launched the S650 Mustang during the Mustang's 60th Anniversary (April 17, 2024). The Philippine-spec Mustang GT Premium Performance Package displayed I think has "spoiler-delete" as standard. Is this an export market thing? Looks clean. -Philkotse PS: The Philippine-spec GT Premium makes a full 486hp (493PS) unlike most other export versions that are down by almost 40 horsepower.

Perhaps the next GT500? A GT350-level vehicle would be too close to a Dark Horse, and the flat-plane crank "Voodoo" V8 is gone. PS: Ford teased the GT3 the same way, and yes, the rear wing shape wasn't final, it just told us there would be a huge wing. I guess we know the future Mustang in the teaser won't have a huge rear wing.

Will Ford still make Shelbys or will all S650-generation Shelbys be built by Shelby American like the upcoming Super Snake?

Sorry, that figure I posted included Daihatsu and Lexus. I'm sure Lincoln contributed very little to Ford's global sales. Outside Japan Toyota is strong in Asia-Pacific region. Japan being a closed market is BS because foreign non-luxury brands like Volkswagen and Mini are doing well in Japan and were doing better than Ford when it was selling Japanese consumers (that favor small vehicles) left hand drive Explorers, left hand drive S197 Mustangs, and some big Lincolns. Before they left Japan, it tried to sell the problematic Fiesta PowerShift, too little too late. A lot of the markets where Ford failed, it was due to uncompetitive aging models or straight out selling the wrong type of cars.

As a consumer and Ford fan, it's a bit disappointing to see how a once powerful global carmaker no longer takes the global market as seriously as it used to. It's hard to imagine that the Ranger is now the only true global Ford model. *I don't count the Mustang because it's sold as a niche premium/luxury model in many global markets which explains why over 3/4 of its sales are still coming from the US. In 2023 Ford sold 4.4 million vehicles worldwide, while Toyota sold 11.2 million vehicles. A global carmaker like Toyota for example can spread the development cost of a new vehicle or platform over every vehicle it sells around the world. Developing a non-global vehicle means it relies heavily on domestic sales, it will also probably take longer for it to be profitable. Then throw in the continuous stream of recalls that cost the company like millions or billions? I like the Mustang, Ranger, and Bronco but I do wish they expanded their portfolio to include smaller models that Ford of Europe used to handle.

Only Ford executives/employees care about this really, not actual consumers. This doesn't mean much in global markets outside North America that don't get the F150. Ford needs more models in its global showrooms after it killed off its small models. Yes, these are important in global markets and yes its competitors have a widw range of models in global markets.

Pretty much, unlike its non-American competitors which are global (not just focused on their home market). A lot rests on the shoulders of the Australian-developed T6, it's what's keeping Ford alive in Asia-Pacific, South Africa, South America etc.

The full-size truck is mainly an American thing. Most non-American car companies think global. They'd rather invest in scalable global platforms. Kia will launch a mid-size pickup, they can sell this anywhere unlike full-size pickup trucks. The 2-row compact SUV is a segment common around the world and Ford wants to discontinue the Escape/Kuga. Ford relies heavily on models they can't market outdide North America as mainstream models. The F-Series is too big, the Mustang ends up being a premium model, the Bronco also ends up being a premium model limited to select left-hand drive markets. The Mach e is also premium (expensive outside the US) and is sold in very limited number of markets.

For Q1 2024, behind the Ford F-Series (1st) and Chevy Silverado (2nd) are the following models: the Toyota Rav4 (3rd), Tesla Model Y (4th), and Honda CR-V (5th). Apparently after big trucks, compact/small SUVs are the next popular models in the US.

There's no rule that affordable volume models should be boring "commodity" models. Ford used to make sharp desirable mainstream models. There are really no excuses to why the competition still makes the vehicle types Ford abandoned and at the same time remain healthy without the need for drastic sacrifices. I know small models are just secondary in the US but these are mainstream volume models in Europe, Asia, and other international markets. Ford's competitors know this, that's why they don't just kill off models. The development cost is spread to every vehicle sold around the world. About the Continental (Ford sold this in very limited number of markets unlike its competitors), there are many big luxury sedans out there and most are RWD-based. This includes Hyundai's full-size G90. Even if you dislike the car, it exists in 2024 and the Continental didn't make it past 2020. Ford's real problem (at least in North America) is quality control. Despite its shrinking lineup, it's still the king of recalls, 3 Years in a row (2021, 2022, 2023), and there have been recalls this year.

To put it nicely, Ford in the past couple of years hasn't been run/ managed that well. Every time Ford called a segment dead or referred to models in a segment as just "commodity products", it usually meant, our competitors beat us, we quit. First to go are the cars, next in line are their 2-row SUV counterparts.

Extra $$ saved to offset the continuous recalls of North American-built Fords?

I have a feeling this is just Toyota hitting the reset button on the Land Cruiser 250 Series (Prado) after it evolved from the boxy first generation model to the rounded modern ones.