New Light & Medium Duty News

[Joe771476]

13 hours ago, Bob Rosadini said:

Duh- make that 59 minutes.  Still pretty amazing

Some of this was on point, some not. The Maxx Force part was correct though. Yeah the video didn't match the commentary at all times, but the footage of old Fords was entertaining. And they never showed the LAST generation L-series HN80 manufactured in 1997 which became the Sterling. And they didn't mention the GM/White merger.  The narrator has been in countless videos. Is some of it AI?  

[ausrutherford]

I wasn't aware the E-Series got a new grill for MY26 until today. 

[twintornados]

39 minutes ago, ausrutherford said:

I wasn't aware the E-Series got a new grill for MY26 until today. 

 

Edited December 22, 2025 by twintornados

[Joe771476]

On 12/18/2025 at 8:11 PM, Bob Rosadini said:

Duh- make that 59 minutes.  Still pretty amazing

 

[Joe771476]

Bob R., in answer to your question about the CTDOT F750's, a guy in the know but NOT a DOT employee says they are Powerstroke diesels.

[rmc523]

On 12/21/2025 at 9:31 PM, ausrutherford said:

I wasn't aware the E-Series got a new grill for MY26 until today. 

 

On 12/21/2025 at 10:09 PM, twintornados said:

 

you know I was just going to post this because I saw one on the road during a road trip.  I was confused at first and then realized it must be a new grille insert.  Pretty funny that nothing else has changed.

[pictor]

7 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

you know I was just going to post this because I saw one on the road during a road trip.  I was confused at first and then realized it must be a new grille insert.  Pretty funny that nothing else has changed.

Its a commercial van with little completion in the US, change for the sake of change is not rationale. Fleets like cost consistency and management of maintenance cost, most don't care about flashy changes.

[Bob Rosadini]

5 hours ago, pictor said:

Its a commercial van with little completion in the US, change for the sake of change is not rationale. Fleets like cost consistency and management of maintenance cost, most don't care about flashy changes.

Maybe it is time to bring back the E-550.  Would have to be the low cost leader vs the Isuzu, Hino tilt cabs.

[Bob Rosadini]

On 12/22/2025 at 8:59 AM, Joe771476 said:

Bob R., in answer to your question about the CTDOT F750's, a guy in the know but NOT a DOT employee says they are Powerstroke diesels.

Thx Joe- I think the Mass DOT 750's are gas.  But they are plow equipped.

[SoonerLS]

On 12/19/2025 at 8:20 AM, Joe771476 said:

The narrator has been in countless videos. Is some of it AI?  

Listening to how “he” pronounced “Louisville…Kentucky” at the start, I’m thinking this is AI slop. That would certainly explain the mismatched imagery and iffy “facts” mentioned in this thread. 

[Bob Rosadini]

10 hours ago, SoonerLS said:

Listening to how “he” pronounced “Louisville…Kentucky” at the start, I’m thinking this is AI slop. That would certainly explain the mismatched imagery and iffy “facts” mentioned in this thread. 

For sure, and agree with Joe's comment on similar "voice" showing up  on other posted articles. 

 

That blue "LTL" is by the way an LN with an aftermarket hood that has  the LTL grill work.  I believe someone had posted a picture  of a white LN with that hood so it apparently is being produced by someone.

The AI world lends new importance to the old saying..."take it with a grain of salt".

[GearheadGrrrl]

No racing over the holidays to watch, so I've succumbed to watching videos of truck plants. First one was of Ford's Ohio Assembly, and I was really impressed by how clean and technically advanced the plant is. Then Daimler's assembly plant in the Carolinas, workers wearing masks dated it to the 20202s but the crudeness of the plant made it look like not much had changed in decades. 

 

Left me convinced that Ohio Assembly is an underrated plant and Ford needs to give them something from the 21st century to build!

[Bob Rosadini]

6 hours ago, GearheadGrrrl said:

No racing over the holidays to watch, so I've succumbed to watching videos of truck plants. First one was of Ford's Ohio Assembly, and I was really impressed by how clean and technically advanced the plant is. Then Daimler's assembly plant in the Carolinas, workers wearing masks dated it to the 20202s but the crudeness of the plant made it look like not much had changed in decades. 

 

Left me convinced that Ohio Assembly is an underrated plant and Ford needs to give them something from the 21st century to build!

Agree,

I know I'm a broken record but I don't see how they proudly proclaim the contribution Ford Pro makes but they do little to capitalize on a market that Ford was always a big player in.

[akirby]

1 hour ago, Bob Rosadini said:

Agree,

I know I'm a broken record but I don't see how they proudly proclaim the contribution Ford Pro makes but they do little to capitalize on a market that Ford was always a big player in.

Always the same reason.  Continued investment wasn't worth the potential profit.

[Joe771476]

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

[7Mary3]

On 12/24/2025 at 2:41 PM, Bob Rosadini said:

Agree,

I know I'm a broken record but I don't see how they proudly proclaim the contribution Ford Pro makes but they do little to capitalize on a market that Ford was always a big player in.

 

Easy, Ford is very successful and profitable in the largest segments of the commercial vehicle markets.    

[Joe771476]

I've been watching reruns of the 1960's/70's TV series The FBI and spotted a few N-series. More on The FBI coming soon, but that was a blend of cabover and conventional design. Two main advantages was the stubby nose offered better road visibility almost as good as a cabover, yet the stubby nose allowed the inside cabin noise to be reduced because the engine was placed forward.  Ingenius actually!

[twintornados]

51 minutes ago, Joe771476 said:

I've been watching reruns of the 1960's/70's TV series The FBI and spotted a few N-series. More on The FBI coming soon, but that was a blend of cabover and conventional design. Two main advantages was the stubby nose offered better road visibility almost as good as a cabover, yet the stubby nose allowed the inside cabin noise to be reduced because the engine was placed forward.  Ingenius actually!

 

Kinda like an E-Series....kinda. 

[Motorpsychology]

40 minutes ago, twintornados said:

 

Kinda like an E-Series....kinda. 

More like the 60's GM B Series (top) Ford N-Series (bottom)

 

Edited December 31, 2025 by Motorpsychology

[Joe771476]

1 hour ago, Motorpsychology said:

More like the 60's GM B Series (top) Ford N-Series (bottom)

 

Yeah I forgot about the GM version! Thanks for refreshing my memory!

[Bob Rosadini]

On 12/24/2025 at 6:58 PM, akirby said:

Always the same reason.  Continued investment wasn't worth the potential profit.

With all due respect, if that was the soul corporate objective, the only thing Ford would build would be F-150/250-for sure Lincoln would be gone.  As I look at it from the Ford Pro segment, we are led to believe that Ford Pro is a "winner".  And assuming "Pro" is defined as the commercial segment..be it a self employed handy man or a big corporate entity, a full slate of vehicles that support that business is critical.  This is opposed to the class 8 market, where the bulk of that market is for hire transportation, where moving commodities is the business.

 

Granted many "commercial" entities also have class 8 vehicles in support of their business -"Private Carriage"-a term you often don't hear used today.  The bulk of their needs however are in class 1-7.  Accordingly I  think Ford has to recognize that failing to serve all of that market, will in the long run prove to be a mistake.

 

And to those who say it would  take huge sums to expand the offerings in class 6/7 I say that is BS. IMO, it is just a matter of some selective changes.  

 

[fordmantpw]

Ford is currently the ONLY automaker to have offerings in class 1-7, so they are the only ones serving that entire market.

 

So, let's say it's a mistake to not prioritize classes 6 & 7.  Let's make an assumption that they could invest $100M into those classes and get a return of $150M.  Or, they could pick option 2 and invest $100M into classes 2-5 and get a return of $250M.  Which is the better option?  What would you choose?

[7Mary3]

19 minutes ago, fordmantpw said:

Ford is currently the ONLY automaker to have offerings in class 1-7, so they are the only ones serving that entire market.

 

Chevrolet does, to a limited extent.  The Silverado goes to class 6 and the LCF's go to the Cummins/Allison powered 7500 series.  However, can't help but think GM has a better plan for class 6 and 7 than Ford does.  The 4500-6500 Silverado is a joint venture with International and the LCF's are rebadged Isuzu's.  Chevy commercial dealers have the trucks on the lot but GM doesn't have to commit the capital to design and manufacture the low-margin vehicles.  They do supply major components to both International and Isuzu but that's it.  

 

Interesting to note, now with Toyota spinning Hino off to Daimler Truck, I don't think any major car/light truck manufacturer directly owns a medium/heavy truck manufacturer.  

[fordmantpw]

44 minutes ago, 7Mary3 said:

 

Chevrolet does, to a limited extent.  The Silverado goes to class 6 and the LCF's go to the Cummins/Allison powered 7500 series.  However, can't help but think GM has a better plan for class 6 and 7 than Ford does.  The 4500-6500 Silverado is a joint venture with International and the LCF's are rebadged Isuzu's.  Chevy commercial dealers have the trucks on the lot but GM doesn't have to commit the capital to design and manufacture the low-margin vehicles.  They do supply major components to both International and Isuzu but that's it.  

 

Interesting to note, now with Toyota spinning Hino off to Daimler Truck, I don't think any major car/light truck manufacturer directly owns a medium/heavy truck manufacturer.  

 

Ahhh, didn't realize the LCF went to class 7.

[7Mary3]

6 hours ago, fordmantpw said:

 

Ahhh, didn't realize the LCF went to class 7.

 

https://www.gmenvolve.com/content/dam/gmenvolve/na/us/english/index/chassis-segment-page/02-pdfs/24GMFG-LCFXD-v2.pdf