Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? All of this feels like Ford is trying to make people like the types of vehicles it wants to make, not make the vehicles it know people want to buy……or maybe it’s just clueless about what the market wants exactly because those buyers really don’t know themselves…

Absolutely correct.  Here's a quote from a Detroit News article (behind paywall) about how Detroit could react to Trump's regulatory rollback.  Erik Gordon of U-M talks about how powerful investors can be:   "Can they resist pressure from investors is a tough question, because it's not just a matter of personal fortitude," said Erik Gordon, a law and business professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.  He continued: "It's not accurate to frame it as, 'Are the big shots of the car companies courageous enough to stand up to the investors?' — because the investors can win. The investors can get you fired. You can have all of the courage you want and just be fired."   Very few people realize how controlling the investment community can be.  They are not your friend.   https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2025/02/21/automakers-mixed-on-trump-cues-of-regulatory-slashing-analysts-warn-ev-pullback-ford-gm-stellantis/79303237007/

Yep. We’ve discussed this ad nauseum over the years, but Ford’s stock price will always lag because of their two-tiered stock structure where the Ford family controls the voting stock. That keeps out big investors, like institutional investors, because they can’t buy any control over the company—no matter how much Ford common stock you buy, you don’t get any say in how the company is run.    On the minus side it keeps the stock lower in price, but on the plus side it keeps the likes of Carl Icahn and other activist investors away. 

This isn't about you though    There are plenty of other people out there that might be tempted if they are more affordable and things like in home charging comes with the vehicles, like Ford is offering.    I was in VA over the weekend and even the smaller Wawas (convenience store/gas station chain on the east coast) off I95 where getting ready to get Tesla superchargers installed at them. I'm not sure what VA penetration is with EVs, but i'm guessing its making economic sense for them to be installed at them. If people weren't buying EVs, they wouldn't be spending the money to get those charging stations installed. 

I can see Ford not competing in the passenger car market in the EU, but I think I'll stay as Ford Pro to sell vans and trucks. 

What is your vehicle’s in-service date?  Is it still covered by the Lincoln 6-year / 70,000 mile power train warranty?  If so, immediately take it to the dealer for diagnosis.  They may begin an oil-consumption test.  

Amazingly, Ford made nearly one billion dollars in profit last year in China.  Most of this was due to exports.  

Ford sales are Dismal in Europe and not any better in China. I don’t think they’ll be in either market much longer if the trend keeps up. 

Being from Dearborn, I love the fact that this is still a family-controlled company.  There's no Mr. General Motors or Mr. Stellantis.  There is a Mr. Ford.   Stock price is one thing, but don't forget about dividends.  Old folks like me love getting those dividends every year.

“Smallish” more-affordable electric vehicles are probably the better option to pursue, as has been my opinion from the start, but I’m concerned about electrification adoption in general being somewhat derailed by latest Musk antics that are seriously hurting Tesla sales, and may extend to other BEV brands by association.  Or not; hard to predict what will happen.   Tesla imploding (in some markets anyway) may be a great opportunity for Ford and other manufacturers to increase BEV market share, but could just as easily slow electrification transition momentum even more for everyone; as if electrification doesn’t face enough headwinds already.  There are a lot of very angry people right now and vehicle purchases don’t have to be logical or driven mostly by finances.  Affordable BEVs will no doubt help, but I’m not sure I would presently buy any BEV given today’s environment.