2026 Jeep Compass Unveiled: Hybrid or EV With Up to 375 HP   The base model will make do with 145 horsepower from an unspecified gasoline engine equipped with 48-volt tech. The plug-in hybrid will pack 195 hp, while the three EVs will range from 213 hp for the front-wheel-drive model to 375 hp for the AWD-equipped range-topper.     ---   Guess we'll see if it winds up here or not.....I'm guessing it will eventually:   The New Jeep Compass May Not Come to the US   'As we navigate today’s dynamic environment, Stellantis continues to reassess its product strategy in North America to ensure it is offering customers a range of vehicles with flexible powertrain options to best meet their needs. As a result, the company is temporarily pausing work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at the Brampton Assembly Plant.'

Agree RWD can be more popular than FWD under various conditions as Tesla has demonstrated in US market.  Being a Chinese car the MG4’s price is not comparable to US or European vehicles, so hard to say to what degree its RWD design affects cost.  Having said that, if we get back to prioritizing affordability, and therefore making a BEV as inexpensive as practical, the popular low-cost Chinese BYD Seagull may be a great example, and it has FWD platform.   Not saying it’s the only way to go, but FWD seems to offer more bang-for-the-buck when affordability is a priority.  The Seagull’s price is roughly half that of MG4 IIRC, though clearly it’s comparing apples and oranges, so we don’t really know how much is due to powertrain layout.  The only thing we know is Seagull was designed to be ultra cheap, and they chose FWD over RWD.  Granted only one data point so not conclusive. 😀    

https://nypost.com/2025/05/05/business/ford-warns-of-2-5b-hit-from-trump-tariffs-suspends-annual-forecast/

Loaded cargo vans typically have better traction when RWD in design (versus FWD) because much of the cargo mass is over driven wheels.  Ford E-Transit and E-Custom are both RWD IIRC though both available as FWD in ICE variants in Europe.  To me just shows that traction is not only variable to consider, since FWD ICE cargo vans tend to be lighter and therefore can have higher payload.  Ability to carry more cargo is apparently of greater value than a little incremental improvement in traction. In BEV variants there is much less vehicle weight difference between FWD and RWD designs so not as much payload to gain.   It’s interesting that when empty, a FWD ProMaster van has a much greater percentage of weight over driven wheels than RWD Transit, and therefore better traction in snow when empty.  However, when fully loaded, weight distribution over driven wheels reverses, giving advantage to RWD Transit.  In the middle when partially loaded there can be little or no difference in weight distribution.  Obviously Transit AWD option wins on traction no matter the conditions.

While switching to my seasonal rims and tires, I was shocked to find out for the 2023 Lincoln Nautilus they require 162 ft lbs of torque for the lug nuts.   That seems excessive and how in the world do they expect one to remove the nuts at the side of a road?

So here the problem with your train of thought-Ford's bread and butter is commercial vehicles-Vans and trucks. Last time I checked Hyundai doesn't offer a larger truck or van, so that is extra money they can use on products like EVs    The Mach E was developed as a compliance vehicle for the EU market (which is why its built in Mexico vs USA). Since then Ford's EV projects have been a shit show with cancellations and changes in direction

But most of those cars are based off ICE platforms and aren't purely clean sheet EVs   Not sure how the packaging works with RWD Evs, but it might be better for a van type product that needs a flat floor.   

Hyundai was also able to roll out a family of compact and midsize Hyundai, Genesis and Kia EVs based on the same basic modular E-GMP architecture used by the Ioniq 5. This is something Ford could have done with the Mach E's EV platform. I'm sure they could have made a more traditional SUV-shaped model or a Lincoln crossover out of the Mach E platform. Again, since it's Ford they can't do it.  Notice how Ford is very inefficient that it tries so hard and sacrifices many things to survive while other manufacturers like Hyundai made an entire EV range while at the same time, it kept most of its ICE models including its sedans. 

Seeing how Toyota is strong in practically all continents, they know what's going on. Ford invested heavily on EVs that it can only sell in limited markets. Hyundai Ioniq 5 I believe is far more successful globally than the Mach E which is not sold globally.