This also presumably answers the question of the long-term status of the (stupid) Ford/VW tie-up, which I assume will disappear as these products phase in, and the VW-made ones phase out.

Rivian R2 'Will Underpin All Future EV Projects' At Volkswagen   Not only will the Volkswagen Group have access to a shared software platform to help close the Cariad-shaped gap in its vehicles, but it turns out that the platform that underpins Rivian's upcoming SUV will actually become the official digital brain of all future Volkswagen-branded EVs. Everything Volkswagen touches in the EV space will now be humming along on the same platform and tech stack that will be used as the building blocks for the highly anticipated Rivian R2. That news comes straight from Rivian's Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Bensaid noted that the R2's modular platform is set to be the secret sauce that makes up every single Volkswagen EV in the foreseeable future. Yes, you read that right—the R2's DNA will be in not just one future product, but all of Volkswagen's new battery-powered models moving forward. That all starts with the upcoming affordable VW Every1 (which will have a new name by the time it releases), which will use an off-the-shelf version of the zonal architecture, and then trickle into newly-released models thereafter. Here's what Bensaid revealed: Notice the last bit of Bensaid's quote. He mentioned that "each of the brands" will have the ability to "express their own identity." Reading between the lines, that tells us that it's not just the VW brand that will have access to the R2's underpinnings. Audi? Check. Porsche? Also check. Don't forget newcomer Scout, plus Lamborghini, Skoda, Seat and all of the others under the VW group umbrella. We already knew that these brands would have access to the software joint venture, but Bensaid's reveal confirms that all brands under the portfolio will be able to have access to the R2 platform and tech stack. Here's another snippet from the interview that explains it further:   More at the link above.   Definitely interesting news.

I don't believe they'll be able to drop the price significantly. What would help is sharing the coupe platform with a mustang sedan, which we know is the plan for now, with the goal of stabilizing prices even if they don't reduce them. Sharing the platform with multiple vehicles would also in theory make it easier to invest more in the mustang moving forward.    For the prices the gt and above are now selling for, I personally believe an effort should be made to give the mustang more seductive proportions. Longer wheelbase, shorter rear, and much shorter front overhangs. Maybe push the a-pillar back an inch or two. Lower the roof maybe 2 inches, and the beltline by an inch. Keep the strong haunches, and accentuate the fastback rooflines.   The s650 is a good looking car, but the size of the overhangs drive me nuts, I'd love to see whatever came next keep the 60s inspiration, but push the wheels to the corners more. Give it larger, more eye catching wheels as well.    Basically just minor tweaks here and there to make an already good looking model even better looking to help justify the higher price tag. The s650 in well equipped gt form is a 55-60 grand car with the same basic shape and proportions to an s550 that was 30 grand new. Casual car buyers don't notice that, hard core sports car enthusiasts do.   I don't know how flexible the hard points on the s650 chassis are, but assuming they're making a sedan using that chassis, it seems like there's a fair amount of flexibility with the dimensions. 

America’s Electric Vehicle Surrender If Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” passes, the entire supply chain could be ceded to China.      

I paid $79,000 for a fully loaded BRaptor when it first came out.  It skyrocketed after that destroying its value proposition as far as I’m concerned.   The same goes for the Wildtrack.  

Mondeo and Lincoln Nautilus.   Territory has been largely been limited to export to middle income countries that Ford doesn't consider key markets. With Ford Taiwan starting production of Territory, I'm sure it points to the model making its way to other high income countries to replace Kuga/Escape - e.g. Australia is probably going to get it sooner or later.      

https://fordauthority.com/2025/06/ford-vice-chair-john-lawler-says-next-gen-evs-are-two-years-away/   😴

I believe the “Hemi” name has value to their customers, but also think it goes well beyond that.  As discussed in other threads, there are still a lot of truck buyers which prefer a naturally-aspirated large-displacement pushrod engine.  Chevy doesn’t have a “Hemi” per se but sells a ton of pushrod V8s even though they may use a bit more gas.  And Ford with Godzilla brought back high-displacement NA pushrod to Super Duty.  And to be clear, I’m not arguing whether it should be this way or not, just that RAM is not alone in having to deal with demand for these “old school” engines.   FYI: Chrysler apparently had a Hemi-6 inline engine in Australia a long time ago.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Hemi-6_Engine   Truck buyers want so much power today that it may be hard to get from a naturally aspirated I-6 Hemi, especially if limited to around 3-liter Hurricane architecture.

Give Chrysler all the credit in the world in making the hemi monicker theirs.  Pure marketing genius.   But, the hemi-head design dates back to 1905.  A Belgium automaker called Pipe was the first to use a hemispherical combustion chamber on a four cylinder, Fiat followed suit in 1907.  Chrysler brought out theirs in 1951.  

Is that similar to flexible and adaptable to new conditions?  Better than rigid and inflexible that lead to extremist views. 😀