I don’t disagree overall but I believe this was at least partly due to the pandemic.

Apparently, RAM did not get the memo about passenger vans in the North American market....

I'm tired of hearing this excuse (from Ford)....we've heard it for 20+ years at this point, and they've never done anything about it.....meanwhile Toyota turns the core of their lineup to hybrid only and have continued to blow past Ford without issues...     For whatever reason, reviewers widely panned the new Escape when it came out, when I really don't think it was nearly as bad as they made it out to be.  Was it easily a segment leader?  Maybe not, but things they'd nit-pick about on Escape are overlooked in competitors. The 3-cylinder motor got destroyed by reviewers, but when I drove one, I didn't understand the complaints......it did what it needed to, which is what most segment buyers are looking for.   I'd agree that it's odd that Maverick, and to a lesser extent Bronco Sport have seemingly worse materials than Escape, yet reviewers have raved about Maverick's interior.....   That said, Ford seems to have a hard time stepping up in segments that aren't F-series, and then wonders where sales go, in a self-fulfilling cycle.

Ford EV Battery Plant Does Not Use Raw Materials From China   “You’ll often hear people say, ‘Well, China holds 90 percent of the raw materials, or you can’t build LFP without Chinese materials,'” Lisa Drake, Vice President, Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems at Ford, told InsideEVs in a recent inverview. “I’m here to tell you that that’s not true, that you can build LFP without Chinese critical minerals. It’s very, very difficult to do, but our supply chain team at Ford went and did it.” Those LFP batteries use a Ford-specific design, but the automaker is licensing a few things from CATL – including the manufacturing process, battery chemistry, and product design. Some employees from CATL will also travel to the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site to train American workers on how to use the equipment at the plant and assemble the battery packs, which will be used in a variety of future low-cost electric vehicles.

Ram Could Start Making Passenger Vans   In an interview with CNBC on Ram's (and his) comeback, Kuniskis teased the possibility of a passenger van while also mentioning the previously announced mid-sizer (to arrive in 2027). Kuniskis said the brand has over 25 announcements planned through the end of 2026. 

I think Ford can still call it an Escape even if they made it sort of look like an Explorer junior since that's how it was anyway in the 2000s.  The Mustang and Bronco both got a reset (when they went retro) and Ford didn't change their names.

Was curious about that also.  Australian guys tested the lightest Ranger PHEV they could get, on a slightly downhill road, and got 7.91 seconds to 100 kilometers/hour (62 MPH).  IMO it’s acceptable for normal driving for a truck, but buyer expectations do vary considerably.  They tested it in electric mode and it took 28 seconds to reach 100 KPH.  To me that’s so slow that I expect very few owners would utilize much of the BEV range regularly, which they found to be only around 40 km (25 miles).   Other sources tested Ranger PHEV and reported 9.2 seconds 0-100 KPH.  I would guess it’s slower than 2.3 EcoBoost in large part because it’s considerably heavier.  Data suggest initial acceleration is good, probably due to electric motor torque at launch, but once moving where power is needed, acceleration seems to drop off.  Overall Australian reviewers loved the pickup for being a Ranger but were not particularly complimentary of powertrain or performance.  

This morning's updated gas prices in Hamden, CT (Greater New Haven)  $3.13 Regular (Cash) @ Gulf  $3.15 Regular (Cash) @ Citgo  

I owned a 2013 Escape, and a 2020 Escape now.  Both Titanium's.  I've also driven fleet Escapes for my work, just Tuesday for a matter of fact.   My Titanium is much better than the fleet in materials.  The BS is lower in interior materials quality than my Titanium.  So I don't get the cheap comments.  I've sat in a previous gen RAV4.  It's material quality was lower than my Titanium, IMO.  So Toyota's material quality wasn't better than the Escape.  The CRV seems to be better than Toyota, but I haven't been in one of those.  Now it looks like Toyota has stepped it up for the next gen RAV4, which I like.  Looks like they pushed it up to near Lexus quality for the top trims, which seems to be a trend like they did with the Crown series.   But to say the Escape is a POS is stretch.  For me, I won't drop down to the BS interior size, so the interior quality is moot.  I find the materials quality on the BS and Maverick lower than the current Escape.   I'd prefer they took the looks/quality and matched it to the Explorer.  Call it a Bronco Sport plus, Maverick Sport, Explorer Sport.  I don't care.

Help me understand this-I've owned a 2017 Escape, been in 2024 Escape and own a Bronco Sport-how is the interior too small? The 2017 had issues with the dash vs the previous generation, but the 2020+ Escape was a huge improvement with that and the Bronco Sport is pretty similar    So how is the Escape too small, yet the BS isn't, but the driving position/space is freaking identical?