It's good to know that Ford made removing the battery pack relatively easy and straightforward, that shows ease of repair and people being able to own these vehicles long term are important considerations to them.    As for the escape hybrids, yeah super reliable. I know they made some tweaks and adjustments here and there, but from my understanding, the hybrid system in the maverick is pretty similar to what's in those older escapes, that's why I was ok with buying a first model year because it was such a proven powertrain lol. 

I don’t know about the supposed car news, it’s probably not what people are expecting in terms of of low cost affordable vehicles. I have a hunch that Ford wants to charge buyers just as much for a Mustang based car as they do for a similar utility…   Europe and ROW markets may want smaller more efficient cars but I doubt that most American buyers will want to go back to one,  I feel like Farley thinking out loud.

Granted, what Hackett inherited from Fields was awful  and MEB would have been great  if just ordered in from VW with different top hats, Ford doing its own production is where the six year time lag came in…

It is no different than someone putting a "Police Interceptor" badge on a (insert non-descript Ford model here) and driving it around Michigan....

Aaaaand the second row bench is once again gone from the Black Label. 😡   Was not available when Black Label started, was added around 2020/2021, and is now gone again.   And that split gate is very problematic for loading my wheelchair. Ugh!   Anyone know the weight capacity of the bottom part of the tailgate? Can two adults sit on it?

If my memory serves me correctly, tin a discussion with a mechanic at the dealership related to the MME I was driving, they indicated that you remove the rocker panel covers and other odds and ends which allows access to the lift locations in order to allow the battery to be dropped out. They had a special rack for them  which helped handle the battery.  It sounded like a fairly simple process to gain access to the pack, but I’m sure there’s a little more to it.  He didn’t elaborate on actual module replacement or anything like that, so I’m unsure how hard that process is but it doesn’t seem like it would be that complicated to pop modules out.    Regarding your comment about Ford’s hybrid system, when I was living in Chicago, a lot of taxi services used Gen two Ford escapes with the hybrid system. In talking with the drivers they could put a couple hundred thousand miles on them typically without major problems. Obviously that’s anecdotal, however, taxi service is very hard on vehicles, especially when dealing with roads from the Midwest and the stop and go traffic.  There were many Ford escapes back then, which is why I was disappointing when the next gen arrived without the hybrid system.  

I’m not crazy about the 64-68 or 71+ mustangs styling.  I think the 69-70 is the pinnacle of Mustang design, especially the Mach 1 and Boss versions.  If I had the room I would seriously try to find a 70 Boss 302 in grabber blue with black stripes and black interior.  To go with the 77 F100 Ranger XLT short bed two tone red and black of course…. 😎

Following-up on variations of Model Y, rather than creating a new smaller Model 2/Q to serve as affordable entry-level Tesla, Musk recently said that the new affordable Tesla will be a Model Y.  Not sure I believe him 100% given all the exaggeration and misinformation he’s known for, but if comment is accurate, it’s hard to see how they can get enough cost out of the base Model Y to make a significant difference on sales.  If decontenting saves a few thousand the Model Y price may get close to a Model 3 but not close to the original $25k or later revised $30k target.   With Chevy and other manufacturers introducing affordable EVs, Tesla seems to have lost competitive edge if a stripped-down Model Y is the best they can come up with.

Good post.  I agree with most of what you said (outside of some of the Fox-bodied Mustangs, mainly because I owned a '86 GT).   But to the '64-'70 Mustangs, their styling is timeless.  I went to my barber a few weeks back and parked along on the street was a 1965 Mustang notchback.  A mild resto-mod.  Everybody who walked by that car looked at it, no matter if you were an old guy like me, or some 16 year old with earbuds stuck in your ear.  There's something about that design that will live on forever. 

Good point.  I hadn’t forgotten though I think I would like the City sedan even better.  The City is much longer than the Fit and a little lower too.  My son and daughter in law had a Fit and I rode in it a few times.  Ride and space in front was OK but one time my wife and I rode in back and it was really harsh on bumps and potholes.  Could have been shocks were bad but I think it was mostly the small tires and lack of suspension travel that made it uncomfortable.   A while back a saw a Honda City with Mexican plates near my home and it caught my attention due to both its size and looks.  Its 179” length shows it’s not too small, and looked much like a slightly smaller Civic.  In many ways I liked it better.  If Honda could get 60 MPG out of hybrid while keeping price no higher than $25k, it might sell well for those who want to be environmentally responsible but not ready for a BEV yet, or can’t afford one.