Agree and that unfortunately is kind of the way Ford is heading, designing for American tastes but perhaps not capturing the alternative softer styling that many buyers also like….it is possible to do two vehicles instead of forcing the issue with just one vehicle.   Also, Puma is Fiesta /subcompact size and a lot smaller in person than the pictures convey….but man, they look nice.     With the MEB based BEVs, we see what happens when bulbous styling results from in between choices when’re the vehicles are neither swoopy rounded or boxy American. That sort of styling kind of misses the mark even though those Euro sales improve, it could be that buyers are being forced into a vehicle style that not what they prefer.   The sleeker swoopy styling probably represents the modern take on a car while the boxy utility is the epitome of space utilisation and good to live with as that other daily driver so people buy one of each in a two vehicle family?

The engineers who basically live at the track and have thousands of laps under their belt are professional race car drivers lol. 

Farley said game on so another attempt is planned I'd say lol. We know the 5.2 can make well over 1,000 hp. The GTD already has really good brakes, tires, suspension, and chassis balance, so they don't need to change much. Maybe up the power and tweak the front and rear areo for more downforce. 

A 3 second difference across a 12 mile track is basically nothing. Farley responded by saying game on, so I'm willing to bet Ford develops some GTD R or something with even more extreme areo and like 1,000 plus HP.    On the topic of drivers, those engineers are people who live at the race track, and have complete hundreds, if not thousands of laps in these corvettes. They have had far more seat time with them than Dirk had with the GTD.    Finally, price, the GTD and ZR1 will be about equal in terms of price once you factor in dealer markups. You buy the GTD directly from Ford, you buy a ZR1 at a dealer. There was an article of a dealer charging 500k for a ZR1. 

To be fair, I left it open by saying puma or bronco sport, but I agree with you. While my personal taste leans more towards the puma, and I want to see that product become global, the bronco sport is probably the more likely option between the two. I like the BS, I just don't want everything Ford makes to have the same boxy styling.    I feel like Ford's going all in on the body rugged off-roaders which is a lucrative market, but they aren't investing in swoopy sporty crossovers as much as they should. 

Total vehicle sales 189, 313 and F Series 73,538 sales is another great result for Ford   https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/fords-us-july-sales-rise-over-9-suv-pickup-demand-2025-08-01/ “Aug 1 (Reuters) - Ford on Friday reported a 9.3% rise in U.S. auto sales for July compared to the previous year, helped by sustained demand for pickup trucks and SUVs.”   ”Aggressive discount programs and its "zero, zero, zero" campaign, offering a $0 down payment, zero percent interest for 48 months and zero payments for the first 90 days on most vehicles, helped the company gain some market share.”

I think you’ve misunderstood his words,  the other SUV that’s not Escape/Kuga that’s going global in the next Gen is Bronco Sport.   The CE1 SUV is an interesting vehicle but it arrives after the mid sized CE1 pickup  so still quite a ways off.   The pressure looks to be off BEVs for the next couple of years, Europe will make do with Mach E, Explorer, Capri and Puma for passenger utilities. I think Ford is obligated to keep the MEB for another 4-5 years and Puma is pretty fresh too. Mach E might get electrical upgrades to keep costs and efficiency improvements coming.   CE1 is more about providing North American need for affordable BEV pickup and companion utility maybe a van too for Ford Pro. Remember this was plan B for Ford but now Farley has discovered  that hybrids and even EREV is preferable for larger vehicles so the  game is changing right before our eyes….   Notice how Ford has gone quiet on Blue Oval Center and next Gen BEV F150 and BEV Expedition. With Lightning selling at a fraction of the previously anticipated amounts , it’s looking more like perhaps BOC morphs into something that better serves the near future needs… think about that.

You guys make anonymous sound like it’s a bad thing. 😀   To me Equinox is ugly therefore noticeable but in a bad way.  I like old Bolt better, though its blob design didn’t lead to aerodynamic efficiency anyway, so why bother compromising appearance.  Not that Bolt looked that bad to me, just that it could have looked better given a Cd above 0.3.  IMO there’s little excuse to lose highway driving range by designing an EV with Cd above 0.25.  That is just pissing money away by being lazy and or unimaginative. 

Yea, but the real braggarts are going to be the Mustang GTD buyers who are ready to sell their car once the required 2 year hold period is up. They'll almost certainly get a lot more than what they paid for it.   Mustang GTD is meant to be a track event, garage, and car show queen - it's a true collector's item.