Just to add some perspective here, CE1 and Louisville is a combined $5 billion investment, thats F150 level funding for what is supposed to be an affordable line of BEVs. It’s easy to see how Ford’s electric vehicle plans fall over when there’s not enough buyers, the zeros pile up very quickly……

The target buyer won't care if it has a V8, its more about the vibes

Kidding Aside It's not that simple. EVs Tow and haul better than comparable ICE vehicles. More torque, more power, and regenerative braking. They just don't go as far, which can be an issue, for some The 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Tows Like A Diesel Truck, But America Isn’t Ready For It Yet The 2024/2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV offers an EPA-estimated range of up to 450 miles on a full charge, which is reduced to approximately 200-225 miles when towing, depending on load, speed, and terrain. The truck boasts a max towing capacity of up to 12,500 lbs and 785 lb-ft of torque, with fast-charging capabilities providing around 100 miles of range in 10 minutes.

What concerns me is the fact that a gas powered mustang crossover is gonna lose a lot of the consumer base that made the mach-e so successful. That being the sizable portion of mach-e owners who just want a quiet, reliable, smooth, low cost of ownership crossover that also happens to be fast. A gas powered performance crossover isn't gonna be able to match the refinement or reliability of an EV. So a lot of those buyers are gonna pass.    On top of that, if the performance of the gas mach-e is relative weak sauce compared to a mach-e gt, it's gonna feel like a downgrade in most respects. A V8 would help with that, it would be something that made the gas version of the mach-e feel special and like an improvement over the EV version.     

Never even crossed my mind……

If they put the Mustang badge on it, then a V8 option should at least have strong consideration as it's certainly part of the Mustang heritage. If they want to separate it from the 3.0 Ecoboost, use the Dark Hose variant, and/or give it some more R&D to squeeze out more performance. This would be a performance vehicle, the numbers aren't just for numbers' sake. If the CEO wants Ford to be the "Porsche of off road", that requires the hardware to back the claim.

Very true, and the only reason Ford is still in class 6 and 7.

The fact the Ford makes both the engine AND the transmission instead of having to buy them both from an outside vendor is a serious advantage for Ford. 

I actually like the new front. The body looks like an early 2000’s Lexus or Camry. For all that is going on in the interior, the exterior profile is kinda boring.

I don't think the Freightliner will cost less than the Ford, but I think it will be a lot closer than the Kenworth.  Our fleet went Freightliner years ago because after taking upfit costs into consideration, the Freightliner truck was less expensive 'turn key' than the Ford was.  That certainly may not be the case with many buyers (van, platform, etc.) but the point is I expect the M2/Octane will be priced close enough to the F-650 gasoline that it may cost Ford some sales.