If trends continue Ford will fall behind Hyundai in US market share within a decade.  How far down that slide does Ford's notion that they can ignore market share and focus on profit margins go?   Sooner or later they will hit an inflection point and find themselves in the same existential crisis as "Chrysler."   I warned about the affordability problem back when they ditched cars.  Good to see that they've finally discovered the "A" word but there's no sign in the latest rhetoric that they really understand the problem.

Gas, Diesel is still above $3 here. 

So imagine double that price for gasoline and diesel, the calculations change on vehicle power choices Fuel economy on the highway becomes less important when drivers do a lot more surface road running at lower speeds or stop/start driving where fuel economy can take a real hit.

It is my understanding that the HF35 has had two successors, the HF45 and the HF55.  I believe that should be considered investment.

It’s more like a self imposed restriction to meet higher profit percentage. Imagine if Ford has proceeded with San Louis Potosi and made that a multi product C2 plant making LWB /SWB Ford and Lincoln Utilities. That would be four key products coming from a low cost location. Much the same way that GM moved new production over the border a few years back.

Yes and what I was saying is that Ford owns the IP which is the most important part as adapting existing plants is not as hard as it seems.

What more investment - Manufacturing capacity. I don't think Ford can merely snap its fingers and have the capacity it needs. I've (perhaps wrongly) been under the impression that Ford are capacity constrained in terms of engines, batteries, trannys, and the associated support plumbing for hybrid vehicles. They also have to reengineer some of the C2 based vehicles that are not currently hybrid 'capable' to utilize the C2 hybrid chassis. Perhaps the lead time needed to reengineer the vehicles to their new chassis 'homes' buys the time Ford will need to source, manufacture, and install the added drivetrain capacity that will be needed?

Unlike US or EU sources, they would be subject to restrictions on technology transfers and tariffs if the parts are imported from China. It could be easier to buy the tech from a non-Chinese supplier than to risk sourcing from China, which is why I ask what should/could be done to expand capacity in North America.

Thinking deeper about Ford’s change of plans, Ford also owns a lot of the IP being used in China, those vehicles funded by the Chinese market are easy grabs for other parts of the world if so desired. Either that  or use of the power trains and electrical systems come cheaply to C2.