What hurt Ford's small cars was they were too expensive to build and sales worldwide were dropping in favor of crossovers.  They ditched the powershift in Europe in 2015.  They need a lower cost platform that can be shared with crossovers to help amortize costs.  Stand alone car platforms won't cut it.

Full size trucks are mainly for the USA and Canada.   Ford's small cars were for Europe and the rest of the world. What hurt Ford's small cars in the global market was the PowerShift transmission and to a degree, its timing belts in oil. Ford is known to develop or approve stupid designs that other manufacturers have avoided.  Lubricating things that don't need lubricating (timing belt in oil) and not lubricating things that need to be lubricated (PowerShift dry dual-clutch transmission). Ford fixed most of the issues with the Mk4 Focus (both mechanical and interior space issues), but this is when Ford decided not to make it a global car. 

Nowhere to go but up....

Great speech.

You’re absolutely correct, it’s a known fact that China has tons of excess capacity. I just believe if they ever start selling in the USA they’re gonna have to open an assembly plant there overcapacity or not to infiltrate US market. I’m not saying there is gonna be tons of Chinese plants but there will be one one day I believe in the US. 

I don't think the USA will let that happen. 

I'll file it under "believe it when I see it".  They've treated Lincoln as the red-headed step child for a while.  They finally gave it some attention for a bit, and now back to the back burner.   Hopefully they'll soon announce the Chinese Corsair coming here (at least as a stopgap) to keep that segment void filled, while also offering a refresh for us, and then adding the Bronco version if rumors are true.

Lincoln President Says Luxury Brand Will Get More Exciting Prior to her departure, Craig revealed that Lincoln planned to continue to focus more on wellness, with purposely crafted interior environments and exterior designs, plus distinct features. However, Nuno-Whelan seems to be more interested in bringing some excitement to the brand. Nuño-Whelan told Automotive News that he plans "to take the brand in a little more emotional and exciting direction," in fact. Lincoln has grown its sales for three consecutive years now, but dealers are understandably concerned about keeping that streak going following the discontinuation of the brand's second best-selling model, the Corsair. In the short term, Nuño-Whelan said that Lincoln plans compensate by adding new trims to existing models, update its Rejuvenate feature with more themes, and give its customers new ways to personalize their vehicles.   https://fordauthority.com/2026/01/lincoln-president-says-luxury-brand-will-get-more-exciting

Yes, ice is the worst.  Northern Michigan suffered through a catastrophic ice storm last March.  We had no power for nine days.  Thankfully we had a wood stove to keep the place warm.  I hope you guys escape the worst.  

Ice sucks!  Snow is fun!   We're expecting 6-9" here in central MO.  I'm hoping for 15+!