Who says the LS was a failure?  

I am sure that's closer to the REAL reason why the LS failed, that and the cost of the platform and the other models planned for it getting scrapped which upped the costs.  I was more talking about the folks over at FIN and GMI who would beat their chest over and over again how DEW98 could not accommodate AWD and kept saying that's why that platform failed.  Then boom XF gets AWD which spit on that entire narrative lol 

LOL, waymo robots on hold with Phillipino tech support …….

The whole point of the skunkworks was to pick up engineers that worked for Tesla and develop a strategy for Ford that involved a new and radical way to reduce construction costs.   What CE1 does right is get Ford in front of buyers with an alternative to the Tesla Y that connects with people who may be considering a pickup for the first time that just happens to be an affordable BEV.   I think the article pisses on Ford for the wrong reason, it’s fine to implement a construction process that copies a lot of Tesla’s unboxed construction, what I take issue with is the reporter assuming no real progress which is bs because there’s at least some prototypes made but clearly photographers can’t identify them yet……that’s the pissing match, no spy shots.

Mazda-Absolutely loved on various automotive forums....but nobody buys.....

Uh, no....   https://fordauthority.com/2026/02/japanese-ford-maverick-rival-not-happening-anytime-soon/   Assuming they do not want any Maverick sized Toyota truck eating into Tacoma sales....sounds like Fords excuse on why Ranger is only mildly promoted (if at all in North America)....don't want to dig too deeply into F150 sales. It only confirms the belief that Ranger is here to sell more Broncos. 

Saarlouis plant just ended Focus production last year, there’s a vacant plant that Ford could hand over to Geely and importantly it’s in Germany so far less pushback on where vehicles are manufactured in Europe. It would give Ford and Geely a walk up start to Germany, France, Italy and UK, ford’s biggest EU markets.   I know Valencia is high on th priority but announcing Bronco Sport will be built alongside Escape  kind of makes nonsense of the thought of handing over its best most efficient plant. The wolf is at the door for Ford, the last thing it needs to do is put it own neck on th block..

It just seems like all the money spent to make and sell the C2 Mondeo in China was to appease an ever diminishing audience. That same effort applied to a cost efficient blending of the CD4/CD6 to the Taurus  and Continental could have been so……..I have to stop myself…

Ford is definitely searching for the sweet spot with regards electrification and enough ICE supplied power to avoid disappointing owners that want to do occasional towing for more than say, 100 miles.   Exactly what Form that power train comes in is a real pickle for Ford and getting the balance right may end up pleasing people in the Center but ticking off the BEV purists by pulling back too much

This is good and not really arguing with you on this point as you’ll read later in this post but to Ford, A PHEV battery that’s between 25 and 80 Kw hr makes the PHEV an EREV, well at least to Ford China but I digress…..   on the subject at hand, I went back a page or so in this thread and found the confirmation by Ford that Lightning EREV will keep its electric drive motors.   So that answers the question of battery size vs adding an ICE and generator being lower cost (more profitable) to Ford than pure big battery BEV.   So now the question is what size ICE to add to the generator and how does it fit over around the front power axle? Does Ford turn the engine/generator  transverse  and incorporate it into the front axle to achieve the direct link at or above 50 mph?   Thinking like a full sized Ford truck version of BYD Shark 6 but we’ll see….