Been a while but thought I'd reach out to the knowledgeable Ford folks here. I may be nearing a new vehicle purchase in the near future. My 2017 Subaru Forester MAY be nearing it's end of life. I bought it at near the of the pandemic vehicle supply problems at the start of 2023. Due to my accident which totaled my Fusion (which I loved), I settled on the Forester after looking for a month. It was originally intended to be a 1-2 year vehicle until I could get something I wanted once the supply chain issues were normal. Well, regrettably I overpaid and once I realized that my goal was to run it into the ground and get at least 250k miles out of it (get my monies worth). My CVT has recently had some issues (cooler mixing trans fluid in the coolant) and it has become slightly noisier. At a 160k on the clock any large repair is going to be a big no.   I'd like to get back into the Ford family but there are no mid size two row CUV's. The Escape would of been too small and now that it and the Edge were  ax'ed they aren't an option. Bronco, Ranger, and potentially Maverick I guess are options. Each though has some short comings. I doubt I would consider the Explorer but I will say they tend to have the best financing and rebate deals at the end of model year.   Maverick: On paper is fine with hybrid powertrain with AWD drive but paying somewhere between 35-40k for a rather low rent vehicle. Even a Lariat doesn't do enough to spruce it up. Bronco: Not the greatest FE. A little tighter than it looks. Still kinda  pricey depending on options. Hopefully all the bugs are worked out. Looking at 48-54 MSRP Ranger: Enough space. Not greatest FE. Strangely enough supply seems low.   Anyone know if there will be an 2 row CUV anytime soon?  I'd love to use the A Plan that I have but may need to go to Toyota (Land Cruiser) or Honda (Passport). Ford's quality lately has kinda been crap lately but even Toyota and Honda haven't been the greatest either lately. 

I agree. They won’t even fix the fog light defaulting off after each restart since moving to digital light functions. I doubt they’ll change a parameter that interfaces with the powertrain OTA. 

Just as clueless as you!  

Would it send out mixed messages if Ford just threw away a combined 20,000 Escape/corsair sales to spend $5 billion on converting Louisville to make a BEV truck that sells at Mach E sales level…    

Absolutely spot on. Think competitor to Toyota Tacoma I-Force but better, that 2.4 thing gets city 23mpg/ highway 24 mpg

If Ford is moving to use Chinese technology in their EVS.    Why invest in a low-cost ev architecture, that will be more expensive than the Chinese alternatives?

I don't understand why they would be concerned. Tier 1 automakers have been using Chinese suppliers for over a decade now. 

Questions reporters should be following up with.  Which market are we referring to?  What does affordable mean? What's the timeline of the development of these new vehicles?  Will they be imported? Will they be made in the US? Will these products be global products or just for North America?

Looks like this is happening    Ford CEO, Trump Officials Discussed China-US Carmaking JVs Ford Motor Co.’s top executive spoke to senior Trump administration officials about a potential framework in which Chinese automakers could build cars in America while offering some protection for domestic companies, according to people familiar with the discussions.   The idea discussed by Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley and Trump cabinet members last month involved Chinese carmakers partnering with US companies through joint ventures in which the American company holds a controlling stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. The ventures would be structured so that both the Chinese and US partners would share profits and technology in the JV, the people said.