Other manufacturers aren’t having anywhere near the issues with supplier quality as Ford, which leads to the conclusion that Ford is designing inferior parts to be manufactured or is squeezing suppliers to the point that quality control is significantly compromised. Most likely some of both and/or Ford is the world’s worst at selecting suppliers. 

On another note, terrible incident happened outside of Boston last week.  A 30 year old trooper had ended his shift at 2AM.  Was headed home....Mass Troopers take their vehicles home..when call came in on  SB vehicle traveling on US 1 in NB lane.  He answered call and in a few minutes had a headon with the SB vehicle- a Jeep 4dr.  Assumption is he attempted to perform a blocking move. He was driving a new Tahoe.  Jeep driver dead at scene, and Trooper passed at hospital.    Just curious, anyone know frontal crash ratings for Tahoe vs Explorer Interceptors?   Bulk of MSP vehicles are Explorers but they do have a good number of Tahoes.  My small town all Explorers except for a 150 EB.  Neighboring town mix of Tahoes and Explorers.   Tahoes are in fact cheaper under state contract. I'm of course  a Ford diehard, but my prejudices aside, given less cost of Tahoe with its pushrod V-8, that would be my choice.  Also love my Coyote 150, but Ford in their wisdom only offer Police rated 150 with 3.5EB. Now that 6.8 is not longer offered in Super Duty, would that fit in a 150?  Or an Expedition? 

Seems like a tall order, improve your quality, and do it for less🤔 How many of the recalls are related to an outsourced component failure? Back in the days of a more vertically structured company I would imagine the quality and the cost were viewed by the same people seeking the best resolution on both counts.

Really, the sensible purchase for departments is the hybrid, or a mix of hybrids and 3.0L units. The hybrids are fine for daily use, but if you need to put the hammer down, you need to have power. Realistically, EV's would be ideal, but that's not a functional option, and in some settings (Wisconsin winters come to mind) it would be interesting to see if the current batteries would hold up to a full shift. Paradigm shift, just like civilian driving. On my way home yesterday, I spotted a county cruiser. They've been running Dodge Chargers the last few years, but this was a brand new Tahoe. I might actually reach out to them just to get an idea of how they spec'd it and what it ran them, and then see if I could build out a comparable Expedition.

Ford Skylands Trademark Filing Suggests New Nameplate Incoming     I wonder if this could be for the Bronco and a roof similar to the sky touch thing Jeep has?

So Acura is finally ditching the controversial beak design. You can see a little bit of that shape retained in the front bumper, but it's a lot more subtle, and the grille itself has no beak at all. 

We've gone through a LOT of 2026 Platinum Explorers and haven't had anyone overly unhappy they couldn't get the bigger engine. Now that it'll be available again, I'm sure it'll be much more desired. I will absolutely say that we've had no Explorers with the fixed glass roof but DID have someone ask us to find her a 2025 ST so she'd have the opening roof. And that was just a couple months ago.

https://fordauthority.com/2026/05/ford-gets-serious-with-suppliers-amid-ongoing-quality-issues/   According to Crain's Detroit Business, Ford is cracking down on supplier quality and costs by placing companies that exhibit quality issues on a "no bid" list for future contracts, as well as requiring others to submit three-year cost savings plans to prevent a similar outcome. The Blue Oval is requiring certain suppliers to enter what's known as "total value management" plans (TVMs), which require a certain percentage of cost savings on the overall supplier business every year.   TVM programs are nothing new nor uncommon, as automakers generally bind suppliers to meet certain quality and cost savings targets in that manner. What makes Ford's TVMs unusual, however, is that it's stepping up the enforcement of its multi-year requirement, and even pulling business from suppliers that don't reach some sort of agreement with the company. At the same time, Ford was quick to point out that this is not a new policy, and that enforcing TVM programs are part of its broader efforts to improve quality and reduce costs in order to better "compete in a rapidly changing and complex industry."

The Chrysler 300 built on the old Mercedes bones was actually a good car and was pretty popular.   I recall having one as a rental and finding it was equal or better than my Continental in terms of ride, quietness and overall feel.   Seeing a once upscale respected brand devolve into an entry level appliance just strikes me as a bit sad.    Stellantis has basically destroyed Dodge and Chrysler, IMHO.