Yea, also the trademarks were obtained around the same time that Project T3 was announced, we all know how Ford royally screwed that one up   https://x.com/jimfarley98/status/1639220734177447940?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1639220734177447940|twgr^f93b0bfbc31cc6699fcd8e4fec472887d3c3ce39|twcon^s1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fblueovalforums.com%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3Dembedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjimfarley98%2Fstatus%2F1639220734177447940%3Fs%3D4626t%3DcB47uY4SDWaSlB9e4VcllA

Could FoMoCo corporate and Ford Energy work together to repurpose old batteries from EVs to power its factories, like what Rivian is doin' at its plant in Normal, IL? A Factory That Runs on Recycled EV Batteries Conor Grant, Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2026 Electric-vehicle startup Rivian has found an unusual power source for its Illinois car factory: old batteries from its own cars. Rivian is joining with Redwood Materials—a battery-recycling firm started by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel—to create the largest repurposed-battery energy storage system for an automotive manufacturer in the U.S., according to executives. Once completed later this year, Rivian’s plant in Normal, Ill., will draw electricity from more than 100 Rivian EV batteries in an area the size of a small parking lot. It will reduce Rivian’s dependence on the power grid during peak demand hours. 10 megawatt-hours - How much energy Rivian and Redwood’s setup is initially expected to provide, equivalent to about 1,000 home-energy battery storage units linked together. The partnership is the latest example of the battery-energy storage industry boom in the U.S., where lithium-ion packs—not dissimilar to those in EVs—are increasingly used to power businesses, industrial facilities, residential zones and AI data centers.

There comes a point of diluting trim branding. Lobo, Tremor, Thunder, plus the "legacy" trim names that a lot of people can't keep straight. I, too, am OK with this one not happening.   I'm not sure it would have been exclusive to the F-150 Lightning if there was also to be a Maverick Thunder.

Thunder was always a stupid name. There, I said it, glad they won't be using it. 

That is now optional. 

Ford Also Abandoned F-150 Thunder Trademark  Ford Abandons Maverick Thunder Trademark   According to the USPTO filing, the F-150 Thunder trademark was abandoned on April 27th, 2026 because "no Statement of Use or Extension Request timely filed after Notice of Allowance was issued." Notably, Ford also abandoned a very similar trademark filing for "Maverick Thunder" on the very same day, after it was filed with the USPTO on the same date in early 2023, too.   Back in January 2023, Ford filed to trademark "F-150 Thunder" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under the goods and services description of "Motor vehicles, namely, automobiles, pick-up trucks, electric vehicles in the nature of automobiles, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, and their structural parts." At the time, it seemed as if this was a preview of some sort of future variant of America's favorite pickup, but now, Ford has instead opted to abandon that trademark.   My guess is they were related to Lightning and since it's gone, they don't need the Thunder name?

Will Mitsubishi Motors get a rebadge of Dongfeng Z9/Nissan Frontier Pro?  

AdBlockPro still works for me here on Safari, but one platform in particular, Fora by Xenfro (ranger5g.com, others) are now able to punch through and bomb the pages. I've contacted the AdBlock people but nothing so far. People must click on this stuff or else it wouldn't exist.

We have a local Mitsu dealer....in the former Ford dealership. They have a lot of Mitsubishi's on the lot as well as used, part of a regional dealer network. Ford dealership was there for decades, then the owner died, Ford took over the franchise..it changed hands a few times and added Mercury and Lincoln when the local L/M dealer closed. Then it was bought by a local multi brand dealer chain, they poured a ton of $$ into a remodel then Ford shuttered Mercury and bought back the Lincoln franchise which was the main reason the local chain bought it (had a huge Ford only store in the next town over)....once Lincoln was gone at that location the local chain decided they did not need another Ford store competing with themselves and rechristened it a "used car supercenter" then sold it to the current owner who then turned it into the current Mitsubishi dealer....they do Ok as they have been there for years. I am sure the new truck will sell just fine there. 

there used to be one where I used to live back in the late 90s. It closed around 2002, became a Subaru dealer for about 5 minutes, closed again and sat empty for about 15 years. It got demolished and is now a Del Taco.