The Ranger is a work of art. It would be criminal to cover anymore of it with camo.

Ranger was up nicely even with low inventory. Ranger would likely sell more if there were more on dealer lots. My dealer only has 4 on the lot.

I'll admit the 1.5 3-cylinder isn't a weak motor for a vehicle that's Escape/Bronco Sport sized. It's got enough power, which hasn't always been the case for some vehicles that Ford has under-engined in the US (Transit Connect, looking at you). Given the choice between the current 1.5 and the prior 4-cylinder 1.5, I'd take the current one all day long. We had a prior 1.5 that, like many of those, did the coolant intrusion in the block, blew the motor at 42k miles. The current 1.5 has its own issues, but they're known things, like the water pumps and oil pump belt.   One hitch with the 1.5 3-cylinder is that the only remaining US market vehicle using that engine now is the Bronco Sport. There's a few other models overseas that use it, but it's a short list. Unless there's another vehicle coming up that might be able to use it, I'd think having only one model running an engine is tough, supply chain wise.   You're 100% spot on with CAFE and administration things. I firmly believe that's part of what drives the continued development of more hybrids and more EV's. The current federal viewpoint on electrified vehicles won't always be in place, and is subject to change literally every four years. If suddenly in 2028/2029 the administration flips sides, nobody in the auto business, Ford included, wants to get caught pants down and have to rush some cobble-job rig into production just to comply with an unreasonable timeline and an unreasonable expectation.     Personally, I like the idea of hybrids, especially the way Ford approaches them. I see the Maverick and Escape as "conventional" setups, aimed at great fuel efficiency, and they hit that target. Then there's the F-150 PowerBoost, which doesn't specifically get wildly better fuel efficiency but takes the "supercar" route, using the hybrid inclusion to add power to the driveline. I like both paths, and would myself have no problems running a hybrid.   Where we do run into a few real-world issues is that we've got a bunch of people who put so few miles on their vehicles, it's been causing problems with the hybrid as well as the 12-volt battery systems. A battery tender could help with the 12-volt, but does nothing for the hybrid battery.   One thing I'm constantly talking about with our customers is options. I'm a HUGE fan of having and exploring options. It's the only way to be sure you'll have the best of whatever can be had. Sometimes that's about how they're buying a vehicle - cash, finance, finance with Ford, lease, different terms and programs. Just ran one last night that was a first, setting up a 48-month lease on a truck. Just having options, to me, is important. It makes sure we're not losing customers because we don't have the options they want. When we don't have a vehicle category (Escape/Edge) the customer wants, they've got the choice of keep what they have, settle for a vehicle they don't really like, or jump brands. When we don't have powertrain options the customer wants... same story. And sometimes, what the customers want isn't actually the best choice for what they're doing - I still get people that want maximum towing with their F-150 so they want the V8 - but they want what they want.

Seems like they're just going to go China-specific models across the board here soon.

https://s205.q4cdn.com/882619693/files/doc_news/2026/Sep/02/Ford-U-S-August-2026-Sales-Release.pdf                 A lot of red for August.  But there are some bright spots......   Mustang up for the month and year. Likewise with Bronco Sport now (though nowhere close to offsetting Escape). Maverick and Ranger also both up for month and year. EV sales continue to be in the toilet.....Mach E has increased the last three months month over month, though still has much fewer sales than earlier months in the year.   F-series sales seem like they're finally stabilizing.......sales were down around 10k each month from January through May, and that decrease has shrunk to ~3,200 in June, 4,700 in July, and now 814 in August, so they're likely finally getting inventory/supply back to where it was.  Production numbers also support this, as they've increased nearly every month from the beginning of the year.   Lincoln had a good month, minus the "paused" Corsair, though only Aviator is up for the year.  It looks like whatever sales hold Nautilus had must have been removed, as it had a pretty big monthly jump YOY and a huge month over month increase - a tick under double the sales of July (1,868) in August (3,627).

It seems so. Ford (and Lincoln) really need some BEV-EREVs for China, the current sales level is very low and this kind of products could help

So the CD6 Explorer is getting replaced by this in China? 

> Manufactured by Changan-Ford > Successor of the Explorer. > Based on a locally developed NEV platform. > EREV and EV versions. > Code name: CX810. > ADAS with lidar. > Estimated size: 5.2 meters long, 3.1 meter wheelbase. Launch in Q1, 2027.           https://www.sina.cn/news/detail/5338056771243323.html    

Hard to determine if they're not selling well because of styling or platform (broad "performance", or lack there of)

Yes, MEB is a middling chassis that is not at all inspiring - I would think the UEV chassis would turn it around. I actually like the style of Euro Capri and Euro Explorer....