I totally forgot we had this photo. It actually could be a hood scoop like that. They also consistently have an opening right below there, which is either sensors and/or could be airflow.   Meanwhile, if you take the lines from this picture and impose it on the spy shots, it ends up looking quite trucky like the F-150/expedition’s front face. The camo makes the hood-line look lower because it obscures the lights, but that bump in the middle of the hood-line is present in all of the camo.

What is scheduled for Oakville after  current production?

I understand your frustration, my front camera doesn't work plus I have one bad front sensor so sensor system doesn't work.  My sister has a 2015 Toyota 4Runner and it's camera works just fine, never had a problem with it.  The 4Runner has 130k miles on it, no squeaks or rattles, never had any problems with it.  On the other hand, Ford.  I think they just go to the suppliers catalog and look for the cheapest item whether it's a camera or sensor and that's the one they buy.  They just don't care, I love my Ford's and Lincoln's but their policy since the early 2000's of just build them as cheaply as possible...well I just hope they go bankrupt and some car guy's buy the company and run it like it should be.  It does make you wonder why they can throw away 10's of billions of dollars on EV crap but can't spend an extra dime on a camera or sensor.

I don't know how much more "complex" it really is from a mold standpoint.  You'd have the upper portion bolt to the hood, which would have a recessed/pre-stamped mounting area for it.     Correct....I agree it's hood surfacing.......my point was that was about the only thing you could potentially point to in order to support the theory of that channel approach.

Agreed on sticking to the game plan.  The pendulum just seems to swing one way then the other, with each group undoing what the last did instead of a more cohesive long term vision.  I'm sure many regulations that've been rolled back now will be reinstated in a future/next administration, so it's smart to keep "efficient" options open (which Ford is doing with CE1 and hybrid offerings), while taking advantage short term with more higher performance options (V8s etc).  I don't think the China one will change, though. I'm not exactly sure what Duffy/the admin expects Ford to do when they've already announced reshoring products......these things don't happen overnight in the auto industry (or really any industry).

Meanwhile Flat Rock waiting for its paint shop to produce taller models.....

Ford needs to just stay the course, I have a lot more to say but I would be banned from this group. So politics will remain out of it as instructed.

I see what you guys are referring to. But this just looks like a bit of hood surfacing. It looks a lot like the middle surfacing of my 5th gen explorer hood. 

Congrats to Kentucky Truck. The plant will be retooled within the next year or 2 for all new 2029 Super Duty.

I would personally love it if that's the direction they went in. But it doesn't seem to line up with the winter mule that essentially showed us the angle of the front end.    This is a sort of styling element I'd love to see on future bronco, truck, and mustang models. Stuff where it needs to be blocky and muscular really look it's best.    But I don't know if we'll get it for this affordable EV. How much more expensive would it be to have a more complex sheet metal mold for a hood shape like that compared to a more conventional hood?