With cars getting more expensive and reliable, it means people are holding onto cars longer. I wish more designers thought about that, and focused more on unique, but more effortless and timeless designs. It's something Ford and Mazda do very well imo.    Bronco, mustang, explorer, truck, all of their designs look good decades later. The 5th gen explorer still looks modern and classy when something like a traverse or pathfinder from the same era doesn't. It's because Ford finds a really good balance of interesting, and timeless.    Kia and Hyundai found that for a time, mostly when they were ripping off European styling, like a 2011 optima still looks pretty nice and stylish. But it feels like they've gotten away from that to go for a quirkier design style, and it misses more than it hits imo. 

The issue I have with this design is the same issue a lot of designs have right now. It's that they're trendy, and weird for the sake of being weird.    Look at the blacked out trim. Normally you have body colored top section, and then a blacked out lower section. This has a body color, then a blacked out section, then another body colored section sandwiching it. I've never seen that before in this particular way.    It looks unique, but I don't think it looks good. Contrast is often used to shrink visual mass, hide some of the heft. But a lot of people don't like the black plastic look. This, you have body color down to the bottom of the doors, so it doesn't really shrink the beltine as effectively. Yet you see have the over the top cladding.    It's almost like the worst of both worlds. 

Yeah the looks worse imo than the original pics, and worse than the current tuscon which I've always said looks good. This is just, it's ok. 

I'd actually like to see the 2.0L turbo hybrid found in the Lincolns sneak its way into the Bronco Sport and Maverick. But instead of "tuning it for comfort", FFS, tune it for power. Make the hybrid appealing for more reasons than just better MPG.   I could see the 3.0L replacing the 2.7L, and running like the diesel does. 3.0L and 3.0L HO. I guess the 3.5L EcoBoost does that as well, the HO model going into the F-150 Raptor, Expedition Tremor, and Expedition Platinum Ultimate.

Q1 also has Chicago Auto Show in mid-February. As a guy who goes to that one every year, I'd love nothing more than a first look at Chicago.

yep it looks like a car seat 😛   what is up with the "hidden" image?   

There are a couple of points that make its positioning reconcile to me: 1. the Maverick itself is AFAIK unusually good at conquest sales from shit like Honda and Toyota.   2. Outside of the control of Ford, until the EV market starts growing like in Europe a successful EV will probably mean peeling off Tesla owners. There isn’t that much movement between non-EV and EV owners, at least for the time being.   3. the Fathom for all intents and purposes seems to be a more tech-forward Maverick EV (I mean this in a good way).    With these combined, while it is obviously likely the Fathom will siphon some Maverick sales, it shouldn’t be a big problem until there is larger mass movement from non-EV to EV like we are seeing in Europe. Before then, we could probably expect the Fathom to be intended to get conquest sales from Tesla owners, as well as first-time new car buyers. People in their 30’s and 40’s realistically, which explains the large pet, family and lifestyle focus. Once there is larger movement towards EVs from existing ICE Maverick owners, well at that point it helps ensure Ford keeps a customer group it loves having. It would make the Fathom a bedrock of its lineup. There is of course a lot that could go wrong, but if Ford knows how to do anything its make trucks. 

A new video was posted on the Fathom site about the seating.....     Here's the seat design:   Here's the hidden image:  

One would also wonder why they wouldn't push some of the announcements if they're that concerned about meeting the deadlines...

They have said and reaffirmed that the car would launch, meaning customers taking delivery of their vehicle, in 2027