Does the capacity change when you need a dedicated line to build out the battery module (assuming they build the battery module onsite)? Does that make the 80k number jump to a comparable 160k ....still underutilized but I am going to assume building an EV vehicle is not in the same ball park as building an ICE vehicle.

This is where tastes or more correctly regulations  in North America  diverge from Europe /ROW, what you build as a car in Europe no longer works as well with the rules in North America.     Indeed, they are popular because people like them and in study, people in those vehicles said that they didn’t  want to go back to cars. I can’t blame them if most other vehicles around them are now much higher, vision in traffic and parking becomes a real issue for people who choose to stay with cars and lower ride and seating height.   The original article was discussing Ford’s possible use of cars in Europe which would be  entirely different to what it would want to offer in the USA.

(902) Chicago Fire Dept. 1965 - YouTube

Wow Bob, you stole my thunder!  I just saw a couple youtube videos and I ws going to post them. Those trucks look bigger than that first one I sent.

Americans like small cars just fine. But CAFE outlawed them. Honda Civic didn't become so big and wide because customer demands. Honda had to make the footprint bigger so it can hit the ever increasing CAFE target. Ford couldn't make a Focus that big because its main market is Europe and they wouldn't accept a Focus that is the size of Mondeo. So Farley made Maverick instead - it is basically just Focus but with longer wheelbase (bigger footprint), and instead of complying with car CAFE, it is easier to do under truck CAFE.     Compact CUV which is what cars have become are the 2nd biggest selling vehicle segment in North America. This didn't happen by accident. It happened because truck CAFE targets are easier to achieve.

obviously in hindsight they could’ve scrapped the whole VW tie up altogether and just waited for in-house versions.  Oh well.     I’m still in I’ll believe it when I see it mode.   We haven’t seen anything related to it aside from words from Farley.  I’m sure it’ll end up being great, but hard to put too much into endless vaporware…

Obviously it varies on plant, but I have 300k ish as “generic plant capacity” which 80 obviously is nowhere near lol.

I mean, it’s pretty awesome and unique looking.  That said, there’s always something different to do design wise.

You’re  completely ignoring CE1……

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