The Explorer was supposed to get a total redesign on CD6 for MY30 but that appears to have been paused or canceled. Now the current U625 Explorer is getting another major MCA for MY30 instead.   Not sure what changed or if the developing 3row EREV is expected to be the next Explorer. Ford changes course by the week and it’s getting old. Let’s just be glad the next gen F-Series trucks are moving full steam ahead without issue.

To each their own. But again, I think that comes back to blob vs. curvy. Yes, blob crossovers have some curves, but they look like a potato on wheels. There's really no strong, emotional shapes or curves, it's just a lump. I agree, those designs aren't ideal. But I see blob designs completely differently than I do curved designs.   Like a mach-e is swoopy, but every surface is muscular and sculpted which is why it works imo. The hood, fenders, roofline all have character, and for that reason, the mach-e is one of the most easily identifiable utilities on the roads. That's the sort of thing I'm talking about.    It's kinda like with boxy styling, you have some designs that look really good, and some that look awful. The cyber truck and sante fe for instance are both flatter vehicles with basic surfacing that look terrible. But look at a 4 door bronco or Rivian and notice how good they look. It's because the surfaces are intentional, they're stylized. A bronco body side surface is actually pretty layered instead of just being perfectly flat, that's why it works.    It's all about execution, there's a way to make boxy and curvy designs look good, or horrible depending on how good the designers are. 

I think my view is that boxy actually creates a lot more attractive and distinctive designs (for the Crossover/SUV shape). This is illustrated by how the Santa Fe, Bronco Sport, and Explorer are all boxy they all look highly distinctive from each other and generally. They also vary in how boxy from actual sharp edges (Santa Fe) to something that is just muscular and planted (Explorer). The curvy crossovers tend to look a lot more anonymous since its very easy to lose sharp edges and distinctive lines that stand out.   edit: I will note I think the 2023 refresh fixed the styling issues on the Escape but the way to do the body shape correctly is essentially the Subaru Forester

We have one.  They were essentially a used car lot with 3 or 4  new cars.  New ownership made it a little better but not much.  Those SUVs are downright fugly.

By the time new gen Ford Escape comes out in 2029, public EV charging infrastructure will have advanced to the point where a BEV may work for your lifestyle Texasota my friend. Of course, having at home charging is ideal, but even if your condo down south doesn't have plug-in capability by that time, the density of public EV charging facilities should make that a palatable alternative (which wasn't the case just a few years back).   I agree with Zestyg that the tipping point of being plentiful enough is comin' soon for public EV charging. Even the improvement I've seen since I bought my F-150 Lightning in 2022 and now is amazing. This tipping point is very favorable for Ford's upcoming CE1 product launches in the 2027 to 2030 timeframe.  

I respectfully disagree. I view styling like powertrain choice. I believe most of us would agree that having only EV, or only ICE, or only hybrids is a mistake because you're not setting your product apart from others, and you're not hedging against inevitable changes in the industry. When everything is an ev, EVs lose that special uniqueness.    Its like that with styling, but to an even more extreme degree. Everything is a boxy utility now. Ford offers a lot of boxy utilities, the expedition, explorer, bronco, and BS, they're pretty covered. I'll add doing boxy rugged utilities is the in thing right now that virtually every brand is doing, it's the trend, no longer the thing that differentiates because everyone is doing it.    Ford should offer a variety of styling, more traditional timeless designs with their icons like bronco and mustang, more radical and futuristic designs with their EVs. Some boxy, some curvy. So that instead of having this generic lineup where everything is just a boxy design with similar cues and they just vary in size, you have this rich vibrance where you can buy a sexy coupe suv, or a boxy rugged badass off-road bronco, or a mustang with muscle car design, or a futuristic looking hatchback EV.    That's my dream, one where every Ford model is special because it does something differently than the other. By comparison, a future where everything is a box and the only thing setting them apart is one is a foot longer than the other, that does nothing for me, Ford deserves better than that. 

To each their own, the mach-e is a super attractive utility imo. It looks better than a lot of the boxy utilities to my eye. Things like the bronco look good, but the sante Fe is an example of boxy designs looking like warmed over ass. It's not really the form structure, boxy or curvy, but rather the execution that impacts the attractiveness. There are good and bad looking examples from both camps. 

I personally view the mach-e as one of Ford's best looking utilities. Which is why I would prefer a design that sticks close to that. The design of the mach-e has been a huge win for it, so I think Ford should apply that to other models.    I also don't really view curvy styling as a risk if it looks sporty and attractive, blob curvy styling is another matter entirely. I believe Ford already has the boxy ute audience pretty well covered with BS, the full sized bronco, and expedition. Even the explorer is pretty boxy. I don't believe escape should become a boxy shape because that hurts its differentiation if it's like the rest of Fords utility designs. Having a mix of boxy and curvy gives each product its own identity, differentiates it, and hedges bets against changes in consumer styling preferences. 

"Mid-$20000 range" is VERY loose. Technically, $20000.01 to $29999.98 is "mid-$20000 range". Let's assume a standard base model comes in at $25k. OK, that's great, I'm much more interested in the rest of the story. Other than the folks who are fine with manual windows/locks/etc*, how much for one a normal person would actually want to own?   *There's plenty out there. I see them frequently. Precisely zero of the ones I see have any interest in any vehicle that doesn't have a gas motor.

Slate Wants $300 From EV Truck Buyers Before Revealing The Final Price - Autoblog   Slate Auto has officially announced it will open its order books on June 24 for its highly anticipated electric pickup truck. However, the ambitious EV startup is asking buyers to commit real money before knowing the exact final sticker price, a Slate Forums post reveals. The company currently promises a starting price in the mid-$20,000 range, with the official pricing numbers dropping on the same day orders go live.   This next phase requires customers to submit a $300 non-refundable deposit, though existing reservation holders can credit their initial $50 fee toward the total. More than 160,000 eager hand-raisers will have a strict 30-day window to lock in their priority delivery slots. This transition marks the latest chapter in a wild four-year journey for a company whose initial target was upended by shifting federal tax credit policies.