I think this is a systemic issue with Ford and its Product development Strategy being "vibes-based," not aligned with the company's core values.
The More I think about it, the more it becomes clear that Ford is a marketing company that builds cars.
Everything they have done in the last 5-8 years has been brand management (Bronco, Mustang, F-series, Explorer, Capri, Puma). The brands/Nameplate dictate the investment, more than the need.
Instead of the product being differentiated by value, content, performance, and quality, its marketing is first, and the product second.
This makes sense when shareholders punish management for taking risks. A company that takes no risk, nor holds a course, cannot grow.
VS
Instead of investing in People, factories, technologies, and products, we see fewer products on older platforms, with longer refresh intervals.
You have to admire other automakers like Toyota and GM, who developed a Strategy and stuck with it.
GM with Ultium Focused on the Building Blocks of EVs: In-house drivetrains, inverters, battery architecture, shared with 16 different vehicles
Ultium - Wikipedia
Toyota's Conservative EV rollout led to the Worst EV on the market.
2023 Bz4x
The Toyota bZ4X Is Flopping for More Reasons Than Just Its Name
They heard the feedback and worked to improve the product
2026 Toyota bZ Review: New, Improved, and Finally Competitive
The contrast is that Ford has, on multiple occasions, dumped products that were poorly received or had issues, rather than repairing them. Ford would rather sell a known problem (Powershift!) or dump a product that was popular but had sourcing challenges (Transit Connect, Lightning, Focus) than fix the problem. I don't believe Toyota or GM would have allowed their segment-leading product to die so easily.
I think the board takes their lead from Bill Ford,
he has a big say in the decisions made at Ford motor
because he represents the family and the controlling stock votes.
You guys are a bunch of party poopers 😂. We aren’t GM executives here trying to earn a buck for our stockholders. We are automotive fans who want to see cool designs.
Safe to say the EV bubble has popped. Hopefully Ford can survive and recover. At least they are not as deep in as the AI companies that are about to experience that bubble burst.
I don’t think this is the worst idea. Assuming there is an entry level vehicle going forward. Maverick can be that but otherwise you are looking at all of their offerings starting at $40k+.
Or the board. We don't know what he was forced to do or not forced. Some things he definitely owns like Oakville and he was too aggressive on many things.
And the reason Farley is not in the firing line is because all of this electric future vision
was what Bill Ford instructed him (and Jim Hackett) to get going with and make happen ASAP.
Once every couple of decades, Ford will strike out early in the hopes of scooping the market
but that’s a dangerous game when it goes wrong…… well, big BEVs and big batteries was wrong.
To me, the bigger mistake was defunding Ford Blue projects to pay for this giant bet,
now Farley realises that he needs more desirable suite of vehicles to stop the bleeding.