silvrsvt

Inflation is thing-Just 20 years ago 30K plus was considered luxury brand pricing. Now that is less then the average price of a new car in the US ($47,936 as of 2023) EVERYTHING is more expensive these days and expect it to stay that way for a long time.

The Mach E and Escape are almost identical to one another in size. Mach E: 186″ L x 74″ W x 64″ H Escape: 181″ L x 74″ W x 66″ H That extra 2.5 inches on the ends isn't going to make a big difference to most buyers. But it also begs the question-what is the point of a separate Mach E platform after the next gen small EV is launched? You could potentially 5 different products on it: Bronco Sport: 173 OL Escape: 181 OL Mach E/Mustang Coupe: 186-189 OL Maverick EV: 200 OL

https://jalopnik.com/unsold-chinese-evs-are-piling-up-at-ports-1851415290 https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/chinese-ev-imports-massing-european-ports-sales-slow {paywallled)

https://fordauthority.com/2024/04/chip-shortage-skewed-early-ford-ev-demand-farley/

I think your giving shape too much credit for aerodynamics-just look at some of the older cars (that don't have the best Cd numbers) that have aerodynamic improvements from people trying to eke out MPG gains. The vast majority of them are impractical from a design or manufacturing perspective with a new car. Not to mention if easy charging (5-10% to 80% in 10-20 minutes or so) is available, overall range issues become a moot point if typical 2 box CUV gets 10-20% less range then an "ugly" sedan type vehicle.

I like it...

In all seriousness, I really wonder what Ford's plans are long term with the Bronco pricing-they seem to have based the price increases on the ADMs that where on them the first few years and has dropped since production has increased. Are they still planning on a price hike when a refresh comes about? Will demand keep softening that incentives are the norm, like they are on the Wrangler (a friend of mine got a 4XE for almost 20K off after rebates/incentives a couple months ago) currently?

No plant yet, but given how price sensitive apparently they are, the smart money says Mexico, but there are a bunch of if and buts with that. Then don't discount the reporting conflating information that is being put out. Facts at the moment: There is a skunkworks small/affordable EV being worked outside of Detroit. How small/cheap is the unknown. Louisville is supposed to get a new product in 2027 or so to replace the Escape/Corsair-what is replacing it is anyone's guess-but leaning towards an EV There is no additional plans at the moment for another Mexican assembly plant-but given how militant the UAW is going to be in the coming years, I'd say is a possibility that will happen. The Mach E is built in Cuautitlán Assembly, so it will be worth watching what Ford does with it. One of the big reasons it is built there is due to Mexico having favorable trading rights with the EU and other parts of the world. The new Explorer EV being built in the EU costs slightly more then the Mach E but I'm not 100% sure how different the are going by size etc. That would make that plant a good target to build the affordable EVs in. What is Ford's long term plans with the Mach E? One thing that might be possible is that the Mach E and the Mustang EV coupe merged together early next decade. I'd say that Louisville would be a good fit for that, if Ford decides to close Flat Rock.

I was wondering why this popped up!

More bad news Tesla Cybertruck Deliveries Held Because the Pedals Are Falling Apart: Report

They could do that, but what about the impact of Tax breaks from the Canadian government, etc that was put into place to redo the plant? A C2 HEV/PHEV Edge would be "new" for North America-new subcontractors etc to get parts from. Would take at least 24 months to get things spun up and another 6 months for product to be actually sold here if they did that. Given how the market is going with EVs, I don't see a future for subline for MAP, the Lightning in its current state, wouldn't make a good pro vehicle for vast majority of uses that the current F-150 covers. Plus its been more or less explicitly spelled out in the UAW contract they would have first shot at jobs at BOC.

the issue is that Oakvillie is being retooled to make EVs, which from what i understand is going to make big changes to the way the plant is laid out vs the way it is currently being used. The other thing is this-with the changes over the next few years-EVs are still coming, like it or not, so does it really make sense to offer a PHEV 2 row CUV that will only be on sale for less then 10 years to recoup the costs? its going to take at least another 24 months or longer to get say a reskinned CN Edge for sale in the NA market and a plant tooled up for it. Given we are almost half way through 2024, I doubt it would be on sale tlll 2027MY in late 2026 or early 2027. Then how would it impact plans for other products that are in the pipeline? I could see maybe Louisville getting the C2 midsize products due to timing, but how would that impact the low cost EVs that are apparently coming to replace the Escape? Will they move someplace else? will they just slot under the Escape/Bronco Sport?

I was under the impression that they have serious issues with their energy producing market because they don't have anyone to take care of it and its output is shrinking.

The Mach E is roughly the same price in the UK and the EU as it is in NA market. The new Explorer EV starting price is even more. Ford is a NA centric manufacture. BMW and Mercedes would get taken down a notch or two in the cache dept once people realized that the stripper models are used as Taxis in Germany and other countries.

More then likely another plant will be consolidated here with its product down the road. I'm also guessing that EV versions of ICE products like the Bronco will move here next decade

I've seen 2 crowns, but it was down in VA on 95. Don't recall seeing any of them locally.

I'm going to assume Canadian workers are cheaper then UAW employees in the payroll dept too.

From what I understand it’s on sale in Europe already. The Fiat 500 is DOA in North America, since the gas version never sold either. Smallest product in the US that would sell is something a little bigger then the Bolt-like Trax or Trailblazer which are short C or large B products.

From what I recall Ford pays a portion of pay and the rest of it is made up by unemployment, but this is based on US workers. Plus skilled trades will still be working at the plant also.

Having a cheaper product wouldn't effect Ford nearly as much-they don't have much under the Escape product wise and they have ICE/HEV products to offset profits from other EV products. Can see the Model 2 making a dent in 3 sales in other parts of the world where smaller cars are more popular.

Getting it right and making money on it are two different things. Apparently the new benchmark is EVs have to be profitable after a year of production, going by Fords comments. Given how the economy and market demand is, to launch a product early just for it flounder in the marketplace isn't the best course of action. I get your in a shitty position, but blowing up about it in every single post isn't going to fix or change it.

The annoying thing I've been experiencing in my area is people who have zero patience when a light turn greens. I'll be at a light with 2-3 cars in front of me, The light changes green and I hear someone honking from behind me when the people haven't even gotten their foot off their brakes to start going in front of me. I'm blaming the people who come from NYC for that, but we've always had immigration from that area, but its something that just started happening after COVID started.

We already argued that point...that information is being collected by the OBFCM https://green-driving.jrc.ec.europa.eu/JRCmatics_Monitoring_Fuel_Consumption_from_OBD Which collects the following: It doesn't matter if its being driven 250 or 50 miles because it is still showing a large difference between what it should be getting going by testing. If someone isn't plugging in their car or as much as they should, the total use of fuel will be higher.

I'm not sure that would have been a wise idea, given how Rivian has performed. Not sure a Lincoln version of the current products they offer would have really moved the needle for Lincoln.

What are you talking about? https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b644dafe-1385-4b56-98d9-21e7e9f3601b_en?filename=report.pdf It just seems like that peoples biases are coming through without actually reading what the report says and the information in it.