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ExplorerDude

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Everything posted by ExplorerDude

  1. To be honest, while I do believe they are at a decision point, I also don’t think the plan has changed at all for OAC yet.
  2. No one seems to know the status of the the 7 seater EVs at this point. I have a feeling they are at a serious decision point about moving forward or not. Edge could get extended again but not likely. There have been some rapid program changes up and down the line. If you like non EV vehicles then you will be excited for the programs back in motion or added to the cycle.
  3. Bronco sales are drying up because of the ridiculous prices increases it has had since launch. Internally, some are sounding the alarm bells now going off because of the greed on raising the prices so much. When the Bronco launched the 2-door starting price was $28,995, it’s now $39,600+. Insanity! The greed doesn’t end there, they killed the Base trim levels so the starting price automatically goes up. Even though the Base trims aren’t huge volume, it’s still an attractive starting point. Especially for those who want a simple Bronco or even Bronco Sport and want to make it truly their own through lots of customizations. The Bronco Raptor came out at around $66,000 and its starting price is now $90,000+. All in less than 3 years. It’s beyond inflation or raw material prices increases. Most Ford dealers have an average Bronco stock of 15-20 units now and they are sitting. Jeep has been slashing their MSRP’s considerably. I hope we take the hint and stop this insane pricing that’s not sustainable and will kill product lines. The Maverick’s success and demand is due to its affordability.
  4. OAC will not be down that long. Job 1 is around March 2025.
  5. There is no Bronco Sport BEV in development, that was never going to LAP. The small SUV BEV going to LAP is still on plan for now. Again not a Bronco Sport. The Maverick and Bronco BEVs are what have been delayed until 2030+.
  6. Ford’s going to have too much EV plant capacity. I’m hoping the flexibile manufacturing is still a possibility if they need to convert a plant back to ICE production. It’s a very tough spot that they’ve painted themselves into a corner with. You have Electric Vehicle Centers at Dearborn Truck, Cuautitlan, then all the work happening at Blue Oval City, then the Oakville Complex, plus the various battery plants everywhere. It’s going to be an expensive mess. I know technically different but look at Michigan Assembly Plant, it when from BOF Expeditions and Navigators to Unibody FWD Focus and C-Max and back to BOF Ranger and Bronco. Conversions are possible but at a heavy price.
  7. So much is changing at a fairly rapid pace. I’m hearing that most EVs have been put on indefinite hold except for the next gen “Lightning” and the 7-seater Ford/Lincoln EVs for OAC.
  8. I heard Job #1 for the 7-seater EV will be February 2025 and it will be a 2026MY vehicle.
  9. What Farley really means is any vehicle without good margins of 10% or better are going away. Because less than 10% is boring to him…..
  10. I hear you and I agree but it’s deeper for me. The cultural ignorance of so many decisions is the same “rot” that has doomed so many beloved nameplates over the years. The launch and abandon mindset is built into the culture. It was almost eradicated under Mulally but it grew back. Had Ford followed through with the original plan for a CD6F based Edge, it would’ve been out for MY2022 almost 3 years ago. When the CD6F Edge was shelved in 2020 that’s when China started to develop their own C2 Edge (and Nautilus). The company just can’t stay focused. Things get boring and change direction when the wind blows in a different direction. Mulally was adamant about consistency and continuous improvement but with Ford the lesson is never learned. I’m sorry I could go on for hours on this.
  11. That EOP date keeps getting pushed back and back further. Ending the Edge is still one of the biggest bonehead decisions I’ve ever witnessed. All I keep hearing is the Explorer and the 7-seater BEV will be taking up the volume lost by the Edge. All the Edge needed was a complete redesign with an eye catching design that would rejuvenate interest even more. Make no mistake it’s making a ton of money even with all the incentives right now.
  12. What’s the holdup with Ranger production taking off? I honestly haven’t heard any excuse since the strike ended.
  13. Yes, the current Edge and Nautilus are more attractive. The new 7-seater Ford EV is not attractive in my opinion. Its shape is what turns me off. It’s extremely different and I honestly don’t know how they will sell 50,000-75,000 units a year projected for the US. I could be wrong but who knows. I still have no idea what name it will have. It’s honestly not fitting to call it an Explorer. I’ve heard “Edison” floated and no not because it’s Team Edison’s latest project. On the other hand, the Lincoln version while different is not unattractive. It’s sleek and very fitting of a future Lincoln EV. I am fairly certain the 7-seater Lincoln EV will be called Aviator though. I believe Farley wants to go after Tesla buyers with a 7-seater EV which Tesla doesn’t have. Oakville is projected to build / sell 200,000 a year. I assume Oakville is building these for global consumption as this will be the only place these are built.
  14. Not a terrible month but being down 5% still hurts the overall numbers. Clearly the Bronco and Ranger production stoppage from the UAW strike hurt both of their sales pretty badly. Ranger also has almost zero inventory around the country. Happy to hear Michigan Assembly will be adding that 3rd shift eventually. Here’s hoping procurement can get the parts to support those 3 full shifts. Explorer had a good October but YTD is down 10%. I wish Ford cared about the Explorer like it does the F-Series. It used to but now I don’t see it. Bronco is now the favorite SUV inside. There have just been so many headwinds over the last 3 years. Ford is always in damage control mode. I want to see a time where Ford has a market advantage over everyone else for once.
  15. Part of the problem over time has been when programs start and stop, then start and stop again. Especially with different teams of people. While only one example, the CD6 program is the more recent one that comes to mind. It was started and stopped 1 or 2 separate times. Each time a different team picked up the previous teams work. This is why the current Explorer/Aviator have suffered so many quality problems. Programs that get started and then shelved are a major brain drain.
  16. Flat Rock’s investment is only $50 million, I can’t imagine that being anything major. Definitely not a new Paint Shop. I don’t even know what product it would be. It might just be a derivative of the S650.
  17. The amount of product programs started and then shelved is probably somewhere in the 15 to 20 range. What will really be interesting is to see how many Model E programs are now shelved or paused.
  18. Yes and as far as I know, the Malibu is rumored to be getting a top hat redesign for 2025 or 2026. This is the approach Ford should have taken but here we are.
  19. There is definitely a sizable group internally that hate that the Fusion was dropped. It was a very competitive car and had a fairly clean and successful reputation. Many of those people worked really hard on the Fusion and were all shocked how Ford just walked away. Dropping the Fusion and all of the sedans eliminated a money losing business. Everyone is happy that the replacement products that took sedans place which people are passionate about (Bronco, Ranger, Bronco Sport, Maverick, and Mustang Mach-E) are money makers. But many are upset that Ford abandoned a still sizable segment and doesn’t have at least one entry in that fight. We have lost a lot of customers who walked away from Ford because of zero sedans. Heck many of them would have bought any size Ford sedan just to have a new sedan. It’s a tough pill to swallow. Hackett didn’t want to make that decision, it was a “hot potato” topic. So he tossed it to Farley and he extinguished it. Farley claimed it was the hardest decision of his career.
  20. The Lincoln version looks okay, pretty decent in an evolution of Lincoln’s styling. The sleek look works well for Lincoln. I’m not worried about the Lincoln if it comes out how it currently is. My biggest concern is the Ford variant. It’s just not attractive. I don’t know how it got so far without someone saying hey let’s remember that actual buyers have to want to buy this. It’s radically different. I’m sure it will sell some but I don’t know how they can sell a lot of them every year in a plant that will be building just these two crossovers. If they sell 50,000 units a year combined it would be a miracle.
  21. My even deeper sources have told me that the San Louis Potosi plans have been dusted off already…..
  22. I honestly believe if the UAW gets exactly what they’re asking for then there’s a very strong chance Ford will dust off the plant plans for San Luis Potosí or somewhere else in Mexico and build a new plant in there. With high labor and EV production costs, they’ll build a new plant and close 2 in the US which haven’t gotten EV conversion investments.
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