Gurgeh

The sad thing is that since 2020 inflation in the United States has gone up 20% overall. As shocking as the 11% increase in MSRP in just the last few years, it is actually running below overall inflation in the economy. https://lao.ca.gov/LAOEconTax/Article/Detail/766#:~:text=Prices have grown by 20,energy prices the most volatile&text=Prices based on CPI-U.

What a silly design! So, the solution is to permanently affix it with Gorilla Glue? So, when the day comes that you need to remove the slide-on accelerator cover you then can't.

Well, Ford could shift all new US/Canada-built EVs to the new Blue Oval City since the vehicles are getting delayed and now the new facility should be ready by the time Job 1 for them actually comes. There you go with a nice big unused facility in Canada with a great record and terrific workforce ready and able to bring back the Edge, repatriate Nautilus production, and maybe do something else on the side. I know, I know. The time for that logical decision was a year or two ago. But you are saying Ford's problem is that all of their North American factories have no capacity available for new product. Well, this one apparently does and Ford's current plan seems to be to just let it sit idle for the next two years.

Hard to say how long it will take without a build date. Once built and transport begins you can probably expect 3 months for it to arrive at your dealership (it actually took mine 2.5 months). That's one month across the Pacific, one month for ground transportation in North America, and one month for it to get stuck somewhere in port or some transit facility somewhere.

Tesla is finding it hard to compete in China with the Chinese government's massive subsidies of all aspects of EV production. See: https://electrek.co/2024/04/12/china-gave-byd-an-incredible-3-7-billion-to-win-the-ev-race/ and https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Electric-cars-in-China/China-gives-EV-sector-billions-of-yuan-in-subsidies

Wow, that is the opposite of what is the case with my 2024 Black Label Nautilus. It is both the quietest and smoothest drive of any vehicle I have ever owned. I have decided that I don't like it in Excite mode because, while it does improve torque modestly, it turns the smooth ride into something too rough and makes fake gear sounds. Could it be you are just driving it in Excite? Because in my vehicle Normal mode is smooth as silk and quiet as a hush.

There are some great stories here of dumbest traffic ticket. Here's mine. I was commuting into Washington, DC from suburban Maryland where I live. The traffic was heavy, but I was keeping my distance from the car in front of me. I was coming up to a stop light with several cars already stopped at the light. I was slowing down, ready to stop when someone rear ends me so hard that it propelled my car into the rear end of the car in front of me (the last of the stopped cars). A DC policeman came by to assess the accident and gave me a ticket for "following too close." I was going to contest it, but my boss required me to travel the week of my court date so I just gave up and paid the darned thing.

I agree with your overall argument but not the bolded text. While Americans could someday reach European-style acceptance of micro vehicles they sure haven't yet. While some do sell, I wouldn't characterize those sales as "many."

I agree, but I also get the caution on the current state of EVs due to the rapid development of the technology. ICE is a pretty mature technology. Five years from now drivers can expect somewhat better MPG and (maybe) performance from ICE vehicles, and certainly a lot more hybrids. But from EVs many anticipate a dramatic improvement in range and/or weight with the emergence of solid state batteries. Still, the smartphone syndrome is real. In one or two years there's always going to be a much better device available. Why (ever) buy now?

I recently bought the 2024 Nautilus and follow issues related to the vehicle on a couple of Facebook sites. One thing I've noticed is that there seems to be three distinct groups buying the new Nautilus: (1) previous generation Nautilus owners (like me) -- and sometimes past Aviator owners or people who went into the Lincoln dealership thinking they wanted to buy an Aviator but didn't really need that third seat or towing capacity and found they liked the Nautilus better, (2) a variety of former Lexus/BMW/MB/Genesis owners, and (3) former Edge owners, especially Edge ST owners. Most of them are generally happy with their purchase and compare the Nautilus favorably to their previous vehicle. One common complaint among the Edge ST owners, however, is the lower off-the-line torque -- but only off-the-line -- with the 2.0 hybrid than with their previous 2.7, though they still like and prefer the new Nautilus overall. The odd thing is that you don't find former Nautilus 2.7 owners saying the same thing as much. I think it is because former Nautilus owners are established Lincoln buyers and understand the whole point of Lincolns is the quality of the drive and the luxury of the car, not its 0-60 number. Whereas Edge ST buyers often bought that ST specifically because from time to time they really liked to punch that accelerator from a standing stop. That said, while I think the new Nautilus is a great vehicle and wish its production had stayed in North America, it really isn't a full replacement for the Edge. While the lowest trim 2024 Nautilus gives you great value in a luxury mid-sized crossover, it still goes for a lot more than an Edge.

That's Ford Authority for you. They can turn into breaking news the fact that every new Ford design will have the windshield in front of the driver.

Hard to keep track these days of all the Lincoln things that have been canned.

...and until the plant goes back into operation a couple of years down the road, they'll be "rightsizing" their Canadian workforce.

The 2025 Aviator now joins the list. https://fordauthority.com/2024/04/2025-lincoln-aviator-also-drops-active-park-assist-2-0/ "The refreshed 2025 Lincoln Aviator just debuted in early February, bringing with it some revised styling elements inside and out, along with a host of new features such as the Lincoln Digital Experience infotainment software, bigger screens, and a revamped interior with new niceties – albeit at higher prices. 2025 Lincoln Aviator production is currently scheduled to kick off at the Chicago Assembly plant in May, but now, Ford Authority has learned that it will be missing one feature, in particular – Active Park Assist 2.0... "As Ford Authority reported this past February, The Blue Oval has been muling the removal of automated parallel parking from its Active Park Assist feature in general, as COO Kumar Galhotra noted on the automaker’s Q4 2024 earnings call with investors that this is one of a few seldomly-used features that the automaker plans to remove as it aims to trim another $2 billion in costs from its bottom line. In fact, removing this feature alone could potentially save the automaker a whopping $10 million annually."

Seems to me that the headline then is flawed. It is not that plug-in hybrids are not as clean as we thought, but that many PHEV owners don't make full use of the their car's substantially cleaner properties.

I remember when MKT sales suddenly surged in their final months of production for the same reason. Can't remember if the Flex did likewise.

Hey if sound is the issue folks can always do what I did to my bicycle when I was growing up. Get a baseball card and attach it with a clothespin so that it stick in the spokes when you're riding. If that isn't good enough you can always stick your tongue through your lips and make raspberry sounds.

Good points. I tried to get into that a bit discussing the Excite mode, and how it simulates gears, to a modest extent.

Indeed. My decision to go with the hybrid Nautilus had almost nothing to do with fuel savings.

...and for the welcome mat lighting you need to set the mirrors to fold.

Since this thread is about the new electronic CVT in the new Nautilus, I assume that is what you are asking about. A CVT does not downshift because it does not have gears. As you accelerate you might feel an extra push from the turbo but the transmission is continuously variable, meaning that the gear ratio is constantly in flux while maintaining rpms mostly constant at a point optimized for the application of power. It has a very different drive feel and some don't like it as they are used to the feeling of sudden (and sometimes clunky) downshifts with heavy acceleration that brings a brief surge (and then drop) of torque as rpms then surge up and down as you work your ways through the gears. The E-CVT delivers serene and constant power and torque as you accelerate, but doesn't deliver the same sudden push you can feel from a standard transmission from downshift torque as you punch the accelerator. That said, in Excite mode the E-CVT makes an effort to somewhat simulate gears by slightly fluctuating that rpm point up and down as you accelerate (I think it pipes in some artificial sound too while it is doing it). Excite does provide a little bit more torque at the expense of more noise and worse mileage. But I don't like it as much as Normal mode as the suspension gets too tight and the ride gets quite rough. I might use Excite's changed engine/transmission settings if I could keep Normal's more comfortable suspension as I could with my 2019 Nautilus (though I ended up almost always using Normal mode for all driving in my previous Nautilus and rarely opted for the Sport throttle settings, much less the uncomfortable Sport suspension settings). I really like the pairing Lincoln chose of a much more powerful than usual gas engine linked in a hybrid set-up with the more powerful E-CVT FMC designed for this new vehicle.

Latest market share numbers come in at 57.93% for iPhones in the U.S. market, but 70.29% for Android taking the world as a whole. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users

I think that makes the decision even easier. I am getting nearly double the mpg in my new hybrid than I got in my 2019 2.7, but then I barely got 15 mpg on average in city driving with the 2.7 due to the very unfavorable nature of my usual commute (short trips, heavy traffic, frequent stop lights). During my test drive of the base 2.0 I found it fine and not loud. With the hybrid, however, it seems much quieter, even when it is the driving with the gas engine. It is so quiet I usually can't even tell when it is transitioning between all-electric and the gas engine. I think the extra quiet comes from the fact that you don't hear the engine revving up and down as you work your way through the gears. I'm a little surprised that I don't miss the extra torque of the 2.7. I've come to really enjoy the quieter, still-plenty-strong, and linear power curve of the hybrid. They are both great in their own way.

Seems odd that the pricing in the U.S. and Canada would be so different, even with the exchange rates. At $1500, the answer to the question is easy, since it has more power, provides a far smoother driving experience, and saves money on gas. But at $3500 I guess it depends. Are there no hybrids available for you to test drive? If not, let me try to answer as best I can since I own the hybrid, drove the base engine, and previously owned a 2019 Nautilus with the V6. First, if it is a smooth and comfortable ride you are after, nothing will beat the hybrid. This is the first hybrid I've owned -- or even driven -- and it provides a very different driving experience, due mainly to the electronic CVT. When I say smooth, I'm not talking about the suspension. The suspension in the 2024 Nautilus with either engine will provide a supremely comfortable ride. But the hybrid system paired to the E-CVT makes the drive sublimely smooth, as you are never clunking through gears or revving the up or down as you accelerate. The E-CVT holds the revs constant, at a point optimized for the application of power, and it is the transmission gear ratio that is constantly in flux. Let me put it this way. You are obviously used to a traditional transmission and a 2.0 ecoboost. If you get that you'll be happy with the great comfort, room and utility of the 2024 Nautilus and won't be disappointed in the engine choice, since it is something you're used to, works well, and you're after a great ride not the fastest 0-60. You'll also be glad to have saved that $3500. If, however, you get the hybrid with it's E-CVT, you'll be gobsmacked. You'll wonder how you can ever go back to a standard transmission and you'll think it is the best $3500 you've ever spent. Personally, I would go with the hybrid, even with the higher cost. But then, that's exactly what I did. Only you can answer for you.

...and now with the new 2024 Nautilus they are back on the right.