Ford CEO on EVs

[blacksheep-1]

Ford going electric...

 

[JDee]

Interesting. I'm nowhere near ready to buy an electric car. I'm a firm believer in letting someone else take the bullets that come with early production models that use new technology. I'm maybe a 5 - 7 year down the road guy. That is if I am allowed to drive anything by then.....the nanny state is alive and well up here these days.

 

[302BOB]

That is if I am allowed to drive anything by then

JDee, they need you to drive to Town Hall to pay your taxes.....even if it's gotta be in your Mustang.....

 

[Dave_W]

My impression of that video is a bunch of grasping at straws, hot air, mis-analysis, and general clickbait-ness. So the general theme is that Tesla and Lucid are profitable (are they?) solely because they are vertically integrated. Nothing to do with carbon offset credits or government sponsorship. And to keep up, Ford has decided to ditch all their suppliers and go back to a vertically integrated strategy? Really?

One of the claims sounded like Ford doesn't make engines anymore. Someone better let a bunch of Ford plants know that. https://corporate.ford.com/operations/locations/global-plants.html

 

[Bill Pemberton]

The handwriting has been on the wall for quite awhile as the major shift decades back to depend on suppliers thereby avoiding stockpiling inventory followed the competitive Japanese model. The vertical integration or similar moves has been in process for decades with companies like Volkswagen, Nissan-Renault, Stellantis , to just name a few. Ford is in a bit of a different situation since it is essentially a stand alone, but many feel becoming completely vertical will not be advantageous overall in future years and a blend of each system will prevail.

I honestly believe companies like Tesla will find the going tougher in coming years as there will be areas of expertise that they will find they do not have and out sourcing a fix will become apparent even for them.

Think of Stellantis and the resources around the Globe, an ability to change quicker than those totally integrated and when you think of other companies who are now highly blended, cost efficiency , parts sharing and numerous R&D sources will likely be super advantageous in the future. Sure more and more companies will have some vertical integration, but in essence, a large source of brands, models, etc. will accomplish a portion of this.

The Automotive scene is one of constant change, always has been, it just moves at a different pace today ( faster ) and I have to believe scrapping the current mode of build, jumping completely the other direction is what caused US Manufacturers to fall behind when Japan hit the shores. I have to believe going 180 degrees back is not something that will be overwhelmingly accepted as a lesson was learned before -- just my humble opinion.

 

[Fat Boss]

My impression of that video is a bunch of grasping at straws, hot air, mis-analysis, and general clickbait-ness. So the general theme is that Tesla and Lucid are profitable (are they?) solely because they are vertically integrated. Nothing to do with carbon offset credits or government sponsorship. And to keep up, Ford has decided to ditch all their suppliers and go back to a vertically integrated strategy? Really?

One of the claims sounded like Ford doesn't make engines anymore. Someone better let a bunch of Ford plants know that. https://corporate.ford.com/operations/locations/global-plants.html

Yeah, he started to lose me at the "Rouge River" plant.

Ford River Rouge complex - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Theviking]

My understanding is that Toyota used "contract manufacturing" successfully by developing close relationships with their partners. Not just continually switching to the cheapest bidder. I also think the reliance on a global supply chain has massively compounded this issue. And also my understanding that Tesla has bled massive amounts of money for most of their existence. Just ask Lutz

I personally still don't believe electric cars in their current state are the end-all. Demand is being artificially inflated through the massive push by governments, media and influential activists all over the world. EV's still have lots of challenges which I don't see short term solutions for yet. Plus the average costs of current EV's on the market is way out of reach for most American's. And until the lithium supply issues get resolved I don't see these cars getting cheaper anytime soon. Ford may not have choice at this point, but I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket if I was Farley.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Ford may not have choice at this point, but I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket if I was Farley.

Ford may be one of the few that are keeping all options open.

 

[PatrickStapler]

I don't see Super Duty's going away anytime soon. That's all I'm concerned with at this point. I have my '66 GT, and a recently acquired '21 GT. So I'm good on cars. Just keep making the big trucks and I'm likely a Ford buyer in the next five years. Other than that, I'm out under the current mindset.

 

[PatientZero]

Electric vehicles have a place but I still refuse to believe they are going to replace ICE vehicles. The infrastructure of the entire world is built on liquid fuel. I don't see that going away. There are multiple synthetic forms of gasoline in the pipeline it's just a matter of time before big oil picks one and brings it to market.

 

[TMSBOSS]

The current "Mindset" at Ford appears to be market driven. Sedans have not sold well for years. Fords "Econobox" falls into the SUV category. The Ecosport is rated at 29MPG as an SUV.
Ford did not follow “Politics” when they went away from sedans, they followed the market. Hard to fault them for listening to the market. It seem as though they are doing the same with EV’s.

 

[PatrickStapler]

I’m not disagreeing…or blaming Ford for following the “market” (could also be read as mandates). I’m just saying I don’t like it. Closed minded…possibly. EV’s just aren’t for me. Cheers to all that like/own them. Maybe I could feel better about them without all the associated hypocrisy. Maybe if they were 100% manufactured here in the USA while creating jobs for millions of people.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Mandates, no. I asked a few salesmen why Ford went away from the sedan. His response…..Ford did not. Sedans were less than 1% of the sales at their dealership which was/is smack dab in middle suburbia. Would I buy a EV? Maybe. The stars would have to align, solar panels on the house to power the car and house. The solar panel bait and switch government subsidies would have to be real. Prices would have to drop. Would it be a primary vehicle? Nope. Range kills that idea.

 

[JDee]

After some thought, I think I could do a hybrid, maybe. Use the electric when you're just doing stuff around town and have the gasser motor for the long range highway stuff with no worries about stopping and recharging batteries. Might buy one for the DD next time I refresh which I think is due this spring. $11,600 difference between hybrid and gasser up here makes it a damn tough sell, the payback is for sure never. The plug-in model difference is $17K.

A pure electric is only $4K more than the plug in hybrid, but our power grid tends to be somewhat unstable which is totally laughable since I live about 10 miles from one of the big nuke power plants. I don't see the grid becoming more stable in the future, if anything it will be less so. The 2 big nukes are nearing end of life and I haven't seen or heard of any plan to replace the power they make. There are some reactor units that are permanently shut down already.

Certainly electric power from the grid is not cheap so I'm not sure that buying a pure electric makes any sense at all. Probably totally ridiculous, other than the fact that we have a loon in power who is hell bent to kill our use of fossil fuels, with no cogent plan to replace them. Can't wait for when the jerk goes after heating our homes and water with natural gas, that'll be rich and it just might be enough to finally get the sleeping citizenry woken up.

It makes no sense on any level whatsoever to buy electric, but I'm an old guy with cash to burn so just for a laugh I might do it. Or not. I've got a reputation to uphold and I think an electric would be bad in that respect. Grumpy old guys hate all things new and that includes electric cars, a noisy gas guzzling Mustang is the perfect old guy car.

 

[misterpeanut]

According to this interview, there is plenty of support for the internal combustion engine and it seems long term, 10yrs-ish I am gathering, but who can make commitments beyond 10yrs. I wouldn't... except for to God, my wife and children, and that bank that holds my mortgage note. I think this is a great interview and gives me (an ICE fanboy) a lot of hope. EV's are cool for some and I would like to ride in a Tesla one day, but zero plans to buy one.

More Ford Mustang Dark Horse secrets revealed

The Ford Mustang Dark Horse will be offered with a color-shifting paint color and hand-painted stripes when it goes on sale this summer as the most powerful 5.0-liter Mustang.

www.foxnews.com