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I mean, why take the images from camera and then show the advert on screen? Why not simply show a downloaded advertisement if all they want is to make money? Ridiculous...
That'll be a boneheaded move by legacy ....and my disdain for the legacy will be amplified if it ever comes to fruition.
I mean, why take the images from camera and then show the advert on screen? Why not simply show a downloaded advertisement if all they want is to make money? Ridiculous...
That'll be a boneheaded move by legacy ....and my disdain for the legacy will be amplified if it ever comes to fruition.
It's nothing more than a patent, relax. Most patents never see the light of day, I have several patents with my name on them that never made it to market and never will. Sometimes patents are written in specific ways to allow them to skirt other IP that's out there. I work with this stuff all the time, there's a lot more to this (patents and patent law) than you think and certainly a lot more to it than I want to type out on here.
It finally happened, ladies and gents! Ford has confirmed the GE2 and TE1 platforms for electric vehicles, and there’s a whole lot of EVs in the offing. 6 photos
Product communications manager broke the news on Twitter, starting with a rear-/all-wheel-drive modular architecture for light commercial vehicles, pickups, and SUVs. Global Electrified 2 is how the Blue Oval calls the platform that will be deployed in the next-generation Mustang Mach-E.
Ford showcased the GE2 with outlines of many vehicles, including the Mustang Mach-E, Transit Connect panel and passenger van, and what appears to be the Explorer. Bronco- and Ranger-like silhouettes have been shown on the GE2 to investors as well, which is an interesting proposition.
The Bronco and Ranger both feature body-on-frame construction as you would expect from an off-road SUV and mid-sized pickup, and as a rule of thumb, the ladder frame is better in terms of durability off the beaten path, payload ratings, and towing capability. Switching to a unibody construction may not be to everyone’s taste, but still, customers do have an alternative.
When pressed on the TE1 platform, Levine confirmed that Ford is developing a full-size truck platform for all-electric applications. The Truck Electrified 1 will probably be introduced in the next generation of the F-150 Lighting, along with the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator family haulers.
Electrifying the Expedition and Navigator shouldn’t come as a surprise because Cadillac is developing a zero-emissions Escalade as we speak. The internal combustion-engined Cadillac Escalade will reportedly be discontinued in 2029, and the e-Escalade may arrive in 2024 at the earliest.
Although unconfirmed at the present moment, sources close to the Ford Motor Company understand that electrification will help the Mustang pony car stay relevant in the years to come. Just like the Mustang Mach-E, the all-electric coupe and convertible should be based on the GE2 architecture.
As part of the Ford+ plan, the Blue Oval will form a battery-making joint venture with SK Innovation of South Korea. The partnership centers around two manufacturing facilities in the United States and three battery types: lithium-ion, lithium-iron-phosphate (a.k.a. LFP), and solid-state batteries.
Ever since Ford introduced the Godzilla as a crate engine, we've seen many tuners have their way into the monstrous mill and tune it to astronomical numbers. We've seen the new massive pushrod engine, which was designed for the 2020 Ford F-250 truck, to put out up to 1,015 horsepower (757 kilowatts) with the use of supercharging.
Meanwhile, a twin-turbo Godzilla setup by Merkel Racing Engines also saw up to 1,114 hp (830.7 kW) of total power output.
While those numbers are impressive, it looks like Ford is making its own force-inducted Godzilla engine. That's if we were to believe the exclusive report coming from Ford Authority.
According to sources familiar with the automaker’s research and development project, a twin-turbo Godzilla is currently being tested for Ford Super Duty trucks. There isn't any power output disclosed, but the sources describe the force-fed engine in development as a "monster."
With two turbos in place, we can expect massive torque output from the Godzilla engine, although we highly doubt it will go beyond the 1,050 pound-feet (1,424 Newton-meters) twists of the current Power Stroke turbodiesel mill.
But one thing's for sure, it will likely be available as a crate engine if ever it reaches production.
For the uninitiated, the naturally-aspirated, pushrod Godzilla V8 has a displacement of 445 cubic inches or 7.3 liters. It makes 430 hp (320 kW) and 475 lb-ft (644 Nm) of torque at 4,000 RPM, designed to be a workhorse mill with a diesel-like powerband.
Ford Performance hasn't been really stale with its development of the Godzilla engine. Towards the end of last year, Mike Goodwin teases a "super secret project" called the Megazilla that will push out more power than stock. Whether the twin-turbo project and the Megazilla are one and the same is still a mystery at this point. For now, all we can do is wait for an official announcement.
Back in May, Ford announced two new modular architectures for its upcoming lineup of EVs. One of those architectures is meant for rear- and all-wheel drive utility applications—the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, various pickups and vans, and a yet-unnamed SUV that might be a Bronco. Among the silhouettes shown in that announcement was something that looks like a small pickup, and sure seems to resemble the recently-revealed Ford Maverick.
This realization alone isn't enough for us to confidently say we're getting an all-electric Maverick. But it is a suggestion that we could be seeing another EV pickup from Ford in the near future, one that slots below the F-150 Lightning in size.
In reply to a tweet suggesting an EV version of the Maverick may be in the cards, Ford product communications director Mike Levine simply posted a screenshot of the aforementioned silhouette, saying in a follow-up tweet that his response was meant to suggest "the possibility of another all-electric pickup down the road."
Ford has said in the past this upcoming platform will underpin a "range" of yet-to-be-released vehicles, so it's certainly possible another EV pickup could be one of them. Currently, the only Ford vehicle with a standalone EV platform is the Mustang Mach-E; the all-electric F-150 Lightning is based on a modified version of the standard internal-combustion F-150 architecture.
We'll just have to wait and see what Ford has in store.
Ford announced a few months ago that it would start offering a hands-free highway driving assist later this year. It's clearly a direct competitor to the only other hands-free system on the market, GM's Super Cruise. As part of the over-100,000-mile real-world test trip that the company has been conducting before the release, it invited journalists, including yours truly, to try BlueCruise out in the test vehicles along some stretches of Michigan highway. Turns out it works quite well, certainly well enough to be a solid option to the current basic version of Super Cruise.
BlueCruise works very similarly to Super Cruise both in how it manages the vehicle and driver, as well as how to activate it. The car is guided by a combination of radar, camera and GPS position information. These all help keep the car in the lines, at a safe position compared to other cars, and also ensure that the system is only being used on roads with mapping data. Currently, more than 100,000 miles of highway in the U.S. and Canada have been mapped and are compatible with BlueCruise.
Inside, there are infrared sensors and a camera that monitor the driver's head position and eyes. They allow some leeway, but if a driver is looking away too far or for too long, the car will alert the driver to pay attention to the road again. And to activate the system, the driver simply has to turn on the cruise control. As long as the lane-centering functions are turned on, the car will automatically go to hands-free if it's centered on a compatible road. If you don't want to use the function, switching off the lane-centering systems will switch it to basic adaptive control.
All of the activity and alerts are communicated to the driver through the instrument display, which reconfigures, says the car is hands-free and turns a shade of blue to indicate that BlueCruise is active. It's a bit different and slightly more discreet than the GM system, which also includes a steering wheel with a large light indicator at the top as an additional status monitor to display symbols and messages.
But the key thing is, does it work? Yessir, and it does so quite well. The car stays well-centered, and does so quickly. Even in highway bends, it doesn't wander or get too close to either side. It reacts promptly to said bends, too. As such, once you get over the inherent strangeness of taking your hands off the wheel at 70 mph, it feels comfortable and safe to use in most situations. In particularly busy, fast-paced and aggressive traffic, you may want to consider not going hands-free simply so that you can intervene more quickly and naturally in an emergency or for an unexpected exit. But we would say the same for Super Cruise. In most highway driving circumstances, we would feel at ease (but still aware and engaged) using BlueCruise just as we would with the GM system.
If you'd like hands-free driving in your Ford, you'll have to make sure you get either an F-150 or a Mustang Mach-E. The feature will be available later this year, but you can buy one of those models with the hardware necessary to use BlueCruise right now. Once the system is available, it can be downloaded over-the-air. The software for both models is $600, but the hardware can cost a bit more, as it's included as part of the Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0. The latter is offered as its own $995 option on the F-150 Lariat, King Ranch or Platinum. It's standard on the Limited. In the Mach-E, you'll spend $2,600 to get the hardware as part of the Comfort and Technology package, or standard on the CA Route 1, Premium and First Edition Mach-Es. And for clarity, those prices are without the BlueCruise software, which is an additional $600.
Looking to start swapping your internal combustion engines for electric power? Ford’s got something for you. Meet the Eluminator crate motor, which is set to debut at the SEMA show in November but which Ford has teased during its Woodward Dream Cruise events.
The name comes from the Aluminator, which is the name Ford previously gave to a V8 crate engine. We don’t have a ton of specs yet, but Carscoops got the initial scoop:
Ford was tight-lipped on specifics, but told us the motor will produce 281 hp (210 kW / 285 PS) and 318 lb-ft (431 Nm) of torque. Those are decent figures and Ford’s Chief Product Platform and Operations Officer, Hau Thai-Tang, noted the output is higher than what was available on the Fox body Mustang.
Furthermore, CAD files released by Ford Performance show the electric motor is 22.5 inches (570 mm) long, making it significantly smaller than Ford’s traditional crate engines. That being said, it will need to be accompanied by a battery pack.
The crate motor creates a DIY way to convert from ICE to electric power, a process called electromodding. There have been some seriously cool electromodded cars coming out in the past few years, with some gorgeous classics taking on a whole new, more eco-friendly spin. It’s also a great way for Ford fans to keep their power options in-house, since sticking with one brand means a hell of a lot for some folks.
If the specs that Ford has provided is true, that makes this engine more powerful than the one Chevy introduced last year as part of its electric 1977 K5 Blazer. That motor developed about 200 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque. So, Ford already has a leg up on its competition.
At least one aftermarket company has shown off an electric crate motor. California-based Electric GT unveiled one in 2019, shaped like a V-8 gasoline engine, and installed in a vintage Toyota Land Cruiser.
Are they selling a battery pack to go with this? The motor is the easy part, the batteries are a huge PITA...not to mention the charging system and integrating regen and all the associated electronics and computers to make it all work lol. EV's are mechanically very simple but electronically they are orders of magnitude more complicated than a gas car.
Oh lord this is the guy who oversaw the Model 3 production ramp, or lack thereof back in 2017-2018 that almost bankrupted the company and then "took a leave of absence" and never came back since Elon replaced him when he started overseeing the production himself. Good luck Ford!
Is this the guy responsible for letting the Model 3 rear underframe be made up of 70 different parts that made it look like a patchwork quilt of welded bits of metal that made Sandy Munro lose his mind?
You know, Ford always hires the “best” talent.
North America has the Ranger-based Ford Bronco whereas Australia levels up to the Ford Everest. A three-row sport utility vehicle with body-on-frame underpinnings and diesel engine options, the mid-size model prepares for a ground-up redesign on the T6.2 platform of the all-new Ranger workhorse.
26 photos
Already spied in the United States and Europe with tons of camouflage on every panel and trim piece, the next-generation Everest has been masterfully rendered by Photoshop meister Joao Kleber Amaral. Quite clearly, the pixel artist used the 2022 Ranger as the basis of his renderings.
Although it looks eerily similar to a Ranger with a bed cap from the side view, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a bed cap with integrated D-pillars, two additional seats, and the safety equipment you would expect from a three-row utility vehicle. Structurally speaking, the Everest is a very different affair from the Ranger with a fancy camper shell fitted over the cargo area.
Speaking of which, the T6.2-based truck is perfectly suited for this application because the Blue Oval has widened the Ranger by two inches and the front axle has been pushed forward by two inches. We also have to remember that Ford has relocated the suspension dampers outboard of the frame rails, therefore improving the ride on the road as well as on the trail.
As far as the oily bits are concerned, the Dearborn-based automaker offers a grand total of three powerplants for the global model. The list kicks off with a single-turbo EcoBlue, a 2.0-liter diesel, that features a six-speed manual as the standard transmission. A bi-turbo EcoBlue like the one in the outgoing Ranger Raptor is also available, along with a 3.0-liter V6 motor.
Essentially the Power Stroke that FoMoCo has discontinued from the F-150 line in the United States, the six-cylinder lump serves as a replacement for the 3.2-liter Duratorq straight-five diesel that rolled out way back in 2006.
In December 2018, Ford submitted patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a Manual Transmission with Electric Clutch. The USPTO published the patent last November, Muscle Cars & Trucks discovered the paperwork this month. What we're talking about is another version of the automated manual transmission, a technical milestone the automotive industry passed more than 70 years ago. What's more interesting is the bit of MC&T supposition that comes with the patent discovery, that this transmission could find its way into the next-generation S650-series Ford Mustang.
Mechanically speaking, the basics are all here, including a set of gears to manually shift through, tweaked with the potential use of clever sensors in the shift knob. Without a clutch pedal, the powertrain would understand when to shift by noting when the driver has gripped the shifter and started to move it, operating like the everyday manual transmission in everyday use. However, according to the patent, electronic control of what might be "a dry friction clutch" can be fine-tuned based on how the driver applies his fingers or pressure to the shift knob. The patent says the shift knob shell "is flexible, at least in some areas, allowing the driver to slightly deform, i.e., crush, the knob." In certain applications, the "magnitude of squeeze applied by the driver" could mimic working a clutch pedal, with harder squeezes decoupling the clutch further, softer ones doing the opposite. Another type of delicate, fingertip-controlled clutch operation would let the driver activate neutral by using a button or another kind of squeeze on the knob, instead of needing to shift to neutral.
The patent claims the point of this innovation is to give "many people, especially driving enthusiasts ... the increased driver interaction" of a manual, without "the negative attributes" of doing a calf raise every time a new gear is needed. This makes the Ford patent much like the Kia Intelligent Manual Transmission (IMT) that debuted in the European Kia Rio in 2020, which was developed for the same reason. The Kia IMT is designed for mild hybrids, using the electric bits of the powertrain to turn the engine on and off throughout a wider range of operation, possible since the car can control the clutch on its own.
Ford's idea is suited for longitudinally-mounted transmissions in rear- and all-wheel-drive cars. The 2024 Mustang will offer hybrid powertrains, it's possible Ford had this in mind, too. The Bronco might also work. As we always say, though, it's a long way from patent to production, so this could come and go no further than the Internet.
Ford CEO Jim Farley is the one credited with putting Ford back on track to success. Part of his mission is to give Tesla and other EV startups some stiff competition when it comes to electric vehicles and technology. Ford tries to achieve this by signing up some clever minds from those companies, and the latest one on Farley’s platter is Tesla engineering director Alan Clarke. 7 photos
Ford Motor Company has hired Tesla’s former engineering director Alan Clarke to work in advanced EV development. This is the latest move in Ford’s headhunting spree aimed at challenging Tesla for EV leadership in the coming years. Last September, Ford also hired Apple’s Doug Field, who also spent time at Tesla, to become the chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer.
Clarke is a 12-year Tesla veteran who oversaw several engineering design aspects for Model S and Model X. He designed the famous door handles and was also responsible for the suspension and steering of the Model S, among other things. In the last four years, Clarke worked as director of new program engineering and he most probably will do something similar at Ford.
Clarke will report directly to Doug Field, who also reports to Jim Farley in a very short chain of command meant to accelerate Ford’s momentum in the electric vehicle market. The Blue Oval announced plans to boost EV annual production to 600,000 units by 2024 and is looking to invest between $10 and $20 billion to convert more plants to fully electric vehicle production.
After the Mustang Mach-E, Ford successfully launched the F-150 Lightning and aims to replicate the success with other iconic models like the Ford Bronco and Explorer. Ford will convert them to fully electric power, leveraging its joint venture with battery juggernaut SK Innovation.
Headhunting is nothing new in the industry and it’s also beneficial as it helps with leveling the field. Going from startups to legacy carmakers offers benefits for people, but also companies, allowing them to accelerate their EV programs and, ultimately, EV adoption. Hopefully, Ford will commit to the volume production of its already successful electric vehicles and give Tesla a run for its money.
DETROIT (AP) — The CEO of Ford Motor Co. says the automaker has no plans to spin off its electric vehicle or internal combustion businesses, but is reinventing itself by removing costs and ramping up for large-scale EV and software sales.
Ford CEO Jim Farley told the Wolfe Research virtual global auto technology conference Wednesday that the company could hit Tesla-like profit margins by using common electric motors, electronic components and other parts across all sizes of vehicles.
But to do that, Ford needs radically different human talent than it now has, Farley said in a surprisingly candid interview with analyst Rod Lache. He also said the company has too many people and too much complexity, and it doesn’t have the expertise to transition to battery-electric vehicles. “That’s the simple answer. There’s waste,” he said.
Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford has about 183,000 employees worldwide.
Ford, Farley said, can’t just pivot from internal combustion engines to battery powered vehicles. The internal combustion engine organization is good at body, paint and manufacturing, and would be envied by startup EV makers.
But “I can’t turn to the ICE organization and say ‘go be Tesla,’” Farley said. “They may do it on the (auto) body. They may do it in plant operations, but that’s not good enough,” he said, without giving specifics of what changes are coming.
Ford has only 15% of the market in the U.S., so the transition to battery vehicles is a chance to attract new customers. But Farley said it needs to make the buying process simple and all online, with no inventory in the system and home deliveries of the vehicles.
Ford’s distribution costs are $3,000 to $4,000 higher than Tesla’s, Farley said, and is seeking to close that gap by attracting new talent with those skills.
Neither Ford’s internal combustion business nor its electric vehicle operations earn as much profit as they could, Farley said. The company needs more talent to lower structural costs and raise quality in its ICE business, and cut the cost of materials for electric vehicles, he said.
The company also can differentiate itself by doing online software updates so that customers understand how their vehicle is changing, and it needs to keep service customers so if they have a fender bender or a problem develops in four or five years, they can stay within a simple Ford system, Farley said.
He said also the company is working hard to secure raw materials such as lithium and nickel to make EV batteries, and to expect more announcements in the coming months.
Bloomberg News on Friday reported that Ford is looking at ways to separate its electric vehicle business from its legacy combustion operations to earn the kind of investor support enjoyed by Tesla.
But Farley said Wednesday that’s not happening.
“We have no plans to spin off our electric business or our ICE business,” he said. “It’s really more around focus and capabilities, expertise and talent.”
Shares of Ford closed Wednesday down 2% to $16.95. They have lost about one-third of their value since hitting a 2022 high on Jan. 14.
I've been saying this for years, why do I get called a delusional asshole for being right? SSFTSX told me that the engineers at these companies that have spent decades designing ICE engines were just going to wake up one morning and be experts at designing EVs
After Ford separated its businesses into Ford Blue for combustion-engined cars and Model e for its EVs, it is ironically stepping in the gas pedal. In Europe, the company will release seven new electric vehicles until 2024: three passenger cars and four commercial vehicles. 10 photos
The electric offensive will start with a medium-sized crossover that will sit below the Mustang Mach-E, is built over Volkswagen’s MEB platform, and will be like Ford’s version of the VW ID.4. It is as if the companies were revisiting the merger they had in the Brazilian market in the 1990s called Autolatina, with the crucial difference that this is just a partnership.
This new crossover will be presented by the end of 2022. Ford will start building it at its Cologne plant in Germany by 2023, and the company promises it will have a range of 500 kilometers (311 miles), probably under the WLTP cycle.
If you check our gallery, you’ll see that Ford mixed the electric vehicles in the image that aggregates all of them. You’ll notice that it includes nine EVs instead of seven, but that’s because it includes the Mach-E and the E-Transit. This image makes a real mess with the vehicles: it states that the Mach-E is a new "sports crossover," the sports crossover is the “medium-sized crossover,” and that the medium-sized crossover is the Mach-E. You can tell that by the shape of their DRLs and, thanks to the image with only the passenger cars, which seems to set things straight.
Apart from this new crossover, Ford will also have a “sports crossover” built in Cologne by 2024. We’d bet this new vehicle may revive the Capri name considering what Ford has done with the Mach-E for the American market, mainly because the name Puma is already taken. Speaking about it, the Puma will also have a BEV version in 2024. Like the small crossover, it will come from the Craiova plant in Romania.
The Romanian factory will also produce the new generations of the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier in 2023. Their electric versions will be made there starting 2024. The other two electric commercial vehicles will be the Transit Custom and the Torneo Custom, which are basically two different names for the same vehicle. Ford plans to start delivering these EVs made in Turkey to customers in 2023.
The electric strategy for Ford implies some other changes. The first one is building a battery plant in Turkey in a partnership with SK and Koç Holding, a company with which the American automaker already has another joint venture called Ford Otosan. This factory will be near Ankara and has the goal of producing 30 GWh to 45 GWh per year in cells by the middle of the decade.
The other change is that Ford Otosan “will assume ownership” of the Craiova plant in Romania. In other words, Ford will have one less factory in Europe by giving it to a commercial partner. Practically speaking, the factory will continue to pump out the American automaker's products. However, Ford will not have to close it or try to sell it if it thinks it is no longer worth keeping like it did in Brazil and India: that’s up to its Turkish partners.
Ford is full of surprises and has patented some interesting concepts in its pursuit to crush startup competition in the EV field. A new patent shows that Ford is interested in adding new maneuverability features to its future electric trucks. This will rival GMC Hummer EV’s crab walk and Rivian R1T’s K-turn and tank turn. 7 photos
All-wheel steering systems are a novel technology that can be useful in certain situations, especially in large vehicles. Besides enhancing maneuverability, AWS can also improve stability at speed, which is why Porsche uses such a system on the 911. Even so, some of the more interesting tricks with all-wheel-drive systems have been demonstrated by the latest electric trucks like GMC Hummer EV and Rivian R1T.
Hummer EV’s “crab walk” allows the hulking truck to move diagonally by turning all the wheels in the same direction. Rivian also demonstrated a “tank turn” which makes use of its four motors to rotate the pickup 360-degrees like a tank. Rivian went even further with a patent for an enhanced K-turn setup. But a recent Ford patent aims to eclipse all those with some crazy new tricks.
The patent filed in September 2020 and published on March 31 this year describes “crawl operations for four-wheel steering vehicles.” The document is full of pictures and diagrams that explain exactly how Ford sees the future of off-roading. These neat moves cannot be replicated by an ICE vehicle because they rely on the two axles of the vehicle moving independently and sometimes in opposite directions.
For instance, one of the moves described in the patent filing involves turning the front wheels in one direction and the rear wheels in the opposite direction. Power is applied to the two axles so that they move toward each other, which is bizarre but results in the vehicle moving sideways, to the left or to the right depending on how the wheels are turned. A yaw sensor will ensure that the vehicle stays straight, modulating power to the front/rear axle to achieve that.
The next trick is even crazier, as it involves turning each wheel independently of one another, even those on the same axle. The reason someone would want to do this is to get out of a difficult low-grip situation. By turning each wheel in opposite direction, the vehicle might just gain enough traction to free itself.
Filing a patent is not the same as implementing these unconventional features, but we are sure there’s a four-wheel-steering war going on right now. Sooner or later, Ford will want to stick it to GM and Rivian and no doubt these rivals would not want to remain behind. Ford is not new to the game either, as the Bronco demonstrated interesting moves with the Trail Assist mode, even without all-wheel steering.
Ford is busy filing for patents that would probably never see the light of day. One application it recently filed with the USPTO describes an “in-flight” charging system for electric vehicles. The name reveals the idea came from the inflight refueling operation of military aircraft. 8 photos
Sometimes, the patent applications that Ford files seem very much like children’s depiction of the future in the ’80s. They know something is happening, things are changing, and they want to be part of the change, but they don’t quite know how. This leads to all sorts of crazy ideas, some with fewer chances to become a reality than even Elon Musk conceiving a child on Mars.
We’re not sure if the in-flight charging system belongs to this category. Still, considering it’s more like an “in-tow” charging system, we think Ford got it wrong already. The idea monetizes Ford F-150 Lightning’s ability to supply power to external devices via its vehicle-to-load (V2L) feature. And since both the donor and the receiver are moving vehicles, why not do it while driving, with less wasted time? Sounds brilliant.
The patent filed with the USPTO on February 15, 2021, was finally published on August 18, 2022, and was assigned the serial number 0258642. According to the filing, an EV driver could request in-flight charging while driving down the road. The system even allows negotiating a fee and rating the service provider, like an Uber for charging. The receiver EV can be charged while being towed or even trailing behind the charging vehicle.
This kind of service could be easily implemented, thanks to the vehicle-to-vehicle function of Ford’s electric pickup trucks. Still, we’re unsure if there would be enough demand for it. It could be worth it for somebody who values time more than money and doesn’t want to wait at a charging station. But then again, fast charging today has gotten so fast (and keeps improving) that you’ll have more juice while sipping a coffee than you can draw from an electric truck while moving.
This idea seems as far-fetched as another Ford patent describing a giant battery power bank to fit in the F-150 Lightning’s frunk and offer increased range or external charging. Or the even crazier idea to put a bolt-on range extender in the pickup bed for the same reason.
I still wonder why tow to charge isn't a thing. Just hook the car up to the tow truck and pull it along behind. The regen system would charge the battery up pretty fast.
Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle startup that burst on the scene in 2017 stacked with a $1 billion investment, is shutting down — its parts being absorbed into its two main backers: Ford and VW, according to people familiar with the matter.
During an all-hands meeting Wednesday, Argo AI employees were told that some people would receive offers from the two automakers, according to multiple sources who asked to not be named. It was unclear how many would be hired into Ford or VW and which companies will get Argo’s technology.
Employees were told they would receive a severance package that includes insurance and two separate bonuses — an annual award plus a transaction bonus upon the deal close with Ford and VW. All Argo employees will receive these. For those who are not retained by Ford or VW, they will additionally receive termination and severance pay, including health insurance. Several people told TechCrunch that it was a generous package and that the founders of the company spoke directly to its more than 2,000 employees.
“In coordination with our shareholders, the decision has been made that Argo AI will not continue on its mission as a company. Many of the employees will receive an opportunity to continue work on automated driving technology with either Ford or Volkswagen, while employment for others will unfortunately come to an end,” Argo said in a statement.
Ford said in its third-quarter earnings report released Wednesday that it made a strategic decision to shift its resources to developing advanced driver assistance systems, and not autonomous vehicle technology that can be applied to robotaxis. The company said it recorded a $2.7 billion non-cash, pretax impairment on its investment in Argo AI, resulting in an $827 million net loss for the third quarter.
That decision appears to have been fueled by Argo’s inability to attract new investors. Ford CEO Jim Farley acknowledged that the company anticipated being able to bring autonomous vehicle technology broadly to market by 2021.
“But things have changed, and there’s a huge opportunity right now for Ford to give time — the most valuable commodity in modern life — back to millions of customers while they’re in their vehicles,” said Farley. “It’s mission-critical for Ford to develop great and differentiated L2+ and L3 applications that at the same time make transportation even safer.”
Farley also insinuated that Ford would be able to buy AV tech down the line, instead of developing it in house. “We’re optimistic about a future for L4 ADAS, but profitable, fully autonomous vehicles at scale are a long way off and we won’t necessarily have to create that technology ourselves,” he added.
Ford also stated that the “development and customer enthusiasm for benefits of L2+ and L3 ADAS warrant dialing up the company’s near-term aspirations and commitment in those areas.”
VW, Argo’s other primary backer, has also indicated plans to shift resources and will no longer invest in Argo AI. The company said it will use its software unit Cariad to drive forward development of highly automated and autonomous driving together with Bosch and, in the future, in China with Horizon Robotics.
While a lesser player, Lyft had also taken a 2.5% stake into Argo. Lyft announced earlier this year plans to launch at least 1,000 self-driving vehicles on its ride-hailing network in a number of cities over the next five years, starting with Miami and Austin.
The ride-hailing company said in a statement that Argo has been a great partner and that this development does not impact Lyft’s autonomous strategy.
“We will continue working with our other partners to advance the safety and commercialization of AV technology,” a Lyft spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Lyft is the current leader in paid AV rides in North America with over 100,000 rides completed. We’re well positioned to win the AV transition through the combination of our hybrid network, marketplace engine and fleet management capabilities.”
Lyft also has partnerships with AV companies Motional and Waymo.
Argo was founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Pete Rander. The company came out of stealth in February 2017 when Ford announced it would invest $1 billion over five years into Argo. Since then, the company has raised more than $2.6 billion, primarily from Ford and VW, in a pursuit to develop, test and eventually commercialize its automated driving system.
The initial Ford investment came at a particularly hype-y time for the nascent autonomous vehicle industry. Startups, many founded by early pioneers of Google’s self-driving project, were landing eye-popping venture capital deals. A string of acquisitions followed: GM bought Cruise for $1 billion in 2016; Delphi, which is now Aptiv, acquired nuTonomy for $450 million; and Amazon bought Zoox.
The promises around commercializing AV technology have proven more difficult than expected. A wave of consolidation washed over the industry with companies folding, being absorbed into other companies, including Apple. Others, turned to the public market either through a traditional IPO like TuSimple, or by merging with a special purpose acquisition company as Aurora did in hopes of gaining the capital it needs to continue its mission.
Argo seemed to be gaining ground in the past year. The company’s self-driving Ford Fusion vehicles, and now Ford Escape Hybrids, were frequently seen testing on public roads in Austin, Detroit, Miami, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh, where it is headquartered. In the EU, Argo was using the all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz for its testing programs in Hamburg and Munich. Argo also has several pilot programs underway in Austin, Miami and Pittsburgh with Lyft, Walmart and 412 Food Rescue.
Just last month the company revealed an ecosystem of products and services designed to support commercial delivery and robotaxi operations. The products — a list that includes fleet management software, data analytics, high-definition mapping and cloud-based communication tools — stretches far beyond the self-driving system that allows a vehicle to navigate city streets without a human driver behind the wheel. Argo appeared to be telling the world it was open for business.
“We are incredibly grateful for the dedication of the Argo AI team, and so proud of our achievements together,” Salesky and Rander said in a statement. “The team consistently delivered above and beyond, and we expect to see success for everyone in whatever comes next, including the opportunities presented by Ford and VW to continue their work on automated driving technology.”
Ford is looking to increase its profitability in Europe, and it feels the best way to get there is to inject a more American attitude into its marketing. As it moves toward a fully-electric vehicle lineup, Ford needs to increase profitability, and one of the first steps will be discontinuing the Fiesta and Focus.
The Blue Oval’s decision in Europe sounds similar to the moves it made here a few years ago. Ford discontinued the Fiesta, Focus, Taurus, C-Max, and Flex between 2018 and 2019, leaving the Mustang as the only car in its catalog. Shifting away from cars allowed the automaker to focus on more profitable SUVs and trucks.
The Fiesta and Focus are the targets of this action, which should yield a similar result for the automaker in Europe. The Focus will depart in 2025, while the Fiesta takes a bow in 2023. Ford said its plans include three new EVs in the next two years, though, so it's not cutting back on the number of models it offers.
That could make it more likely that we’ll see electric replacements for those cars instead of their demise. Still, we know that two of the upcoming models will ride on VW’s MEB platform, so the Focus and Fiesta replacements could be small crossovers instead – more American, indeed. Ford said it will push prospective Focus buyers to an electric version of the Puma, a small crossover that launches in 2024.
Ford is leaning into marketing lingo for other models. The Mustang comes with a “Wild Performance” tagline, while the Puma’s is “Urban Escape.” “Active Adventure” awaits Explorer buyers, while the Ranger is billed as the “Ultimate Outdoor” vehicle. Whether these claims and marketing do anything to boost Ford’s fortunes on the continent is yet to be seen, but the automaker is not the sales juggernaut there that it is here.
Autonews reported that Ford carried just a 4.7 percent market share in the first ten months of this year, compared to 24.6 percent for VW Group and 18.8 percent for Stellantis. Unlike its operations in North America, Ford’s footprint is smaller in Europe, so it can’t rely on cost savings brought on by high production and sales volumes. At the same time, it can’t price its vehicles higher than competitive models, so profitability is lower.
Ford hopes this marketing shift will help it sell more profitable vehicles instead of just increasing sales volumes. The automaker is also changing how it sells cars in Europe, moving to direct-sales models where it bills customers directly and pays dealers a small fixed fee. Ford believes that the single price model simplifies the sales process and the retail situation since fewer dealers will be needed to service the same number of customers.
Two years ago, Unifor president Jerry Dias made it clear that Oakville would be repurposed for no fewer than five all-electric vehicles in the period between 2024 and 2028. The Ford Motor Company has recently committed $1.8 billion to reconfigure the Oakville Assembly Complex into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, signaling the end of the Edge and Lincoln Nautilus for the U.S. market in favor of zero-emission successors.
Oakville will be home to a brand-new Explorer EV, different from the European model that features the Volkswagen MEB platform of the ID.4 crossover. The Nautilus, on the other hand, is believed to be replaced by an electric take on the Aviator baptized Aviator eGT.
Both replacements are said to be produced on the GE2 platform, confirmed by the Dearborn-based automaker in May 2021 alongside a body-on-frame platform by the name of TE1. The GE2 will also be shared with the second generation of the Mustang Mach-E crossover.
The F-150 Lightning is getting the TE1, and given time, the body-on-frame platform will also be employed by all-electric versions of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. Also worthy of note, there's a zero-emission Bronco and an electric Ranger in the offing as well.
Ford will start retooling the Oakville Assembly Complex in Q2 of 2024, with production of next-gen electric vehicles to being in 2025. Following the $1.8 billion investment, the Ontario-based facility will be known as the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex. One assembly building, one paint building, and three body shops currently comprise the complex, which prepares to welcome an on-site battery plant.
The 407,000 square-foot plant will use cells and arrays from the BlueOval SK Battery Park, a Kentucky-based joint venture between the second-largest automaker in the U.S. and the SK Group, the second-largest industrial colossus in South Korea after the Samsung Group.
Even though Ford has recently taken the veils off a brand-new Edge crossover, that one's for China rather than North America. The same applies to the Nautilus that was previously sold under the MKX nameplate.
The China-spec Edge and Nautilus are both manufactured by the Changan Ford joint venture in the Zhejiang province. Over in the United States, the Edge and Nautilus come with four-cylinder turbo and V6 twin-turbo engines on the CD4 platform of the discontinued Fusion and MKZ sedans. Noticeably inferior to the Explorer and Aviator, these fellows aren't particularly affordable either at $37,945 and $44,825.
The 2022 sales report from the Ford Motor Company also reveals dwindling sales for the Nautilus in the United States, where it moved 15.6 percent fewer units than in 2021. The Edge posted a 0.3 percent year-over-year increase, racking up 85,465 deliveries in 2022. For reference, the Explorer sold 207,673 units in the US.
I never liked the Edge.
Have driven a couple of the current gen ST & had one for a loaner while my Explorer was in the shop. Something about the driving position, you feel like you sit on it not in it, IMO.
I think a SWB RWD Explorer would be much better, similar to the SWB Grand Cherokee.
05-17-2021, 09:50 PM
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Image Credits: Ford
