$132k is just the total loss of the EV division divided by the number of cars sold. It says nothing about the incremental loss with each new car built. Ford (and most companies not named Tesla) are losing money with every EV they sell, because it costs more to build than they can sell it for, but wrapping R&D into that number is just financial doom mongering.
Or is an effort to sell the shareholders on abandoning EVs and thereby sealing Ford’s fate to be out of business in 10-20 years as Studebaker and Packard before them.
Gawd save us from psychopathic MBAs. And I are one, albeit not one in command of a multi-billion dollar planet-scale enterprise.
I see a parallel between the auto industry and the streaming business. In the electric car industry only Tesla is profitable and it’s also one of the few pure players in the business. Meanwhile, Netflix may be the only profitable streaming service and it too is one of the only pure players in the streaming business.
And yet both had to spend billions to establish their industry. (The Tesla supercharger network, for example.)
I spotted truck with solar panels on the aero cowl, not sure I’ve ever noticed them before. It looks like they’re just for aux power units but probably good for long distance truckers to avoid idling.
Don’t plan on getting a Chinese EV:
The Automotive Cold War Is Officially Underway: The White House plans to slap 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, according to The Wall Street Journal.
https://insideevs.com/news/719283/chinese-ev-tariffs-biden-quadruple/
Well, at least Jason Torchinsky got his Changli before the tariff hit…
(Long series of hilarious articles on Jalopnik.com as he imported it, and set about fixing minor bits with twisty-ties… here another car writer drives it:
Here we talk about self-driving cars and the other advances in auto technology, yet:
I’m hanging on to my 14YO 203,000 mile (Dodge!) truck because it still works just fine. Cars really took a huge leap forward in quality and longevity in the first part of this century. My MY 2000 Ford 150 was pretty clapped out at 100,000 miles, although I note that I donated it to our county and it is in fact still on the road.
Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru, all lagging in the EV market, are combining forces to develop new ICE motors.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60926217/toyota-subaru-mazda-engine-development/
More consequences, these are Toyota models.
Fisker files for bankruptcy.
Oceans are under 30k now. Still not cheap enough.
Well there’s bankruptcy as in “Chapter 7 and we close the doors forever in a few days”, and there’s bankruptcy as in “Chapter 11 and we continue limping along making and selling cars and spare parts for at least a couple more years, while wiping out all our shareholders now, and selling some new set of fools more debt for us to burn through later.”
For shareholders the difference is moot; they’re pretty much hosed to the last penny either way. For dealers, car owners, and car buyers the two moves lead to very different places. At least at first.
Another famed car supplier files for bankruptcy.
My son is thinking about buying an ’03 F-150 4x4 Lariat. 152K miles. 5.4L V8.
It has had replaced recently (and there are receipts):
• intake manifold
• fuel injectors
• head gaskets
• timing chains, guides, tensioners
• front brakes
• alternator
A family member has owned it for several years so we know its history. It was owned by a soccer mom so has never – at least while she’s owned it – been taken off road or otherwise treated like a truck. My question for all of you before he pulls the trigger is, is there anything I should look out for? Any known issues with this pickup?
(I thought about starting a new thread, but it’s not really worth it.)
Is this the Ford 3-valve V8? It has a terrible reputation, and is thought of by many as a “run away” level of problematic. I think the problem is that if the oil is not changed exactly in accordance with the maintenance schedule, it can create sludge which eventually blocks oil passages, ruining the engine.
I’m not sure how to determine if it’s a 3 valve. All I know is it’s a 5.4L.
They also have a reputation for harmonic vibration breaking the bottom part of the spark plug off and dropping it into the cylinder. I had a MY2000 and it was kinda a nightmare. YMMV.
The fact any of that work was done on a post-2000s engine suggests it’s a total POS. That shit should last the life of the engine which ought to be 300K miles.
I bet it’s the engine model with the known shitty durability mentioned upthread. And with no assurance that all the parts destined to fail prematurely have already done so.
A quick search on F-150 5.4L 2 valve vs 3 valve shows that the problematic 3 valve was used starting in 2004, so this truck should have the 2 valve engine. The main issue with the 2 valve was spark plug threads and timing chain guide wear. Since the timing chain guide has been replaced, I would consider this truck. Is the asking price reasonable?