Ford

We generally don’t comment on the reshuffling of corner offices at an OEM – but when the design boss at a Detroit Three automaker allegedly sends an email out of the blue saying ‘peace out’, it’s worth sitting up and taking notice.

Today we bring you a 2012 Ford Focus SE.

American automakers have grappled with the rollercoaster ups and downs of EV demand domestically, but it appears they’re having an equally difficult time convincing Europeans. Ford recently backed off its goal to convert 100 percent of its sales to electrics on the Old Continent, noting that it would follow buyer demand and produce more hybrids or PHEVs.

Ford has announced its new dealership training platform for the United States, noting that it will utilize artificial intelligence to better familiarize sales teams with product knowledge, corporate history, while likewise making them better at engaging with customers.

It’s a bit of a shame that I didn’t have a chance to take the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R I tested off road. I’d have loved to have jumped some sand dunes or done some muddin’.

Ford hasn’t had the best luck with profitability on its electric vehicle business, but the automaker is not shying away from aiming at the cheaper end of the EV spectrum. CEO Jim Farley recently confirmed that the company would purse sub-$30,000 electric models with its next-generation product line, and said that its existing models would become better in the meantime.

The entertaining Ford Heritage Vault is a treasure trove of photos and information from the Blue Oval’s yesteryear, including the scattered forgotten concept vehicle. Whilst looking for details to inform another story, we stumbled upon this fantastic concept from when the Ford Explorer was brand new and taking the world by storm.

It is flummoxing when automakers decide to saddle an enormous expanse of digital real estate with relatively few display options. Sure, the whole so-called Calm Screen from Hackett-era products at Ford was a fine idea – but not without supplementary options from which to choose.

Fortunately, someone at Ford finally plowed through the red tape and infused the new Mustang with entertaining choices. First, a Fox Body-style gauge option was on tap, a neat throwback now joined by a display selection inspired by the 1967-1968 model years. Best of all, it found its way into cars by way of an over-the-air update.

Ford's popular Maverick pickup truck gets only minor changes for 2024. That's a good thing, since there's a reason the Maverick is well-liked.

The Ford Motor Company is offering a limited appearance package for the 2025 model year of the Mustang, stating that there will be just 1,965 examples to commemorate the car’s introductory year. As previously teased by the automaker, the model will receive special badging, decals, and wheels that hearken back to the original.

Following a nine-week hold on F-150 Lightning allocations to dealers, Ford has announced it will be resuming shipments. Meanwhile, Tesla reportedly delayed Cybertruck deliveries. The rumor is that it needed to address some quality concerns. But the reasons assumed vary and the company hasn’t said anything about the issue, and likely won’t since it disbanded its PR department years ago. However, this may not be the victory for Blue Oval that it appears.

The original Ford Taurus first appeared as a 1986 model, going through three generations and nearly 10 million sales (counting the Mercury Sable) before getting the axe in October of 2006. That made 2007 the final model year for the "real" Taurus, and I've found one of these rare cars in a New Orleans self-service junkyard.

The Ford Bronco Sport might not be the rugged, go-anywhere SUV that its larger cousin is, but it’s a formidable off-roader in its own right. It’s also surprisingly affordable for what it brings to the table, and a new report from CarsDirect suggests it’s about to get even less expensive.

We’ve talked at length about Tesla’s troubles with driver monitoring and crashes tied to its semi-autonomous driver assistance features, but now, it’s Ford’s turn under the microscope. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently announced that it would investigate a fatal crash that happened in early March involving a Ford Mustang Mach-E and two cars on the interstate in Philadelphia.

Today's UCOTD is a 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt with 95,000 miles on the clock and plenty of mods.

The Ford Bronco Raptor was already expensive enough even without dealer markups, but the automaker has figured out a way to make it even pricier. Under the darkness of the eclipse on Monday, Ford announced the Bronco Raptor Black Appearance Package. The $4,995 option adds to the $90,305 (before destination) starting price and mostly amounts to decals and painted exterior trim to the beefy SUV without changing its performance or capability.

Disappointing EV demand can be blamed on several factors, ranging from the toxic political situation in the U.S. to concerns about driving range and charging. One factor that is coming into clear focus is pricing, as Ford recently found out with the Mustang Mach-E. In response to flagging demand, the automaker cut prices on the electric SUV and has seen an uptick in sales as a result, showing that cost remains a significant hurdle for many prospective buyers.

It’s not uncommon to see a poorly modified vehicle having technical difficulties, but it’s extremely rare to see a factory-modified vehicle experiencing the same issues. That’s the problem that Ford is having with the Transit Trail van, which was recently recalled for having tires that are too big, causing rubbing.

Ford took a victory lap this week after realizing the Mustang is now the only traditional front-engine, rear-drive, V8-powered American sports coupe that’s still available after 60 years on the market. To commemorate the achievement, the brand debuted a special red and black logo it said was inspired by the badging and wheel center caps on the Mustang that debuted at the 1964 World’s Fair. This is apparently tied to a 60th Anniversary Appearance Package the brand will soon be offering and a digitized “special feature” that will be made available on April 17th.

I just tested a 2023 Ford F-150 Tremor -- yes, 2023s are still in the press fleets and this isn't unusual, no big deal -- which is supposed to split the difference between the badass off-roader Raptor and the "regular" F-150.

Does it do that? Read on.

The 2016 Ford Focus RS has been beloved around these parts for being fun to drive. Today we feature a low-mileage example out of the Pacific Northwest.

A few weeks ago, Ford announced that it had created an internal skunkworks team to focus on affordable EVs and a new platform to underpin them. Bloomberg recently reported more deeply on the project, noting that The Blue Oval may be planning up to three new electric models on the new architecture, including a compact SUV and a small pickup truck.

Tesla’s Autopilot and Full-Self Driving tech have been under scrutiny for a while now over their repeated failure to stop collisions and monitor driver behavior. Now, it’s Ford’s turn under the spotlight with its BlueCruise system. The NTSB said it wants to find out if the system was in use when a Mustang Mach-E was involved in a deadly crash in San Antonio, Texas.

Ford has trademarked an interesting name from its back catalog. Oval has filed trademarks for "RS200" and "Ford RS200" within the European Union Intellectual Property Office, according to our sister publication.

Ford was the first company to announce a move to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), and the automaker is now the first to offer access to the Supercharger network. The Blue Oval announced that its customers can now get a free Fast Charging Adapter that lets their vehicles access Tesla’s chargers.

Ford has stopped shipments of the 2024 F-150 Lightning, but not because there isn’t demand for the electric truck. The automaker said it stopped deliveries on February 9 to conduct quality inspections, but production is still rolling at the automaker’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center.

Today we're back after a brief hiatus. We haven't had a Mustang in this spot in a while, so we're featuring a 1998 Ford Mustang GT convertible on this fine Friday.

Ford is said to be in early stages of dumping parking assistance features on future models because drivers aren’t using the feature enough. Active Park Assist has been around for over a decade at this point. However, the computer-guided parallel parking feature is supposedly not going to be appearing in future models as a way to help the automaker cut production costs.

Last week, Ford CEO Jim Farley asked a group of dealers for some open and honest feedback while promising to spend the next few weeks visiting showrooms. The point was to create a conversation between the automaker and dealerships that have grown annoyed with some of the changes Ford has been asking them to make. However, the latest from the North American Dealers Association (NADA) meeting makes it sound like the relationship may still be dicey.

Ford was the first company to announce a move to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), explaining that its vehicles would soon be able to seamlessly charge at Supercharger locations across the country. The automaker hadn’t detailed the transition and steps owners need to take to charge until recently, when it confirmed that owners would be able to charge using the FordPass app instead of needing a separate Tesla app.

The Ford Explorer has been among the top-selling SUVs for years, but the current generation is a bit stale. Ford’s solving that in 2025 with a refreshed Explorer that brings a new face, an updated interior, and new tech.

Following fears that Ford’s electric vehicle supply chain may represent a national security issue, concerned legislators are doubling down by outlining the path battery components are required to take in order to get here. On Monday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) accused the automaker of having plans that required contracting technology and software firms with close ties to both the Chinese and North Korean governments. 

Electric vehicle demand among potential buyers is growing, but it’s slower than many had hoped. That said, commercial buyers, especially those with large fleets, may be the short-term savior for automakers with deep EV investments. Ford recently announced that Ecolab would purchase more than 1,000 EVs to electrify its California operations through the next year.

After facing significant challenges ramping up production and meeting customer demand for the F-150 Lightning, Ford recently announced layoffs that will drastically cut volume at its electric vehicle factory in Michigan.

While there are plenty of people that remain annoyed that the Ford Mustang Mach-E continues carrying the Mustang name, the vehicle itself is probably one of the better examples from the electric-crossover segment. Hoping to sweeten the pot, Ford has elected to offer the vehicle with an optional appearance package and some new paint options allowing for one of the best color combinations in automotive history — bronze and green. 

Ford has long offered beefy off-road variants of the F-Series pickup, but the electric F-150 Lightning’s introduction raised questions about how robust a non-internal-combustion truck could be in the dirt. Ford Performance and RTR recently teamed up to find answers to those questions, and the result is the F-150 Lightning Switchgear, a high-performance concept truck with Raptor-like looks.

We’ve often said that building cars is hard – and those difficulties don’t always end even after a company stops making them. It’s like bad news coming in even after one has turned off their phone. 

Ford was the most-recalled automaker in 2023, and it had one more to slide in before the new year rolled in. The company is recalling more than 100,000 F-150s for an issue with the rear axle hub bolt that could cause it to break and make a crash or rollaway more likely. Ford issued the recall on December 22.

Over the long holiday weekend I had a conversation about muscle cars from the late '60s/early '70s -- and also saw a bunch of them being posted on the Twitter/X account of a famous performance-car builder.

I enjoyed seeing the Camaros and Chevelle SSs and whatever else. It helped put a smile on my face after the weird year that was 2023. When gazing at a particularly lovely restored Chevelle SS, I thought to myself "man that's what a '60s/'70s muscle car looks like."

Then I realized there were several models that could be the primary representative of that era.

Today we bring you a Fox body that's ready to race. This 1991 Ford Mustang is setup for drag racing.

Today's UCOTD is a low-mileage, special-edition pony car. A 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt, to be precise.

The Ford F-150 Raptor is an impressive truck, but it spent a few sad years without a V8 option as the automaker opted for a less exciting but still powerful V6. That changed in recent years with the introduction of the new F-150 Raptor R, which sports a supercharged V8, and the truck is getting more power for 2024.

Ford has seen more ups and downs with the F-150 Lightning than with almost any other product in recent memory. The automaker struggled to keep pace with early demand and even had to temporarily shutter production to deal with battery issues before announcing a ramp-up to push more trucks to market. Now, it appears the Blue Oval is pumping the brakes on that expansion, as Automotive News reported a recent memo to suppliers previews a somewhat slower year ahead.

Earlier this year, the rules around EV tax credits seemed to be changing every other week. While things have calmed down since then, we’re about to see more action on the topic, as the Treasury recently released new guidance on battery materials sourcing that will upend credits for some EVs. The Ford Mustang Mach-E is one of them, as it may lose the partial credit it currently qualifies for.

I have a soft spot for Bullitt Mustangs, and this 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt that comes to us by way of New Mexico has piqued my interest.

Eagle-eyed fans of the Blue Oval brand have spied a new trademark filing, one which could hold promise for a future performance – street or off-road – variant of the Lightning pickup truck.

Ford doesn’t sell the Fiesta, Fusion, or Lincoln MKZ in the United States anymore, but the automaker recently recalled all three for an interesting problem. High temperatures can crack part of the rear door latch, causing the door to open while driving.

Automakers work hard to stop leaks and make sure their products are kept under wraps until the time is right. They’re not always successful, however, and sometimes the leaks come from outside the company. This time, it’s the UAW’s documents giving out more info than Ford probably wants, as it recently confirmed that Mustang production will end in 2028.

Most of us figured out long ago that, if we complain enough, it’s possible to get what we want. Off-road gearheads on this side of the pond (including this author) whined expressed an interest in the last-gen Ranger Raptor but that truck stayed on the other side of the pond. Now, we have a date for the ’24 model in America: The first quarter of 2024.

The 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Limited is purely all about nostalgia. Thankfully, the platform upon which it’s built is good enough to indulge the trip down memory lane.

In other words, if you’re buying this trim of the Bronco Sport, you’re almost certainly doing so because you like the way it looks and/or you like its nod to the past.

It’s the end of an era that many of you probably thought ended years ago: The Ford Crown Victoria’s time as a taxi on the streets of NYC is coming to a close, as the last two cars still eligible for duty are aging out.

The Ford F-150 Raptor R is a seriously impressive truck with an equally serious price tag that puts it out of reach for most buyers. An Alabama Ford dealer has a solution, however, in the form of a base F-150 XL with a Roush supercharger and other upgrades.

Ford has said it will restart construction on the electric vehicle battery facility it’s building in Marshall, Michigan, after pausing work when the UAW strike kicked off a couple months ago. But the company has also announced that it would be “re-timing and resizing some investments.”

In what could be a tacit admission the transition to electric vehicles is going approximately as smoothly as a Michigan secondary road, it is being reported that suits at the Blue Oval are rolling back some of the requirements demanded of dealers in order to shill EVs to customers.

Sometimes, a trim level just feels unnecessary. That’s the case with the 2023 Ford Maverick Tremor.

While the United Auto Workers’ contract seems to be a done deal for all three Detroit-based automakers, Ford is the only brand that’s issued any formal statements on ratification thus far. But there’s not much to pick apart in the release. The company avoided opportunities to promote itself as the brand that seemed most willing to accommodate the UAW and only brushed against assertions that paying workers more would add to its operational costs.

Despite several large facilities voting against the UAW labor contract negotiated with Detroit automakers, the deal has been ratified by union members from both General Motors and Stellantis. This is based on the UAW’s own vote tracker and has put to bed any serious fears that GM might have to reenter negotiations.

While Ford’s voting hasn’t yet reached the point where we can say anything definitive, its negotiations with the union also went the best. The Blue Oval offered sweeter deals than rival automakers and sooner, too. It’s on the brink of ratification and may even have reached that point by the time you’re reading this.

Showing up today on the Instagram account belonging to Jim Farley, a shadowy teaser image portends some sort of new trim for the Mustang. A few simple adjustments to the photo’s brightness characteristics reveal there could be a GT/CS trim in the pipeline for next year.

It’s still difficult to buy a Ford Maverick and Bronco, both now a few years out from their initial releases, but there’s more on the way. The popular compact pickup and off-road SUV could be getting new variants soon, as the keen eyes at Motor 1 picked out language in its third-quarter sales results that could indicate fresh versions of both vehicles are on the way.

Catering to the overlanding crowd (or at least people who wish to look like they’re into the scene – we’ll call them broverlanders), Ford introduced a brace of ORV packages at the SEMA Show. Featuring bumpers, lights, and lifts, one is for the Ranger while another is for the Bronco.