More Ford Motor Company woes...

[MWmetalhead]

Electrical issues on a Ford? Consider me shocked! (See what I did there?)

https://www.clickondetroit.com/business ... xpectedly/

Yet another issue caused by piss poor engineering.

[kager]

Messing with their bread and butter, there. Dinks.

Their experience with EVs will be much better.

[km1125]

You'd think after being in the business over 100 years they'd have some things nailed down pretty good. Crazy that some start ups in the industry are doing almost as good, or better.

[Honeyman]

I'm going to look at a Mustang Mach E Premium on Tuesday. What do you guys know about that? Gets great writeups from Car and Driver and a lot of others.

[craig11152]

I have an old friend, now just a Facebook acquaintance, in the car sales business. For many years he worked for Chevrolet and used to love banging on Ford.
Now he is the general manager of the Ford dealership in Gaylord.

[Turkeytop]

I've never owned a Ford vehicle. I've come close a couple of times to buying one but something always happened at the last minute that the deal never went through.

[MWmetalhead]

I'm going to look at a Mustang Mach E Premium on Tuesday. What do you guys know about that? Gets great writeups from Car and Driver and a lot of others.

Buying or leasing? I think buying one would be a terrible idea unless you can get a great deal; they depreciate quickly. They are also unreliable.

Are you still out west in California? If so - do you reside & travel in the portion of the state that stays mild all winter? Ford EVs have atrocious battery life in cold weather.

Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with what tax incentives California may or may not offer on new EV purchases.

https://insideevs.com/news/623888/ford- ... r-reports/

https://jalopnik.com/ford-mustang-mach- ... 1850632717

Other reliability issues aside, the obnoxiously large digital display screens inside the cabin - coupled with Ford's notorious electronics reliability reputation - would be enough to dissuade me. Not my cup of tea. I realize some people like those massive display screens.

[TC Talks]

Electrical issues on a Ford? Consider me shocked! (See what I did there?)

https://www.clickondetroit.com/business ... xpectedly/

Yet another issue caused by piss poor engineering.

I love that the remedy is a zip tie. That's some quality right there.

[Rate This]

Electrical issues on a Ford? Consider me shocked! (See what I did there?)

https://www.clickondetroit.com/business ... xpectedly/

Yet another issue caused by piss poor engineering.

I love that the remedy is a zip tie. That's some quality right there.

You’re tying up a bunch of wires… what do you recommend they use?

[TC Talks]

Electrical issues on a Ford? Consider me shocked! (See what I did there?)

https://www.clickondetroit.com/business ... xpectedly/

Yet another issue caused by piss poor engineering.

I love that the remedy is a zip tie. That's some quality right there.

You’re tying up a bunch of wires… what do you recommend they use?

I understand the goal, and they are probably using a mighty sturdy nylon. You generally see a wiring harness use a sheathing that creates a sealed channel in the underbody. Zip ties can pinch and cut wires if someone pulls on the wiring harness.

I once owned a Volvo when ford owned them. They placed the electronic fuel control module (kind of important part) on the outside of the wheel well exposed to the elements. It failed to often, that an online tech manual designed a remedy placing it under the back seat, keeping it dry.

Ford is not the best at predicting problems with their engineering.

[Honeyman]

I'm going to look at a Mustang Mach E Premium on Tuesday. What do you guys know about that? Gets great writeups from Car and Driver and a lot of others.

Buying or leasing? I think buying one would be a terrible idea unless you can get a great deal; they depreciate quickly. They are also unreliable.

Are you still out west in California? If so - do you reside & travel in the portion of the state that stays mild all winter? Ford EVs have atrocious battery life in cold weather.

Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with what tax incentives California may or may not offer on new EV purchases.

https://insideevs.com/news/623888/ford- ... r-reports/

https://jalopnik.com/ford-mustang-mach- ... 1850632717

Other reliability issues aside, the obnoxiously large digital display screens inside the cabin - coupled with Ford's notorious electronics reliability reputation - would be enough to dissuade me. Not my cup of tea. I realize some people like those massive display screens.

Thanks, MW. I'm still in CA., the Central Coast now. I believe the incentive is around $3500. I've really been looking for a PHEV, specifically the Hyundai Tuscon, but those have been hard to find. I love the look of the Mustang, but haven't driven one. I'll go play on Tuesday and see what I think.

[audiophile]

Ford EV division has lost billion dollars in the last year, for overpriced vehicles hardly anyone wants with shaky reviews.

Who wants an F-150 pulling trailer that goes 100 miles before needing a lengthy recharge?

EV should have been implemented in small cars first. Perfect it there, then bring it larger models over time.

[Honeyman]

The Mustang seems to be highly reviewed from C&D, Motor Trend and others, but I know you guys are really in tune. I'm not in a situation where I need a car, I would just like something larger than my Volt. And would like something at least partially electric. I think a plug-in hybrid is still a wise move after owning one for 3+ years. Most of my driving is electric, and I never worry if I'm getting low on a charge.

[MWmetalhead]

I'd certainly choose PHEV over pure EV. Even if the battery charge fizzles, you can get around just fine on gasoline power and regenerative braking. The comment I made earlier about cold winter weather is much more applicable to pure EV applications.

To avoid any potential misconception for various readers of this thread, the Mach-E is a pure EV, not a PHEV.

Unfortunately, the automakers who have gone gung-ho with PHEVs and/or EVs are generally the same automakers who suffer from reliability issues in their ICE models (Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford and Lincoln). Luxury models are a whole different ballgame (and not for the better), so I'm not even going to go there.

Ironically, in hindsight, the Chevy Volt, not to be confused with the similarly named Chevy Bolt, actually turned out to be a rather decent car - especially when taking its early adopter PHEV status into account.

I'd go Toyota RAV 4 Prime if you're willing to settle for a PHEV instead of EV, pay over MSRP and wait an eternity for delivery. Otherwise, given the disappointingly limited list of vehicles from which to choose, especially when taking price into consideration, the Mach-E might not be a bad move. Ford's dealers aren't as slimy as most Kia or Hyundai dealers when it comes to service work under warranty. A fair number of Mach-E vehicles have been sitting on dealer lots for quite a while, although that might not be nearly as common in California. You may be able to get one for under MSRP.

While I'm on the topic of Toyota vehicles, I'd avoid the hideous (and idiotically named) bz4x EV that recently hit the market. Horrendous design both inside and out.

Is it essential for your next car to be a pure EV? Going PHEV or especially regenerative braking hybrid would expand the list of potential vehicles considerably.

There will be more options on the market next year in terms of PHEVs and true EVs. The Mazda CX-70, for example, will be on the market as a PHEV and the Chevy Blazer will have a full EV model available. The larger Mazda CX-90 (201" in length), which does come with a PHEV option, I believe is now available for purchase, but I have no idea how long delivery lead time is. May also have extreme difficulty finding one to test drive. The fabric-like material Mazda uses for the CX-90's dash on the passenger side does annoy me. Looks like it'd be a massive dust magnet and would also potentially be vulnerable to staining from spilled drinks.

I will say this - the Mach-E does have impressive power delivery; I cannot argue that. 0 to 60 time is phenomenal (of course, "gunning it" will drain the battery).

Every late model Ford vehicle in which I've driven or ridden also has comfortable seats; that is one thing Ford does very well, in my opinion.

[Honeyman]

Thanks for all the input, MW. I was very intersted in the RAV4 PHEV,but when I last looked at Toyotas, none were available and they said they would sell me one for 10K over sticker and I might get it in 6 months. Not sure if things are better now.

I had a Santa Fe for almost 300K and did nothing but basic maintenance so I like Hyundai. I'll be looking around at a few. As I mentioned, I don't have to get a car so I don't have a specific deadline.