Free Republic

American automakers have long prided themselves on building vehicles that meet the real needs of hardworking families and businesses across the country. Yet, recent revelations from Ford’s leadership paint a different picture when it comes to the rush into electric vehicles. Former Ford CEO Mark Fields openly acknowledged that the industry charged ahead with massive EV investments, overlooking what consumers actually wanted. Fields, who led Ford from 2014 to 2017, pointed out the misstep during a discussion on the rapid buildup of EV production. “Over the last couple of years, the automakers really went full bore in putting in capacity...

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Ford (F.N), opens new tab is recalling nearly 625,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to seatbelt and rear-view camera display problems, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday. The seatbelt recall affects 332,778 Ford Mustang vehicles, while the camera display issue recall covers 291,901 F-250, F-350 and F-450 super duty trucks, according to NHTSA notices.

The leader of Canada’s most populous province called for economic retaliation on the U.S. after auto company Stellantis said it was moving planned production of its Jeep Compass from Canada to the U.S. Ontario Premier Doug Ford blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for the company’s decision this week to shift production of the SUV from Brampton, Ontario, to Illinois as part of plan to invest $13 billion to expand its manufacturing capacity in the United States. The comments come as Canada is negotiating to reduce tariffs. Trump has been urging the Big 3 American automakers to move production to the...

Weeks after a devastating factory fire, Ford will stop building some of its most profitable, American-made SUVs. The automaker is halting production of the three-row Expedition and the luxury Lincoln Navigator, two of its biggest cash cows, for a week. The pause will next week likely extend to the Super Duty range of workhorse pickups next week. All three are built at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant. Ford's manufacturing issues stem from a September 16 three-alarm blaze at a Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego, New York. Novelis, the world's largest recycler of aluminum and supplier of 40 percent of the metal...

Robotics has catapulted Beijing into a dominant position in many industries “It’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ford’s chief executive about his recent trip to China. After visiting a string of factories, Jim Farley was left astonished by the technical innovations being packed into Chinese cars – from self-driving software to facial recognition. “Their cost and the quality of their vehicles is far superior to what I see in the West,” Farley warned… “We are in a global competition with China, [and it’s not just EVs]. And if we lose this, we do not have a future...

The federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit expires at midnight, ending a 17-year policy pillar that helped close the price gap with gasoline vehicles and turbocharged adoption; the immediate fallout is likely softer demand, leaner EV production, and a strategic pivot by legacy automakers toward hybrids and profitable ICE (internal combustion engine) nameplates, while stopgap leasing workarounds cushion some of the blow. The end of the subsidy is a structural shock already rippling upstream: Battery makers face a growing U.S. surplus and shelved factory plans, undermining stated reshoring ambitions and setting up a whipsaw risk of future shortages if capacity...

Hertz's partnership with Amazon is another step in the e-commerce giant's slow march into auto sales. The deal could be a boon for the rental car giant, which is trying to sell more of its cars directly to consumers. Some experts say the shift toward direct online sales, especially involving e-commerce giants like Amazon, could spell trouble for dealerships, possibly even large publicly traded companies such as AutoNation, Group1, Sonic Automotive, Penske, and Asbury. Wholesale auction companies such as Manheim and AVC are also liable to be watching the shift, as direct to consumer sales could threaten their inventories. Why...

Sara Jane Moore, the would-be assassin of President Gerald Ford, died Wednesday at a nursing facility in Franklin. She was 95. Moore’s death came two days after the 50th anniversary of her attempt to kill Ford outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco in 1975. Her actions followed Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme’s attempt to assassinate Ford just 17 days earlier in Sacramento. The two events were unconnected. Moore was sentenced to life in prison. She attempted to escape in 1979, but was captured after a few hours. She was released on parole in 2007. In 2022, she moved to Bellevue...

On September 5, 1975, in Sacramento, California, a woman named Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme had attempted to shoot Ford. On September 22, 1975, Sara Jane Moore aimed a gun at President Gerald Ford as he left the Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

Nelson Rockafeller would have become President.

Texas Instruments is building a $60 billion U.S. manufacturing megaproject where Apple vows to make "critical foundation semiconductors" for iPhones and other devices. CNBC went to Sherman, Texas, for an exclusive first look inside the newest fab of seven TI's building in Utah and Texas to provide U.S.-made chips to customers like Nvidia and Ford. TI shares have suffered amid tariff concerns, and it's lost analog market share for several years, but top leaders are confident about the huge spend. Why Texas Instruments Is Betting $60 Billion On Making Cheap Chips In The U.S. | 15:41 CNBC | 4.01M subscribers...

Once a symbol of rural grit, the presence of the best-selling pickup truck in a song may now mean something else.Country singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette drives a white Ford F-150 pickup truck, a gift from her cattle-rancher grandfather when he retired from driving. “He called me and said, ‘Hey, sug, I got a 2010 F-150 with sixty thousand miles on it, and I was wondering if you’d drive it for me,’ ” the native Texan, who grew up in Lewisville, recalls. “I still drive that truck to this day; I’ll never get rid of it. It keeps me connected to him...

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A mechanic working on a 2015 Ford Edge brought into his Minnesota shop made a startling discovery under the hood: a wallet that had been lost by a Michigan Ford plant worker 11 years earlier. Richard Guilford, who is now retired, said he remembers the day he lost his wallet while working on vehicles that had been shipped to the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne after coming off the assembly line in Chicago with electrical issues "I never wore sweatpants to work, but I did that day," he told KARE-TV. "And I had my wallet in...

A Minnesota mechanic made a long lost discovery in an SUV he was working on. He found a wallet belonging to a former employee lost 11 years ago.

The preliminary agreement suggests there is a path forward to lowering the auto duties on other major trading partners, as well.President Donald Trump’s “massive” trade deal with Japan is buoying foreign carmakers — and alarming American car companies who fear they are now at a disadvantage.Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on all foreign auto manufacturers in early April, a duty that also applies to cars made by U.S. companies from parts imported from Mexico and Canada. But now, the president is planning to lower the tariff to 15 percent for Japanese autos and auto parts, the White House confirmed...

With the federal EV incentive set to expire at the end of September, Ford is urging its dealers to prepare for a rush of buyers. Ford warns dealers of upcoming EV rush Like most automakers, Ford is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration. After the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law on July 4, the $7,500 and $4,000 tax credit for new and used EVs will no longer be available after September 30. In a memo sent to dealers this week, Ford warned, “demand is expected to increase as the deadline approaches for eligible vehicles.” The...

NEW YORK (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 850,000 of its cars across the U.S. because the low-pressure fuel pump inside the vehicles may fail — and potentially cause an engine stall while driving, increasing crash risks. The recall covers a wide range of Ford and Lincoln-branded vehicles made in recent model years. That includes certain Ford Broncos, Explorers and F-150s, as well as Lincoln Aviators and Navigators, documents published this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration note.

Are you a child of the 1980s or 1990s? Your ideal new/old Mustang is here. The so-called "Fox body" Ford Mustangs, the third-generation cars built from 1979 through 1993, are enjoying a sort of nostalgia-driven renaissance in interest these days. Unsurprisingly, this is because those who were young when the Fox bodies were on sale are now older, maybe with some extra cash and spare garage space to start collecting these Mustangs off-lawn, so to speak. How "in" are Fox bodies these days? Ford is even getting in on the action with a new FX package that celebrates the Mustang...

Ford has announced a recall of over 250,000 vehicles over a potential issue that could make their brakes defective. Ford announced in a filing to the National Highway Traffic Administration that it would be recalling 273,800 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs due to braking issues. The report stated, “SUVs’ front brake lines “may be in contact with the engine air cleaner outlet pipe,” causing possible brake defects. “A brake line leak may cause longer-than-expected brake pedal travel and result in a reduction in the rate of deceleration,” added Ford. Check out what Fox Business reported: Ford is recalling 273,800 Expedition...

Looking forward to The Five this afternoon on FOX, and hoping Harold Ford is on. I wonder if he will eat his words concerning his take on the tariffs.