A little over a week ago, a few hundred workers went on strike at the Clarios battery plant in Holland, Ohio, over failed labor negotiations. While picketing is standard practice for UAW members dissatisfied with their contracts, the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas issued the restraining order on Friday to prevent striking workers from disrupting business operations and creating an allegedly unsafe environment.

With Ford having debuted the global version of the midsize Ranger pickup in 2021, the only question was what kind of changes would be made for the American market.

Well, we aren’t getting the diesel powertrains available in other parts of the world. But that’s hardly a surprise. I suppose the big shocker is exactly how similar the U.S. Ranger happens to be to the versions you can already buy in countries where they have the steering wheel on the wrong side. However, that’s hardly an insult when you take into account what you’re getting.

The Ford Ranger returned to America a few years ago as the automaker’s entry to the midsize truck market, but the rest of the world had been enjoying the pickup while it was on hiatus here. Ford released a new Ranger for other countries last year, and now the U.S. is getting it, along with a Raptor variant for the first time.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are among the most asked-for tech features in new cars, but automakers can’t seem to come to terms with what that means for their own technology interfaces. Toyota was super slow to offer the tech, much to the irritation of buyers, and we recently learned that GM plans to phase the feature out in EVs going forward. The automaker’s cross-town rival, Ford, won’t be heading down the same path, as CEO Jim Farley said the battle has already been lost.

The Ford Ranger is sold worldwide, but Americans have been slower to get new variants and models. That’s about to change, as Ford recently confirmed that it would reveal the truck on Wednesday, May 10.

Ford Motor Company is tweaking plans in China and seeking to turn around financial losses after five years of lackluster sales within the region. The new strategy will be focused on exporting to other countries, commercial product, and reinforcing the necessary supply chain for all-electric vehicles.

Like a petulant child who won’t share their toys, Ford has released a handy smartphone app filled with crowd-sourced and professionally curated tools such as trail maps for off-road journeys – but the only ones who can use it are Bronco owners.

Talk about walling off your garden. Or off-road trail, in this case

Anyone blessed with the gift of reading comprehension has noticed an influx of stories about Ford and its recent quality control issues. Top brass Jim Farley is on record lamenting the problems and pledging to turn things around in this area. One of the first out of the gate with a quality control (QC) overhaul? The brand’s important (and profitable) new Super Duty.

We continue our Ford Friday -- it wasn't planned that way, I swear -- with this good-looking 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350.

The 2022 Ford Explorer Timberline is aimed at a very specific audience – and if you aren’t part of that audience, other Explorer trims will better suit you.

If you are in that specific audience, this Explorer can do a few things that the other trims likely cannot.

This trim is the perfect example of how use case can dictate vehicle purchase decisions.

A year after its release, the Ford F-150 Lightning remains one of the most elusive new vehicles, and wait times for factory orders extend to a year for some configurations. Year-to-date sales of the truck tally 3,600, better than before, but lower than expected. Despite that, Ford’s pushed into new markets with the truck, announcing recently that it would begin selling the Lightning in Norway.

If you’re a hopeless automotive nerd, and since you’re reading this, you likely are, there’s nothing better than having access to automakers’ historical archives. Some offer public-facing portals with easily searchable brochures and images, and Ford’s just got a major content injection.

The Ford Motor Company is recalling a small number of Bronco and Ranger models built this year over what has to be one of the most straightforward defects we’ve seen in a while. Based on reports issued to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there’s a chance the driver-side lug nuts might not have been tightened sufficiently at the factory.

If you wondered how some of America’s speed houses were going to adjust to an all-electric future, today brings a partial answer. Shelby has introduced a Mach-E GT, a rig that adds carbon fiber body panels and a performance suspension – while leaving the powertrain untouched.

In a telling move, the first 100 copies are reserved for Europe.

Ford's long-awaited revitalization of the old Michigan Central train station has begun.

Today's UCOTD is a rare one -- a 1931 Ford Model A that apparently needs almost no work.

Ford has spent a lot of time touting the electrification of its venerable F-150. But what was it like to actually live with the thing for a week?

If you’re the kind of person that wants to make a strong impression on the neighborhood and are less than concerned whether it’s good or bad, Ford is offering 2024 model year Mustangs with a key fob that lets the holder remotely rev up the engine. While a pointless gimmick, it would be a lie to say that it doesn’t sound like fun.

Today's UCOTD is a 20-year-old hot hatch.

This 2003 Ford Focus SVT comes to us from Wisconsin, with a reasonable price of $4,000.

Following our coverage of the Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid, reader feedback seemed overwhelmingly focused on the vehicle being manufactured in China. This was interesting because the article dealt exclusively with updates to the vehicle, which is technically still a product of North America.

But Ford Motor Co. has confirmed that the next-generation Nautilus will indeed be imported from China so that the Canadian facility currently responsible for U.S. volume can be transitioned into an electric-vehicle plant.

NHRA drag racing is a sport purpose-built to deliver maximum noise and drama, but as it turns out, the show can be just as exciting without gasoline. The Association created an EV class last year, and Ford jumped into the action in 2020 with the electric Mustang Cobra Jet 1400. There’s a new version of the car for 2023 called the Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800, which promises to expand on its predecessor’s record-setting runs.

On Wednesday, Ford Motor Co. celebrated the fact that its entire electric-vehicle lineup would still be eligible for consumer incentives under the so-called Inflation Reduction Act federal tax credit scheme. But it downplayed that some of those models won’t be eligible for the maximum amount due to stricter EV sourcing requirements pertaining to battery components and critical minerals.

Today's UCOTD is a 1966 Ford Galaxie with 108K miles on the clock. The seller is asking for $20,000.

Do you want a Ford car -- car, not crossover or SUV -- that isn't a Mustang? Sorry, you're out of luck. At least in this market.

However, if you live overseas, you can get your hand on a good-looking Taurus that will make you forget all about the stormtrooper cars of the '90s or the bulky sedan that was the last Taurus sold here.

The Ford Mustang has long been considered a major performance bargain, but there have long been halo models with considerably higher price tags. That will continue to be the case in 2024, as Motor1 noticed that Ford’s new Mustang configurator shows prices ranging from mild to wild, as per tradition.

On Tuesday, Ford confirmed that the Transit Connect would be removed from the North American market after the 2023 model year. Rumors had circulated that the small van would soon be relegated to Europe – with reputable outlets citing its regional demise back in the summer of 2022. However, this is the first time the company has commented on the matter publicly.

We've lost two models today -- the JDM Toyota Camry and the Jeep Cherokee.

But we're about to gain two more models on the market in exchange. One is planned from Ford -- check back in an hour for something from Toyota.

Jim Farley is one of the more active automotive CEOs on social media, frequently posting on Twitter and LinkedIn. Earlier this week, Farley tweeted a video of the company’s S650 Mustang GT3 race car, based on the upcoming 2024 Mustang. A while later, he retweeted his video with a question: Should we make a road version?

Ford told investors and analysts today that it expects its electric-vehicle unit to lose $3 billion this year, but that news isn't nearly as dire as it might sound at first glance.

Today's UCTOD is in a color combo that yours truly loves. It's a blue-with-white-racing-stripes 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350.

Ford has struggled to keep pace with Bronco production since the beginning, and demand doesn’t seem to be waning. Buyers may wait months for their preferred configuration after ordering, and that’s if orders are being accepted. When it rains, it pours for Ford, as the company now faces an uphill battle to prepare for next-generation Ranger production. One of the ways it hopes to smooth the launch of its new midsize truck is to streamline Bronco production, leading it to pause production and orders for manual transmission variants, the Base trim, and the new Everglades model.

We're doing something a bit different for the UCOTD today -- we're focusing (sorry) on a 2014 Ford Focus Titanium sedan.

Ford recently announced a brand-new electric Explorer, but it’s not yet slated for a U.S. release. The almost $50,000 EV is based on VW’s MEB platform and will be built at Ford’s shiny new EV manufacturing facility in Germany. 

Last month, we brought you news about Ford CEO Jim Farley lamenting to investors that his company was number one – in recalls. At the time, he refused to place all the blame at the convenient feet of the world’s supply chain, instead pledging some company overhauls – perhaps at the personnel level.

Enter one John Dion, a corporate boss who has apparently implemented so-called ‘lean systems’ at other large companies. His title? Chief Transition Officer.

While it’s fairly common to hear people argue about the true usefulness of modern automotive features, there are some inclusions nobody seems to mind. Automakers cannot seem to add enough places for people to plug in electrical devices. Parents want USB ports for the entire family, pickup truck owners want outlets tucked into the bed, and people doing vehicle modifications want a simple way to power the accessories they probably didn’t need but decided to buy anyway.

To that effect, Ford has patented a powered roof rail system that seems custom-made for proprietary accessories requiring electricity and it doesn’t even sound like it’ll be all that hard to install.

Motor1 brings us a report of a replica 1975 Ford Gran Torino that has popped up on Bring a Trailer. It's a replica of the Gran Torinos that starred in the Starsky and Hutch TV show.

Occasionally, a company comes out with an ad campaign that is so unique that it takes a few minutes to understand what’s going on. Ford just hit that mark with its new Explorer ad, which celebrates the role women have played in the auto industry by highlighting all the things we wouldn’t have without their contributions.

Mr. Guy wrote yesterday about how Ford F-150 Lightning owners are using their trucks for so-called "truck stuff" as much, if not more, than owners of internal-combustion engine F-150s are.

A frequent remark about EV pickups is an argument that thanks to the limitations of electric motors and their attendant batteries, trucks powered by electrons can’t do the same amount of work as their gas-powered twins.

Turns out, if Ford’s findings are any indication, some EV pickup owners are actually using their workhorses more frequently than ICE owners. 

Electric vehicles aren’t the exotic, futuristic things they once were, but they aren’t yet the cheapest vehicle option, either. Automotive News reported that Ford would start offering a lower-cost battery option in the Mustang Mach-E, hoping to lessen the financial blow of buying a new EV and make the purchase more appealing to more buyers.

Following an extended production pause of the all-electric Lightning pickup, Ford has signaled its intention to boost production through the rest of 2023 – especially when it comes to its most in-demand models. While it’s undoubtedly wise for Blue Oval to ensure it can build enough vehicles to satisfy demand, the automaker is also trying to turn around any perceptions that it might be falling behind with EVs. Meanwhile, Ford is providing itself with an opportunity to preemptively dunk on General Motors after news broke that the rival automaker would walk back full-size pickup production to “ maintain optimal inventory levels.”

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced an order for over 9,000 all-electric vans from the Ford Motor Company – presumably to help settle some of the drama surrounding the selected replacement for the venerable Grumman LLV.

We know the upcoming Ford Mustang will offer a hi-po Dark Horse trim, and that trim will be available with carbon-fiber wheels. They won't be cheap.

Question is -- if you can afford the Dark Horse, would you pay more for these wheels?

Blue Oval bean counters have saddled the new-for-’24 Mustang with pricing details. Good news for pony car fans – the numbers are actually realistic.

I or another staffer has probably asked this QOTD before, and it will probably come up again, but hands-free driving is fresh in my mind.

The number of U.S. vehicle owners who are more than 59 days behind in their auto loan payments was 26.7 percent higher at the end of 2022 than they were at the end of 2021. This is due to a myriad of factors. Car payments have gotten larger, loan terms have increased, inflation has devalued the currency, and subprime borrowers are finding themselves on the wrong end of a widening wealth gap. 

While automotive repossessions declined during the pandemic, mainly due to lenders offering amnesty periods, they’ve likewise spiked through the end of 2022. This trend is assumed to continue, setting up a lot of business for repo men. However, Ford Motor Co. has patented a system that would effectively make vehicles unresponsive to drivers that have missed a few payments. Meanwhile, automobiles boasting the latest advanced driving technologies could allegedly repossess themselves. 

Continuing the saga of hiccups with what is arguably Ford’s most important product in decades, Blue Oval suits are pulling the trigger on prolonging production downtime for one extra week in the wake of a battery fire earlier this year.

Last year, Ford announced that it would split its business operations to separately focus on EV development and internal combustion production. Ford Model e is the automaker’s electric arm, and it’s made progress in Europe through partnerships with brands like Volkswagen. The VW MEB platform will be the basis for Ford’s latest EV, though all we’ve seen so far is a quick tease from the company’s European General Manager on Twitter.

Alert readers may recall a series of hiccups that have befallen the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning so far this year, including a battery fire in a truck that was parked in a holding pen near company facilities. Ford is obviously working feverishly to fix any problems. One roadblock on the road to repair might involve words this author rarely gets to type: Industrial espionage.

And they’re not related to the fire which we reported last week. This quality issue, reported by CNBC and other outlets within the last 24 hours, is related to “performance degradation”. In fact, about 100 owners were apparently asked a week before the fire to have their vehicles serviced for a separate issue.

The late-model Ford Mustang GT350 is one of the most fun performance versions of the venerable pony car, at least in my opinion. This one is for sale for a quite steep $55,000 -- though that pricing isn't that far off what the car was when it was new.

Ford has struggled to keep pace with demand for its electric F-150 Lightning, and now it appears the automaker is stopping production. Motor Authority reported that Ford is halting F-150 Lightning production and has issued an in-transit stop-ship order for the truck due to a potential battery issue.

Ford Motor Co. reportedly has plans to cut 3,800 administrative and product development positions in Europe over the next three years – representing a little more than 10 percent of its regional workforce. Germany and the United Kingdom are presumed to be the zones taking the biggest hits, with the automaker suggesting that it needs to streamline the workforce as part of its transition toward all-electric vehicles.

Today's QOTD is pretty self-explanatory. What vehicle that debuted here in Chicago caused you to sit up and take notice?

We're going classic today with this 1969 Ford Fairlane.

Set to saddle up atop the Mustang line when it appears in dealers this summer – well, until other variants inevitably appear, perhaps denoted by a name we won’t mention but starts with ‘S’ and ends in ‘helby’ – the Dark Horse will apparently also feature a raft of details not found on other trims.

And that paint? It’s actually Blue Ember – but we’re calling it Modern Mystichrome.

The Ford F-150 Lightning has been on sale for a while now, but it’s still nearly impossible to walk into a dealer and buy one without ordering and waiting a considerable amount of time. Despite rushing to meet demand, Ford’s still busy dreaming up new Lightning variants, including the performance concept it recently teased. 

It is a breath of fresh air to have someone like Jim Farley at the helm of an automaker. The man brings a bracing level of candor to a world generally filled with sanitized PR statements and corporate double-speak. In a candid call with investors, the CEO lamented about how Ford has been “number one in recalls” and the need “to improve product quality”.

Ford Motor Company has a decades-long relationship with Formula 1 that includes a record for being the third-winningest engine manufacturer in the sport’s long and storied history. Given its success, it’s not surprising to see the announcement that Ford is returning to Formula 1 as an engine manufacturer in 2026.

Major automakers deal with recalls all the time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) monitors complaints on safety and other issues and works with automakers to start the recall process if a defect is found. Ford has had plenty of recalls to deal with in the last few years, including one related to the Mustang Mach-E’s glass roof detaching. The automaker may be looking at another glass-related recall if the results of a recent NHTSA investigation reveal a safety problem.