#ford

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.

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

Certified used cars can be a fantastic value and offer manufacturer-backed warranties that make the ownership experience much less stressful. That’s when things are working normally, but some automakers are expanding the certified preowned (CPO) criteria to include older vehicles. 

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.

Changes in the EV tax credit rules have been confusing and made it hard to determine which cars are eligible for credits. Some automakers argued that the rules would unfairly harm their business and ability to compete, and we’re now starting to see how some of the changes are shaking out. Automotive News reported that the top eight EVs in the U.S. in January were built in North America, while Hyundai and Kia fell back.

We continue our Rare Rides coverage of the unfortunate Lincoln Continental Mark VI today, and take a deep dive into its cobbled-together and frequently shuffled trims, the Designer Series in particular. In a last-of moment, the Mark VI quickly lost the exclusivity it once carried as Lincoln’s purveyor of fine designer styling.

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.

We return to our Lincoln Mark series today, and the newly Panther-tized Mark VI coupe and sedan. We’ve already examined the exterior differences between Marks V and VI, as Lincoln designers attempted to replicate the successful looks of their late Seventies PLC with much less length and width available. Design freedom was additionally hampered by new platform sharing with the 1980 Continental, for which the Mark VI basically served as a top trim. Today we’ll check out the Mark’s newly modernized interior.

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.

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. 

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.