Update: Ford's EV 'Model T moment' Announced

[Neil Nelson]

Transport Evolved gives a review of Ford's new small truck.

Inside Ford’s Secret Plan to Beat China at the EV Game

 

[metroshot]

I'll be putting a deposit down - zero risk - and I love my Maverick. Still swooning over the Slate, but prefer not to have all my eggs in one basket.

Same here - I am hoping Ford makes a Ranger EV truck.

For $30K, I;d buy it in a heartbeat!

 

[E90400K]

They brought the Base model Back for this year... at $40,000

Yup. Inflation calculator says the 2021 Base MSRP of $29,995 is now just $35,760, so a real price increase of approx. $3,250. And if you want just a rear locking diff, it's $8,400 for the Squatch package. Lol.

 

[E90400K]

That's not the castings. That's just Tesla being Tesla (we're too cool for school, so why should we change). A casting is just a structural platform part. And the dies are swapped out regularly, as they wear out. One casting machine can make many different castings for several different models with a simple die swap - again, that's a routine swap process. The dies, by the way, are typically re-machined and used again. The Tesla gigafactory has a dedicated die shop at the Austin factory complex just for this purpose.

I think Ford actually pointed out that this platform will have a dozen or so "tophats" atop the platform (truck, SUV, van, etc). That's part of the money saving bit - just stretch or shrink the platform (unibody platforms have been around for decades). Then attach the body panels that the customer sees.

I understand the pressure casting process. I have a degree in manufacturing engineering. And I've read up on the giga casting process and machinery. I see it as akin to the die stamping process expense of floor pans and suspension attachment points.

The Model S is well into its 14th production year without any platform redesign. Sure, Tesla bucks automotive trends, but 14 years is very long in the tooth. It's a cost issue to redesign.

It's fair to say VW changed the industry cost structure with its now 20-year old MQB platform concept. MQB provides much more cost effective platform redesign.

Tesla as a manufacturing company is very innovative to say the least. It's 48V electrical architecture will become an industry standard. And EVs wouldn't be viable without Tesla creating the supply chain. But the Market likes "new" every once and awhile.