Drew Dowdell

After a lengthy strike at General Motors that cost the company $2.9 billion, the UAW has agreed to a contract with Ford that looks remarkably similar to the one they got with General Motors. Ford workers ratified the deal on Friday with 56.3 percent voting yes to the new four year agreement. The agreement says that Ford will invest more than $6 billion in its U.S. plants and add or retain 8,500 UAW jobs. The UAW used the GM contract as a template for negotiations with Ford. Like the GM contract, there are no changes in healthcare coverage, there is a pathway to full-time employment for temporary workers, pay raises, and lump-sum payments spread over 4 years. The UAW now will turn its attention on FCA where negotiations are due to begin on Monday. View full article

better balance too for FWD based vehicles.

Leaks of privileged information happen. In this case, Ford pushed these images and pages to their consumer website in a way which was easy for the folks at MachEForum to find. Here are the basics, the best of each spec, the 2021 Ford Mach-E will have up to 300 miles of driving range, run 0-60 in mid-three second range, and have optional all-wheel drive. You're going to prioritize those specs though because you won't be able to get them all in the same car. All models of Mach-E will be able to recharge 47 miles in 10 minute of DC fast charging in a 150-kw charger The base model is called Select and starts at $43,895. It is powered by a 255 horsepower, 306 lb.-ft of torque motor in the rear. You can opt for all-wheel drive which increases torque to 429lb.ft. This model gets an EPA estimated range of 230 miles and a 0 to 60 sprint of mid 5-seconds. If you qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, the price can be as low as $36,395. It's equipped with 18-inch wheels Next up is the Premium trim, starting at $50,600. This comes with 19-inch wheels and again in RWD or AWD configurations. EPA estimated range is 300 miles on the RWD model and 0 to 6- remains mid 5-seconds. There will be a trim called California Route 1 which is an extended range rear-wheel drive model. It has an EPA range of 300 miles and a mid 6-second range sitting on 18-inch wheels. Then there is the top of the line GT, starting at $60,500. EPA range is estimated at 235 miles and a mid 3-second range. It comes standard with all-wheel drive. For early adopters, there is a Mach-E First Edition. It offers three exterior colors, including and exclusive "Grabber Blue Metallic", interior contrast stitching, First Edition scuff plates, brushed aluminum pedals, and red brake calipers. This model seems to be a happy medium on range and performance with a 270 mile EPA estimated range, mid 5-second 0-60, AWD, and 19-inch wheels. Inside the Mach-E is a large Telsa-like center screen though with a single physical dial at the bottom. A simple dash and slim gauge cluster sit behind a 3-spoke wheel badged with the Mustang logo. Ford will officially share more information on Sunday night, and the specs listed above are subject to change. We'll keep you updated as more information comes out. In the meantime, scroll down to see all of the information grabbed in the screenshots. View full article

I'm going to have a Palisade in for evaluation in 2 weeks. Should be interesting to see how it stands up.

The Palisade is specifically supposed to riff on the Escalade I think

It's not a losing proposition if they were losing money on making those cars. You can't make it up on volume.

Grand total of 2,076 Fiat 500X sold in the first three quarters of this year.

Volkswagen has broken ground on an $800 million expansion of their plant in Chattanooga, TN. The expansion is for additional capacity to build electric vehicles for North America. The body shop will increase by 564,000 square feet and a new 198,000 square foot battery assembly center will be constructed. Overall the expansion will add about 1,000 permanent jobs. Production of a long range vehicle, the ID. Crozz / ID. 4 is expected to begin in the expanded plant in 2022. Chattanooga currently builds the Passat, Atlas, and Atlas Cross Sport. View full article

This sounds more like a review of your Aunt rather than the Outlander Sport....

Ford has announced the name of their upcoming Mustang inspired electric crossover. It will be called the Mustang Mach E. The official debut happens on November 17th, after which reservations for the car will be opened for customers wishing to make a deposit. Deposits are $500 to hold your place in line and later, customization of the vehicle will open closer to delivery time. We've seen from previews of the Mustang Mach E that it will be a rather swoopy crossover with a coupe like roofline. Current rumors put the estimated range at around 370 miles on the WTLP cycle, but EPA cycle will likely be lower. Ford also recently announced the creation of the FordPass Charging network, a way to take the worry out of range anxiety. We expect we'll hear even more about FordPass Charging Network at the November 17th presentation. View full article

Such an overused trim name.

Fiat's future is uncertain in North America as the brand struggles to find sales. Already, the Fiat 500 has been dropped from the lineup in North America, and that was one of the better sellers. The Fiat 500X is more of a crossover hatchback. It shares its platform with the fantastically more popular Jeep Renegade. Still, even in spite of its sales troubles, Fiat is releasing a refresh of the 500X Sport for 2020. The new 500x Sport gets new front and rear fascia designs, a black roof option, dark finished headliner and pillars, new sport seating, an updated version of uConnect with a 7-inch display including navigation, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. A new exterior color "Rovente Red" is being added. The 500X Sport is powered by a 1.3-liter turbocharged MultiAir III engine. The engine produces 177 horsepower and an impressive 210 lb.-ft of torque while also delivering 30 mpg highway. Fiat points out that this is the only car in the class to have AWD standard and also get 30 mpg highway. The 2020 Fiat 500X Sport starts at $26,895 before destination charges and will be available in the first quarter of 2020. View full article

That's not true, you could get AWD on a Fusion SE... $26,480. You can go on Ford's Build-It site and build one right now. They're still building Fusions for 2020... don't know when that will stop. The ES will probably get eAWD in the hybrid only. Uses a system like the Pruis's AWD. Highly unlikely.

Nope. It's really easy too.

I put my resume up on Indeed and I'm already getting calls. I'm not even sure I'm leaving yet.

For me it's shellfish. I'm not allergic, but I can't even stand the smell. I'll eat swordfish and that's about it.

That's probably it. Or the transmission they use for the AWD system isn't rated for the power of the V6.

10 years ago the AWD choices were mostly Subaru, Audi, the Ford Fusion and the Buick Regal/Lacrosse. All of them are quite capable AWD systems.

Yes

They use both. The GMCs with the 6.3 liter use it also. The microphones are already there for OnStar. The speakers are already there. In the case of my Encore, Bose is already there. The DSP is build into the stereo. It's not that much extra to hook it all up.

In the Camry, most are sold as 4-cylinders anyway, so I don't think the V6 will be missed. The Avalon though, I think that's a miss without the V6. Demand in northern climates? Trying to take some more market share from Honda/Hyundai/Kia? It sounds like it was low cost R&D to pull it off. What weak AWD systems would they be? Most are just lifted straight out of crossovers like this one is.