Businesses in the modern world are multi-national, and Ford was multi-national long before many other automakers were founded.

So your aren't going to buy a new truck anyway from anyone, eliminating any reason Ford or its stockholders should care about what you want or why you should care what they do.

Business means selling to paying customers. Money talks and whining walks. I like my old fossils because they are simple, crude, available, tough, and cheap, but I wouldn't buy a new one in preference to a modern F-series.

Technology IMPROVES, and in recent times it generally improves rapidly. Civilization itself requires better batteries and improved energy storage, so expect every player with an interest in making money to push for that. What benefits laptop owners can benefit hybrid and PHEV owners too.

Transitional tech is required for mature tech to evolve. Few people living now were alive when the automobile "matured" in the 1920s, so the public don't think much about vehicle and drivetrain evolutionary timelines.

I'm looking forward to mature turbine-electric powerplants (like the Capstone system successfully used on backup power gensets and hybrid city buses). Dead simple, lightweight engines with easy maintenance. That much juice could power welders, compressors, electric tools, etc at a jobsite and run 24/7 if required. Piston diesels are horribly complicated compared to a turbine, they are heavy, maintenance is horribly expensive, and none of this is changing for the better.

Turbines can burn a wide range of fuels cleanly, and their power-to-weight ratio is why they are used in aircraft where piston engines are nearly obsolete. Hybrids solve the problem of connecting a high-speed limited-speed-range turbine to the drive wheels.

 

I think Ford should by Toyota and then sell it for scrap. Then dump the whole hybrid thing. A well tuned vehicle can be as or more efficient that some smoke and mirrors product. When the raw research actually can make a viable alternative then think of building some roller skate with it.

 

monkey wrench you must have miss understood me i said i would not buy anything with the toyota name on it even if ford was in it with them.....i think these '11 and '12s 150's are awesome trucks and if i had the money would consider buying one, but seeing stuff like this makes me think ford and all american companies are going down hill

 

Sure seems to be weakening the brand the more you "partner" with other companies...

 

Boo on Ford for even considering this..this sounds like th 80's all over again..Im just glad I got a ford truck that is still 100% Ford..hybrid truck..not interested and neither will any other Truck owner whas owned a big truck in the past..why do you think all the foreign trucks are big with biig v8's in them??..this is going to be a major flop..time to sell my Ford stock

 

Hybrids are fine by me... but i prefer a diesel hybrid by far. Toyota is a good brand (at least down here) but as they make more complicated cars, the quality seems to take a hit.

 

BIG, BIG MISTAKE. Whats also aggravating is that Ford is building a new plant in Egypt I believe. How are we as consumer going to buy anything without jobs. I buy only American made products. Sorry Ford, bring them back home. Thank you Barack Obama and the EPA.

 

WTF?! Ford is crushing Toyota in trucks sales and for good reason. The rear axle setup on the current Tundra is a freaking joke. Ford, what the heck are you thinking? You are the last great American automobile company, and are doing well- keep it all American!

 

For you guys saying to ford to keep it all American, you guys know that Ford is a global company, right?

You guys also realize that Toyota is top dog, globally, right? And that globally Ford is down like 4th, or 5th.

As a global company, I would think that expanding globally would be a priority. If Ford kept their market to just Canada and the US, it wouldn't be long till they would get taken over and end up being fordyndai, or something like that.

 

Ford is global but still American, the money and headquarters are still here.

To my knowledge that's based on sales and production numbers, here's how is goes in terms of global size. However, Toyota's sales have dropped and may shift soon.

1) Toyota
2) Fiat
3) Ford
4) General Motors

 

Not sure what you mean by Ford is global, but still American. Ford is global, meaning they have offices all over!
The money is all over the globe that ford spends, its not just in the US, unless i am misunderstanding what you mean by the money is only in America? Also what does the headquarter location have to do with... well... anything?

You could be right, I just googled it and can only cite a wiki site Automotive industry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3rd still aint first though, and Im sure they would rather be first then 3rd!

 

To me the headquarters remains as a base of operations; a tie to that particular country. My other discerning factor is where the majority of profits go. The Ford money is still solidly connected to the USA economy and it's accountants are still using US Dollars to count it's profits.

 

I'm pretty sure that ford sells it's stocks all over the world to any one that can afford to purchase them as well as Toyota and GM.

All this garbage about American made is just that, garbage. The F150 is less American made than the Tundra. Toyota didn't shutter any plants and displace any workers, GM and Ford did.

Aside from some recent recalls, Toyota's quality has always been superior to most anyone else's in the world. I think this will help Ford and it's share holders.

 

i think in essence Ford has gotten less and less American as the years go by.... you look at an old dentside that is truely made in America now the newer trucks have parts from all over......either way Ford is still making the best product out there and in the end thats all that matters!

 

As others have said...it's a global economy...Ford has been buying from and collaborating with other manufacturers for many decades. It's all about making money and keeping the share holders happy. I believe that Honda was the first Japanese manufacturer to build a US factory in Marysville OH in the early 80s. They found...that with the tax credits the local government was willing to give them...the fact that people were willing to work without being members of the unions...made it much less expensive to build here than to build in and ship from Japan.

I don't believe that you can buy a TV that is "American" anymore...along with lots of other products.