Deep underground at Ford’s Product Development Center, a large studio has been converted into an “immersion room,” its temporary walls papered with endless PowerPoint slides. Normally, vision boards like this are a clear indication that both imagination and inspiration were snuffed out of the project three months in.
But then something caught my eye—a slide titled “Winning Will Not Be Driven by Compliance.”
Below the headline were four cars: a BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt EV, and an electric Ford Focus. Although I strongly dislike the poor-driving i3, have forgotten about driving the Leaf as many times as I’ve driven it, and imagine that a small battery shoved into a Focus would be ho-hum, I genuinely like the Bolt. We voted it our 2017 Car of the Year. So why was it on this slide? Then it hit me: As good as the Bolt might be, Chevy’s electric hatchback looks just as dorky as the other three compliance vehicles.
Back in 2014, Ford saw the writing on the wall; the decision was made to go electric. We were shown a quarter-scale clay model of an equally dorked-out, front wheel-drive CUV that was set to go into production right around now. Luckily for car enthusiasts, smarter and cooler heads intervened.
Instead of delivering an electric car that Ford didn’t want to build to dealers who didn’t want to sell it to customers who didn't want to buy it, in a decision that went all the way up to Bill Ford, the Blue Oval decided to put a pony on its first proper, mass-market electric vehicle.
Meet the newest member of the Mustang family, the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Motor Trend.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Motor Trend.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
2023 GMC Canyon
MC, the luxe-truck division of General Motors, has long struggled to differentiate its products from mechanically similar Chevrolets.
2023 Ford F-Series Super Duty
The heavy-duty truck world moves more slowly than other pickup classes, and progress comes in spurts. Take the Ford F-Series Super Duty, whose recent refresh included softer-edged styling, a new entry-level gas-fed V-8, a new high-output 6.7-liter turbodiesel V-8, and myriad small improvements like new bedside steps. Is it still basically the same truck as before? Absolutely, but it’s also a better Super Duty, however incrementally.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD
When Chevrolet unveiled its all-new 2020 Silverado HD lineup, it set the truck world ablaze, and not in a good way.
THE CHEVROLET COLORADO IS THE 2024 MOTORTREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR
A BROAD LINEUP DELIVERS AN IMPRESSIVE RANGE OF OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE TO EVERYDAY LIVABILITY
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE 80?!
THE FIRST-GENERATION NISSAN PATHFINDER IS AN SUV THROWBACK TO A TOTALLY RAD TIME, FOR SURE
BAVARIAN ECONS 2002te
THIS ELECTRIC BMW RESTOMOD LOSES ITS ENGINE BUT NOT ITS SOUL
2023 PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS FIRST TEST
PORSCHE'S MOST FOCUSED 911 OF ALL TIME MUST BE EXPERIENCED AT ITS LIMITS TO BE UNDERSTOOD
2024 TRUCK OF THE YEAR MADE IN MICHIGAN
AFTER DECADES IN THE WEST, TRUCK OF THE YEAR MOVES TO MICHIGAN
YOUR ICON OF ICONS: CHEVROLET CORVETTE
Was there ever any doubt? MotorTrend readers are largely American, and as much as we love Jeeps, Mustangs, and F-150s in this country, the Corvette has been “America’s sports car” for nearly as long as this publication has existed. That’s why you chose it via our online vote as the most iconic car of the past 75 years.
MOTORTREND CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
The 10 Most Iconic Vehicles of Our Time and Much More
